Of Caucafus, and dark Iberian dales,
From Atropatia and the neighb'ring plains
Of Adiabene, Media, and the South
Of Sufiana, to Balfara's haven.
He faw them in their forms of battel rang'd,
How quick they wheel'd, and flying behind them fhot
Sharp fleet of arrowy fhow'r against the face
Of their purfuers, and overcame by flight,
The field, all Iron, caft a gleaming brown,
Nor wanted clouds of foot, nor on each horn,
Cuirafiers all in fteel for standing fight;
Chariots or Elephants endorft with Tow'rs
Of Archers, nor of lab'ring Pioneers,
A multitude with Spades and Axes arm'd
To lay hills plain, fell woods, or vallies fill,
Or where plain was, raife hill, or overlay
With bridges rivers proud, as with a yoke;
Mules after thefe, Camels and Dromedaries,
And Waggons fraught with Utenfils of war.
Such forces met not, nor fo wide a Camp,
When Agrican with all his Northern pow'rs
Befieg'd Albracca, as Romances tell,
The City of Gallaphrone, from thence to win
The fairest of her Sex Angelica,
His daughter, fought by many proweft Knights,
Both Paynim, and the Peers of Charlemaine.
Such and fo numerous was their Chivalry;
At fight whereof the Fiend yet more prefum'd,
And to our Saviour thus his words renew'd.
That thou may't know I feek not to engage Thy virtue, and not ev'ry way fecure
On no flight grounds thy fafety; hear, and mark
To what end I have brought thee hither, and fhewn 350
All this fair fight: thy Kingdom though foretold,
By Prophet or by Angel, unless thou
Endeavour, as thy Father David did,
Thou never shalt obtain; prediction still
In all things, and all men, ppofes means;
Without means us'd, what it pedicts revokes.
But fay thou wert poffefs'd of David's Throne
By free confent of all, none oppofite,
Samaritan or Jew; how could'st thou hope
Long to enjoy it quiet and fecure,
Between two fuch enclofing enemies,
Roman, and Parthian? therefore one of these
Thou must make fure thy own, the Parthian firft,
By my advice, as nearer and of late
Found able by invafion to annoy
Thy country, and captive lead away her Kings
Antigonus, and old Hyrcanus bound,
Maugre the Roman: it fhall be my task
To render thee the Parthian at difpofe;
Chufe which thou wilt by conqueft or by league,
By him thou shalt regain, without him not,
That which alone can truly reinftal thee
In David's royal Seat, his true Succeffor,
Deliv'rance of thy brethren, those ten Tribes
Whofe off-fpring in his Territory yet ferve
In Habor, and among the Medes difpers'd.
Ten Sons of Jacob, two of Jofeph, loft
Thus long from Ifrael; ferving, as of old
Their Fathers in the land of Egypt serv'd,
This offer fets before thee to deliver.
Thefe if from fervitude thou shalt restore
To their inheritance, then, nor till then,
Thou on the Throne of David in full glory,
From Egypt to Euphrates, and beyond
Shalt reign, and Rome or Cafar not need fear.
To whom our Saviour answer'd thus unmov'd.
Much oftentation vain of fleshly arm,
And fragile arms, much inftrument of war
Long in preparing, foon to nothing brought,
Before mine eyes thou'ft fet; and in my ear
Vented much policy, and projects deep
Of enemies, of aids, battel and leagues,
Plaufible to the World, to me worth naught.
Means I must use thou fay'ft, prediction elfe
Will unpredict and faii me of the Throne:
My time I told thee (ind that time for thee
Were better fartheft off) is not yet come;
When that comes, think not thou to find me flack
On my part aught endeav'ring, or to need
Thy politick maxims, or that cumbersome
Luggage of War there fhewn me, argument
Of human weakness rather than of strength.
My Brethren, as thou call'ft them, thofe ten Tribes
I must deliver, if I mean to reign
David's true heir, and his full Scepter fway
To juft extent over all Ifrael's Sons.
But whence to thee this zeal, where was it then
For Ifrael, or for David, or his Throne,
When thou ftood'ft up his Tempter to the pride
Of numb'ring Ifrael, which coft the lives
Of three core and ten thousand Ifraelites
By three days Peftilence? fuch was thy zeal
To Ifrael then, the fame that now to me.
As for thofe captive Tribe, themselves were they
Who wrought their own captivity, fell off
From Go to worship Calves, the Deities
Of Egypt, Baal next and Afhtaroth ;
And all th' Idolatries of Heathen round,
Befides their other worfe than heath'nish crimes;
Nor in the land of their captivity
Humbled themselves, or penitent befought
The God of their Fore-fathers; but fo dy'd
Impenitent, and left a race behind
Like to themselves, diftinguishable scarce
From Gentiles, but by Circumcifion vain,
And God with Idols in their Worship join'd.
Should I of these the liberty regard,
Who freed, as to their ancient Patrimony,
Unhumbl'd, unrepentant, unreform'd,
Headlong wou'd follow; and to their Gods perhaps
Of Bethel and of Dan? no, let them ferve
Their enemies, who ferve Idols with God.
Yet he at length, time to himself best known,
Remembring Abraham, by fome wondrous call
May bring them back repentant and fincere,
And at their paffing cleave th' Affyrian flood,
While to their native land with joy they hafte;
As the Red Sea and Jordan once he cleft,
When to the promis'd land their Fathers pafs'd;
To his due time and providence I leave them.
So fpake Ifrael's true King; and to the Fiend
Made answer meet, that made void all his wilès.
So fares it when with truth falfhood contends.
The End of the Third Book.
Erplex'd and troubled at his bad fuccefs
The Tempter ftood, nor had what to
Discover'd in his fraud, thrown from his
hope
So oft, and the perfuafive Rhetoric
That fleek'd his tongue, and won fo much on Eve,
So little here, nay loft; but Eve was Eve,
This far his over-match, who felf-deceiv'd
And rash, before-hand had no better weigh'd
The ftrength he was to cope with or his own:
But as a man who had been matchlefs held
In cunning, over-reach'd where leaft he thought,
To fave his credit, and for very fpight
Still will be tempting him who foyls him ftill,
And never ceafe, though to his fhame the more:
Or as a swarm of flies in vintage-time,
About the wine-prefs where fweet must is pour'd,
Beat off, returns as oft with humming found;
Or furging waves against a folid rock,
Though all to fhivers dafh'd, th' affault renew,
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