That People, victor once, now vile and base,
Deservedly made vaffal; who once juft,
Frugal, and mild, and temp'rate, conquer'd well,
ill the Nations under yoke,
But govern
Peeling their Provinces, exhaufted all
By luft and rapine; firft ambitious grown
Of triumph, that infulting vanity;
Then cruel, by their sports to blood enur'd
Of fighting beafts, and men to beafts expos'd,
Luxurious by their wealth, and greedier ftill,
And from the daily Scene effeminate.
What wife and valiant Man would feek to free
These thus degen'rate, by themselves enflav'd,
Or could of inward flaves make outward free?
Know therefore, when my feafon comes to fit
On David's Throne, it shall be like a Tree,
Spreading and overfhad'wing all the Earth,
Or as a Stone that fhall to pieces dash
All Monarchies befides throughout the World;
And of my Kingdom there fhall be no end:
Means there fhall be to this, but what the means,
Is not for thee to know, nor me to tell.
To whom the Tempter impudent reply'd:
I fee all offers made by me how flight
Thou valu'ft, becaufe offer'd, and reject'ft:
Nothing will please the difficult and nice,
Or nothing more than ftill to contradict.
On th' other fide, know alfo thou, that I
On what I offer fet as high efteem,
Nor what I part with mean to give for nought;
All these which in a moment thou behold'st,
The Kingdoms of the World to thee I give ;
(For giv'n to me, I give to whom I please,
No trifle ;) yet with this reserve, not else
On this condition, if thou wilt fall down,
And worship me as thy fuperior Lord,
Eafily done, and hold them all of me :
For what can less so great a gift deserve ?
Whom thus our Saviour anfwer'd with difdain.
I never lik'd thy talk, thy offers less,
Now both abhor, fince thou haft dar'd to utter
Th' abominable terms, impious condition:
But I endure the time, till which expir'd,
Thou haft permiffion on me. It is written,
The first of all Commandments, Thou shalt worship
The Lord thy God, and only him shalt serve;
And dar'st thou to the Son of God propound
To worship thee accurft, now more accurst
For this attempt, bolder than that of Eve,
And more blafphemous? which expect to rue.
The Kingdoms of the World to thee were giv❜n,
Permitted rather, and by thee ufurp'd;
Other donation none thou canft produce:
If giv'n, by whom but by the King of Kings,
God over all Supreme? if giv'n to thee,
By thee how fairly is the Giver now
Repaid? But gratitude in thee is loft
Long fince. Wert thou fo void of fear or fhame,
As offer them to me the Son of God,
To me my own, on fuch abhorred pact,
That I fall down and worship thee as God?
Get thee behind me; plain thou now appear'st
That evil one, Satan, for ever damn'd.
To whom the Fiend, with fear abafht, reply'd: 195 Be not fo fore offended, Son of God,
(Though Sons of God both Angels are and Men)
If I to try whether in higher fort
Than these thou bear'ft that title, have propos'd
What both from Men and Angels I receive,
Tetrarchs of fire, air, flood, and on the earth
Nations befides from all the quarter'd winds,
God of this world invok'd and world beneath;
Who then thou art whofe coming is foretold
To me fo fatal, me it most concerns.
The trial hath endamag'd thee no way,
Rather more honour left and more esteem;
Me nought advantag'd, miffing what I aim'd.
Therefore let pafs, as they are tranfitory,
The Kingdoms of this world; I fhall no more
Advise thee, gain them as thou canft, or not.
And thou thy felf feem'ft otherwise inclin'd
Than to a worldly Crown, addicted more
To contemplation and profound difpute;
As by that early action may be judg'd,
When flipping from thy Mother's eye thou went'st
Alone into the Temple; there wast found
Among the graveft Rabbies, difputant
On points and queftions fitting Mofes' Chair,
Teaching not taught; the childhood fhews the man, 220
As morning fhews the day. Be famous then
By wisdom; as thy Empire muft extend,
So let extend thy mind o'er all the world
In knowledge, all things in it comprehend :
All knowledge is not couch'd in Mofes' Law,
The Pentateuch, or what the Prophets wrote;
The Gentiles also know, and write, and teach
To admiration, led by Nature's light;
And with the Gentiles much thou must converse,
Ruling them by perfuafion, as thou mean'st;
Without their learning how wilt thou with them,
Or they with thee hold conversation meet?
How wilt thou reafon with them, how refute
Their Idolifms, Traditions, Paradoxes?
Errors by his own arm is best evinc'd.
Look once more ere we leave this fpecular Mount
Westward, much nearer by South-weft, behold
Where on th' Ægean fhore a City stands
Built nobly, pure the air, and light the foil,
Athens the eye of Greece, Mother of Arts
And Eloquence, native to famous wits,
Or hofpitable; in her fweet recefs,
City or Suburban, ftudious walks and fhades:
See there the Olive Grove of Academe,
Plato's retirement, where the Attic Bird
Trills her thick-warbl'd notes the fummer long;
There flow'ry hill Hymettus, with the found
Of Bees induftrious murmur, oft invites
To ftudious mufing; there llius rolls
His whifp'ring ftream. Within the walls then view 250
The Schools of ancient Sages; his, who bred
Great Alexander to fubdue the World,
Lyceum there, and painted Stoa next:
There thou shalt hear and learn the fecret pow'r
Of harmony in tones and numbers hit
By voice or hand, and various-meafur'd verfe,
Eolian Charms and Dorian Lyric Odes ;
And his who gave them breath, but higher fung,
Blind Melefigenes, thence Homer call'd,
Whofe Poem Phoebus challeng'd for his own.
Thence what the lofty grave Tragedians taught
In Chorus or Iambic, teachers beft
Of moral prudence, with delight receiv'd,
In brief fententious precepts, while they treat
Of fate and chance, and change in human life;
High actions, and high paffions best describing.
Thence to the famous Orators repair,
Those ancient, whofe refiftlefs eloquence
Wielded at will that fierce Democratie,
Shook th' Arfenal, and fulmin'd over Greece
To Macedon, and Artaxerxes's Throne.
To fage Philofophy next lend thine ear,
From Heav'n defcended to the low-rooft house
Of Socrates; fee there his Tenement,
Whom well infpir'd the Oracle pronounc'd
Wifeft of men; from whofe mouth iffu'd forth
Mellifluous ftreams, that water'd all the Schools
Of Academies old and new; with those
Sirnam'd Peripateticks, and the Sect
Epicurean, and the Stoic fevere.
These here revolve, or, as thou lik'ft, at home,
Till time mature thee to a Kingdom's weight;
These rules will render thee a King compleat
Within thy felf, much more with Empire join'd.
To whom our Saviour fagely thus reply'd.
Think not, but that I know these things, or think
I know them not; not therefore am I fhort
Of knowing what I ought; he who receives
Light from above, from the fountain of light,
No other Doctrine needs, though granted true :
But thefe are falfe, or little elfe but dreams,
Conjectures, fancies, built on nothing firm.
The firft and wifeft of them all profefs'd-
To know this only, that hê nothing knew;
The next to fabling fell, and smooth conceits;
A third fort doubted all things, though plain sense;
Others in virtue plac'd felicity,
But virtue join'd with riches and long life;
In corporal pleasure he, and carelefs ease:
The Stoic laft in Philofophick pride,
By him call'd virtue, and his virtuous man,
Wife, perfect in himself, and all poffeffing
Equal to God, oft fhames not to prefer,
As fearing God nor man, contemning all
Wealth, pleasure, pain or torment, death and life;
Which when he lifts, he leaves, or boasts he can :
For all his tedious talk is but vain boast,
Or fubtle fhifts conviction to evade.
Alas what can they teach, and not mif-lead ;
Ignorant of themfelves, of God much more,
And how the world began, and how man fell
Degraded by himself, on grace depending?
Much of the Soul they talk, but all awry;
And in themselves feek virtue, and to themfelves
All glory arrogate, to God give none;
Rather accufe him under ufual names,
Fortunate and Fate, as one regardless quite
Of mortal things. Who therefore feeks in thefe
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