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 saw them in their forms of battle rang'd,
How quick they wheel'd, and flying behind them shot
Sharp fleet of arrowy show'r against the face
Of their purfuers, and overcame by flight.
The field, all Iron, cast a gleaming brown,
Nor wanted clouds of foot, nor on each horn,
Cuirassiers all in steel for standing fight;
Chariots or Elephants endorst 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, raise hill, or overlay
With bridges rivers proud, as with a yoke;
Mules after these, Camels and Dromedaries,
And Waggons fraught with Utensils of war.
Such forces met not, nor so wide a Camp,
When Agrican with all his Northern pow'rs
Befieg'd Albracca, as Romances tell,
The City of Gallaphrone, from whence to win
The fairest of her Sex Angelica,
His daughter, fought by many prowest Knights,
Both Paynim, and the Peers of Charlemaine.
Such and so 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'st know I seek 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 shewn 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 ftill
In all things, and all men, supposes means;
Without means us'd, what it predicas revokes.
But say thou wert posless'd of David's Throne
By free consent of all, none oppofite,
Samaritan or Few; how could'st thou hope
Long to enjoy it quiet and secure,
Between two fuch inclofing enemies,
Roman, and Parthian? therefore one of these
Thou must make sure thy own, the Parthian first,
By my advice, as nearer and of late
Found able by invafon to annoy
Thy Country, and captive lead away her Kings
Antigonus, and old Hyrcanus bound,
Maugre the Roman: it shall be my task
To render thee the Parthian at dispose;
Choose which thou wilt by conquest or by league. 270
By him thou shalt regain, without him not,
That which alone can truly reinstal thee
In David's royal Seat, his true Succeffor,
Deliv'rance of thy brethren, those ten Tribes
Whose offspring in his Territory yet ferve
In Habor, and among the Medes dispers'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.
These 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 Cæfar not need fear.
To whom our Saviour answer'd thus unmov'd:
Much oftentation vain of fleshly arm,
And fragile arms, much instrument of war
Long in preparing, foon to nothing brought,
Before mine eyes thou'st set; and in my ear
Vented much policy, and projects deep
Of enemies, of aids, battles and leagues,
Plausible to the World, to me worth naught.
Means I must use thou say'st, prediction else
Will unpredict and fail me of the Throne:
My time I told thee (and that time for thee
Were better farthest 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 shewn me, argument
Of human weakness rather than of strength.
My Brethren as thou call'st them, those ten Tribes
I must deliver, if I mean to reign
David's true heir, and his full Sceptre sway
To just 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 stood'st up his Tempter to the pride
Of numb'ring Ifrael, which cost the lives
Of threefcore and ten thousand Ifraelites
By three days Pestilence? such was thy zeal
To Ifrael then, the fame that now to me.
As for those captive Tribes, themselves were they
Who wrought their own captivity, fell off
From God to worship Calves, the Deities
Of Egypt, Baal next and Afhtaroth;
And all th' Idolatries of Heathen round,
Befides their other worse than heath'nish crimes;
Nor in the land of their captivity
Humbled themselves, or penitent besought
The God of their Forefathers; but so 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 serve
Their enemies, who serve Idols with God.
Yet he at length, time to himself best known,
Remembring Abraham, by some wondrous call
May bring them back repentant and fincere,
And at their passing cleave th' Affyrian food,
While to their native land with joy they haste;
As the Red Sea and Jordan once he cleft,
When to the promis'd land their Fathers pass'd;
To his due time and providence I leave them.
So spake Ifrael's true King, and to the Fiend
Made answer meet, that made void all his wiles.
So fares it when with truth falfhood contends.
The end of the Third Book,
Erplex'd and troubled at his bad success
The Tempter stood, 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 so much on Eve, 5
So little here, nay lost; but Eve was Eve,
This far his over-match, who felf-deceiv'd
And rafh, before-hand had no better weigh'd!
The strength he was to cope with or his own:
But as a man who had been matchless held
In cunning, over-reach'd where leaft he thought,
To save his credit, and for very spight
Still will be tempting him who foyls him ftill,
And never cease, though to his shame the more;
Or as a swarm of flies in vintage-time,
About the wine-press where sweet most is pour'd,
Beat off, returns as oft with humming found;
Or furging waves against a solid rock,
Though all to shivers dash'd, th'affault renew,
|