Yet, sacrilegious, to himself would take That which to God alone of right belongs?
Yet so much bounty is in God, such grace, That who advances his glory, not their own, Them he himself to glory will advance."
So spake the Son of God; and here again Satan had not to answer, but stood struck With guilt of his own sin--for he himself, Insatiable of glory, had lost all;
Yet of another plea bethought him soon:--
"Of glory, as thou wilt," said he, "so deem;
Worth or not worth the seeking, let it pass.
But to a Kingdom thou art born--ordained To sit upon thy father David's throne, By mother's side thy father, though thy right Be now in powerful hands, that will not part Easily from possession won with arms.
Judaea now and all the Promised Land, Reduced a province under Roman yoke, Obeys Tiberius, nor is always ruled With temperate sway: oft have they violated The Temple, oft the Law, with foul affronts, Abominations rather, as did once Antiochus. And think'st thou to regain Thy right by sitting still, or thus retiring?
So did not Machabeus. He indeed Retired unto the Desert, but with arms;
And o'er a mighty king so oft prevailed That by strong hand his family obtained, Though priests, the crown, and David's throne usurped, With Modin and her suburbs once content.
If kingdom move thee not, let move thee zeal And duty--zeal and duty are not slow, But on Occasion's forelock watchful wait:
They themselves rather are occasion best--
Zeal of thy Father's house, duty to free Thy country from her heathen servitude.
So shalt thou best fulfil, best verify, The Prophets old, who sung thy endless reign--
The happier reign the sooner it begins.
Rein then; what canst thou better do the while?"
To whom our Saviour answer thus returned:--
"All things are best fulfilled in their due time;
And time there is for all things, Truth hath said.
If of my reign Prophetic Writ hath told That it shall never end, so, when begin The Father in his purpose hath decreed--
He in whose hand all times and seasons rowl.
What if he hath decreed that I shall first Be tried in humble state, and things adverse, By tribulations, injuries, insults, Contempts, and scorns, and snares, and violence, Suffering, abstaining, quietly expecting Without distrust or doubt, that He may know What I can suffer, how obey? Who best Can suffer best can do, best reign who first Well hath obeyed--just trial ere I merit My exaltation without change or end.
But what concerns it thee when I begin My everlasting Kingdom? Why art thou Solicitous? What moves thy inquisition?
Know'st thou not that my rising is thy fall, And my promotion will be thy destruction?"
To whom the Tempter, inly racked, replied:--
"Let that come when it comes. All hope is lost Of my reception into grace; what worse?
For where no hope is left is left no fear.
If there be worse, the expectation more Of worse torments me than the feeling can.
I would be at the worst; worst is my port, My harbour, and my ultimate repose, The end I would attain, my final good.
My error was my error, and my crime My crime; whatever, for itself condemned, And will alike be punished, whether thou Reign or reign not--though to that gentle brow Willingly I could fly, and hope thy reign, From that placid aspect and meek regard, Rather than aggravate my evil state, Would stand between me and thy Father's ire (Whose ire I dread more than the fire of Hell)
A shelter and a kind of shading cool Interposition, as a summer's cloud.
If I, then, to the worst that can be haste, Why move thy feet so slow to what is best?
Happiest, both to thyself and all the world, That thou, who worthiest art, shouldst be their King!
Perhaps thou linger'st in deep thoughts detained Of the enterprise so hazardous and high!
No wonder; for, though in thee be united What of perfection can in Man be found, Or human nature can receive, consider Thy life hath yet been private, most part spent At home, scarce viewed the Galilean towns, And once a year Jerusalem, few days' Short sojourn; and what thence couldst thou observe?
The world thou hast not seen, much less her glory, Empires, and monarchs, and their radiant courts--
Best school of best experience, quickest in sight In all things that to greatest actions lead.
The wisest, unexperienced, will be ever Timorous, and loth, with novice modesty (As he who, seeking asses, found a kingdom)
Irresolute, unhardy, unadventrous.
But I will bring thee where thou soon shalt quit Those rudiments, and see before thine eyes The monarchies of the Earth, their pomp and state--
Sufficient introduction to inform Thee, of thyself so apt, in regal arts, And regal mysteries; that thou may'st know How best their opposition to withstand."
With that (such power was given him then), he took The Son of God up to a mountain high.
It was a mountain at whose verdant feet A spacious plain outstretched in circuit wide Lay pleasant; from his side two rivers flowed, The one winding, the other straight, and left between Fair champaign, with less rivers interveined, Then meeting joined their tribute to the sea.
Fertil of corn the glebe, of oil, and wine;
With herds the pasture thronged, with flocks the hills;
Huge cities and high-towered, that well might seem The seats of mightiest monarchs; and so large The prospect was that here and there was room For barren desert, fountainless and dry.
To this high mountain-top the Tempter brought Our Saviour, and new train of words began:--
"Well have we speeded, and o'er hill and dale, Forest, and field, and flood, temples and towers, Cut shorter many a league. Here thou behold'st Assyria, and her empire's ancient bounds, Araxes and the Caspian lake; thence on As far as Indus east, Euphrates west, And oft beyond; to south the Persian bay, And, inaccessible, the Arabian drouth:
Here, Nineveh, of length within her wall Several days' journey, built by Ninus old, Of that first golden monarchy the seat, And seat of Salmanassar, whose success Israel in long captivity still mourns;
