PARADISE REGAIN'D.

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O fpake the Son of God, and Satan stood A while as mute confounded what to fay, What to reply, confuted and convinc`d Of his weak arguing, and fallacious drift ; At length collecting all his ferpent wiles, With foothing words renew`d, him thus accofts. I fee thou know'ft what is of ufe to know, What beft to fay can't say, to do can't do ; Thy actions to thy words accord, thy words To thy large heart give utterance due, thy heart 10 Contains of good, wife, juft, the perfect shape. Should kings and nations from thy mouth confult, Thy counsel would be as the oracle Urim and Thummim, thofe oraculous gems On Aaron's breaft; or tongue of feers old Infallible or wert thou fought to deeds That might require th' array of war, thy skill Of conduct would be fuch, that all the world Could not fuftain thy prowefs, or fubsist In battel, though against thy few in arms. These God-like virtues wherefore doft thou hide, Affecting private life, or more obfcure In favage wilderness ? wherefore deprive All earth her wonder at thy acts, thyfelf The fame and glory, glory the reward That fole excites to high attempts, the flame

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Of moft erected fpi'rits, moft temper'd pure
Ethereal, who all pleafures elfe defpife,
All treasures and all gain efteem as drofs,
And dignities and pow'rs all but the highest?
Thy years are ripe, and over-ripe; the fon
Of Macedonian Philip had ere these
Won Afia, and the throne of Cyrus held
At his difpofe; young Scipio had brought down
The Carthaginian pride; young Pompey quell'd 35
The Pontic king, and in triumph had rođe.
Yet years, and to ripe years judgment mature,
Quench not the thirit of glory, but augment.
Great Julius, whom now all the world admires,
The more he grew in years, the more inflam'd 40
With glory, wept that he had liv'd fo long
Inglorious but thou yet art not too late.

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To whom our Saviour calmly thus reply'd. Thou neither doft perfuade me to feek wealth For empire's fake, nor empire to affect For glory's fake by all thy argument. For what is glory but the blaze of fame, The peoples praife, if always praise unmix'd? And what the people but a herd confus'd, A mifcellaneous rabble, who extol [praife? Things vulgar, and well weigh'd, fearce worth the They praife, and they admire they know not what, And know not whom, but as one leads the other; And what delight to be by fuch extoll'd, To live upon their tongues and be their talk, Of whom to be difprais'd were no small praise ? His lot who dares be fingularly good. Th' intelligent among them and the wife Are few, and glory fcarce of few is rais'd. This is true glory and renown, when God Looking on th' earth, with approbation marks

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The just man, and divulges him through Heaven
To all his Angels, who with true applause
Recount his praises : thus he did to Job,
When to extend his fame through Heav'n and Earth,
As thou to thy reproach may'st well remember, 66
He afk'd thee, Haft thou feen my fervant Job?
Famous he was in Heav'n, on Earth lefs known;
Where glory is false glory, attributed

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To things not glorious, men not worthy' of fame.
They err who count it glorious to fubdue
By conqueft far and wide, to over-run
Large countries, and in field great battels win,
Great cities by affault: what do thefe worthies,
But rob and spoil, burn, flaughter, and inflave 75
Peaceable nations, neighb'ring, or remote,
Made captive, yet deferving freedom more
Than those their conquerors, who leave behind
Nothing but ruin wherefoe'er they rove,
And all the florishing works of peace destroy,
Then fwell with pride, and muft be titled Gods,
Great Benefactors of mankind, Deliverers,
Worshipt with temple, priest and facrifice
One is the fon of Jove, of Mars the other;
Till conqu'ror Death discover them fcarce men, 85
Rolling in brutish vices, and deform'd,
Violent or fhameful death their due reward.
But if there be in glory ought of good,
It may by means far different be attain'd
Without ambition, war, or violence;
By deeds of peace, by wisdom eminent,
By patience, temperance: I mention still
Him whom thy wrongs with faintly patience borne
Made famous in a land and times obfcure;
Who names not now with honor patient Job? 95
Poor Socrates (who next more memorable ?)

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By what he taught and fuffer'd for fo doing,
For truth's fake fuffering death, unjust, lives now
Equal in fame to proudest conquerors.
Yet if for fame and glory ought be done,
Ought fuffer'd; if young African for fame
His wafted country freed from Punic rage,
The deed becomes unprais'd, the man at least,
And loses, though but verbal, his reward.
Shall I feek glory then, as vain men feek,
Oft not deferv'd? I feek not mine, but his
Who fent me', and thereby witness whence I am.

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To whom the Tempter murm'ring thus reply'd. Think not fo flight of glory; therein least Refembling thy great Father: he feeks glory, 110 And for his glory all things made, all things Orders and governs; nor content in Heaven By all his Angels glorify'd, requires Glory from men, from all men good or bad, Wife or unwife, no difference, no exemption; 115 Above all facrifice, or hallow'd gift Glory' he requires, and glory he receives Promifcuous from all nations, Jew, or Greek, Or barbarous, nor exception hath declar'd; From us his foes pronounc'd glory' he exacts. 120 To whom our Saviour fervently reply'd. And reafon; fince his word all things produc'd, Though chiefly not for glory as prime end, But to fhow forth his goodness, and impart His good communicable to every foul Freely; of whom what could he lefs expect Than glory' and benediction, that is thanks, The flighteft, cafieft, readiest recompenfe From them who could return him nothing else, And not returning that would likelieft render 130 Contempt instead, difhonor, obloquy?

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Hard recompenfe, unsuitable return
For fo much good, fo much beneficence.
But why fhould man feek glory, who of his own
Hath nothing, and to whom nothing belongs 135
But condemnation, ignominy', and shame?
Who for fo many benefits receiv'd
Turn'd recreant to God, ingrate and false,
And fo of all true good himself defpoil'd,
Yet, facrilegious, to himself would take
That which to God alone of right belongs;
Yet fo much bounty is in God, fuch grace,
That who advance his glory, not their own,
Them he himself to glory will advance.

So fpake the Son of God; and here again
Satan had not to anfwer, but stood ftruck
With guilt of his own fin, for he himself
Infatiable of glory had loft all,
Yet of another plea bethought him foon.

Of glory, as thou wilt, faid he, fo deem,
Worth or not worth the feeking, let it pass:
But to a kingdom thou art born, ordain'd
To fit upon thy father David's throne;
By mother's fide thy father; though thy right.
Be now in pow'rful hands, that will not part 155
Eafily from poffeflion won with arms:
Judæa now and all the promis'd land,
Reduc'd a province under Roman yoke,
Obeys Tiberius; nor is always rul'd
With temp'rate fway; oft have they violated 160
The temple, oft the law with foul affronts,
Abominations rather, as did once
Antiochus and think'ft thou to regain
Thy right by fitting ftill or thus retiring?
So did not Maccabeus: he indeed
Retir'd unto the defert, but with arms;

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