They iffue forth, fteel bows, and fhafts their arms, 305
Of equal dread in flight, or in pursuit ;
All horfemen, in which fight they most excel;
See how in warlike mufter they appear,
In rhombs, and wedges, and half-moons, and wings.
He look'd, and faw what numbers numberless
The city-gates out-pour'd, light-armed troops
In coats of mail and military pride;
In mail their horfes clad, yet fleet and strong,
Prancing their riders bore, the flow'r and choice.
Of many provinces from bound to bound;
From Arachofia, from Candaor east,
And Margiana to the Hyrcanean cliffs.
Of Caucafus, and dark Iberian dales,
From Atropatia and the neighb'ring plains
Of Adiabene, Media, and the fouth
Of Sufiana, to Balfara's haven.
He faw them in their forms of battle rang'd,
How quick they wheel'd, and fly'ing behind them fhot
Sharp fleet of arrowy fhow'rs 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
Cuiraffiers all in fteel for ftanding fight;
Chariots or elephants indors'd with tow'rs
Of archers, nor of lab'ring pioneers
A multitude with fpades and axes arm'd,
To lay hills plain, fell woods, or valleys 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 utensils of war.
Such forces met not, nor fo wide a camp,
When Agrican, with all his northern powers.
Befieg'd Albraca, as romances tell,
The city' of Gallaphrone, from thence to win
The fairest of her fex Angelica
His daughter, fought by many prowest knights,
Both Paynim, and the peers of Charlemain.
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 every way fecure
On no flight grounds thy fafety; hear, and mark
To what end I have brought thee hither, and shown 350.
All this fair fight: thy kingdom though foretold
By prophet or by angel, unlefs thou
Endeavour, as thy father David did,
Thou never shalt obtain; prediction ftill
In all things, and all men, fuppofes means ;
Without means us'd, what it predicts revokes.
But fay thou wert poffefs'd of David's throne
By free confent of all, none oppofite,
Samaritan or Jew; how couldft thou hope
Long to enjoy it quiet and fecure,
Between two fuch inclofing enemies
Roman and Parthian? therefore one of thefe
Thou must make sure thy own, the Parthiau first
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 tafk
To render thee the Parthian at difpofe ;
Choose which thou wilt by conqueft or by league. 370
By him thou fhalt regain, without him not,
That which alone can truly reinstal thee
In David's royal feat, his true fucceffor,
Deliverance of thy brethren, thofe ten tribes
Whofe offspring in his territory yet serve,
In Habor, and among the Medes difpers'd;
Ten fons of Jacob, two of Jofeph, lost
Thus long from Ifrael, ferving as of old
Their fathers in the land of Egypt ferv'd,
This offer fets before thee to deliver."
Thefe if from fervitude thou shalt reftore
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 anfwer'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' haft fet; and in my
Vented much policy, and projects deep
Of enemies, of aids, battles and leagues,
Plaufible to the world, to me worth nought.
Means I muft ufe thou fay'ft, prediction elfe
Will unpredict and fail me of the throne:
My time I told thee (and 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 ought endeav'ring, or to need
Thy politick maxims, or that cumbersome
Luggage of war there fhown 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 fceptre fway
But whence to thee this zeal, where was it then
To juft extent over all Ifrael's fons;
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 threescore and ten thousand Ifraelites
By three days peftilence? fuch 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 Ashtaroth,
And all th' idolatries of heathen round,
Befides their other worse than heath'nish crimes;
Nor in the land of their captivity
Humbled themfelves, or penitent befought
The God of their forefathers; 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,
Unhumbled, unrepentant, unreform'd,
Headlong would 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,
Rememb'ring 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 haste,
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 wiles.
So fares it when with truth falfehood contends.
End of Book THIRD.
ERPLEX'D and troubled at his bad fuccefs
The tempter flood, nor had what to reply;
Discover'd in his fraud, thrown from his hope
So oft, and the perfuafive rhetorick
That fleek'd his tongue, and won fo much on Eve, 5
So little here, nay loft: but Eve was Eve,
This far his over-match, who felf-deceiv'd..
And rafh, beforehand had no better weigh'd
The strength he was to cope with, or his own.
But as a man who had been matchlefs held
In cunning, over-reach'd where least he thought,
To falve his credit, and for very spite,
Still will be tempting him who foils 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,
Vain batt'ry, and in froth or bubbles end:
So Satan, whom repulfe upon repulfe
Met ever, and to fhameful filence brought,
Yet gives not o'er, tho' defp'rate of success,
And his vain importunity purfues.
He brought our Saviour to the western fide
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