When Agrican, with all his northern powers, The city of Gallaphrone, from thence to win His daughter, sought by many prowest knights, 340 On no slight grounds thy safety, hear and mark To what end I have brought Thee hither, and show 350 All this fair sight. Thy kingdom, though foretold Between two such enclosing 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 invasion to annoy Thy country, and captive lead away her kings, Maugre the Roman. It shall be my task To render Thee the Parthian at dispose, Choose which Thou wilt, by conquest or by league. 360 370 Whose offspring in his territory yet serve Shalt reign, and Rome or Cæsar not need fear." To whom our Saviour answered thus, unmoved :— "Much ostentation vain of fleshly arm And fragile arms, much instrument of war, When that comes, think not thou to find Me slack 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 Israel's sons! 380 390 400 But whence to thee this zeal? Where was it then For Israel, or for David, or his throne, When thou stood'st up his tempter to the pride Of numbering Israel-which cost the lives 410 By three days' pestilence? Such was thy zeal As for those captive tribes, themselves were they Besides their other worse than heathenish crimes; Nor in the land of their captivity Humbled themselves, or penitent besought Like to themselves, distinguishable scarce Who, freed, as to their ancient patrimony, Headlong would follow, and to their gods perhaps 420 430 440 BOOK IV. THE ARGUMENT. Satan, persisting in the temptation of our Lord, shows Him imperial Rome in its greatest splendour, and tells Him that He might, with the greatest ease, expel Tiberius, restore the Romans to their liberty, and make Himself master not only of the Roman empire, but, by so doing, of the whole world, and inclusively of the throne of David. Our Lord, in reply, expresses His contempt of grandeur and worldly power, and notices the luxury, vanity, and profligacy of the Romans, declaring how little they merited to be restored to that liberty which they had lost by their misconduct. Satan, now desperate, to enhance the value of his proffered gifts, professes that the only terms on which he will bestow them, are our Saviour's falling down and worshipping him. Our Lord expresses a firm but .emperate indignation at such a proposition, and rebukes the tempter. Satan then assumes a new ground of temptation, and, proposing to Jesus the intellectual gratifications of wisdom and knowledge, points out to Him the celebrated seat of ancient learning, Athens, its schools, and other various resorts of learned teachers and their disciples. Jesus replies, by showing the vanity and insufficiency of the boasted heathen philosophy. Satan, irritated at the failure of all his attempts, upbraids the indiscretion of our Saviour in rejecting his offers: and, having foretold the sufferings that our Lord was to undergo, carries Him back into the wilderness, and leaves Him there. Night comes on: Satan raises a tremendous storm, and attempts further to alarm Jesus with frightful dreams, and terrific threatening spectres. A calm, bright, beautiful morning succeeds to the horrors of the night. Satan again presents himself to our blessed Lord; and takes occasion, once more, to insult Him with an account of the sufferings which He was certainly to undergo. This only draws from our Lord a brief rebuke. Satan, now at the height of his desperation, confesses that he had frequently watched Jesus from His birth, purposely to discover if He was the Messiah, and assiduously followed Him, in hopes of gaining some advantage over Him, which would most effectually prove that He was not really that Divine Person destined to be his "fatal enemy.' this he acknowledges that he has hitherto failed; but still determines to make one more trial. Accordingly he conveys Him to the Temple at Jerusalem; and, placing Him on a pointed eminence, requires Him to prove His divinity either by standing there, or casting Himself down with safety. Our Lord reproves the tempter, and manifests His own divinity by standing on this dangerous point. Satan, amazed and terrified, instantly falls, and repairs to his infernal compeers to relate the bad success of his enterprise. Angels convey our blessed Lord to a beautiful valley, and, while they minister to Him a repast of celestial food, celebrate His victory in a triumphant hymn PERPLEXED and troubled at his bad success, In That sleeked his tongue, and won so much on Eve In cunning, over-reached where least he thought, About the wine-press where sweet must is poured, Though all to shivers dashed, the assault renew, He brought our Saviour to the western side ΙΟ 20 To equal length backed with a ridge of hills That screened the fruits of the earth and seats of men 30 From cold septentrion blasts; thence in the midst On each side an imperial city stood, 40 |