THE LIFE OF OUR Blessed Lord & Saviour JESUS CHRIST.  
AN HEROIC POEM: DEDICATED TO Her Most Sacred MAJESTY.  
In Ten Books.  
ATTEMPTED BY SAMUEL WESLEY, Rector of South-Ormsby in the County of Lincoln.  
Each Book illustrated by necessary Notes, explaining all the more difficult Matters in the whole History: Also a Prefatory Discourse concerning Heroic Poetry.  
With Sixty Copper-Plates.  
LONDON▪ Printed for Charles Harper, at the Flower-de-Luce, over against S. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet, and 〈…〉 in Aldersgatestreet. 1693.   


SALVATOR MUNDI.    

THE LIFE OF Christ.  
An Heroic Poem.  
In Ten BOOKS with sixty Copper Plates.  
London: Printed for Charles Harper, & B●nj Motte.   

TO Her most Sacred MAJESTY MARY, By the Grace of GOD, QUEEN OF Great Britain, France and Ireland, etc.  
THIS POEM Is most humbly Dedicated  
BY Her Majesty's most Loyal, Most Obedient, And most Dutiful Subject and Servant, S. Wesley.   

THE PREFACE, Being an ESSAY on HEROIC-POETRY.  
A Just Heroic-Poem is so vast an Undertaking, requires so much both of Art and Genius for its Management, and carries such Difficulty in the Model of the whole, and Disposition of the several Parts, that it's no Wonder, if not above One or Two of the Ancients, and hardly any of the Moderns have succeeded in their Attempts of this Nature. Rapine and other Masters of Epic, represent it as an Enterprise so hardy, that it can scarce enter into the Mind of a wise Man, without affrighting him, as being the most perfect Piece of Work that Art can produce. That Author has many excellent Reflections and Rules concerning it in his Discourse, Sur la Poetic; but Bossu is the first I've seen who has writ a just and perfect Tract thereon, wherein he has in a clear and Scholastic Method amassed together most that's to be found in Antiquity on that Subject, though chiefly keeping to the Observations of Aristotle, which he drew from Homer, and who seems the first that reduced Poetry to an Art. That Father defines Epic, An Artificial Discourse, in order to form the Manners by Instructions, disguised under the Allegories of some one important Action, recited in Verse, in a manner probable diverting and admirable, which he thus himself abridges, 'Tis a Fable agreeably imitated on some important Action, recited in Verse in a manner that's probable and admirable: In which Definition are contained, as he afterwards explains it, the general Nature of Epic, and that double, Fable and Poem: The Matter, some one important Action probably feigned and imitated: It's Form, Recitation or Narration: And lastly, its End, Instruction, which is aimed at in general by the Moral of the Fable; and besides in the particular Manners of the Persons who make the most considerable Figure in the Work.  
To begin with Fable, which he makes included in the general Nature or Essence of Epic. This he says is the most essential Part of it; That some Fables and Allegories scattered up and down in a Poem don't suffice to constitute Epic, if they are only the Ornaments, and not the very Foundation of it. And again, That 'tis the very Fund and principal Action that ought to be Feigned and Allegorical: For which reason he expressly excludes hence all simple Histories, as by Name, Lucan's Pharsalia, Silius Italicus' Puni● War, and all true Actions of particular Persons, without Fable: And still more home; that 'tis not a Relation of the Actions of any Hero, to form the Manners by his Example, but on the contrary, a Discourse invented to form the Manners by the Relation of some one feigned Action, designed to please, under the borrowed Name of some illustrious Person, of whom Choice is made after we have framed the Plan of the Action which we design to attribute to him.  
Nor indeed is Bossu singular in his Judgement on this Matter, there being few or none who have ever writ on the same Subject, but are of the same mind: For thus Boile●u in his Art of Poetry, 
Dans la vast recit d' une longue action  
Se soutient par la Fable & vit de Fiction.  Which his Translator I think better; 
In the Narration of some great Design,  
Invention, Art, and Fable, all must join.   
Rapine too gives his Vote on the same side, Rien n'est, says he, plus essentiel, au Poem Epique, que la Fiction; and quotes Petronius to that purpose, Per ambages, Deorumque ministeria praecipitandus est Liber Spiritus. Nor is't only the Moderns who are of this Opinion; for the Iliads are called in Horace, Fabula quâ Paridis, etc. And lastly, even Aristotle himself tells us, That Fable is the principal thing in an Heroic Poem; and, as it were, the very Soul of it. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And upon this occasion commends Homer for lying with the best Grace of any Man in the World: Authorities almost too big to admit any Examination of their Reason, or Opposition to their Sentiments. However, I see no cause why Poetry should not be brought to the Test, as well as Divinity, or any more than the other, be believed on its own bare ipse divit.  
Let us therefore examine the Plan which they lay for a Work of this Nature, and then we may be better able to guests at those Grounds and Reasons on which they proceed.  
In forming an Heroic-Poem, the first thing they tell us we ought to do, is to pitch on some Moral Truth, which we desire to enforce on our Reader, as the Foundation of the whole Work. Thus Virgil, as Bossu observes, designing to render the Roman People pleased and easy under the new Government of Augustus, laid down this Maxim, as the Foundation of his Divine Aeneis: That great and notable Changes of State are not accomplished but by the Order and Will of God: That those who oppose themselves against them are impious, and frequently punished as they deserve; and that Heaven is not wanting to take that Hero always under its particular Protection, whom it chooses for the Execution of such grand Designs. This for the Moral Truth; we must then, he says, go on to lay the general Plan of the Fiction, which, together with that Verity, makes the Fable and Soul of the Poem: And this he thinks Virgil did in this manner, The Gods save a great Prince from the Ruins of his Country, and choose him for the Preservation of Religion, and re-establishing a more glorious Empire than his former. The Hero is made a King, and arriving at his new Country, finds both God and Men disposed to receive him: But a neighbouring Prince, whose Eyes Ambition and jealousy have closed against justice and the Will of Heaven, opposes his Establishment, being assisted by another King despoiled of his Estate for his Cruelty and Wickedness. Their Opposition, and the War on which this pious Prince is forced, tender his Establishment more just by the Right of Conquest, and more glorious by his Victory and the Death of his Enemies. These are his own Words, as any may see who are at the pains to consult him; nor can I help it, if either Virgil or Bossu happen to be Prophets.  
When the Poet has proceeded thus far, and as Bossu calls it, dressed his Project, he's next to search in History or received Fable, for some Hero, whose Name he may borrow for his Work, and to whom he may suit his Persons. These are Bossu's Notions, and, indeed, very agreeable to Aristotle, who says, that Persons and Actions in this sort of Poetry must be feigned, allegorical, and universal.  
This is the Platform they lay; and let's now see if we can discover the Reasons whereon they found these Rules, being so unanimous for Fable rather than true History, as the Matter of an Heroic-Poem; and, if I mistake not, these are some of the principal.  

1. Because they had observed the best Models of Heroic-Poems were laid after this manner; the greatest part of the Action both in Homer and Virgil being pure Fable. Homer beginning, and all the rest following his Steps.  
2. Because no single Hero, or true History, which the Ancients knew was sufficient, without Fable, to furnish Matter for an Epic-Poem. History, says Aristotle, treats of particular Things as they really are; Poetry, as they ought to be; and therefore he prefers Poetry as the more grave and more instructive; the Poets being forced to follow the same Methods with their Kindred Art, that of the Painters, and gather a great many Beauties together, out of 'em all, to steal one Venus.  
3. A third Reason may be, because, supposing they should have found some one Example from whence to enforce strongly any particular Point of Morality, yet it would have missed those other Characters of Epic, most of its Agreeableness, and all its Power to raise Admiration. A chaste Historian must not go about to amuse his Reader with Machine's; and a Poet that would imitate him, must have been forced to thin his Stage accordingly, and disband all his glorious Train of Gods and Goddesses, which composes all that's admirable in his Work; according to that of Boileau; Chaque Virtue devient une divinity.   
And these, if I mistake not, were the main Reasons on which the forementioned Rules were grounded. Let's now inquire into the Strength and Validity of them: To begin with Homer, he wrote in that manner, because most of the ancient Eastern Learning, the Original of all others, was Mythology. But this being now antiquated, I cannot think we are obliged superstitiously to follow his Example, any more than to make Horses speak, as he does that of Achilles. 2. If a Poet lights on any single Hero, whose true Actions and History are as important as any that Fable ever did or can produce, I see no reason why he may not as well make use of him and his Example to form the Manners and enforce any Moral Truth, as seek for one in Fable for that purpose: Nay, he can scarce fail of persuading more strongly, because he has Truth itself; the other but the Image of Truth, especially if his History be, in the third place, of itself diverting and admirable. If it has from its own Fund, and already made to his hand those Deorum Ministeria, which cost the Poet so much in the forming 'em out of his own Brain. Nor can we suppose Fiction itself pleases; no, 'tis the agreeable and the admirable, in the Dress of Truth; and such a Plan as this would effectually answer both the Ends of Poetry in general, delectari & monere, nay come up fuller to the End of Epic, which is agreeable Instruction; and thence it follows strongly, that a Poem wrote in such a manner, must, notwithstanding the foregoing Rules, be a true and proper Heroic-Poem, especially if adorned with Poetical Colours and Circumstances through the whole Body thereof.  
Now that all this is not gratis dictum, I think I can prove, even from most of those very Authors Ive already produced, as of the contrary Opinion; and that I can make it appear, Bossu goes too far in fixing Fable as the Essential Fund and Soul of the principal Action in an Epic Poem. To begin with Rapine, who has this Passage, Sur la Poetic, Reflex. 5. La Poesy Heroic, etc. Heroic Poesy, according to Aristotle, is a Picture or Imitation of an Heroic Action; and the Qualities of the Action are, That it ought to be (among others) true, or at least, such as might pass for true: Thus he. And hence it follows, according to him and Aristotle, that the principal Action in Heroic, not only aught to pass for Truth, but may be really true: For Horace, he does indeed call the Iliads a Fable; but then he does not oblige his Poet superstitiously to follow Homer in every thing, owning that he sometimes dotes as well as other Men: Further, this may, and I think does, refer rather to the Dress and Turn of the Action, than to the Bottom and Ground of his History, which there's at least as much, if not more reason to believe true than false: And in the same Sense may we take Petronius and Boileau; nay, if we don't take 'em thus, I can't tell whether there were ever such a thing as a true Heroic-Poem in the World; not so much as the Fairy-Queen, Gondibert, or Orlando Furioso; all which have Fable enough in 'em of any reason; but their principal Actions might be still true, as we are sure was that of the best Heroic that ever was written; (I need not say I mean Virgil) since few or no Authors ever denied that there was such a Man as Aeneas, or even that he came into Italy, built Cities there, and erected a Kingdom, which Tully mentions, as a generally received Tradition in those Parts, and which it seems he thought not frivolous, but true and solid; otherwise he'd scarce have given it a place in his Argument for his Client. Of this Opinion too seems Horace himself, in his Art of Poetry, namely, That there's no necessity of the principal Action's being feigned; for his Direction is, Aut famam sequere, aut sibi convenientia finge; Either follow Tradition or Fame, or else feign what's agreeable thereunto. He makes not feigning essential to Heroic-Action, but gives leave to follow Fame, who is not so great a Liar, but that she is sometimes in the right. Nay, what if we should after all have Bossu himself of our side, which I'm mistaken if he be not; for these are his Expressions, Lib. 1. Cap. 7. Le Fiction, etc. The Fiction may be so disguised under the Verity of the History, that those who are ignorant of the Art of the Poet, may believe it not a Fiction; and to make the Disguisement well, he ought to search into History for the Names of some Persons, to whom such an Action has probably or truly happened, etc. Hence 'tis evident, that according to Bossus own Notion, the main Action may be true; which appears even from Aristotle himself, as quoted by him, 97. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. An Author is not lesle a Poet, because the Incidents he recites have truly happened; if so be that which happened had the appearance of Truth, and all that Art demands, and be really such as it ought to have been feigned. And this Bossu himself illustrates admirably well by an ingenious Simile; A Statuary, says he, first forms his Design, Posture, Altitudes which he intends for his Image; but if he than lights on any precious Material, Agate, or such like, where the Figure, the Colours, and Veins will not be accommodated to all he designed, he regulates his design and Imagination according to his Matter; nor ought we to believe, at the same time that these singular lucky Hits condemn the justness of his Art. From all which I must leave it to the Reader, whether I han't sufficiently proved what I've undertaken; that Fiction is not necessary to the principal Action of our Heroic-Poem; on which I've been something more large, not so much on my own account; for 'tis indifferent to me by what Name any Man calls my Poem, so it answers the great End of Epic, which is Instruction; but because I've heard some Persons have been so conceited as to criticise on our immortal Cowley for this very reason, and deny his Davideis the Honour of being an Heroic-Poem, because the Subject thereof is a true History.  
And here I should drop the Discourse of Fable, were there not another sort of Persons still to deal with, perhaps more importunate that the former: The first will not like a Piece unless 'tis all Fable, or at least the Foundation of it: These latter run into the contrary extreme, and seem unwilling or afraid to admit any thing of Fable in a Christian Poem; and as Balzak in his Critics on Heinsius his Baptista, are frighted, as at some Magical Charm, if they find but one Word there which was made use of by the old Heathens; which, says he, (unluckily as things have since happened) is as preposterous as to see Turks wear Hats, and Frenchmen Turbans; the Flower-de lis in the Musselmens' Colours, or the Half-Moon on the Standard of France. He's, however, it must be granted, justly angry with Tasso, as Mr. Dryden since, for setting his Angels and Devils to stave and tail at one another; Allecto and Pluto on one side, and Gabriel and Raphael o' tother; as well as with Sannazarius, for mingling Proteus and David, and calling the Muses and Nymphs to the Labour of the Blessed Virgin. Thomas the truth is, the Italian Poets seem more excusable, at least to a Papist, in this Case, than any other Nation, who parted with as little of their Idolatry as they could possible, after they had kept it as long as they were able, making the Change very easy, and turning their Pantheon into an all Saints; much like the good Fathers in the Spanish Conquest in America, who suffer the Natives to keep their Old Idols, so they'll but pay for 'em, and get 'em christened; by this means making many a good Saint out of a very indifferent Devil. So far, I say, Balzack is undoubtedly in the right, that Christianity and Heathenism ought not to be confounded, nor the Pagan Gods mentioned, but as such, in Christian Poems. Of which Boileau also says, They should not be Filled with the Fictions of Idolatry; though he tells us just before, 
In vain have our mistaken Authors tried  
Those ancient Ornaments to lay aside.  As though he were afraid lest all Poets should be forced to turn Christians, and yet in the next Lines he thinks it full as bad; 
To fright the Reader in each Line with Hell,  
And talk of Satan, Ashtaroth and Bel.  As though he'd have no Christian to be a Poet. And much at the same rate is Monsieur Balzak very angry with Buchanan, for the same reason,; nor will he by any means let us substitute Belzebub, Asmodeus, and Leviathan, in the room of Allecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera, which is, in his Opinion, perfect Pedantism and Affectation; and is extremely afraid, lest any of those Barbarous Hebrew Words should disfigure the purity of the Latin Tongue; When surely he could not but know, that this pure Latin Tongue itself, for which he's so much concerned is nothing but the gradual Corruption or Barbarizing of the Greek; as that of the Phaenician and Hebrew before, and the Italian, and his own French too, from the Latin afterwards, by the adulterous mixture of 'tis hard to say how many Languages: So that between 'em, they'd make it impossible for a Christian Poet to write a good Heroic Poem, or even a Tragedy, on any, but profane Subjects; by taking away all the Machine's, and therein whatever is admirable. No, says Balzak, instead of those hard Words and proper Names, Appellatives may be chosen, Words common to all People: As for example, Ill luck instead of the Fates, and the Fowl-Fiend for Lucifer; and whether this would not sound extremely Heroical, I leave any Man to judge: It being besides certain, that 'tis singulars and particulars which give an Air of probability, and the main Life and Beauty to a Poem, especially of this Nature; without which it must of necessity sink and languish. However so much of Truth, I must confess, there is in what he says, that I verily believe Magor-missabib, or Mahershalalhashbaz, would scarce yoke decently in one of our Pentameters, but be near as unquiet and troublesome there, as a Mount Orgueil itself. Nor can partiality so far blind my Judgement as not to be myself almost frighted at second hearing of such a thundering Verse, as Belsamen Ashtaroth Bäaltii Ba'al: Which seems as flat Conjuration, as ⸫ Zinguebar, Oran, etc. though 'tis now too late to mend it. But then there are other Words of a more soft and treatable Cadence, even in the same Hebrew Language, especially when mollified by a Latin or Greek Form, or Termination; and such as these one may make use of and let others alone: though neither is our bolder rougher Tongue so much affrighted at them, as the French and Latin.  
But Boileau bushes the Objection further, and would make it bear against the Things as well as Words, persuading himself, 
Our God and Prophets that he sent,  
Can't act like those the Poets did invent.  Thomas he too is short in History, how excellent soever in Poetry. For first, the Heathen Poets did not invent the Names of their Gods and Heroes, but had 'em from Eastern Tradition, and the Phaenician and jewish Language, though deflected and disguised after the Greek and other Forms, as josephus tells us, which the learned Bochart has proved invincibly; and I have made some Essay towards it, in my Sixth Book. Nay further, it seems plain to me, that most, even of their best Fancies and Images, as well as Names, were borrowed from the Ancient Hebrew Poetry and Divinity, as were there room for't, I could I think, tender more than probable, in all the most celebrated Strokes of Homer, most of the Heathen Poetical Fables, and even in Hesiod's blind Theogonia. Their Gods or Devils, which you please, were not near as ancient as the Hebrews. The word Satan is as ancient as job; nor can they show us a Pluto within a long while of him. Ashtaroth, and Astarte, are old enough to be Grandmothers to their Isis, or Venus, and Bell, of the same standing with Idolatry. Lawful it must certainly be, to use these very Heathen Gods in Christian, since they were used in sacred Hebrew Poetry, in due place, and in a due manner; Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, says Isaiah. And what a noble Description has the same Prophet of the Fall of Lucifer? Nor can I see why it may not be as convenient and agreeable, as 'tis lawful to transplant 'em from Hebrew Poetry to our own, if we use 'em as they did. And then for Angels, Prophets, and Oracles, it would be strange if they should not strike the mind as agreeably when real and true, as the Daemons, or Oracles, or Prophets of the Heathens, formed, as has been said, partly from mistaken fragments, or Traditions of sacred Story, partly indeed from the Juggles of the Heathen Priests, and crafty Ambitious Daemons. On the whole, we have all the advantages they had, and yet more than they, for Heroic Poetry in these matters. As for that Question of Boileau's, What pleasure can it be to hear, the howl of repining Lucifer: I think 'tis easier to answer than to find out what show of Reason he had for ask it, or why Lucifer mayn't howl as pleasantly, as either Cerberus, or Enceladus. And let any one read but his Speech, in Milton's Paradise, almost equalled in Mr. Dryden's State of Innocence, and I'm mistaken if he's not of the same mind; or if he be not, and it gives him no pleasure, I dare affirm 'tis for want of a true taste of what's really admirable.  
But Boileau comes to a stronger Objection, both against the Names and use of these Daemons, by way of Machine, I mean, in Christian Poetry; 
The Mysteries we Christians must believe  
Disdain such shifting Pageants to receive.  Thus has his Translator turned him; and taking it in that Sense, the meaning must be, that it disgraces Christianity, to mix its Mysteries with stories of Daemons, Angels, etc. But sure it can never be any disgrace, to represent it really as it is, with the frequent Intervention of those invisible and powerful Agents, both good and evil, in the Affairs of Mankind, which our Saviour has both asserted and demonstrated in his Gospel, both by Theory and Practice: Whence we learn, that there are really vast numbers of these Spirits; some tempting, or tormenting, others guarding and protecting Mortals: Nay, a subordination too among them, and that they are always vigilant, some for our Destruction, others for our Preservation, and that, as it seems, of every individual Man; and if this be true in general, I'm sure 'tis probable in particular: Nor can it be any disgrace to Christianity, to apply general Probabilities to particular Cases, or to mention these Daemons in Poetry any more than in Divinity.  
But indeed the Translator has here mended Boileau's Thought, or at least made it more plausible and defensible, though he has missed his Sense; for these are his Lines: 
De la foi d' une Christien les Mysteres terribles  
D' Ornemens egayés ne sont point susceptibles.  The plain English of which, I think is, That the terrible Mysteries of the Christian Faith, are not at all susceptible of these gayer Ornaments. I'll not be too Critical here, though methinks it's but an odd sort of Gaiety that's to be found in Tales of Hell; agreeable, I own, the most dreadful thing may be, if well managed in Poetry, but he can hardly ever make 'em gay without a very strong Catachresis. But though we let that pass, so must not what follows, wherein he further explains his Notion. L' Evangile, etc. 
The Gospel offers nothing to our Thoughts  
But Penitence and Punishments for Faults.  To which it may be first said, that supposing this true, and the Gospel did present nothing else, yet why mayn't Angels be used in it, to warn Sinners to that Repentance which we know they so much rejoice in; or Devils, to punish and torment the Guilty and Impious; as in the Case of Sceva's Son, and others. But yet further, as to the assertion itself, I know not what their Gospel offers, nor I believe are they better acquainted with what ours does; but we are sure 'tis far enough from being such a dismal melancholy thing as they represent it, since Immortality and Life are brought to light therein. We know that it gives us the noblest Examples, the most divine Law, the strongest, yet justest Passions, the most glorious Combats, and Friendships, and Sufferings, such as neither History or Fable could ever yet equal. It shows us a God really Descending, disrobed indeed of all his more dazzling and insupportable Glories, as our divine Herbert; but yet clothed with what has more of true Divinity, with Humility and Charity, and Patience, and Meekness and Innocence. Here's War, here's Love indeed; such as never was besides, or will be more. He loved our Dust and Clay, and even for us, single encountered all the Powers of Darkness, and yet more, his Almighty Father's anger. But I'll go no farther, lest the Reader should think I forget where I am. I must return to Boileau, whose strongest Objection is yet behind; Et de vos Fictions, etc. 
And mingling Falsehood with those Mysteries  
Would make our sacred Truths appear like Lies.  But I hope the Critic knew, that there is a fair difference between a mere Fiction, or Falsehood, and an instructive Parable or Fable, on one side, or a few more lively Poetical Colours on the other. To mingle Falsehoods, or dull Legendary Fictions, without either Life or Soul in 'em, with our Saviour's Blessed Gospel, nay make 'em, in some Sense, superior to it. This would indeed incline an Italian to be of the same Faith with his Countryman, that 'twas all Fabula Christi, in the worst Sense of the Word: But certainly expressing the Truth in Parables, and mingling these with the Mysteries of the Gospel, can't be thought to give it an Air of Fiction: nor dare any affirm it does so, without Blasphemy, since our Saviour has so often done it. Nor only these but deeper Allegories are thought to be made use of in the Christian Religion; for Example, the Throne and Temple of God in the Revelations, and the Description of the New jerusalem, with all its Gates and Foundations of Saphires and Emeralds, and that lovely Scheme of Trees and Rivers, worthy a Paradise: All this, I say, will scarcely be granted literal, and consequently must be all an Allegory; alluding partly to the Old jewish Church and Temple, partly to Ezekiel's Visionary Representation and Prophetical Paradise. Nor can it, I think, be justly reckoned more criminal, where we have any great instructive Example, which has been real matter of Fact, to expatiate thereon; adding suitable and proper Circumstances and Colours to the whole, especially when the History itself is but succinctly Related, and the Heads of things only left us. And this some great Men have thought was the Method of the Holy Penman himself, whoever he were, in that lovely ancient Poem of job; which that 'twas at the bottom a real History, few but Atheists deny; and yet 'tis thought some Circumstances might be amplified in the account we have left us, particularly the long Speeches between that Great Man and his Friends; though the main hinges of the Relation, his Person, Character, and Losses, the malice of the Devil, the behaviour of his Wife and Friends, nay even the Substance of their Discourses, as well as of that between God and him, and the wonderful Turn of his Affairs soon after: All this might, and did, truly happen. Or, if any amplification should be here denied, does not the Divine however every day, Paraphrase and Expatiate upon the Words of his Text, inverting their Method as he sees occasion, and yet is still thought unblamable. All the difference is, that he delivers what's probable, as only probable; whereas the Nature of Poetry requires, that such probable Amplifications as these, be wrought into the main Action, in such a manner, as if they had really happened; and without this, a man might Rhyme long enough, but ne'er could make a Poem, any more than this would have been one, had I begun with, Abraham begat Isaac, and so tagged on to the end of all the fourteen Generations, much as Nonnus has done with St. john, and yet often missed his Sense too, as Heinsius judges.  
But enough of Fable, and of those who would either reduce all Heroic Poetry unto it, or absolutely banish it thence.  
Next the Fable of Epics, the Poem is to be considered; which, after Bossu, is the other part of its general Nature, and shows the manner of handling it, comprehending Thoughts, Expressions and Verses; of which there need not much be said, since the most obvious to every Reader. The Thoughts must be clear, and just, and noble, and the Diction or Expression suited to them. The chief Difficulty, as Rapine observes, is to keep up the Sublime, which Virgil has done admirably, even in the meanest Subjects; and which Aristotle thinks may be best done by the judicious use of Metaphors. There aught to meet, according to him, Proportion in the Design, justness in the Thoughts, and Exactness in the Expression, to constitute an accomplished Heroic Poem; and the great Art of Thought and Expression lies in this, that they be natural and proper without Meanness, and sublime without a vicious Swelling and Affectation.  
The Matter is next in an Heroic Poem, which must be some one important Action; it must be important, Res gestae Regumque Ducumque, with Horace. It only speaks of Kings and Princes, says Rapine, by which he must mean that it chiefly and principally turns upon them: for both Virgil and Homer have occasion for Traitors, and Criers, and Beggars, nay even Swineherd's (in the Odysseys) and yet still more, of whole Armies, which can't be all composed of Kings and Princes. However, the more there is of these lower Walks in the Plan of a Design, the lesle Heroic it must appear, even in the Hands of the greatest Genius in Nature. Such a Genius, I think, was Homer's, and yet the Truth of this Assertion will be plain to any who compares his Odysseys with his Iliads; where he'll find, if 'tis not for want of Judgement, in the latter a very different Air from the former, in many places much more dead and languishing, and this which I have given, seems one probable Reason on't; not excluding that of Longinus, that Homer was then grown old, and besides too much of the Work was spent in Narration; to which may be added, that he here designed a wise and prudent rather than a brave and fight Hero; having wrought off most of the Edge and Fury of his Youthful Spirit and Fury in Achilles, as in Ulysses he expressed more of Age and judgement.  
This Action must be one and uniform: the Painture of one Heroic Action, says Rapine from Aristotle. It must be, as Bossu from Horace, simplex duntaxat & unum, that is, the principal Action on which the whole Work moves aught to be one, otherwise the whole will be confused; though there may be many Episodic Actions without making what Aristotle calls an Episodic Poem, which is, where the Actions are not necessarily or not probably linked to each other, and of such an irregular multiplication of Actions and Incidents. Bossu instances very pleasantly in Statius' Achileid; but he tells us there's also a regular and just Multiplication, without which 'twere impossible to find matter for so large a Poem, when as before it's so ordered that the Unity of the whole is not broken, and consequently divers Incidents it has bound together are not to be accounted different Actions and Fables, but only different Parts not finished, or entire of one Action or Fable entire or finished: and, agreeable to this Doctrine, Rapine blames Lucan's Episodes as too far-fetched, over-scholastic, and consisting purely of speculative Disputes on natural Causes whenever they came in his way, not being linked with the main Action, nor flowing naturally from it, nor tending to its Perfection.  
And in this Action, the Poet ought, as Rapine tells us, to invert the natural Order of things, not to begin with his Hero in the Cradle, and write his Annals instead of an Epic Poem, as Statius in his Achilleid, the Reason of which seems plain, because this would look more like History than Poetry. It's more agreeable, more natural, in some Sense, to be here unnatural; to bring in, by way of Recitation or Narration, what was first in order of time, at some distance from that time when it really happened, which makes the whole look unlike a dull formal Story, and gives more scope for handsome Turns and the Art of the Writer. Another Reason why a whole Life is not ordinarily a proper Subject for Epics, is, because many trivial Accidents must be therein recited; but if a Life can be found in which is nothing but what's diverting and wonderful, tending besides to the perfecting the main Action, and the Order of time reversed in the whole, the Case would be so much altered, that I think their Rules would not hold.  
For the Form of Epic, which comes next in view, 'tis agreed on all hands to be Recitation or Narration. Bossu says, the Persons are not at all to be introduced before the Eyes of the Spectators, acting by themselves without the Poet; not that he'd hereby exclude the Poet from introducing the persons telling their own Story, or some one of them that of the principal Hero: for great part of Epic is thus far Dramatic. And thus Virgil manages his second and third Books by way of Recitation, and that by his Hero himself, making him give Dido a long account of the Wars of Troy, and his own Actions, though thereby he falls into the Impropriety of commending himself, with a— sum pius Aeneas. Vida takes the same way of Recitation, wherein he employs two or three of his six Books; and Milton follows them both, though lesle naturally than either; for he introduces our Saviour, in his Paradise regained, repeating a great part of his own Life in Soliloquy, which way of Discourse includes, in a Wise Man especially, so much of Calmness and deep Reflection, that it seems improper for the great and noble Turn required in such a Work, unless in describing a Passion, where it may be more lively. All that they mean by not introducing the Parties, is not doing it as in a Tragedy: they are not to be brought in abruptly to tell their own Tale from the beginning, without the appearing Help of the Poet, as Actors in a true and proper Drama. And this Narration, says Rapine, should be simple and natural; but the greatest difficulty is, not to let its simplicity appear, lest it thence grow disagreeable, and the chiefest Art in this, consists in its Transitions, and all the delicate surprising Turns, which lead the Reader from one thing to another without his thinking whither he's going, or perceiving any Breach or so much as a passage between 'em; after all, the more Action there is in Epic, still the more Life there will be. A Poet may, I find, easily fall into Poorness of Thought by aiming too much at the Probability and neglecting the Admirable; whereby he loses that agreeableness which is a mixture of both. He ought then to take more care than some have done, not to keep himself too long behind the Scenes, and trust the Narration with another, which, without a great deal of Art and Pains, will take off much of the Life of the Work, as Longinus has already formerly observed.  
And here come in the Qualities of Narration, mentioned in our Definition, that it ought to be done in a manner probable, agreeable, and admirable; 'tis rendered probable by its Simplicity and Singularity, and admirable by the Grandeur of the Subject, the Figures and Machine's, or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, much more lawful here than in the Dramas; and lastly agreeable, as has been said, by a mixture of b●th.  
The last thing in our Definition, is, the End of Epic, indeed the first and principal which ought to be intended, and that's Instruction, not only, as Rapine thinks, of great Men, but of all. as in Virgil's Scheme, which we have already described; and this either by the principal Moral aimed at in the whole, or the Manners of particular Persons. Of Fable and Moral, I've already discoursed, and whether be the more lively and probable way to instruct, by that or History. But here it may be worth the while to inquire, whether the principal Hero in Epic aught to be virtuous? Bossu thinks not, the manners being form as well by seeing Errors as Beauties in the chief Actors; but yet methinks it seems too much to form a Hero that's a perfect Almanzor, with not one spark of Virtue, and only remarkable for his extraordinary Strength and little Brains; such was certainly Homer's Achilles, of whom I think the Father was in the right when he observes, the Poet makes him not do one brave or virtuous Action, all the while he lies before the Town: whereas Virgil's Hero, is, to tell truth, an indifferent good Heathen, and, bating one or two slips, comes up pretty well to his own good word. The same however may be said for Homer, which our present Dramatists pled for their Excuse; that he copied his Hero from those who were esteemed such in the barbarous Age in which he lived, 
Impiger, iracundus, inexorabilis, acer,  
jura neget sibi nata, etc.  Made up of Lewdness, Love, and Fight: who, had he lived in our days, would have made an excellent Town-Bully, I wish there were not too much reason to say a modish Gentleman. But though old Homer took this way, Virgil, who writes with much more judgement and Exactness, and follows him in many things, here thought fit to leave him; making his Hero, as I've said, not only brave and prudent, but for the most part virtuous. Which would much better form the manners of his Reader, than if they were set to spell out Instruction from contraries, as Homer has done. Whence it follows, the more virtuous a Hero is, the better; since he more effectually answers the true end of Epics. After all, Rapine says, the chief Excellency of an Heroic Poem consists in the just proportion of the Parts; that perfect Union, just Agreement, and admirable Relation, which the Parts of this great Work bear one towards another; and blames Tasso for mingling all the Sweetness and Delicacy of Eclogues and Lyrics, with the Force of an Heroic Poem. But I should think him mistaken here, and that this is not the meaning of Aristotle's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. For if we allow not such a pleasing Variety, how shall we excuse even Virgil himself, who has his Dido, as well as Tasso his Armida and Erminia? nay, how shall we manage Love? which is usually one great Episode of Heroic, if not with something of Delicacy. I grant Love ought to have a different Air in different sorts of Poems; but still if it be natural it must have something of Softness; and for his Enchanted Forest, which this severe Critic also blames, I believe there's few who read that part of his Work, who would willingly have it omitted, for the sake of a fancied Regularity, any more than they would part with Mr. Dryden's Improvement on't in his King Arthur. However, if it be a fault, 'tis strange so many who have been Masters of the greatest Genius should unanimously fall into it; as Ovid in his Palace of Circe, Ariosto in that of Alcina, and Spencer in his Acasia's Bower of Bliss, and several others, who have taken the same Method. I should therefore rather think that this beautiful and marvellous Analogy which Aristotle requires as the best thing in Epic, relates rather to the Harmony and Agreement of the Parts with the Whole; so that there appears no Fracture or Contradiction, the different Parts, though much unlike, yet altogether making one beautiful Figure and uniform Variety.  
And thus much of the Definition of Epic, containing the main Rules thereof, by which the Reader may be able to form a Judgement of this, or any other Heroic Poem. Especially if to these Rules be added some Examples to render them more plain. In order to which I desire to express my Thoughts freely of other Poems, as I must expect every one will do of mine, always observing that piece of justice, never to find fault, without taking notice of some Beauty to balance it, and giving, where I can find it, the better judgement of other Persons as well as my own. Concluding all with a brief account of my own Work.  
To begin then with Grandsire Homer, this may be added to the particular Remarks have been already made. I think none will deny but the Disposition of his Iliads, is so truly admirable, so regular, and exact, that one would be apt to think he wrote his Poem by Aristotle's Rules, and not Aristotle his Rules by his Poem. I confess I once thought that he had been obliged to his Commentators for most of the Beauties they celebrated in him; but I am now, on a nearer view, so well satisfied to the contrary, that I can ne'er think his Poem writ by piece-meal, without any Connexion or Dependence: wherein Dionysius the Halicarnassian very justly praises the Order and Management of the Design, as well as the Grandeur and Magnificence of the Expression, and the sweet and passionate Movements. Nor is it without reason that Horace, Longinus, and all Antiquity have given him, as the Model of just and noble Sentiments and Expressions. I must confess there's something in his Numbers that strikes me more than even Virgil's, his Thoughts and Expressions appear stronger than his, though it cannot be denied but that Virgil's Design is much more regular▪ Rapine says a great deal of that Prince of the Latin Poets, though indeed he can never say enough, He had an admirable Taste, says he, of what's natural, an excellent judgement for the Order, and an incomparable Delicacy for the Number and Harmony of his Versification. And adds, That the Design of the Poem is, if we consider it in all its Circumstances, the most judicious and best-laid that ever was or ever will be. There is indeed a prodigious Variety in Virgil, and yet the same Soul visible in every Line. His own great Spirit informs his Poetical World, and like that he speaks of, 
— totos infusa per Artus  
Mens agitat Molem, & magno se corpore miscet.  He's soft with the height of Majesty, his Marcellus, his Dido, and, I think, above all his Elegy on Pallas is very noble and tender. The joints so strong and exactly wrought, the Parts so proportionable the Thoughts and Expression so great, the Compliments so fine and just, that I could ne'er endure to read Statius, or any of the rest of the Ancient Latins after him; with whom therefore I shan't concern my self nor trouble my Reader. Ariosto was the first of the Moderns who attempted any thing like an Heroic Poem, and has many great and beautiful Thoughts; but at the same time, 'tis true, as Balsac observes, that you can hardly tell whether he's a Christian or an Heathen, making God swear by Styx, and using all the Pagan Ornaments; his Fancy very often runs away with his judgement, his Action is neither one nor simple, nor can you imagine what he drives at; he has an hundred Hero's but you can't tell which he designs should be chief: Orlando indeed seems a wild Imitation of Homer's Achilles, but his Character is not bright enough to make him the Principal; and besides he order it so, that he does more great Actions when he's mad than when sober. Agreeable to this are Rapin's thoughts of him, which, in few words, are, That he's elevated and admirable in his Expressions, his Descriptions fine, but that he wants judgement; and speaks well, but thinks ill, and that though the Parts are handsome enough, yet the whole Work can by no means pass for an Epic Poem, he having never seen the Rules of Aristotle; which he thinks Tasso had, and therefore wrote much better, whom he commends as more correct in his Design, more regular in the ordering his Fable, and more accomplished in all parts of his Poem than any other of the Italians, whom yet he justly blames, because he has two Hero's Godfredo and Rinaldo, of whom Godfredo seems the principal, and yet Rinaldo performs the greatest part of the notable Actions. He seems to imitate Agamemnon and Achilles, but then he raises his Agamemnon too high, or keeps him too low, for he hardly lets him do one great Action through the whole Work. He further criticises upon him as mingling too much Gallantry with his Poem, which, he thinks, is unbecoming the Gravity of his Subject. But whether this Censure be just, I know not, for Love and Gallantry runs through all Virgil's Aeneids, in the instances of Helen, Dido and Lavinia, and indeed it gives so great a Life to Epic, that it hardly can be agreeable without it, and I question whether ever it has been so. Nor is he more just, I think, against Tasso's Episodes, which he blames as not proper to circumstantiate his principal Action, not entering into the Causes and Effects thereof, but seeking too much to please, though I think this Charge is unjust, for 'tis in his Episodes, if any where, that Tasso is admirable. I might here give several Instances, but shall, at present, only refer my Reader to that of Tancred and Erminia, and I'm mistaken if he does not descent from Rapine in this particular. Sannazarius and Vida were the next who did any thing remarkable in Epic; they both writ in Latin on the same Subject, both Christian Heroics; Rapine says they both had good a Genius for Latin the Purity of their Style being admirable, but that their ordering of the Fable has nothing in't of Delicacy, nor is the manner of their Writing proportionable to the dignity of the Subject. For Sannazarius he's indeed so faulty, that one can hardly with Patience read him, the whole Structure of his imperfect Piece, de partu, being built on Heathen Fable; yet he has great and vigorous Thoughts and very Poetical Expressions, though therein Vida far excels him, whose Thoughts are so noble, and the Air of his Style so great, that the Elegy Balzak gives his Countryman Tasso, would as well or rather better have fitted him; That Virgil is the Cause; Vida is not th● first; and Vida, that Virgil is not alone. It is true, as Rapine observes, that his Fable is very simple, and perhaps so much the better, considering the Subject; though he forgets not Poetical Ornaments, where there's occasion, if he does not lean a little to Sannazarius' Error; for he talks of the Gorgon's and Sphinxes, the Centauris and Hydra's and Chimaeras, though much more sparingly and modestly than the other. He has the happiest beginning that perhaps is to be found in any Poem, and by mingling his Proposition and Invocation, has the advantage of placing one of the noblest Thoughts in the World in the first Line, without danger of falling into the absurdity of Horace's Author with his Fortunam Priami: For thus he sings, 
Qui mare, qui terras, qui caelum numine comples— Spiritus alme, etc.  After the Invocation, in the very beginning of the Poem, he's preparing the Incidents for his Hero's Death; he brings him to jerusalem at the Passover with Hosannas; then raises his Machines', and falls to the Description of Hell. He through the whole, uses his Figures very gracefully; few have been more happy in Compari●sons, more moving in Passion, succinct, yet full in Narration: Yet is he not without Faults; for in the second Book he brings him to his last Supper in the Garden, from thence before Caiaphas and Pilate; which too much precipitates the main Action: Besides, it seems harsh and improbable to bring in S. john, and joseph, our Saviour's reputed Father, as he does in the third and fourth Book, giving Pilate an account of his Life; not to insist on the general Opinion, that joseph was not then alive. But notwithstanding these few failures, it can't be denied, that his Description of our Saviour's Passion in the fourth Book, is incomparably fine; the disturbance among the Angels on that occasion; his Character of Michael, and the Virgin's Lamentation under the Cross, and at the Sepulchre, are inimitable. And thus much for Vida, on whom I've been more large because I've often made use of his Thoughts in this following Work; his Poem being the most complete on that Subject I've ever seen or expect to see. And here han't the English more reason to complain of Rapine, that he takes no notice of their Heroic Poems, than Lopex Viga of Tasso, for not mentioning the Spaniards at the Siege of jerusalem: but since he has been so partial, as not to take any notice of our Writers, who sure as much deserve it as their Dubartas and Ronsard; We may have liberty to speak of our own, and to do 'em Justice: To begin with Spencer, who I think comes the nearest Ariosto of any other; he's almost as Irregular, but much more Natural and Lovely: But he's not only Irregular but Imperfect too, I mean, as to what he intended; and therefore we can't well imagine what it would have been, had he lived to complete it. If Fable be the Essence of Epic, his Fairy Queen had certainly enough of that to give it that Name. He seems, by the account he gives of it to Sir Walter Raleigh, to have designed one Principal Hero King Arthur, and one main important Action bringing him to his Throne; but neither of these appear sufficiently distinct, or well defined, being both lost in the vast Seas of Matter which compose those Books which are finished. This however must be granted, the Design was Noble, and required such a comprehensive Genius as his, but to draw the first Scetch of it: And as the Design, so the Thoughts are also very great, the Expressions flowing natural and easy, with such a prodigious Poetical Copia as never any other must expect to enjoy. Gondibert methinks wants Life; the Style is rather stiff than Heroic, and has more of Statius than Virgil; one may see every where a great deal of Art, and Pains, and Regularity, even to a fault; nor is a Genius wanting, but it's so unnatural, that an ingenious Person may find much more pleasure in reading a worse Poet. Besides, his Stanza's often cramp the Sense, and injure many a noble Thought and Passion. But Mr. Cowley's Davideis is the Medium between both; it has Gondiberts' Majesty without his stiffness, and something of Spencer's Sweetness and Variety without his Irregularity: Indeed all his Works are so admirable, that another Cowley might well be employed in giving them their just Elegy. His Hero is according to the ancient Model, truly Poetical, a mixture of some Faults and greater Virtues. He had the advantage of both Love and Honour for his Episodes, nay; and Friendship too, and that the noblest in History. He had all the sacred History before him, and liberty to choose where he pleased, either by Narration or Prophecy; nor has he, as far as he has gone, neglected any Advantages the Subject gave him. It's a great Loss to the World that he left the Work unfinished, since now he's dead, it's always like to continue so. As for Milton's Paradise Lost its an Original, and indeed he seems rather above the common Rules of Epic than ignorant of them. It's I'm sure a very lovely Poem, by what ever Name it's called, and in it he has many Thoughts and Images, greater than perhaps any either in Virgil or Homer. The Foundation is true History, but the turn is Fable: The Action is very Important, but not uniform; for one can't tell which is the Principal in the Poem, the Wars of the Angels, or the Fall of Man, nor which is the Chief Person Michael or Adam. It's true, the former comes in as an Episode to the latter, but it takes up too great a part thereof, because it's linked to it. His Discourse of Light is incomparable; and I think 'twas worth the while to be blind to be its Author. His Description of Adam and Eve, their Persons and Love, is almost too lively to bear reading: Not but that he has his inequalities and repititions, the latter pretty often, as have, more or lesle, all other Poets but Virgil. For his antique Words I'm not like to blame him whoever does: And for his blank Verse, I'm of a different mind from most others, and think they rather excuse his uncorrectness than the contraries; for I find it's easier to run into it, in that sort of Verse, than in Rhyming Works, where the Thought is oftener turned; whereas here the Fancy flows on without check or control. As for his Paradise Regained, I nothing wonder that it has not near the Life of his former Poem, any more than the Odysseys fell short of the Iliads. Milton, when he writ this, was grown Older, probably poorer: He had not that scope for Fable, was confined to a lower Walk, and draws out that in four Books which might have been well comprised in one: Notwithstanding all this, there are many strokes which appear truly his; as the Mustering of the Parthian Troops, the Description of Rome by the Devil to our Saviour, and several other places.  
And now I've done with all the rest, I may take liberty to say something of my own.  
For the Subject I dare stand by it, that 'tis fit for a better Heroic Poem than any ever was, or will be made; and that if a good Poem could not be made on't, it must be either from the weakness of the Art itself, or for want of a good Artist. I don't say the Subject with all its Circumstances is the best for Epic, but considered in itself, or with a prudent choice out of the vast Field of Matter which it affords.  
The Action is Important, if ever any was, being no lesle than the Redemption of the World, which was not accomplished till after our Saviour's Death and Resurrection. The Ascension I confess should be left out, according to the common Rules of Heroic Poetry, but I had not the same reason for omitting it, as others have for not coming to the End of their History, a little short of which they generally stop, because after the main Business is over, nothing great remains, or however not greater than has already past. And if any thing mean followed, the Reader would leave off dissatisfied. But I've as great and remarkable an Action, as any in the whole story, yet upon my Hands, and which if I had omitted, I had lost many very moving Incidents that followed the Resurrection; and besides, Vida before me, has carried it yet further, to the actual Descent of the Holy Ghost on the Disciples, and the spreading the Christian Name all the World over; which I've done only in Prophecy.  
The Action is I think uniform, because all the Episodes are part of the main Action, the Redemption of the World; to which his Incarnation, and Divine Conception were absolutely necessary, and so were his Holy Life, Doctrine, Miracles, and especially his Sufferings and Agonies. My principal Hero was perfect, yet imitable, and that both in active and contemplative Life. He leaves his own Kingdom to save and conquer another, endures the greatest hardships, is reduced to the lowest ebb, nay is at last forced to suffer Death itself. Yet after all, he emerges from his Misfortunes, conquers all his Enemies, fixes Laws, establishes Religion, Peace, and his own Empire, and is advanced higher than any Conqueror ever was before him.  
The other Persons are Heroical enough, Angels, Kings, High Priests, Governors, Councillors, nay even the Apostles themselves were more than Kings, for they were thought and called Gods by the People. The Moral I find not make it, in a true Example, which others are forced to Form in Fable; That we ought to do Good, to suffer evil, submit to the Divine Will; to venture or lose a Life for a Friend; to forgive our Enemies.  
Yet further I desire to recommend the whole of the Christian Religion; all the Articles of Faith; all that System of Divinity and Morality contained in the Gospel of the Blessed Jesus, to the Study and Practice of Persons of Ingenuity and Reason; to make his Divine Person, which is already infinitely Amiable, if possible, actually more Adored and Loved; and to Vindicate his Mission, his Satisfaction, and his Divinity, against all jews, Turks, Infidels, and Heretics; which sure are the most proper Ends that can be proposed in a Work of this Nature: Which may be agreeably and admirably done, if 'tis not the Poet's fault; for here's all the marvellous that could be wished for, already done to my Hand, and all sacredly True, Angels and Daemons, and Miracles, with Voices from Heaven.  
Now the Subject being so fit for a good Heroic Poem, I shall have the lesle excuse, if this be a bad one. And here I must ingeniously confess, I had seen none of these Rules given by the Masters of Epic, when I laid the Scheme of this Poem, though I wish I had, for I might probably then have done it better, or not at all. I knew not the hazard of the undertaking, but greedily embraced it, when first proposed by some Friends, who were ignorant of what they put me upon. Being full of the Design; wherein, the earnest desire I had to see it accomplished, and either a lucky Chance, or the Happiness of my Subject, may perhaps in some Instances, have supplied the want both of Rules and Genius. All I will say of my own performance is, that I now know the Faults on't, though I am not obliged to point 'em out to my Reader, who will but too soon find find. That I would have mended much that's now amiss, had I lived in an Age where a man might afford to be Nine or Ten Years about a Poem. And in the mean time this satisfies me, whatever is the success, that I've done all that could be done by one in my Circumstances towards the rendering it more complete and freer from Faults, and only wish that my own Reputation may suffer, by the weakness of the Work, and not the Dignity of the Subject.  
I could pled for myself what Longinus says on Works of this Nature, would it not look like Arrogance, That even the greatest Genius may sometimes sink into meanness, when the force of their Spirits is once exhausted: That its very difficult for height of Thought to sustain itself long in an equal Tenor; and that some Faults ought to be excused when there are more Beauties. But if none of these will pass, I hope it will not much mortify me, since I think the World and I have no great matter to do with one another. I'm sensible my Poem would have had fewer Enemies, had I left out some Passages in't. But as mean as the worst of this are, I would not buy their good Word at such a rate. I had almost forgot to mention the Gravers Work, which is not without Faults, particularly he has erred in the Posture of the Disciples at the last Supper, whom he has made Sitting, when they were really Declining, or Discumbent. But it's now more than time to conclude my long Preface, which I shall do in few Words. Since the chief Design in this Work, is to advance the Honour of my Hero, and next to that, the entertainment of Pious and ingenious Minds; for the truth of which, I hope I may appeal to the great 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. I shall not be much concerned for the success it may meet with in the World.   

To Mr. SAMUEL WESLEY on his Divine Poem of the Life of CHRIST.  
AS when some Prophet, who had long retired,  
Returns from Solitude with Rapture fired,  
With full Credentials made securely bold,  
To listening Crowds does Charmingly unfold  
What Angels him in awful Visions told;  
With wondrous Truths surprising every Breast,  
His sacred Mission is by all Confessed.  
So you, great Bard, who lay till now concealed,  
Compiling what your Heavenly Muse revealed,  
No sooner quit the Shade, but strike our Eyes  
With Wonder, and our Mind with Exstasies.  
Even we, the Tribe who thought ourselves inspired,  
Like glimmering Stars in Night's dull reign admired;  
Like Stars, a numerous but a feeble Host,  
Are gladly in your Morning-lustre lost.  
When we (and few have been so well inclined)  
In Songs attempted to Instruct Mankind,  
From Nature's Law we all our Precepts drew,  
And even her Sanctions oft perverted too;  
Your sacred Muse does Revelation trace;  
And Nature is by you improved to Grace.  
Verse is a Tribute due to sacred Writ,  
But seldom paid, or, not in currant Wit;  
The Undertakers fail in Zeal or Art,  
They want the Genius, or they want the Heart:  
To Crown your pious Offering both combine;  
At once your Numbers and your Theme divine.  
The Race of Poets, while a virtuous Train,  
For Inspiration never called in vain;  
But failed in Wit, their stock of Virtue spent,  
And as they grew Debauched, grew Impotent.  
'Tis in their own, and in Religion's wrong,  
When Beauty, Wealth or Power employ's their Song.  
But if they trespass who are only Vain,  
What Punishment's reserved for the Profane!  
How shall the Panders scape, who foul Desire,  
In Poetry's alluring Charms attire?  
Too guilty, while, like empirics they employ  
Their baneful Skill, and privately destroy;  
But when the public Teeming Press they ply,  
Through all the Realm their poisoned Papers fly;  
Not rural Nymphs are safe in their Retreats,  
Th' Infection reaches the remotest Seats.  
Who once the Poet's Function thus betray,  
What Helicon can wash their Saints away!  
Such Lepers would make Iordan's Stream impure,  
But Iordan's Stream can ne'er such Lepers Cure.  
What just Encomiums, Sir, must you receive,  
Who Wit and Piety together wove.  
No Altar your Oblation can refuse,  
Who to the Temple bring a spotless Muse:  
You, with fresh Laurels from Parnassus born,  
Plant Sion's Hill, and Salem's towers adorn;  
You break the Charms, and from profane Retreats  
Restore the Muses to their Native Seats.  
Our leading 
Mr. Milton.  Moses did this Task pursue,  
And lived to have the Holy Land in view;  
With vigorous Youth to finish the Success,  
Like joshua you Succeed, and all Possess.  
Deep Learning's Stores to raise this Pile are brought,  
Bright Fancy after judgement's Model wrought:  
The vast Idea seemed a subject fit  
To exercise an able Poet's Wit;  
But to Express, to Finish and Adorn,  
Remained for you, who for this Work was Born.  
The tempered Style not too remiss or strong,  
But suited to the Subject of the Song;  
Which, varying, always shows a Master's Skill,  
Sweet as a Vale, or lofty as a Hill.  
Here, pious Souls, what they did long desire,  
Possess their dear Redeemer's Life entire:  
Here, with whole Paradise regained they meet,  
And Milton's noble Work is now complete.  
N. Tate. june 28. 1693.   

To the Ingenious Mr. SAMUEL WESLEY on his Poem of the Life of CHRIST.  

Redeemed? It's true; the happy Muse no more  
Can her Egyptian slavish Chains deplore;  
No more shall spurious Gods or Heroes raised  
In powerful Numbers, be devoutly Praised;  
Verse formed 'em Idols, while Immortal Verse  
Would Fancy's Dreams in weighty Lines rehearse;  
Perverted Poetry could with ease control  
The wiser Passions of the thoughtful Soul;  
And into Mischiefs force the Passive Throng,  
Hurried by the impetuous Witchcraft of deluding Song.  
Thy Muse, a Convert made, in nobler Strains  
Sings that great God who in himself contains  
This spacious ALL, whose active Word commands  
The Prince of Idols with his gloomy Bands  
Down to those Deeps, where endless Torture dwells,  
Beneath the solid darkness of a thousand Hells.  
God's and his David's Son, the wondrous Heir  
Of Heaven and Earth, thy tuneful Rhimes declare:  
No Man of Sorrows now, nor meanly Crowned  
With blushing Thorns, nor barbarous Fetters bound;  
But in immense Eternal Brightness placed,  
With all his Father's ancient Glories graced;  
Great, Pure, Immortal, always Blest, Sublime,  
Before the first, beyond the last of Time;  
Where to the Name of their triumphant King,  
Hymns sweet as Thyme, extatick Angels sing.  
What poor Evangelists prescribed of old,  
And studious Priests still to their Flocks unfold;  
Was, till of late, by pious Crowds admired,  
Their Tales Authentic as their Minds Inspired;  
Now Damned as plain and low, tho' mystic all,  
Truth must before the Dagon Nonsense fall.  
A dull lewd Song to Celia dubs the Wit,  
When, with his Title proud, the senseless Chit  
Defies his Maker, and his Dictates scorns,  
And Heaven to ridicule and banter turns:  
Truth for his Fancy must be gaily dressed,  
Like the May Lady at some Country Feast.  
In thy smooth Verse stands that unchanging Truth,  
With Beauties varnished and adorned with Youth;  
Dressed in Poetic robes of Flame and Light,  
Pleasant as Morning, and as Midday bright;  
Thy Verse may Charm him who the Preacher flies,  
Reform the Brute, and make the Senseless Wise.  
So when a Devil malignant Saul possessed,  
And broke the quiet of his tortured Breast;  
When Rage and Folly in his Thoughts combined,  
Diseased his Body, and disturbed his Mind;  
His Harp the gay jessean Psalmist strung,  
And to his Harp some sacred Anthem sung;  
So smooth his Voice, so swift his flying Hand  
Did trembling Notes and chiding Strings command;  
So much of Heaven did the black Spirit confound,  
Nor could his Hell support the charming sound;  
But from his Throne the proud Usurper flew,  
While Music's Terrors did his flight pursue,  
And Saul's rebellious Thoughts and inward Rage subdue.   

Sic puer Elkanides Domini resupinus in Aede  
Summissâ aethereos excipit aure sonos,  
Afflatuque sacro Divinos concipit Ignes,  
Et subito in vatum proruit Ipse modos:  
Tu, juvenis, rapis Arma prior, Musasque profanas  
In pia Christicolûm, maxim, castra refers.  
Macte animis Wesleie tuis, repetitaque Christi,  
Gesta subacta magis pensa secunda dabunt.   
Raptim. L. Milbourne.   

To my Ingenious Friend Mr. SAMUEL WESLEY, on his Poem the Life of CHRIST.  
CHrist's Life! And sung in English Poesy!  
Who of our Bards durst e'er essayed till thee!  
Their Pens are idly busy for the Stage,  
To humour there the Genius of the Age;  
Their chief design is still to please the Pit,  
And there expose the Folly of their Wit;  
But every Theme that's Noble and Divine,  
With awkward Modesty they still decline:  
About the sacred Ark they trembling stand,  
But dare not touch with their unhallowed Hand;  
They pled, alas! They have too profane a Muse,  
And urge their very Crimes for their excuse.  
Dryden alone, swollen with a nobler Pride,  
Out of the common road once stepped aside;  
Bravely went on where Milton broke the Ice,  
And sweetly mourned the loss of Paradise;  
Richly embroidered his old fashioned Ground,  
And still refined the golden Oar he found;  
Each Comeliness up to a Beauty wrought,  
Polished each Line and heightened every Thought;  
What Mortal could have been with him compared,  
As he began had he but Persevered!  
Cowley indeed (his Works sufficient proof)  
For this great Theme—  
At once was Poet and was Saint enough.  
Had he the blessed jesus made his choice,  
He'd Heavenly Skill to sing, and Heavenly Voice;  
But on his Type he rather chose to write,  
His shadow, yet himself a glorious Light;  
David, that mighty Man, employed his pains,  
He David sung, and sung with David's strains;  
Scarce could the Music of his charming Lyre  
Of whom he sang, more please, or more inspire:  
But ah! While he too nigh to Heaven did soar,  
The Angels caught his Soul o'th' Wing, and bore  
To their blessed Choir, whence he returned no more:  
Around him straight the wondering Seraph's throng,  
And beg from him a more Seraphic Song;  
He sang, their high tuned Harps they higher raise,  
And strive to play a Consort to his Lays;  
But such high Notes immortal Cowley sings,  
As stretched their loud, their everlasting Strings;  
So his great Hero's drawn but to the Wast,  
And but the Scheme of what should follow cast!  
Yet all must needs admire, when it they view,  
Both what he did, and what he meant to do.  
O that some happy Muse would yet go on,  
And finish what so nobly is begun!  
But Davideis must (I fear) remain,  
Wished to be finished, but ne'er undertaken:  
Yet thou from Cowley hast this Honour won,  
He sang but David, thou his greater Son:  
A bold Attempt, yet managed so by you,  
We must your Courage praise, and Conduct too;  
So great the Theme, and yet so sweet the Song,  
The God thou singest doth sure inspire thy Tongue:  
Thou open'st all the Treasuries above,  
And show'st the Wonders of Almighty Love:  
How the eternal Father made a Child,  
With awful sweetness in the Manger Smiled;  
The various hazards which his Nonage ran,  
Until the Infant God grew up to Man;  
Then drawing o'er his radiant Head a Cloud,  
To show the Man, a while the God you shroued;  
And to a Scene of Sorrow guid'st our Eye,  
The mournful Glories of sad Calvary;  
They raise him to the Cross, and there deride;  
The Holy Jesus pitied them, and Died.  
Then how the World its Maker's death bemoaned,  
Heaven wept, Winds sighed, Earth quaked, whole Nature groaned;  
Next how that Death our Sins did Expiate,  
How great the Purchase! But how dear the Rate!  
This, and much more thy Muse, great Wesley, sings,  
Thy Flowers are more, and sweeter than the Springs;  
Which with fresh beauties every Verse adorn,  
Sprightly as Light, and fragrant as the Morn;  
Thy lofty Wit's by solid judgement fixed;  
Thy fruitful Fancy with deep Learning mixed:  
Their mingled Glories sparkle in each Line,  
Each Word both speaks thee Poet and Divine,  
Go on, great Bard, still let thy tuneful Lyre  
Strike Envy dumb, and teach her to admire.  
Thomas Taylor.   

To his Ingenious Friend Mr. SAMUEL WESLEY, on his Excellent Poem called the Life of Christ.  
SURE there 's some dearth of Wit starves every Age,  
And few yet felt the true Poetic Rage.  
Each Pagan Clown engrossed the Muse's care,  
And like his fellow Beasts, was dubbed a Star;  
Huge brawny Limbs claimed all the Poet's song,  
And 'twas exceeding Virtue to be strong;  
But now— The God, the God— Be gone Profane!  
Nor with unhallowed Gifts the Altars slain:  
Saturnian Days again enrich the Year,  
And promised Months in golden Orbs appear.  
Again the Mantuan Genius charms the Plains  
With more than mighty Maro's lofty strains.  
Big with prophetic Fury, Virgil taught  
Th' astonished World, what Wonders should be wrought.  
Under dark Types he veiled the Heavenly Birth,  
And brought the Godlike Infant smiling to the Earth.  
Each beauteous Line the future God confessed,  
At length amazed, to Wesley left the rest.  
So the bright Guardian Star with pointed Ray,  
Shone through the East and gilt the dusky way,  
And told the Sages where their Saviour lay;  
Then conscious of its Trust, withdrew from sight,  
That they might pay their Offerings, where that paid ' its light.  
Here, here, the God to Wesley's Charge repairs,  
And with his Presence crowns the Poet's Cares:  
Wesley! A Name which in just numbers Shines!  
A Name immortal as his sacred Lines!  
To thee, great Bard, the darling Muses owe  
That freedom which on others they bestow.  
Touched with the Beauties of Seraphic Love,  
Unbodyed and unchained from flesh they move.  
Nor Phyllis now, nor Strephon's Plaints prevail,  
The wretched burden of some whining Tale;  
But the chaste Sisters now their Dross refine,  
Poets are truly Priests, and Poetry 's Divine.  
See! How in tuneful Verse the Infant reigns,  
And with soft Looks beguiles his Mother's pains!  
Pleased with thy Song, he lesle Attentive hears  
Th' harmonious Music of the charming Spheres;  
Bids Angels cease their Notes, that Wesley's Lays  
May urge with more effect their young Redeemers praise.  
O more than Man! Whence comes this sacred Fire,  
That doth with sparkling Rage thy Breast inspire?  
Sure thou'st a second Rape on Heaven performed,  
And with armed Hands Aetherial Forges stormed:  
Naught but the Gods own flames could thus dispense  
So healing and so kind an Influence.  
Beauties shine through the Work, adorn the whole,  
Chain up the Sense, and captivated the Soul.  
Whether thou singest the dying Hero's fame,  
And in loud sighs groan'st forth thy Maker's Name,  
When tired with Flesh, he quits the human load,  
And Heaven, and Earth, and jews confess the God;  
Or thy bold Muse with heightened Pinnions flies,  
And brings her Charge exalted to the Skies;  
Thy Verse thro'▪ starry Hosts the God convey,  
And with new Glories paint the milky way.  
To thy great Name what Altars shall we raise?  
None but the God thou singest can give sufficient praise.  
As when of old some pious Saints essayed  
To please high Heaven, and annual Offerings paid,  
Struck with the sacred Horror of the place,  
And prostrate on the Ground, they veiled their Face.  
With awful distance, and with trembling bows,  
Their Wonder fully paid their promised Vows:  
So we amazed at thy vast Work retire,  
And where we ought to Sacrifice, admire.  
William Pittis', Fellow of New-College in Oxon. june 23. 1693.   

To his Reverend Friend Mr. SAMUEL WESLEY, on his Poem of the Life of CHRIST.  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Pindar. 
WHilst others write of Criminal Amours,  
And how they vainly spend their vacant Hours,  
Your Phansy's more sublime, it soars above  
The mean Intriqus of their inglorious Love:  
Wretchedly they debase a noble Art,  
And only touch the Ears; but you the Heart.  
You, (with Columbus,) not alone descry,  
But conquer (Cortez-like,) new Worlds in Poetry.  
Sure 'twas the same great Master of the Choir  
That did direct the Royal Psalmist's Lyre,  
Who your Seraphic Breast did thus inspire:  
A God Incarnate is a Theme so Great,  
It should be managed at no vulgar Rate;  
Nor have you done it. For, in every Line,  
We read (at once) the Poet, and Divine:  
The Muses thus to you the Graces be,  
And thus Parnassus is Mount-Calvary.  
You (modestly Ambitious of fair Fame)  
Take a sure course t' immortalize your Name.  
For, till this Fabric of the World shall end,  
And a devouring Conflagration blend  
Both Heaven and Earth together; till we see  
Time swallowed up of vast Eternity;  
Till then, your Verse shall be preserved alive,  
And almost Nature's aged self survive.  
Henry Cutts. june 23. 1693.   

To Mr. SAMUEL WESLEY, on his Poem of the Life of CHRIST.  
Blessed are the Bards who, filled with Godlike Fire,  
Dare, like its Flames, to native Heaven aspire,  
Commence here Angels, and, in equal Lays,  
Praise him alone whom Saints and Seraphs praise:  
On sacred Themes a sacred Rage they use,  
Advance their Art, and deify their Muse.  
These, Poets are! Thou, Wesley, than art blest;  
No mortal Beauty fires thy glowing Breast;  
Thy Heart, thy Soul with the whole God possessed.  
No Spurious God, such as at Delphos spoke,  
And dubious Answers sold for impious Smoke.  
But that bright infant Sun whose dawning Ray  
Drove Shades, and Sprights, and Gods of Night away;  
Who his true Godhead at his Birth displayed,  
And crushed, at once, Hell's dreadful Serpent's head;  
Who bears, with ease, this ponderous Fabric's load,  
Makes conscious Nature tremble at his Nod,  
And Heaven, and Earth, and Hell confess the God.  
Who out of Nothing swarms of Worlds could bring,  
Of Light invisible th' unfathomable Spring;  
Sole, first, and last, still round himself he rolls  
In th' undivided Triple-stream, above the reach of Souls.  
Hold, headstrong Muse, nor, in thy scanty Verse,  
Attempt his boundless Wonders to rehearse;  
Nor, offering Incense with unhallowed Fire,  
Like Nadab in revenging Flames expire.  
The Right, the Power of chanting such a Song  
To none but consecrated Bards belong.  
None but Apelles Alexander drew;  
A nobler Draught to nobler Hands is due.  
So, Wesley, when we thought, with pious Awe,  
No Pencil fit thy suffering God to draw,  
Performed by thine the mighty Task we see;  
Or he, thy Lord, has done the Work by thee.  
Thy Choice, like pious Mary's, is the best,  
While Others live with Martha's Cares oppressed;  
When once engaged, unknowing to go back,  
Yet doomed each Hour their wearied Minds to rack,  
To soothe a dull, ungrateful, impious Age;  
Th' eternal Drudges of the Press and Stage.  
Baffled this Moment, thoughtless of the past,  
Still rich in Hopes, and wretched to the last;  
Witty by Fits, but oftener dull than wise,  
And fond of Fame, which yet they sacrifice.  
Ah! cruel Fortune! Tyrant of my Life,  
To Fools so kind, with Poets still at strife,  
Thou may'st constrain thy Slave to lose his Right  
To dear-bought Fame, the Poet's best Delight;  
But never, never shall my Honour be,  
Thou Prostitute, a Prostitute to thee.  
Nor will I use a Spark of heavenly Fire  
chaste Flames to quench, and kindle loose Desire;  
Or, to mean Flattery and worse Falsehoods bend,  
Poison the Weak, and stab the Innocent.  
Ah! must I never, in bold Numbers, sing  
Britain's great Rulers and Heavens' greater King!  
Even our winged Brother-Poets of the Grove  
Strive here below to Rival those above.  
Each Morning they their warbling Voices raise,  
Inspired by Nature Nature's God to praise.  
The labouring Hind by them beguiles his Cares,  
Yet by his Arts their callow Brood ensnares.  
Then blinded, taught t' unlearn their native Strain,  
And caged for Life, the Wretches sing for Grain.  
So 'tis with us: Alike by Nature free,  
Our lays were Sacred as our Deity;  
But by a selfish World enslaved, while young,  
Blinded by Vice, we're taught a meaner Song;  
Kept close and bare, we ne'er enjoy the Spring,  
The Town our Cage, where we must starve or sing.  
Much happier Wesley! wiser grown betimes,  
Thou left'st its Hurry, for more peaceful Climes;  
Nor, while thy Mind a short Repose enjoyed,  
Was thy chaste Muse on trifling Themes employed:  
Tales of an angry Warrior's sullen Grief,  
The tedious Voyage of a crafty Chief,  
Troy, which a Horse could conquer in a Night,  
Or a false Wand'rer's fatal Loves and Flight:  
These never could pay the Poet's Cares and Toils,  
The costly Seeds were lost in barren Soils.  
Nobler thy Choice, and happier thy Essay,  
Modest yet bold, Majestic and yet gay;  
As Autumn ripe, yet flourishing as May.  
But here, my Friend, thou check'st my zealous Muse,  
And bid'st me for thy God my Incense use;  
Thou shun'st the Praise which thy own Virtue draws,  
And canst deserve, but canst not hear Applause.  
Know, 'tis beneath thy Friend to make thee vain;  
I praise thee not: Yet must I praise thy Strain,  
I may— Since Men, when they applaud thy Lays,  
The Prophet's great Inspirer only praise.  
Yet though to God alone the Praise belong,  
With him and thee we share the pleasing Song.  
Thus Aaron Incense on its Altar laid,  
And, while attending Israel bowed and prayed;  
The balmy Steams, for Heaven alone prepared,  
The Priest, the People, and the Godhead shared.  
Peter Motteux.   

ERRATA.  
LIB. 1. p. 11. v. 386 for on read f●n. p. 21. v 770. r. as well as he. Lib. 2. p. 43. l. 29. r. much admiring round her. p. 51. v. 690. r. bands. p. 54. 780. r. desire. v. 787. r. humble. p. 58. v. 928. thus r. this. p. ●4. v. 1107. the r. your. p. 70. v. 879. expired r. retired. p. 51. v. 1076. wand'ring r. waneing. Ib. after Eastern bound add of Egypt. Lib. 3. p. 92. v. 740. r. stern. p. 97. v. 964. r. Saveh ' s. p. 103. v. 1171. shall r. shalt. p 104. v. 1210. the r. ●th'. p. 106. v. 1456. r. could no longer. p. 107. v. 1681. deal as it is already said in the Preface. p. 108. v. 631. lengthens r. weakens. p, 111. v. 1115. r. hardly need tell. p. 112. v. 1153. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. v. 1182. Grotius r. Gratius. Lib. 4. p. 116. v. 11. r. Thomas pressed. v. 34. Royal r. Loyal. p. 122 v. 270. loved r. loud. p. 133. v, 674. daring r. dazzling. p. 135. v. 732. r. inexorably. p. 138. v. 52 for Art of Poetry, r. Essay upon Translations. p. 141. v. 508. r. Sephir Tephillim, Sephir Hamussar. Brike r. Pirke. there r. thou. shall r. shalt. p. 142. v. 578. r. Batanaea. v. 585. Viper's r. Witches. v. 639. r. if I have. p. 143. v. 724. Proselytes r. Roytelets. Ibid. Twelve hundred r. One hundred. Lib. 5. p. 148 v. 109. roved r. rowed. p. 151. v. 241. Whom r. Who. v. 245. r. endued. p. 154. 359. Chance r. Change. p. 155. v. 381. r. frighted Parents. v. 401. r. Reverse. p. 156. v. 428. he r. they. v, 429. r. resolve. p. 160. v. 599. this r. that's. p. 163. v. 708. she r. the. p. 164. v. 733. nor r. not. p. 164. v. 764. proved r. moved. p. 165. v. 794 the r. your. Lib. 6. p. 187. v. 122. r. soft signs of pity. v. 147. r. State would better. p. 189. v. 215. those r. show. p. 192. v. 316. r. nights. v. 319. deal the. v. 322. in lesle than r. are scarcely v. 332. divide r. derive. p. 205. v. 855. one r. on. p. 209. v. 1020. with r. wish. p. 210. v. 1053. the r. their. p. 226. v. 436. Meliter r. Methter. v. 452. r. near Samos. p. 231. v. 740. deal Taurus v. 835. r. in his time S. Paul would. Lib. 7. p. 238. v. 94. hear r. fear. p. 234. v. 151. unfashioned r. unfathomed. p. 240. v. 418. Doublets r. double. p. 248. v. 746. of r. I'll. p. 257. v. 467. a thousand Towns r, thousands of the. Lib. 8. p, 269. v. 308. world r. word. p. 276 v. 586. Elysian r. Etesian. p. 277. v. 655. mountains r. mansions. p. 282. v. 840. learned r. scorned. p. 289. v. 621. r. or give it unconsecrated. Lib. 9 p. 292. v. 46. the r. in. p. 311. v. 783. angles r. axles. p. 315. v. 330. Sword r. Blood. p. 317. v. 727. Circumstances. r. Proof. Lib. 10. p. 329. v. 301. Regions r. Legions p. 335. v. 539. faithful r. faithless. v. 569. Was r. Has. p. 343. v. 865. the r. ye.   

THE ARGUMENT OF THE First BOOK.  
THE Proposition. The Invocation. Our Saviour's Ascent on Mount Tabor, with his three Disciples; whence they take a View of the Country about it. The Transfiguration. After which our Saviour descends from the Mount; and after having foretold his Passion, going through Galilee approaches Jerusalem. And, in his Passage thither over Mount Olivet, raises Lazarus from the dead: Then being invited by Simon the Leper to a Feast, in whose House the Destruction of Sodom is described on a Suit of Hangings; Marry Magdalen there anoints his Feet. The next day he descends to Jerusalem, and makes his triumphant Entry into the City, attended by vast Crowds of People, bearing Palms, and singing Hosannas. Whence he retires in the Evening to Mount Olivet; which is described, with the Country about it. The Description of the Garden near Gethsemane, and our Saviour's usual Employment there. A Digression concerning Divine Love, and virtuous Friendship. A Character of the three Disciples, Peter, James, and John. Their Descent from the Mount to Jerusalem; where in the Temple, they are met by Joseph of Arimathea, who formerly, in the Country, had seen many of our Saviour's Miracles. Hence he takes 'em with him to his pleasant Garden on the side of Calvary; where being met by his Friends, Nicodemus and Gamaliel, they put them on a Discourse of our Saviour's Life and Miracles. Which ends the First Book.  
THE LIFE OF CHRIST: AN Heroic Poem. BOOK I  
I Sing the Man who reigns enthroned on high; 
Proposition.   

1 Eph. 20.21. Phil. 2.6, 8. Acts 20.28.  I sing the God, who not disdained to dye:  
Him, whom each modest Seraph trembling sings,  
The most afflicted, yet the best of Kings:  
Who from th' Eternal Father's side came down, 
John 8.42. Rev. 12.10.   
Stripped of his Starry Diadem and Crown;  
From Satan's Chains, 
Rev. 5.9.  to ransom captive Men,  
And drive him to his own sad Realms again.  
What Pain, what Labour did he not endure,  
To close our Wounds, and Happiness secure?  
He still was doing Good, and let us see  

1 Pet. 2.21.  By his Example, what we ought to be:  
Taught us a perfect Law, unknown before;  
Did by his Merits the lost World restore,  

1 Pet. 2.24.  And gave his Life, when he could give no more:  
Hence a new Race of Times and Men began,  
And happy Years in decent Order ran:  
Hence Faith and Truth again to Earth return,  
And lost Astraea we no longer mourn.  

Mat. 20.48. Mar. 10.45. 1 Cor. 6.20.7.23.  So vast the Work, Apostate Man to save!  
So great the Price our dear Redeemer gave!  
Nor will he his propitious Aid refuse,  
The same my God, my Hero and my Muse,  
Who sing his Life; a Work immense and rare,  
Too heavy for an Angel's strength to bear:  
The mighty Masters of the tuneful Throng,  
Whose numerous Souls are struck with sacred Song,  
Whose Names the World outlast, the Sun outshine,  
Immortal Cowley, Herbert all divine *  
Beheld the weighty Task, but durst not stay,  
And wisely shrunk their conscious Arms away:  
How then shall I, a nameless Thing, presume,  
Unmarked, unknown, to fill their sacred room;  
Sunk in the useless Crowd by Birth and Fate,  
Sunk lower by unequal Fortune's Weight?  

Invocation.  O Thou, whose Word this ALL of nothing made,  
And when thou hadst each beauteous Scene surveyed,  

Gen. 1.4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31. Gen. 1.3.  Pronounced it Good; Let thy kind Spirit shine  
Through every part of this New World of mine!  
Both Light and Being by thy FIAT give,  
And This through Thee, as long as Thine shall live!  
Two Worlds already did our LORD confess,  
And sure the Third, his Own, could do no lesle:  
Glad Earth and trembling Hell just Witness gave,  

Mat. 21.9. Mark 11.9. Luk. 19.38. John 12.13. Mat. 8.18. Mark. 5.7. Luke 8.27, etc. Mat. 1.10, 11.  These to subdue, and those he came to save:  
His ransomed Subjects loud Hosannas sing,  
His Rebels fled, and knew their angry King:  
Already he in Deserts waste and wild  
In Godlike Innocence severely mild,  
Had met the Tyrant of the Realms below,  
And conquered Hand to Hand the mighty Foe:  
Cursing he fled, as when transfixed he fell,  
With all the doubled Spite and Rage of Hell:  
Heaven does at last in its own Cause appear;  
The strongest Forces must maintain the Rear:  
Th' Inhabitants of those bright Realms of Day,  
Must Homage to their mighty Master pay,  
Thou veiled in humble Robes of Mortal Clay:  
Tabor the Place to prove his Mission true, 
Mount Tabor described.   
Where Heaven and Earth must have an Interview:  
That Mount of God, 
Exod. 19.20.  as Sinai long before,  
The upper Worlds whole Weight descending bore:  
Lovely it looked like some Divine Abode,  
All beauteous as the Paradise of God:  
Steep is th' Ascent, but when the Top you gain,  
It more than recompenses all your Pain,  
Presenting the pleased Eye an even Plain;  
And underneath, around the spacious Coast  
The noblest Prospect Iury's Land can boast:  
If East inclined to North you cast your Eye,  
* Royal Tiberias thence with Ease you'll spy,  
Whose wealth Citizens their pleasure take  
In numerous Boats upon the neighbouring Lake;  
While Ships of greater Bulk with decent Pride  
Their Pennons waving, Sails extended wide,  
Traverse its length, or run from side to side:  
Beyond whose Eastern bounds far off you see  
With pleasant Horror Stony Arabia:  
Kishon to South, whose Banks new Waters fill,  
When past by Western Hermon's gentle Hill:  
A noble River now, tho' not so large  
As when the Stars on Israel's side did charge;  
When o'er its Crimson Waves, a ghastly throng,  
Bodies and Shields and Helms promiscuous rolled along:  
From thence 'twixt West and North it onward goes,  
And near the Walls of little Naim flows, 
Judg. 5.20, 21.   
Whence Carmel's Mount and Grove its Waves entice  
To add new Beauties to that Paradise:  
Where when the Prophet Baal's cursed Priests did slay, 
1 Kings 1●. 40.   
It washed their Blood, and Israel's Stain away:  
Both hurried swift to the great Western Flood; *  
Within whose Arms, more North, rich Tyrus stood;  
Her Walls so strong, nor Sea, nor Land they fear:  
And farther on, her Sister Sidon near,  
Under fair Libanus you might descry  
Where Clouds at once and that obstruct your Eye:  
Thence back to South direct your Sight again,  
You'll jezreel see, and rich Megiddo's Plain:  
Proud jezreel, where unhappy Naboth fell, 
1 Kings 21.6, 7, etc.   
Whose guiltless Blood cost that of jezebel.  
To this fair Mount did our blessed Lord ascend;  

Mat. 17.1, 2, etc. Mark 9.2, etc. Luke 19, 28. etc. Mark 3.17.  Three Witnesses must thither him attend,  
Two, destined Martyrs, and the third his Friend;  
Zebedee's happy Sons, whose mighty Name  
From awful Thunder, scarce more active, came;  
Cephas before 'em both in Zeal and Fame:  
These with his more peculiar Favour blest,  
He with him takes, and leaves beneath the rest.  
Scarce had the cheerful Harbinger of Day  
Clapped his bright Wings and warned the Shades away,  
E'er our still watchful Saviour, who denies  
The Sun, his shade, before himself should rise,  
Had conquered Tabor's hoary top, and there  
Yet higher mounts in ardent Hymns and Prayer:  
No earthly Thought, no sublunary thing  
Could clog his towering Souls Seraphic Wing:  
He passed through all the glittering Guards on high,  
Who stayed their Songs, and bowed as he went by;  
Nor stopped but at his Father's radiant Throne,  
" The great Three-One— *  
He asked and had, and beckoned thence away,  
(Gladly all Heaven his loved Commands obey:)  
Two of the brightest Saints which fill the Place  
Ay-gazing on the Beatific Face:  
That faithful Leader of the chosen Band  
Who Nature swayed with his Almighty Wand; *  
Whom quaking Sinai showed so much before,  

Exod. 19.18 Heb. 12.18.  That Heaven itself could hardly now do more:  
And him who on the glorious Wings of Morn  

2 Kings 2.11.  In a bright wondrous Car to Bliss was born;  

The TRANSFIGURATION.   
Whose Soul of Flames as pure as warm was made,  
As those which him to his Reward conveyed:  
ELIAS, who to Heaven triumphing rode,  
rode MOSES, expiring with the Kiss of God:  
* Thus Law and Prophets their Perfection find  
In him, the Hope, the Price of lost Mankind:  
Meeker than Moses, whilst his Zeal flamed higher,  
Than his who showed the Way to Bliss in Fire:  
Upon the shivering Mountain's Brow they walked,  
And things unutterable looked and talked:  

Mat. 17.1. to 9 Mark 29.2. to 8. Luke 9.28. to 36.  Talked of his wondrous Passion, wondrous Love;  
A Riddle posed the very Blessed above:  
They knew their LORD so long enthroned on high,  
They knew he must, yet knew he could not die;  
The Light of Light hymned by the Heavenly Choir,  
The Coessential Son of his Almighty Sire.  
While thus new Mysteries they still discerned,  
And more than Heaven itself could teach them, learned,  
Dull Slumbers the three Witnesses surprise,  
And heavy shameful Sloth fast sealed their Eyes: 
Luke 9.32.   
With their short Vigils tired, supine they lay,  
Till them their Master turning did surveyed;  
From his loved Face he shot a piercing Beam,  
Which roused them all from their inglorious Dream;  
They gazed a while, but found the Scene too bright,  
And fled again th' insufferable Light.  
Thus, when at the last dreadful hour of Doom  
Th' Archangels Trump shall wake each silent Tomb;  
When God's Pavilion in the Clouds is spread,  
Keen Rays of Lightning wreathed around his Head;  
O'rburthened Nature at the sight would fly,  
Again would be entombed, again would die.  
But now our Lord his Glories part repressed,  
And mildly veils and mitigates the rest:  
Again they looked; what wondrous things they saw?  
Not they themselves the shining Scene could draw,  
If yet alive— What Glory and what Grace!  
Dazzling his Form, ineffable his Face:  
That Prophet's who from trembling Sinai came,  
Was dressed in a far lesle Illustrious Flame: 
Exod. 34.35.   
The Sun shrunk back his Head but newly shown,  
Eclipsed with stronger Splendour than his own:  
Like those eternal Youths which ever dwell  
Near Light's an Beauty's unexhausted Well:  
Young Cherubs look thus glittering and thus gay,  
Adorned in all their festal Robes, when they  
Some mighty Message to the World convey:  
His seamless Robe than new fallen Snow more white, *  
One radiant Pillar all of sparkling Light:  
Far did it Mortal Art's best strokes outshine,  
All o'er the Workmanship of Hands Divine:  
But Heavenly things we to base Earth compare,  
So Night like Day, Shades like the Sun are fair:  
So the bold Painter's Art pretends to show  
Beauteous as those above, feigned Clouds below.  
Next him the two great Prophets them surpise  
With modest Glories, only lesle than his:  
Such as the twinkling Stars clear Silver Ray  
To th' stronger Lustre of the Golden Day.  
An Heavenly joy seized each Disciple's Breast,  
Too big or to be stifled or expressed:  
Reason at Revelation must expire;  
What wonder if the Sun should damp the Fire?  
Thus when young Prophets have a Vision seen,  
Or labour with th' unequal God within;  
With sacred Rage inspired they're now no more  
Mild, calm and peaceful as they were before:  
New Wildness in their Looks and Eyes we find,  
And every Mark of a disordered Mind;  
Nature does then beyond itself appear;  
Thus Cephas looked, thus the blessed Pair looked here:  
All that they knew was Pleasure mixed with Pain,  
All that they feared was losing it again:  
When Cephas thus—" Dread Master, if we e'er  
" Were thy peculiar Love, and tenderest Care,  
" In this blessed Place for ever let us stay,  
" Rather than Us, O take our Lives away!  
" Three humble Tabernacles soon we'll rear  
" For Thee, and these Illustrious Strangers here:  
" Nor has even God himself disdained to dwell  
" In the poor Tents of his loved Israel. 
Exod. 11.18.34.   
Scarce from his Lips, the last swift Accent flies  
e'er still new Scenes of Miracles arise!  
For lo! a Cloud wafts through th' enlightened Air, 
Mat. 17- 5. Mark 9.7. Luke 9.34.   
Those which a Summer Evening dress, lesle fair;  
A wondrous Cloud, the Morn itself lesle bright,  
Wove from the finest Threads of Heavenly Light:  
Such as far off in those blessed Regions stray,  
Where God's high Throne scatters eternal Day:  
Such that strange Cloud that made the World's first Morn, 
Gen. 1.3.   
Before the Stars or Sun itself was born:  
That Pillar such which did from Egypt come, 
Exod. 13.21.   
And piloted the chosen Nations home;  
From Earth to Heaven did its broad Top aspire,  
Miraculous Mixture! 'twas both Shade and Fire▪  
And lo, it comes, and lo, they strive in vain;  
Their faltering Knees their Bodies can't sustain:  
Celestial Lustre even through Clouds surveyed  
Must sink the strongest Frame of Matter made●  
Blunted with Wonders and exhausted all  
Their Spirits forsake their Task— so down they fall;  
So down they fall, dissolved in reverend Fear;  
But first a Voice, an awful Voice they hear,  
The Voice of God, in Thunder dressed no more,  
As when he stooped on Sinai heretofore;  
Thunder and Darkness than the World did fright,  
But now the Voice is calm, the Cloud is bright:  
" Th' Eternal Father, First o'th' great Three-One  
" Mildly attesting his Eternal Son;  
" Whatever he spoke, not Truth itself more clear,  
" Commanding them and all the World to hear:  
They hear, but dare not him who speaks it meet,  
So down they fall, and kiss their Master's Feet:  
Nor long his kind and speedy Succour stays;  
He touched, whose very Touch the Dead can raise,  
Their lifeless Limbs, and him they rising praise:  
Around they looked, but could no more descry  
That Heavenly Pair, whose happy Company  
They late enjoyed, returned to Bliss, to show  
To those above, what they had learned below:  
Thus Holy Souls from dregss of Sin refined,  
Whose Frames are little lesle than perfect Mind,  
Whose Converse and Acquaintance with the Blessed  
Commences here, and half their Heavens' possessed:  
Thus, when to these through Sleeps thin Curtains shine  
Angelic Essences, and Forms Divine,  
They sighing wake, and clasp the empty Air;  
Thus Cephas, thus the Zebedaean Pair,  
And would have grieved, had not our Lord been there;  
Who, free from worldly Glories vain desire,  
Unwarmed at fond Ambition's foolish Fire,  
What they had seen commands 'em to conceal,  
Nor to the World those sacred Truths reveal,  
Till, when he conquered Death, and broke its Chain,  
That Faith to this, as this to that might gain.  
Wondering they long revolved his deep intent,  
Nor fathomed what those strange Expressions meant:  
How can he suffer sad Rebuke or Pain,  
How can he either dye or rise again?  
With a kind Doubt they these sad Truths receive:  
And what they must fain would they not believe:  
Till quitting Tabor he the same expressed  
To those beneath, with the same Griefs oppressed:  
His Pains, his Wounds, and that sad Scene of Woe  
He for th' ungrateful World must undergo:  
How he must enter Death's uneasy Gate,  
The Son of Man must suffer mortal Fate:  
How then the Son of God must break the Chain  
And on the third glad Morning rise again.  
Deep was the Sorrow seized each Loyal Breast,  
When Truths so terrible their Lord expressed:  
All gladly, if they dared, would him reprove,  

Mat. 16.23. Mar. 8.33.  As Cephas did with his too forward Love:  
Mistaken men! your kindness soars too high;  
Or He, or you and all the World must die:  
He knew the fatal Price that must be paid  

Eph. 1.4. 1 Pet. 1.20. Rev. 13.8.  Long long before the World's Foundations laid;  
He knew the Hour, and thither did proceed,  
Where He, th' atoning Lamb, must mildly bleed;  
To proud jerusalem, outstretching high  
He lofty Turrets, glittering in the Sky;  
Charged with so many a Prophet's Blood before  
The Gild of his could only sink 'em more.  
Through Galilee's wild Coasts his Progress takes,  
But unproclaimed and silent Journeys makes:  
In vain, alas, he strives to be concealed,  
He's like the Sun by his own Rays revealed:  
See where from far the crowding Regions meet,  
And cast th' infirm and desperate at his feet!  
Where these from old Bethabara they bring,  
And these from Father Iordan's double Spring:  
Nor Devils nor Diseases longer stay,  
When warned by his Almighty Voice away.  
The Lame their Feet without their Crutches find,  
find His Word, as to the World, gives Light to th' Blind,  
Such Light as cheers at once their Eyes and Mind.  
What Angels Eloquence could equal prove  
To all the Wonders of his Power and Love?  
How oft, with the long Days fatigues oppressed,  
His Works the God, his pain the Man confessed,  
His toilsome Labour called for gentle rest?  
Oft least officious Crowds should him surprise,  
He from the Sea seeks what the Land denies,  
In a small Boat of fair Bet●saida's Town  
* Which Zebedee and faithful Cephas own:  
These, once when length'ning Shadows warned away▪  
From the dim heavens the dying Lamp of Day  
He bids forsake the Galilean Shore,  
And with his faithful Household waft him o'er  
* For Gadaras strong Turrets, raised so high  
As Heaven and Earth, they'd both at once defy:  
They launched, whilst he his humble Cabin takes  
And sleeps, tho' all his Guard of Angels wakes:  
When straight a thick black mist began to rise  
Still dark'ning more and more the disappearing Skies:  
Old Zebedee by long experience, wise,  
When first intent he viewed the thick'ning Air,  
Calls up his Mates, and bids for Storms prepare;  
He to the Helm, he knew to guide it best,  
And to their well known Quarters all the rest:  
Nor needless was his Caution or their Hast,  
With one black Mantle straight all Heavens' o'rcast:  
Whether the Enemy assayed in vain,  
What he had lost at Land, at Sea to gain;  
Or hoped he by surprisal might prevail,  
Where by fair Force he durst no more assail:  

Mark 4.38.  Or whether Nature only sent the Storm  
T'experience what her Master could perform;  
Suffered by him whose Word can Storms remove,  
To show his Godlike Power, and Godlike Love:  
But whether it from Nature's Storehouse fell,  
Or issued from the baleful Caves of Hell;  
Still more and more its threatening Rage prevails,  
And from the Mast soon rends the Paper-Sails:  
The Dead-Sea roars, and sulphurous Vapours come *  
In rolling Flames, from its Infernal Womb,  
From Regions wide away loud Ruin bear,  
As gathering Thunders bellow round the Air.  
Old jordan hears, its Waters backward run  
(As thrice before) the fatal Shock to eat, *  
Against the Stream rolls in th' unnatural Tide,  
And should'ring Seas upon each other ride:  
Wind against Wind, Floods dashing Floods arise,  
One Whirlpool all the Waves, one Whirlwind all the Skies:  
Cold sleet from every Quarter driving comes,  
And Fear as much each trembling Hand benumbs:  
While from the Hollow of a dreadful Cloud,  
Fates angry Messengers for passage crowd,  
And o'er affrighted Mortals roar aloud:  
Broad Sheets of ghastly Flame from thence are sent  
Discovering either wrathful Element,  
Whose Horrors strike their Eyes with cruel Light,  
Through the dire Chasms of interrupted Night:  
They saw the boiling Deep roll wide away,  
While Nature's secret Chambers open lay:  
So vast the Gulf, it showed a horrid Shore,  
And Rocks and Sands and Paths unknown before;  
Aloft black lowering Worlds of Water rave,  
And greedy Death brood's o'er each threatening Wave,  
Thither on Surges tumultuous they rise,  

The Tempest 〈…〉 D●●● Sea 〈…〉 Lake of Tiberian.   
And hang on Pyramids, amidst the Skies.  
Whence they look down on Fate, which will not stay,  
But on the next curled Billow hasts away;  
Nor more his Art can the wise Steersman show,  
The Helm is gone, and the next staggering blow  
Drives in some treacherous Plank, and down they go:  
Half filled with Waves, they on their Master think,  
One dreadful Cry they make— We sink! we sink!  
All prayed, but judas most, and dreading Fate,  
Invoke the Saviour's Aid, if that not now too late.  
He rose, he came, he heard their gasping cries,  
He came with Love and Pity in his Eyes.  
Chid the mad Waves, rebuked the blust'ring Wind;  
These gently roll, that murmurs soft and kind,  
The Billows sink, not into a Gulf, but Plain,  
And mild Etesian Whispers on the Main:  
All in a moment hushed and quiet laid,  
Stilled by his Word, as when the World he made:  
When Sooty Waves did first through Chaos roar,  
Whose turbid motion knew no rest nor shore:  
Till the Almighty Word its Bosom pressed,  
And hover o'er disposed to gentle rest,  
With a fair Birth thence did it pregnant prove,  
* And Light was born to Chaos and to Love.  
Thus here— when reaching straight the wished-for shore,  
All trembling kneel, and their dread Lord adore.  
Soon known the guilty Daemons eat his sight,  
And sink, confessing, down to conscious Night:  
Yet more illustrious Wonders him attend,  
When last to Salem he his steps did bend,  
The Sun looks biggest near his journeys end:  
For now, o'er lofty Olivet they go,  
And see far off the clust'ring Town below:  
Descending thence, among the Trees they spy  
Thy happy Walls, delightful Bethany!  
A Villa where good Lazarus was Lord,  
And often at his Hospitable Board,  
With Plenty and with Welcome spread did see  
* Our Saviour and his faithful Family.  
Nor could they pass his Gates, invited in  
* By Martha and repenting Magdalen:  
Wise Martha still kept home, and safer there  
Her Brother's Household made her humble Care.  
Fair Magdalena had at Court been bred,  
On Pleasure's downy Pillows laid her Head;  
There found her Virtue but a weak Defence,  
And lost her Fame, and lost her Innocence.  
Her Soul by Vanity and Pride possessed,  
And many a blacker foul Infernal Guest;  

7. Devils.  All which our Saviour's Word expelled her Breast.  
Each Hellbred Fiend at once he chased away,  
Chased all the ugly Mists, and let in Day;  
By a severe Repentance did restore,  
And made her Soul far brighter than before:  
Thus an illustrious Penitent she proved,  
And much she prayed, and much she wept and loved:  
To Bethany then back did grieving come,  
By her kind Brother gladly welcomed home;  
Who now, beneath a Fever's mortal Rage,  
Beyond the feeble power of Art t' assuage,  
For Life, just gasping lay; and by his Bed  
The posed Physician sadly shakes his Head,  
Thence with slow steps in silence walks to th' door,  
Gives him for gone, his Skill can do no more:  
Thou first with Grief confused and hurried all,  
Their absent Guest at length to mind they call;  
To him in haste a Messenger they send,  
To come, if not too late, and save his Friend,  
Him whom he loved. He bids 'em not despair,  
" There was no danger, and he'd soon be there:  

John 11.6.  But whilst he in the neighbouring Regions stayed  
And from his gasping Friend his help delayed,  
His Soul from mortal Misery was fled,  
And his cold Corpse entombed among the dead;  
The Funeral Pomp t' his widowed House return,  
And his sad Sister's Loss condole and mourn:  
While deeply they remained lamenting here,  
Tidings at length were brought, our Lord was near:  
The Sisters rise their Godlike Guest to meet,  
And prostrate thrown with tears embrace his Feet,  

The Resurrection of Lazarus.   
And tho' they cannot doubt his Love or Care,  
Both join in this—  
" Their Brother had not died, had he been there.  
The jews, who the two Mourners still attend,  
So good a Neighbour, and so kind a Friend  
Justly lament, all his good Actions tell,  
And own there's few that lived or died so well:  
With such a general Tide of Grief oppressed,  
Our Saviour groaned and wept among the rest: 
John 11.35.   
He owned himself a Man, his Passions moved  
Like ours, he wept the Loss of what he loved:  
Again he wept, again did inly groan:  
When at the Grave arrived, a ponderous Stone  
After the ancient Rite its Mouth secured,  
(The Body in a spacious Vault immured)  
This jesus bids remove, when Martha cried,  
" 'tis now so long, dear Master, since he died,  
Such putrid Steams must needs infect the Air,  
" As neither these, nor you his Friend can bear:  
To whom our Lord—" Believe and Wonders see,  
" Believe and leave the rest to Heaven and Me.  
The Stone removed, to Heaven he lifts his Eyes,  
And prays a while, then bids his Friend, Arise!  
Thou dead, the Son of God's dread Voice he knows,  
Thou dead, at his Almighty Voice he rose;  
A Shout th' Crowd amazed around 'em giveth,  
" Dread Son of God, they cry, he lives, he lives!  
Upon his Neck the ravished Sisters fell,  
And almost need another Miracle,  
Them from their furious Transports to revive,  
Half dead with Joy, that he's again alive.  
Nor here would our meek Saviour longer stay,  
But from the faithless Crowd withdraws away;  
Withdraws the Elders Envy to repress,  
And shelters in the lonely Wilderness. 
John 11.54.   
In doing good his happy hours he spent,  
and scattered Miracles where e'er he went:  
Here lived retired, till the great Pasch was nigh,  
When he, th' immaculate Lamb, was doomed to die.  
Then mildly back returns, devoted still  
To do or suffer his great Father's William.  
Descending from the Olive-bearing Hill.  
Rich Simon him accosts; nor long before  
Our Lord did him to human Sight restore,  
A frightful Leper he, recluse remained,  
Till by his Word he Health and Ease regained.  
On his Estate now splendid lives, and great,  
Near Bethany his fair Paternal Seat:  
Nor has he yet forgot how much he owes,  
But due Respect t' his great Physician shows.  
Him passing near, he gently did arrest,  
And tells him, he that Night must be his Guest,  
Since he a little Banquet did prepare,  
And Laz'rus and his Sisters would be there,  
He and his Twelve: Nor did our Lord deny  
His hospitable Wish to gratify.  
Never morose or supercilious he;  
His Converse always open was and free;  
Life's moderate Pleasures tastes, if in his way,  
If not, could as content, without 'em stay.  
In a cool Summer Parlour all they found  
Prepared, rich Tyrian Carpets spread the Ground,  
Hangings as rich adorned the stately Room,  
The dear-bought Work of Sidon's noble Loom:  
On which, whilst on the Couch good Simon placed  
Our Lord and his, unsatisfied they gazed,  
Which Sodom's Fate inscribed so lively bore, 
Gen. 19.24.   
It looked almost as dreadful as before:  
The Workman's Art did here so happy prove,  
You'd think the very Figures weep and move:  
And there so plain the flaming Cities show,  
Spectators fear, lest they should Statues grow;  
Like Lot's Apostate Wife— See where she stands,  
And backward throws her longing Eyes and Hands!  
Her Eyes and Hands, from whence warm Life was fled,  
These with a careless stroke left pale and dead.  
That Cheek that's nearest fresh and ruddy shows,  
T' other, as seems, each moment paler grows.  
Her Hair part hastening Fate did slowly bind,  
And part still faintly wavered in the Wind:  
One Foot seems raised, as thence its Load 'twould bear,  
But t' other, like a Statue's rooted there:  
Just half transformed, as yet an equal Strife  
Betwixt Death's chilling Frost and struggling Life:  
Till by degrees she seemed of Sense bereft,  
And still the more you looked, the lesle was left;  
Yet in her Face, Fear, Anger, Pity strive,  
As skilful Artists make their Marble live:  
Not far before the good old Man appears,  
Thence by his Angels hastened, and his Fears;  
The small Remains of Sodom with him bears,  
And moistens with his Tears his Silver Hairs:  
See him scarce reached to little Zoar's Walls,  
When from black Clouds the ruddy Vengeance falls:  
(Big drops of flaming Gold profusely spent  
To th' Life the fatal Shower did represent:)  
See where the cursed Inhabitants look pale,  
As down it drives on Siddim's guilty Vale!  
See where with fearful Shrieks they pierce the Sky!  
Almost you'd think you heard the wretched Cry  
For what they long despised; now all too late,  
Deep swallowed in inevitable Fate. 
Gen. 19   
Next see old jordan from above prepare  
With Silver Streams, (true Silver Streams they were)  
To wash their Walls; but when he heard the News,  
As fain he would the hated Task refuse,  
See where a while his Fate and theirs he shuns,  
* And bending back by strong Machaerus runs!  
His Fate in vain he shuns by this short stay,  
Relapsing through the Vale he glides away,  
* And makes a black uncomfortable Bay:  
Here wandering Birds above forget to fly,  
And there the glittering Fishes floating lie,  
Choked with Sulphureous Fumes they gasp and die:  
The Fields around, the Regions of Despair;  
No Beast durst graze, no Shrub or Herb grew there:  
Above, these Words—  
Writ in the ancient Hebrew Character:  
" Learn, Mortals hence, to dread the Immortal's Ire!  
Here fiery Lust was purged with hotter Fire.  
" Here gazed they till good Lazarus was come  
With his fair Sisters to the festal room;  
When thence their Eyes unwillingly they take,  
And from the pleasant Ecstasy awake:  
The twice-born Youth a low Obeisance made,  
And for his Life his Thanks devoutly paid:  
Now on their Seats are placed each cheerful Guest,  
All but wise Martha, who directs the Feast,  
And Magdalen, who fell with Sighs profound  
And plenteous Tears effused upon the ground,  
At jesus feet; that Place she'd have or none,  
Unworthy even of that herself must own:  
A Viol of rich Essence with her brings,  
Which once she thought a Ransom even for Kings,  
When 'twas her Life, her Heaven to charm and please,  
Dissolved in lawless Luxury and Ease:  
This o'er his Feet she breaks, thence crowding pour  
Of precious Drops a rich, a fragrant Shower;  
Which with inestimable Sweets perfume  
And scatter all Arabia round the Room:  
Then her bright Hair, which oft in Curls displayed,  
At once had Nets and Chains for Lovers made,  
She better now employs, whilst from her Eyes  
Profusely washed, with that his Feet she dries:  
Some murmuring cry, this Cost had been employed  
To better use, if by the Poor enjoyed;  
Iscariot chief, then did the Fiend begin  
In his base Soul to scatter Seeds of Sin:  
Not so our Lord, who with an equal mind  
Declares, against his Funeral 'twas designed:  
And that this liberal kindness on him shown,  
Should ever be to after ages known:  
Trembling those fatal Words th' Apostles hear,  
And deep again revolve with anxious Fear.  
That Night at pleasant Bethany they stay,  
Waiting our Lord, who the succeeding day  
Towards the fair Town his careful Footsteps bends  
At Bethphage met by Crowds of wondering Friends.  
See there the higth to which he e'er aspired!  

Christ at Simon the L●p●r's House ● Mary Magdalen anointing his F●et.   

Christ riding to J●rusa●●m.   
See there the highest Pomp he e'er desired!  
No Horse, no Chariot him to Court must bring;  
But a mean Ass, bear Salems' humble King.  
See where the giddy Crowd just Homage pay, 
Zach. 9.9. Matth. 21.5. John 12.15.   
With natural easy Pomp prepare his way!  
Branches and clothes through all his Paths are thrown,  
Borro'wing the Palms fair Garments with their own:  
* Hosanna all the Cry, Hosanna loud  
Is now the Breath of all the giddy Crowd,  
Which soon they'll change to a far different Cry;  
Soon their Hosanna will be Crucify!  
To him not hid, so well who all things knows,  
His fickle Friends, and firm inveterate Foes:  
Who oft unmoved had turned the Leaves of Fate,  
Who meets unmoved their Flattery as their Hate;  
When all around he with a Sigh surveyed  
Which in unpityed Dust must soon be laid,  
And his great Father to avert it, prayed,  
He back his careful Steps did thence convey  
From the hoarse Tumults of the Town and Day;  
Behind, the noisy Crowd and Streets he leaves,  
Him, Night approaching, Bethany receives;  
His humble Couch by Innocence prepared,  
While his own Menial Angels mount the Guard.  
What tho' all Act, tho' all pure Mind they be,  
Scarce are they earlier at their Hymns than he.  
An Hill there is, which fronts with decent Pride  
Illustrious Solyma's bright Eastern side:  
With Groves of Olives crowned, and thence did claim  
From times unknown its everlasting Name;  
Whose three Degrees each other higher bear  
Rivalling the three Regions of the Air;  
Whence those who to the third proud Top will go  
May see the City and the Clouds below.  
A lovely Vale creeps gently winding down  
And fills the Space betwixt the Hill and Town;  
Or whose green Breast deceitful Kidron flows,  
* A Torrent now, and now a Brook she shows;  
And when the Earth scorched by the Dog-stars beams  
Most wants her Moisture, most she hides her Streams.  
(True Map of worldly joys, so short their stay,  
So imperceptibly they glide away.)  
Bianca Chemosh and by Moloch first it runs,  

1 Kings 21.4, 5, 7.  And the wise Kings disgraceful Follies shuns:  
weakened by Age, and by his Wives betrayed  
Them first his Idols, than their Gods he made.  
Due East from these a little Villa leaves,  
Which flows with Oil, and thence its Name receives.  
Gethsemane they call't, and by its side *  
Full on the Edge o'th' Mountains second Pride,  
Lies a sweet Garden, pleasantly retired,  
Not for large barren Walks and Art admired;  
No Beauties forced or regular appear,  
A lovely charming Wildness revels here.  
Brown Walks and Allies green around it ran,  
Where Nature scorned to ask the Aid of Man;  
Where the rich Olives fruitful Arbours grow,  
And Physic, Food and Ease at once bestow:  
Or the triumphant Palm, for Victors made  
Cross the sweet Walks projects its lovely Shade.  
[" Let others Laurels court, the Palm be mine,  
" Which yields in barren Wastes both Fruit and Wine;  
" Which rises pressed, whose faithful Branches bend  
" O'er Rocks and Floods to meet its charming Friend.]  
Here, while the World lay drowned in thoughtless Rest,  
Nor dreamt of joys which he and his possessed,  
E'er heavens fair Lamp did o'er the Hills aspire  
Powd'ring their Silver Heads with Golden Fire,  
Drawn by Celestial Love's far brighter Flame  
He and his chosen Twelve not seldom came:  
Celestial Love they think, they talk, they sing,  
" And on the Cherub-Contemplations Wing  
In joys that Earth can neither take nor give  
Eternal Love's bright Face they see, and live.  
Love is pure Act, its Task is never done, *  
This and the other World's true Soul and Sun;  
Not that weak foolish Fire which rears its Head  
In mortal Breasts, no sooner born than dead;  
But immaterial, bright Celestial Love,  
" Kindled on sight of those fair things above;  
Where holy Souls, all made of that and Fire,  
" Loud Praise incessant sing, and never tyre.  
But even as our dim Globe immersed in Night,  
From dregss of Chaos made, first robbed of Light,  
Can yet reflect bright beauteous Beams, and send  
Those Rays to Heaven, which Heaven at first did lend:  
So Love Divine, whose Circles farther run  
Than that eternal Wanderer, the Sun,  
From you, fair Fund of Bliss, fair Realms of Day  
First throws its Seeds around our humble Clay:  
How sweetly thence they spring? how kindly rise?  
Claim their high Birth, and mean their native Skies,  
Which humbler here, and loftier there we see;  
Smile in a Flower, and flourish in a Tree,  
And lend sweet Philomela her pretty Throat,  
Answered around by every Rivals Note;  
On Bushes, Trees and Plains their Voice they raise,  
And teach forgetful Man his Maker's Praise.  
The heavenly Lark from yond green Turf upsprings,  
How do I envy both her Voice and Wings?  
Mounts like an Angel, like an Angel sings;  
But little Weight so little Matter bears,  
Soft-wasted on her own harmonious Airs;  
From thence surveys at the first opening Dawn  
Each smiling Field, and every gilded Lawn:  
With her each Soul whom heavenly Ardours please,  
Shakes off base Slumber and inglorious Ease:  
How beauteous the Creation now, how bright?  
Thus rose the infant World from old Original Night,  
And thus looked Paradise—  
Thus, clearest Beam! that e'er on Earth did shine!  
O loveliest Efflux of the Light Divine!  
Thus didst thou all thy happy Morn's improve,  
Thou Height of Heavenly Power and Heavenly Love!  
Whether tall Tabor stooped his Head to meet  
And welcome thither thy triumphant Feet;  
Or thou by hollow Kidron's tumbling Spring  
Didst with thy faithful Twelve high Anthems sing,  
Hymning th' eternal Father, who looked down  
And his winged Courtiers sent their Lord to own,  
Whilst all around th' attentive Angels hung  
Devouring every Accent of thy Tongue,  
And each blessed Ode in a full Chorus sung.  
Nor are, great King! (thy mighty Conquests o'er,  
And thou received where high enthroned before)  
Sweet Fields disdained, nor need the Man despair,  
Who early seeks even yet to find thee there.  
Yes, thou art here, my Master, thou art here!  
My busy Heart foretold my Love was near.  
Let Earth go where it will, I'll not repine,  
Nor can unhappy be, while Heaven is mine.  
Forget not, if that Freedom won't offend,  
(O that he could deserve the Name!) your Friend.  
Divinest Saviour, of a spotless Maid,  
The spotless Son, your humblest Suppliant aid!  
Who, e'er the dappled Morn has dressed the Skies,  
To your blessed Palace lifts his longing Eyes!  
Whether in old Iërne's angry Seas, *  
Near Mona Isle, or the blue Hebrides;  
Or from the Face of Men removed away,  
In a mean Cot composed of Reeds and Clay,  
Wasting in Sighs th' uncomfortable Day:  
Near where th' unhospitable Humber roars  
Devouring by degrees the neighbouring Shores:  
Or by dear Mother Isis stretched along,  
Or Father Tame he twist the Sacred Song;  
Which, if your Name eternity can give,  
Shall down to Twenty long long Ages live▪  
Return, my Muse, and sacred Friendship sing!  
That most Divine, yet most forgotten Thing.  
Shadow of Heavenly Love! which thou dost show  
I'th' clearest Type that we have left below:  
But where? Ah where is that to th' Life expressed?  
Unsullied, or by Vice or Interest?  
Where, if on Earth, but in our Saviour's Breast?  
Then we were sure of Thee, tho' since unknown,  
Whether with him again to Heaven th' art flown;  
In him, who far above all Mortals blest  

John 13 23  Reposed him soft on Love's and Friendship's Breast;  
The loved Disciple, who his Soul might see,  

St. JOHN:   

St. PETRUS.   

St. JACOBUS MAYOR.   
And knew his Heart almost as well Herald  
How closely knit? most intimately one,  
Next the Eternal Father and his Son:  
A Caesar's Title lesle my Envy moves,  
Than to be styled the Man whom jesus loves.  
What Charms, what Beauties in his Face did shine,  
Reflected ever from the Face Divine!  
Love in his Eyes, Love in his Face and Air;  
Scarce was the Mind within more sweet and fair.  
Silent and deep as Crystal Waters flow,  
Where Noise above Shallows are found below:  
Love is not loud, and if he lesle expressed,  
Yet Time will tell he has more than all the rest: 
John 18.15, 19, 26.   
The Service for the Loaves he did not choose,  
He jesus loved, and they the King o'th' jews,  
Who might their Country's Enemies disperse,  
And triumph o'er the conquered Universe.  
Of these the Chief did zealous Cephas hold,  
Oft in his Master's Cause too warmly bold:  
Like hasty Uzzah, when it seemed to nod,  
His forward Hand would prop the Ark of God: 
2 Sam. 6.6.   
Thus Weakness does Devotion oft supply,  
And Faiths too low, when the Pulse beats too high.  
Tinged with the old Traditions of their Land,  
The holy Books they could not understand.  
How bad the best of men, how dark the Mind,  
Where heavenly Truths clear Rays have never shined!  
Mildly our Saviour did their Weakness bear;  
He knew even his Disciples, Mortals were:  
He knew 'twas well-meant Zeal had them betrayed,  
And soon forgave those Faults which Love had made:  
What if good Cephas warm and eager be?  
None dared, none did, none suffered more than He:  
So much his gracious Master him approved,  
None but the loved Disciple more was loved,  
Who, with his Brother james, of that great Three  
Blessed Witnesses of his Divinity,  
Made the first Rank of Worthies, graced to stand  
I'th' head of David's Son's immortal Band. 
2 Sam. 23.8, etc.   
An active Principle informed their Breast,  
The Love of jesus would not let 'em rest.  
Let Thirst of Glory meaner Souls inspire,  
And haunt their Dreams! these, nobler Things desire;  
Nor envy such as Bodies only bind,  
While they in Truth's soft Chains secure the Mind.  
Thus when their Hymns were o'er, and they came down  
From Olivet to view the Sacred Town,  
(Nor would their Master always private dwell,  
Or rob the World t' enrich a lonely Cell,)  
Like him, the only business they designed,  
Was th' universal Good of all Mankind:  
Their Charity no narrow limits penned,  
Open and free, as Light or Element;  
And as their Lord himself did not disdain  
The Sinner and the humble Publican,  
So would their Conversation often be  
With worse than both, the haughty Pharisee,  
Vain, Supercilious, damning all beside,  
Yet oft as full of ignorance as pride,  
Oft did his Saintlike Face fowl lewdness hide:  
But, as some Tares mix with the purest Grain,  
Their Heaps of Dross some Sparks of Gold contain:  
Such as not obstinately closed their Eyes,  
When the bright Sun of Righteousness did rise;  
Some glimm'rings in their Souls, some whispers there  
Would jesus the Messias oft declare;  
Or, if their Infant-Faith but dawning be,  
They wished tho' they could scarce believe, 'twas Herald  
Weak Nicodemus, not his Saviour's sight 
John 3.2.   
Could make his bashful Faith endure the Light:  

Ibid.  Yet him a Teacher sent from God confessed,  
And gladly from his Lips would learn the rest.  
Gamaliel in the Sacred Pandects read,  
By which a Life unblamable he led;  
Severely wise, and would known Truths receive,  
But Truths well weighed, before he'd them believe:  
Both in the Sanhedrim of Name and Note;  
Both used to sway the Senate's weighty Vote:  
To these was joseph joined—  
joseph, for Wisdom and for Counsel famed,  
Of his fair Birth-place, ancient Rama, named:  
Rama of old, but Time which changes all,  
The Place does now Arimathaea call,  
Who near the Town had a convenient Seat,  
Still and retired, 'twas pleasant all and neat,  
Thou not with pompous Statues proudly great:  
Nor poorly mean, but proper to supply  
The wants of Nature, not of Luxury:  
* There borrowed Streams from Siloam's neighbouring Well,  
In artificial Showers rose and fell;  
With unknown Spring still blessed the happy Ground,  
And spread eternal Verdure all around.  
* There ancient ahab's odoriferous Balm,  
(Mixed with tall Cedar and triumphant Palm)  
* Rich Balm, Iudaea's Native, frequent grows,  
And with big fragrant Tears inestimably flows.  
A few choice Friends, with modest Mirth and Wine,  
* From Gaza's or Sarepta's noble Vine,  
Here would he sometimes meet, and wear away  
In no unactive Ease the scorching day:  
Nor Vices sly Intrusion could they fear;  
intemperance could not hope to enter here;  
For, as the wise Egyptians at their Feasts,  
* Served up a Skull before their cheerful Guests,  
Around 'em they the same grave Objects see:  
The Garden's on the side of Calvary, 
Matth. 27.60. Mark 15.46.   
Won from the Wast of Death, and wisely there  
Good joseph built himself a Sepulchre.  
Who e'er like him is virtuous, wise and brave,  
Dares to be cheerful, tho' he sees his Grave:  
Who sees his Grave, all Thoughts must needs disdain,  
Unworthy, Eternity to entertain.  
Here joseph did his happy Hours employ,  
And, here himself, and here his Friends enjoy:  
Their Conversation noble and refined,  
Fit to divert and yet improve the Mind.  
The Rules of Just and Right, their Weights and Bounds,  
And fixed eternal Truth's eternal Mounds;  
What known of God by Reason's darker Sight,  
And what by Revelation's noonday Light;  
What of himself the divine Plato knew,  
What from the sacred Hebrew Fountains drew;  
How short of their great Legislator came,  
Who even to Gentile Worlds extends his Name,  
* By ancient Orpheus sung;—  
What Rules of Life, couched in their Sacred Law,  
What distant Truths their ancient Seers saw,  
Chiefly the promised Prince, so oft foretold  
By all the Holy Oracles of old.  
That great Prophetic Shilob long designed  

Vid. Lib. 2.  His groaning country's heavy Chains t' unbind;  
If this the Age of his Appearance be,  
Or if already come, and jesus He:  
Whose Miracles they uncontested saw,  
Greater and more than what confirmed the Law; *  
Who spoke as never Mortal did before,  
Yet all his own pure Doctrines lived and more.  
All speak their Sense, no angry Bigot there,  
Lesle for themselves than Truth concerned they were,  
And that and Reason only held the Chair.  
Them thus employed the loved Disciple found  
In the still Limits of their happy Ground,  
Who with the other Two, the Cause the same,  
Not uninvited nor unwelcome came;  
Whom near fair Rama or old Gibeons Wall  
By Gilgal, jericho, or Iordan's Fall  
joseph had seen the trembling Fiends obey,  
And crowding Regions jesus own, while they  
In sacred Water washed their Sins away;  
These in the Temple met he with him brought  
To teach his Friends what them their Master taught;  
His Birth, his spotless Life, his Sacred Law,  
And all the wondrous Things they heard and saw;  
For now the Fourth swift Year declining ran ran  
Since He his weighty Office first began.  
The End of the First Book.   

NOTES ON The LIFE of CHRIST. BOOK I  
* ay Sing the God] I must expect an Attack from the Critics on account of my Proposition, who may complain, that it speaks too advantageously of my Subject, representing it as an immense Work, too heavy for an Angel; and that nothing more can be found in the whole Book, when I talk of— Singing the God, etc. even in the second Line. To the latter I may answer, That I had injured my Hero had I described him other than God as well as man; but yet even there, I make him, as he was, a suffering God: and indeed the greatest part of the Proposition is taken up with his Exinanition and Humiliation, his Troubles and his Sufferings, which the Masters of Epic Poetry recommend as the most proper matter for that part of a Poem. Nay, I have carried him lower than ever any Poet yet did his Hero, and yet all agreeable to Truth, in that Verse," And gave his Life when he could give no more. For the former Objection, giving so great an Idea of the whole Work, as well as the principal Hero, I hope that too may be easily defended, since 'tis in order to two Advantages, the first in the Proposition itself, viz. mentioning the Author of the Poem with that Mediocrity which both Truth and Decency require," How then shall I, etc. The second in the natural Connexion of the Proposition with the Invocation, by introducing the Divinity to my assistance," O thou whose Word, etc.  
* By his Example] One great End of our Saviour's coming into the World, was undoubtedly to set us a good Example, that his Followers might learn from him to do good, and suffer evil: But to say, that was the chief or only End, or that Man could be saved, or God atoned by his Example; that his Example could be a Propitiation, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the Sins of Mankind, is just such Reason as those who pretend so much to be Masters of it frequently put upon the World. I therefore instance in the other End● of our Saviour's coming, teaching a more perfect Law, the Law of Faith, as S. Paul styles it; and principally redeeming Mankind, and appeasing his Father by his inestimable Merits and painful Death; whereby, as our Church expressly asserts in the Consecration Prayer at the Communion," he made a full, perfect and sufficient Sacrifice, Oblation and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World.  
* And happy Years in decent Order ran.] This with those following," Lost Astraea, and the End of the Proposition," So vast the Work, etc. are all Imitations of Virgil, as any that ever read him might easily discern.  
* Immortal Cowley, Herbert all divine, Beheld the weighty Task—] Cowley in his beautiful Description of the Angel's Annunciation, and Incarnation of our Saviour, in David's Dream or Vision: and Herbert in his excellent Sacrifice. I might have added more, as Crashaw, Milton, and others, but all that I've seen are no better than Fragments; a complete Work of this Nature having never yet, that I know of, been attempted in our Language.  
* The Mount of God] The Mount of the Transfiguration is called the Holy Mount by S. Peter in his Epistles. Nor is there any great doubt but that this was Mount Tabor, the Itabyrium of josephus, since most of the Moderns and Ancients are of that Opinion. The Primitive Christians undoubtedly believed it, which they might easily have, by Tradition, from the Disciples: and accordingly the Empress Helena built three Oratories, as 'tis supposed, in the very place of the Transfiguration, of which more below.  
* Lovely it looked.] Most of Palestine is, even now, described, by those who have seen it, as so beautiful, that it's impossible for Poetry to mend it; particularly this Mount Tabor, which all Travellers represent as one of the most delicious Places in the World. Among many see Surius' Pieux Pelerine, p. 316. Le Sommet de ce Sacre Mont, Fort agreéable, etc. The Top of this Holy Mount is extremely agreeable and pleasant. 'Tis situated in the great Plain of Esdraelon, about three Leagues from Nazareth, in form like a Sugar-Loaf, with a curious pleasant Plain on the Top, from whence to the Foot of it, 'tis all covered with Flowers, Trees, and Shrubs (qui sont tousjours verdoyants) which are always green or flourishing, as Balsom-Trees, Olives, Laurels, Roses, etc. the very natural Beauty of the Place, as it were, inspiring a Man with Devotion. And Lower, This Mount seems to have one of the most beautiful Prospects in the World: to the East you may see the Sea of Galilee, part of Stony-Arabia, and the Mount of the Beatitudes. To the West, Mount Carmel, and the Great Sea (the Mediterranean). North, Bethulia, and Mount Libanus. South, the Plain of Esdraelon, Mountains of Gilboa, Hermon, Endor, Naim, etc.  
* Royal Tiberias.] Then a New Town, built by Herod on the West side of the Lake, which bears its Name (see next Note) in honour of the Emperor Tiberius, whence 'twas called, as Caesarea Philippi in Auranitis, by his Brother Philip.  
* In numerous Boats upon the Neighbouring Lake] The Lake of Gennezareth, so famous in the New Testament for many of our Saviour's short Voyages; for which reason we'll here once for all give a full account of it. It has several Names both Proper and Common. 'Tis called a Lake for the most part in S. Luke, because a Conflux of fresh Waters, jordan falling into it about the North-East Corner by Chorazin and Capernaum, and, as Traveller's report (which the Reader may, if he please, believe to prevent further Trouble) passes unmixed through the midst. It's called a Sea by the other Evangelists, not only for its Largeness, as our great Lakes in England are styled Meers, which seems much the same; but according to the Idiom of the Hebrew Language, which gives the name of Sea to all gatherings together of Waters, as the Sea of jazer East of jordan, nay even the Brazen Sea belonging to the Temple. It has Four Proper Names in the Scriptures, one in the Old Testament, the Sea of Cinneroth, either from a Town so called on its Borders, or from its Form, something like a Harp, in the Hebrew Cinner. In the New Testament 'tis styled the Lake or Sea of Gennesareth, Galilee, and Tiberias; Gennesareth, either from 'Gan Hortus, and Nazar a Flower; or compounded of two Languages, a thing common enough, from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Terra, and Nazareth, a famous neighbouring Town, or perhaps some small District thereabout: Lastly, the Sea of Galilee, from the Country so called, washing most of its Eastern side, and especially the Towns of Tiberias, standing between jotopata and Tarichaea, the latter of which josephus says had much Shipping. At the North-West Corner of this Sea or Lake stands Bethsaida; on the East side Gadara, which made such a desperate Defence against the Romans; and near that Gerasa or Girgase, which names that whole side of the Country, being all the Remains of the old Nation of the Girgashites, destroyed by joshua. josephus makes this Lake an hundred Furlongs in Length, and six in Breadth, describing at large thereon the famous Sea-Fight of that Countrypeople with the Romans. Our Biddulph says 'tis twenty four Miles long and fifteen broad; my Pilgrim twelve long and six broad; measuring it, I suppose at different places.  
* When past by Western Hermon 's etc.] Kishon, here described, is reckoned by Geographers the noblest River in Palestine next jordan. It has two Heads and two Falls, unless my Authors are mistaken; its largest Head rises South of Tabor, near Sebaste or Samaria, and passing this Western Hermon, a small Mountain so called on the West of jordan, not far from Gilboa, just at the foot of Tabor it joins the other Stream which comes from the North of that Mountain, called by some little Kishon. It's two Falls are one into the Lake of Tiberias, South of Tarichaea, the other into the Mediterranean, called in the Scriptures the Western Sea, and the Great Sea, to distinguish it from their Inland Seas, and the great Mare Eoüm, behind Arabia.  
* Bodies and Shields and Men promiscuous rolled along.] An Imitation of that noble Image in Virgil, 
— Ubi tot Simois correpta sub undas  
Scuta Virûm, Galeasg; & fortia Corpora volvit.   
* Whence Carmel 's Mount and Grove its Waves entice, To add New Beauties to that Paradise.] 'Tis indeed described like a Paradise by Fuller and others: for thus he in his Pisgah, Lib. 2. p. 161. As for Carmel in general, 'twas so delicious a Place, that more Pleasure was hardly to be fancied than here to be found. It consisted of High Hills, a fruitful Vale, the pleasant River of Kishon, and a goodly Forest. From which Carmel, as the Platform of Pleasure, many other delightful Places are so named.  
* Within whose Arms, more North, rich Tyrus stood.] Palaetyrus, or Old Tyre, was built on the Seashore, which was destroyed by Nabuchadnezzar, as Sir W. Raleigh, after thirteen years' Siege, though he got nothing by it but the bare Nest, the Inhabitants flying by Sea to their Colony at Carthage. After which New Tyre rose like a Phoenix out of its Ashes; whence some have thought both Name and Fable take their original. 'Twas built within the very Arms of the Sea, the Mediterranean coming quite round it, by the Advantage of which Situation it sustained a Siege of some time even from Alexander himself, who at last took it with almost infinite Pains and Labour, being forced to make a Causeway into the Sea to get at it, though well paid for his Labour by the incredible Riches he found therein: though now 'tis well altered, nothing of all its proud Buildings being left, besides about an hundred miserable Huts of Turks and Moors, among vast Heaps of Ruins.  
* You'll Jezreel see.] From a Corruption of which Word I suppose 'tis that the large Champaign Country thereabouts is called the Plain of Esdraelon.  
* Two destined Martyrs.] S. Peter, crucified at Rome with his Head downward; S. james, beheaded by Herod.  
* From awful Thunder.] So 'tis interpreted by the Evangelist himself, Bounerges, that is, Sons of Thunder. Because, says Walker oddly enough, they had more Mettle and forth-putting than any of the rest.  
* Ay-gazing.] Here once for all I tell the Reader, that 'tis not out of necessity I make use now and then of some of those old Words, whether out of a vicious Imitation of Milton and Spencer, I ain't so proper a Judge. All I'll say of 'em is, That I own I've ever had a fondness for some of 'em, they please me, and sound not disagreeably to my Ear, and that's all the Reason I can give for using 'em.  
* Almighty Wand.] 'Tis a bold Epithet, but 'tis, I think, Mr. Cowleys, and therefore I'm not to answer for't, nor, if he writ it, can it need defending.  
* Moses, expiring with the Kiss of God.] 'Tis a pretty Tradition of the Rabbis, That God came to Moses in Mount Pisgah, and took away his Soul in a Kiss.  
* Thus Law and Prophets their Perfection find, etc.] 'Tis an Observation of some of the Fathers, That by the Appearance of Moses and Elias to our Saviour, was figured the Harmony betwixt the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospel which he then came to deliver. And indeed there seems to be more of Solidity in this than in most of those Allegorical Fancies.  
* Talked of his Wondrous Passion.] See this most clearly S. Luke 9.31. They appeared in Glory, and spoke of his Decease, which he should accomplish at jerusalem. The Word we tender Decease, is in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which may also relate to his Resurrection and Ascension into Glory, alluding perhaps to the Children of Israel's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Passage or Departure out of Egypt, the Book which is so called describing their Conquests as well as Hardships, till they were at length led by joshua, or jesus, into Canaan, the Type of Heaven.  
* His seamless Robe, than New-fall'n-Snow more white.] In S. Matth. 17.2. 'tis, his Face did shine as the sun, and his Raiment was white as the light. There's little doubt but the same Splendour or Glory with which his Face shone, was also communicated to all his Blessed Body, from whence he shined through his clothes, they receiving Light from him now, as Virtue at other times, whence they must needs appear white, as Mr. Boyl, and common Observation tells us the Clouds do when the Sun pierces 'em with his Rays.  
* Three humble Tabernacles.] One would as little expect to find the Relics of those three Tabernacles that S. Peter would have made upon the Mount, as to see Ioseph's Him, or the Archangel's Feather. But there is a certain Communion in the World which has many of these Advantages to elevate and surprise, beyond all Faith, Sense or Reason. Agreeably to which plenitude of Power amongst 'em, one Breidinbachius, a Writer of theirs, quoted both by Walker and Fuller, having traveled up the Mountain, tells the World very gravely, Ibi etiam bodie ostenduntur, etc. Even to this day are shown there the Ruins of those three Tabernacles, built according to S. Peter's desire, etc. But our honest Pilgrim explains all the Mystery, and says, they were only the Remains of three Oratories, built by S. Helen in that place, once covered with a Magnificent Church, and afterwards erected into a Bishopric.  
* Such the strange Cloud that made the World's first Morn.] 'Tis generally thought that this Light which was created the first Day, and distinguished Day and Night by its Circumvolution, till the fourth Day when the Sun was made, was no other than a Body of Light, collected out of the Chaos, of whose Creation we read before in Gen. 1.2. and after distributed into Sun, Stars, and perhaps other lucid Bodies.  
* That Pillar such which did from Egypt come, And Piloted the chosen Nations home, From Earth to Heaven, etc.] It may properly be said Piloted, because of those vast Seas of Sand they were to pass, far more uncertain in their ebbing and flowing than the proper Sea, and sometimes, as Historians tell us, swallowing whole Armies. Of this Cloud Philo gives us a very beautiful and noble Description, much to this purpose, That it rose up over the Tabernacle or midst of the Camp, in form of a glorious Pillar, mounting to such an Height, and spreading to so vast an Extent, that it gave a cool and comfortable Shade to the whole Army.  
* Which Zebedee and Cephas.] If I should be mistaken in the joint Owners of this Ship, I hope none of their Heirs and Executors will call me in question for't. But 'tis probable enough the Ship might belong to either of 'em; they were fishing very near one another when our Saviour first called four of his Disciples, S. Matth. 4.18, 21. two of which were Zebedee's Sons, and in a Ship together with him.  
* The Dead-Sea roars.] I confess 'tis a pretty way off the Lake of Gennesareth; but I don't affirm the Seamen heard it thither. There's an odd Story in Kircher's China, of a Lake somewhere in that Country, on the Top of a Mountain, of a black Colour, into which if any thing is thrown, a horrid Tempest immediately arises. However, Nitro-sulphureous Vapours which from Thunder and Lightning, could not be fetched any where more probably than from this Lake of Sodom.  
* Or whether Nature only, etc.] We are sure that there are natural Storms, even in Inland Meers, or Lakes: thus Harlem Mere, as I've been informed by Eye-witnesses, will sometimes be as rough as the Sea itself.  
* As Thrice before.] Once to joshua, Josh. 3.16. once to Elijah, 2 Kings 2.8. then to Elisha, ibid. 14.  
* And Light was born to Chaos and to Love.] Love was the eldest of the Gods, in Hesiod's Genealogy.  
* Our Saviour and his faithful Family.] They might be all faithful yet, though judas afterwards corrupted: or if not, the old Denominatio à majori, will be a sufficient Plea.  
* By Martha, and repenting Magdalene.] I know it's controverted whether this Mary were the repenting Magdalene; 'tis enough for me that some have been of that Opinion.  
* Our Saviour groaned and wept among the rest.] Groaned, Joh. 11.33. Wept, 35. And here I need not tell any judicious Reader that I feel myself fall infinitely short of the History, which I think has the most Tenderness in it of any in the whole Bible, excepting perhaps that of our Saviour's commending his Mother to his Friend from the Cross, in the ninth Book, the Description of which I'm more satisfied with than this here. Nor can any thing be a greater Argument of our Saviour's Kindness and Goodness to Mankind than his being thus concerned at his Friends Misfortunes, even when he knew he should so soon remove them.  
* Rich Simon him accosts.] He's called Simon the Leper, Mar. 14.3.  
* Which Sodom 's Fate inscribed.] 'Tis impossible to furnish a Poetical House well (I don't mean a Poet's) without a Suit of Hangings; and if it be objected against mine, that the jews were against Pictures, much more will it bear against Mr. Cowley's Colossus over Soul's Gate; but his Excuse will serve so well for both, that I'll borrow it in his own Words, in Notes on lib. 1. where speaking of the civil use of Images among the jews, he adds," Whether it be true or no, is not of importance in Poetry, as long as there's any appearance of Probability.  
* Bending back by strong Macherus runs.] New Iordan's fall into the Dead Sea, stands the strong Castle of Machaerus. West of which the River passing toward the Lake of Sodom, makes a considerable Flexure, bending backwards to the North-East; which Pliny seems to hint at, when, speaking of jordan, he says, Invitus Asphaltiten Lacum, etc. He falls unwillingly into the Asphaltite Lake, for which Nature itself seems to have an Aversion and Horror.  
* And makes a black uncomfortable Bay.] This is excellently described by Solimus, cap. 38. Longo ab Hierosolymis recessu tristis sinus panditur, quem de coelo tactum testatur humus nigra & in cinerem soluta. Duo ibi oppida, Sodomum nominatum alterum, alterum Gomorrhum, apud quae Pomum gignitur, quod habeat speciem, licet maturitatis, mandi tamen on potest, nam fuliginem intrinsecus favillaceam ambitio tantum extimae cutis cohibet, quae vel levi tactu pressa, fumum exhalat, & fatiscit in vagum pulverem.  
* Borrowing the Palm's fair Garments with their own.] A custom among the jews to spread their Garments under Great Persons, as an high token to Honour; and, as it seems, a Ceremony of Inauguration, and due only to Regal Dignity: for thus did the Captains to jehu, when they agreed with God's way of Disposal, and acknowledged him King. 2 Kings 9.13.  
* Whose three Degrees, etc.] Mount Olivet consists of three Degrees or Risings; which, I think, Fuller, for 'tis much after his way, compares to Chancel, Church, and Steeple.  
* O'er whose green Breast, deceitful Kidron flows.] Those that write of Palestine, tell us, the Book Kidron, or Cedron, is nothing but a Mass of Waters made out of Rains which descend from Mount Olivet and Mount Moria, between which it runs, separating 'em from each other, and falling thence into the Vale of jehosophat; that 'tis ordinarily quite dry unless in very wet Seasons, and about two or three days in the year, when there are violent Rains, and hardly any else, when the People make provision of Water, which they preserve in Cisterns a long time in its Freshness and Purity.  
* By Chemosh and by Moloch.] See the melancholy History of Solomon's Apostasy and Idolatry, in 1 Kings 4, 5, 7. This Hill fronts the Temple, and is before, or to the East of jerusalem, touching upon the North; being called to this day the Mount of offence or scandal; of Chemosh we have little in Scripture, but that he was the Abomination of the Moabites, as Milcom or Moloch (of whom vid. Lib. vi.) of the Children of Ammon.  
Which flows with Oil, etc.] That Etymology is generally given of it; and the Pilgrim says 'tis called to this day the Garden of Olives, from nine great Olives still growing in it, though he places it on the lowest Hill, and East of it, Fuller on the second to the North-West thereof, whom I follow.  
* Love is pure Act, etc.] If this Digression of Divine Love be thought too long, 'tis easily turned over, though I could not persuade myself to strike it out, because it may please a pious Mind.  
Whether in old jerne 's angry Seas, etc.] The Irish Seas, about Anglesey, Man, etc. Where the Author began this Work, since completed in several parts of England.  
* Gamaliel in the Sacred Pandects read.] 'Tis certain our Saviour himself as well as his Disciples, conversed with several of the Pharisees, nay he did sometimes eat with one of the chief of them. 'Tis as certain Gamaliel was not very averse to his Doctrine, from his Discourse in the Acts concerning it. From whence 'tis probable he might be present at those Conferences concerning our Saviour, and I'm obliged to take care for no more.  
* From his fair Birth-place, ancient Rama named.] Ramathaim Zophim, in Ephraim, where Samuel lived, and whence most agreed joseph was named.  
* There borrowed Streams from Siloam 's neighbouring Well.] The Well or Fountain of Siloam rises at the North-West Corner of jerusalem, if the Scale and Maps are right; not above five hundred Paces from the foot of Calvary.  
* Rich Balm, Judaea 's Native.] Uni terrarum judaeae concessum, says Pliny of this Balm, that is, it only grew there originally, for 'twas afterwards transplanted to Rome and other places.  
* From Gaza's, or Sarepta 's noble Vine.] Famous among Heathen Authors, whence Sidonius, 
Vina mihi non sunt Gazetica, Chia, Falerna,  
Quaeque Sareptano palmite missa bibas.   
* What of himself the Divine Plato knew.] Vid. Notes on Lib. vi.  
* By ancient Orpheus sung.] That his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is Moses, few question, and that the Verses which bear his Name contain at least his Traditio●s, is, I think as generally granted.  
* For now the fourth swift year.] An Imitation of that of Virgil, in the Conclusion of his First Book, 
— Nam te jam septima portat  
Omnibus errautem terris & fluctibus aestas.    

THE ARGUMENT OF THE Second BOOK.  
ST. Peter begins the Relation of our Blessed Saviour's Life, which he opens with the Prophecy of the Messiah's Birth, the Accomplishment of Daniel's Weeks, the Sceptre's departing from Judah, and the Tyranny of Herod; where St. John reminds him of the Preparations for our Saviour's Birth, the Angel's Salutation etc. which he thereupon repeats at large, as Joseph, the Husband of the Blessed Virgin, had formerly done it to Zebedee and him. Joseph's Character of her before their Marriage, whom having obtained of her Father Heli, before they came together she was found with Child of the Holy Ghost. His Passion thereupon, and Resolution to be divorced, till admonished by an Angel of her Purity and Innocence and the manner of her Conception: on which he asks Pardon for his unjust Censures, and desires her to give him an account of that miraculous Transaction. The Virgin relates the Appearance of the Angel, his Ave or Salutation, and her conception by the over-shadowing of the Holy Spirit. Joseph goes on and gives the Character of a good Wife in the Blessed Virgin, and the History of his travelling with her to see their Cousin Elizabeth, who though old and barren, the Angel had told her should shortly have a Child. The Way to Geba, near which lived Zachary and Elizabeth. The Description of Zachary's pleasant Seat, whom they find dumb at their Arrival. The Salutation of Elizabeth to the Blessed Virgin. Two Digressions, to the Virgin Mary and her present Majesty. The Birth and Circumcision of John the Baptist: his Father Zachary recovers his Speech, and gives an account of the Occasion of his strange Silence, and the Angel's Prophecy concerning his Son: his Song from the first of St. Luke. Joseph and the Virgin return to Nazareth, and make Preparations for her Son's Birth: whence being recalled by the Edict of Augustus, they go for Bethlehem: a Description of the pleasant way thither, and of the most remarkable places on the Road, Rachel's Tomb, David's Well, etc. They arrive at Bethlehem late at Night, and can find no Lodging. Her Travail approaches. Joseph's concern for her. He conducts her into a Cave without the Town. Our Saviour's Birth. The Angels attend him. The Shepherds come to the Cave early in the Morning to adore him; and on Joseph's wondering how they heard the News, two young Shepherds, Strephon and Claius, give him the Relation, after they had sung a Carol on that Subject. The Angel's Song at the Nativity. The Presentation of our Saviour at the Temple, where old Simeon finds him. His Song or the Nunc dimittis. The Testimony of Anna the Prophetess: the journey of the three Kings, conducted by a Star to Jerusalem, and enquiring of the place of our Saviour's Birth, which Herod, pretending Devotion, asks of the Sanhedrim; Gamaliel remembers the passage and repeats their Resolution in the Prophecy of Micah, and that 'twas to be at Bethlehem. Thither Herod directs the Kings, desiring they'd let him know as soon as they found him, on pretence he'd follow and worship him. They find the Infant, adore and present him; but warned by a Vision, return incognito to their own Country, not calling at Jerusalem. Herod being disappointed and enraged, order the Murder of the Innocents'. Joseph is warned by an Angel to fly into Egypt with the Child and his Mother. As they are going by Night they look back from a Hill near the Town, and, by the Light of Torches in the Streets discover the Massacre of the Infants: whence they hasten to Egypt. The Way thither, Syrbon Lake, Tomb of Pompey. They pass by Memphis, and the Pyramids, and fix at Babylon. The Death of Herod. Their Return, and Retirement to Nazareth, for fear of Archelaus Herod's Son. Our Saviour's Carriage in his Childhood: his going to Jerusalem at the Passover with his Parents, and Disputation in the Temple with the Doctors and Heads of the Sanhedrim, which Nicodemus calls to mind, and that he presided in the Schools at that time, giving a Character of our Saviour. St. John tells 'em how much he was since advantageously altered, and so affectionately describes him, that Nicodemus is desirous to wait on him, and St. John offering to conduct him thither, the Company break up, having appointed to meet again the next Morning, in order to hear the rest of our Saviour's Actions.  
THE LIFE OF CHRIST: AN Heroic Poem. BOOK II.  
* ALL silent stood, when Rama's Lord had done,  
Till in the midst Bar-Ionas thus begun: 
Mat. 16.17.   
* So, when our Prince shall Israel's Throne regain,  
So may I by his side for ever reign,  
As naught but chaste and sacred Truths I tell;  
chaste as that Virgin-womb wherein he once did dwell:  
Admired by Friends, 
Luke 8.28.  by Enemies confessed,  
* Which these, which Fame, which all the World attest:  
By Reason vouched, and many a mighty Sign,  
By Human Faith and Oracles divine; 
John 1: 45. Acts 3.18. & 10.43.   
To you not hid: for Israel's Masters can't  
Of what all Israel knows, be ignorant:  
Nor can we doubt, but clearly you discern  
Those sacred Truths which from your Lips we learn;  
That now the promised happy Days appear,  
That the Messiah's Kingdom must be near:  

Dan. 9.24.  This Heav'n-loved Daniel's mystic Weeks contain,  

Vid. Mede in Loc. Ibid. v. 25.  Whose end begins th' anointed Princes Reign,  
From whose wise Books his sacred Name we gain: *  
That Period past, our Rabbis all declare, *  
And come he is, or we must now despair.  
This Israel's Groans confess, their freedom broke,  
And shoulders worn beneath a foreign yoke;  
By that fell Idumean Wolf oppressed, *  

Gen. 25.25.  Who red with blood his savage Sire confessed,  
Who did revenge old Esau's shame and slain,  

Gen. 27.35, 36.  And his supplanting Lord supplant again  
Dissembling Piety; our Temple raised, *  
But that himself, not God, might there be praised:  
With human blood the blushing pavement dies,  
And makes th' Highpriest himself a Sacrifice: *  
And big with crimes, O shame, O deep disgrace!  

Vid. joseph. Antiq. & de Bell. judaic.  Destroyed the Hasmonean Royal Race:  
By him our total Bondage did begin;  
He first inviting the fierce Romans in;  
Their Idol- Eagle to our Temple brings, *  

Antiq. Lib. 17. cap. 8.  Who perched on proud Antonia, claps his Wings:  
juda no more gives Laws, no more is Israel free; 
Gen. 49.10.   
Nay, scarce enjoys the Name of Liberty:  

Luke 2.1.  Enrolled and taxed, and humble Clients made,  
Our Substance seized for the Imperial Aid; 
Vid. joseph. Antiq. Lib. 18. Cap. 15.   
All that the Tyrant left, we had our share,  
Which my fierce Country could not tamely bear:  
You know the rest, Our unsuccessful fight  

Acts 5.37.  And slaughter under the bold Gaulonite:  
Not so our Princes humble Parents, they  
Had learned, like him, to suffer and obey:  
Thou both deduced from David's Royal Stem,  
And the true Heirs of Israel's Diadem;  
And either House their clear Succession brings  
From a long Race of Prophets and of Kings: 
Matt. 1. Luke 3.   
So great a Change by Fate and Time is made,  
From David's glittering Throne tothth' meanest Trade, 
Vid. Euseb. Eccl. Hist.   
For such good joseph used, 
Mat. 13.55.  with honest pain  
His small, yet sacred Household to sustain,  
Till thence by th' Edict called— But first declare  
Sesse john, what our great King's Forerunners were,  
(If all our words for credit may prevail;)  
The wondrous message, and the wondrous Hail!  
Well interrupted, fervent Cephas cries,  
None better can relate those Prodigies;  
Which oft I've heard the Good old man repeat,  
joseph himself, as on an Oozy Seat  
Against the sounding Beach reposed we lay,  
To taste the gentle Breeze, after a scorching day:  
What wonders did the reverend Sire declare?  
Once I remember Zebedee was there:  
We pressed him both to tell us what he knew,  
He yields, and vows by the great Name 'twas true:  
Then thus began;— When Youths fresh Bloom was passed,  
* And brought of seven Sabbatic Years the last  
Advised by Friends, I sought a virtuous Wife,  
To share and soften the Fatigues of Life:  
From all that Nazareth accounted fair;  
(And many a blooming Beauty triumphed there)  
Old Helis Daughter did the Garland bear:  
* From the same Spring our kindred blood we drew,  
And what's our Rise can be unknown to few:  
From David, he by Nathan brings his Line,  
And I, by Solomon, deducing mine  
As did the Root, so now the Branches join:  
Gladly he gives, what I as gladly take,  
Agreed, 
Matth. 1.18. Luke 1.27.  we soon the solemn Contract make:  
All envied me, all thought divinely blest,  
When of the charming heavenly Maid possessed:  
For she was fair beyond all Mortal Race,  
And something more than human in her Face:  
Endued with all her Sex's Charms and more,  
Whichyet without their Vanity she wore.  
Never a Mind so humble and so great,  
Since Eden's loss, so fair a Body met:  
Nay, had even Eve's been such, our Sire had been content;  
And scarce could Eden's Loss itself lament: *  
" Tender, not fond, prudent, yet not precise; *  
" Thou wise, not thought herself for me too wise:  
" Content with our low state, nor vainly stood  
" Upon her Royal Race, or ancient Blood:  
" Secrets in hers, as safe as in my Breast;  
All formed beyond my wish, to make me blest.  
But what did most of joy and triumph bring,  
Th' illustrious Gem in her bright Virtues ring  
Was her Angelic Chastity; not Eve  

Gen. 3.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Gen. 2.22.  ere she did Adam, her the Fiend deceive,  
When first she sprung from our great Parents side,  
Not she herself a purer Virgin-Bride.  
Guests but how strangely then I was amazed,  
Nor could believe my eyes— again I gazed,  
When in my Arms the trembling Fair I clasped;  
But started back again—  
As one who in green Herbs a Serpent grasped:  
When on the first triumphant Nuptial Night  

Matt. 1.18.  I found her pregnant, now 'twas plain to sight. *  
When she was false—  
Whom all did above all her Sex prefer,  
What did I then, blaspheme of them and Her?  
What Vengeance for my injured Love debate?  
And yet that Love denied to let me hate.  
Resolved, tho' yet I knew not how, to part;  
" And, if I could, free my unlucky heart:  
Resolved to tear the perjured Charmer thence,  

Ibid. v. 19  Divorced from her, as she from Innocence.  
Thus, stung with Indignation and Despair,  
Not even her Tears could longer keep me there:  
Far from the Nuptial Room, I rushed away;  
" And on the ground a widowed Bridegroom lay:  
Where gentle sleep, tho' called, long from me fled;  
My restless thoughts uneasy as my Bed:  
And twice the cheerful Harbinger of Day  
Had clapped his Wings, and warned the Shades away,  
Warned me, as usual, but in vain to rise,  
ere watchful Grief once let me close my Eyes;  
Till sudden slumbers me at last surprise.  
I dreamt,— but sure 'twas more, as by th' Event  
Appeared, I saw a glorious Watcher sent,  
Glorious as e'er to Man glad news did bring;  
He touched and raised me with his Purple Wing,  
Then thus began,—" Great Branch of Iesse's Stem!  
" Heir of thy Father David's Diadem! 
Matt. 1.20.   
" What restless thought, or what unhandsome Fear,  
" From thy unspotted Bride, detains thee here?  
*" On whose fair Soul no thought of Ill's impressed;  
" Pure as the Flame that warms an Angel's Breast.  
" As for the root of all thy jealous cares,  
" That wondrous sacred Burden which she bears;  
" The divine Spirit alone, did that infuse,  
" And I myself was sent to tell the news  
" To her, as now to thee; and e'er the Moon  
*" Five Courses more through her short Orb has gone,  
" She shall be blest with a miraculous Son; 
Luke 1.30.35.   
" jesus his sacred Name long since designed,  
" The mighty Saviour he of lost Mankind.  
He said: I trembling wake: no more he appears.  
But his last words, methought, still sounded in my Ears:  
Roused from my humble Couch, I softly come  
With sacred Horror to the Nuptial Room;  
Fixed more than half a Statue at the Door  
I saw and loved far fiercer than before,  
And gazed and sighed, but dared attempt no more.  
Her Beauty fed, but reverence checked my Fire;  
And still I loved, 
Matt. 1. ult.  but durst not still desire.  
heavens! how she looks? how lovely still appears?  
For still, methinks, I see— how charming, even her Tears!  
* (Thus the sweet Rose new paints its heavenly hue,  
When bending with big drops of morning dew).  
Nor could I guests, till I approached more nigh,  
Whether they sprung from Grief or Ecstasy:  
She blushed and in my Bosom hid her face:)  
(The modest Blush, confessed not guilt, but Grace).  
Conjuring me, by all I once thought dear,  
ere I condemned her, her defence to hear:  
Insist no more, I cried, on thy defence!  
Heaven has already cleared thy Innocence:  
An Angel-Form, not you yourself more fair,  
Did late th' indubitable Truth declare:  
Bright, injured, lovely Maid! no longer grieve!  
Dry those vain Tears, and, if you can, forgive!  
Then Heaven has shown, she said, what I concealed;  
The mighty Secret, is at last revealed:  
A Secret, which who e'er attempts to tell,  
Would need t' oblige belief another Miracle.  
By our chaste Loves I cried, much injured Fair!  
And by that sacred Burden which you bear,  
Conceal not aught, nor my suspicions fear,  
Since nothing now, but I'm prepared to hear.  
She yields, and thus begins—  
Three Moons are gone,  
And now the fourth swift Orb is rolling on,  
Since in my Father Heli's house I sat  
Revolving deep those dark Decrees of Fate  
Our sacred Books contain, that wondrous year,  
Which all our learned Rabbis think so near;  
Above the rest than claimed my thoughts and care,  
Our promised Prince, and heavens Almighty Heir;  
Who Faith and Truth and justice shall maintain,  
And bless all Nature with his peaceful Reign:  
While from the Rocks live streams of Honey flow,  
And voluntary Palms and Roses grow:  
Thrice happy oft I called and counted her, 
Psal. 85.10, 11. Isa. 9.6. & 11. per tot. 65.25.   
Who at her Breast the Infant King should bear;  
As oft I thought what humble Gifts I'd bring,  
What Presents to adore the Infant King:  
How blest, if in my Arms I might but hold,  
Or in his Cradle, innocently bold  

Cant. 8.1.  Seize the young conqueror, and by sweet surprise  
Might kiss his lovely Cheeks and heavenly Eyes!  
Thus musing, sudden Glories me surround:  
From the cleft Skies a youth with Sunbeams crowned  

The Annunciation.   
More lovely far, than all the Race of Man,  
Descending swift, bowed low, and thus began:  

The Annunciation. " All hail! belov'd of Heaven! and full of Grace!  
" More blessed, 
Luk. 1.28.  more loved than all thy charming Race!  
" Who, thou, thy self must that great Mother prove,  
" Which was so late thy Envy and thy Love.  
" Nor startle at the Message I declare! 
v. 30.   
" Thy Virgin-womb an Infant God must bear: 
31.   
" That promised Prince who shall the World regain, 
32, 33.   
" And over all his Father's Empires reign:  
" The Divine Spirit, 
35.  Author of joy and Love  
" Breathing Conception on thee from above:  
" jesus his sacred Name long since designed:  
" The Mighty Saviour he of lost Mankind; 
Ibid. & Matt. 1.23.   
" Th' Eternal God in mortal mould confined:  
" And if thy Infant-Faith wants Evidence,  
" Indulgent Heaven has sent thee proof from Sense:  
" Aged Elizabeth, 
36.  who did despair  
" Like Sarah, ever to embrace an Heir,  
" Six Moons already past, is pregnant grown,  
" And shall be blest with a miraculous Son!  
" Believe me, Sacred Maid! My words are true,  
" For he who sent me here, 
37.  can all things do.  
He said, and, whilst an Answer I prepare  
He wings his way to Heaven through trackless Air:  
I after gazed, as o'er the Clouds he trod,  
And cried— O loveliest Form i'th' Host of God  
* My Faith I not refuse, nor yet suspend  
To what my Reason cannot comprehend:  
Be thy great Masters words without delay  
Fulfilled— 'Tis his to order, 
38.  mine t' obey.  
Scarce had I said, and he no more appeared,  
When straight a still small whispering sound I heard,  
Like that a solitary Ear perceives,  
When gentle Zephyr strokes the velvet leaves:  
With this, celestial fragrancies perfume,  
And scatter Paradise around the room:  
Enwrapped i'th' odorous Cloud, a while I lay,  
Whilst a soft air through all my veins did stray,  
Through my warm Heart in new strange pulses move,  
And melt my ravished Soul with heavenly Love: *  
Hence this strange Burden now so plain to view,  

Conception.  Which Heaven its Author has revealed to you;  
And from that moment, I a Mother grew.  
She said, new Aves I almost prepare,  
Nay, hardly Adoration could forbear:  
Thence to my wishes and my arms denied,  
A Virgin-Mother and a Virgin-Bride,  
She graced my humble Roof, and blest my Life,  
Blest me by a far greater Name than Wife: *  
" Yet still I bore an undisputed sway, *  
" Nor was't her task, but pleasure to obey:  
" Scarce thought, much lesle could act, what I denied;  
" In our low house there was no room for Pride: *  
" Nor need I ere direct what still was right,  
" Still studied my Convenience and Delight.  
" Nor did I for her Care ungrateful prove,  
" But only used my Power, to show my Love:  
" What e'er she asked I gave, without reproach or grudge,  
" For still she Reason asked— and I was judge:  
" All my Commands Requests at her fair hands,  
" And her Requests to me, were all Commands:  
" To others Thresholds rarely she'd incline!  
" Her House her pleasure was, and she was mine;  
" Rarely abroad, or never, but with me,  
" Or when by Pity called, or Charity;  

Luke 1.39.  These did to old Elizabeth invite,  
Friendship's an Kindred's Bonds with these unite:  
O'repowred at length she yields, and my consent  
And company obtained, we onward went: *  

Judith.  The famed Bethulia soon behind us leave,  
And Kishon's Fords our weary Feet receive:  
Thence fatal Gilboa's high Cliffs we crossed, *  

2 Sam. 1.  Where David's much lamented Friend was lost:  
Through Ephr'im's Lot our course directing down  
Near the new Walls of Shemir's ancient Town, 
1 Kings 16.24. See Gen. 34.1. John 4.5.   
By Shechem where good jacob once did dwell,  
Near Dothan's Plain and Sychar's ancient Well, *  

  
* And Gerizim's proud Altar, raised in spite,  
Accursed by every faithful Israelite:  
By jericho and Bethel next we passed,  
The first went through, and near us leave the last;  
* And the third Noon, where Siloam gently falls  
Discover ancient Salem's sacred Walls;  
Which leaving on the left, our course we bend  
bend To Geba-Town our little Journeys end:  
Near which, 
2 Sam. 5.23, 24.  upon an easy Hill we see  
* The pleasant Seat of aged Zacharie:  
'Twas neat, not proud; for Use, not Pomp or Fame;  
* Such as an humble Country Priest became:  
He saw rich Fields below, which should be his,  
Detained by Sacrilege and Avarice:  
For Geba did of right to th' Priests belong, 
Josh. 21.17.   
Thou Power and Time must justify the wrong:  
He saw, more grieved than angry at their Crime,  
And only pitied those who injured him:  
With his own small paternal Fields content;  
Enough for Want, not Luxury they lent;  
Blest by their Master's Prayers and watchful Eye,  
And honest Servants careful Industry:  
* A Crystal Stream which from the Mountains stole,  
Whose waters o'er the healthy Gravel roll  
Before the Gate did gently murmuring run,  
Gilt by the kindly Beams o'th' rising Sun:  
The West a fair and spacious Prospect yields,  
Where the pleased Eye is lost in Woods and Fields:  
From the bleak North the Mountains Summit shields;  
An Olive-Grove the Southern Heats defends,  
Which shade, and Fruit, pleasure and profit lends;  
Beyond whose Borders, where the Hill inclines  
'Tis richly covered o'er with clust'ring Vines.  
Thither arrived, old Zach'ry both embraced,  
And at his hospitable Table placed,  
All signs of welcome wanting words were shown,  
Nor had he those, this Reason only known,  
H'had some strange Vision in the Temple seen,  
* And ever since as strangely silent been:  
Not so Eliza, 
Luke 1.22.  who to meet us ran,  
ran And to the Virgin thus, inspired began:  

Elizabeth's Salutation. Luke 1. from 39 to 45. " Blest above Women shall thy Title be  
" And yet more blest, thy wondrous Child than thee!  
" Whence is't the Mother of my God should grace  
" With her high presence such an humble place?  
" Nor sooner did my pleased and ravished Ear,  
" Blest Virgin! the melodious accents hear  
" Of thy loved Voice, but my prophetic Boy  
" Perceived and bounded in my Womb for joy..  
" And blessed is she, whose noble Faith like thine,  
" Expels all doubt of Truth and Power divine:  
" Speedy performance shall thy wishes crown,  
" And future Ages spread thy high renown.  
The Virgin heard, Heaven not herself she raised,  
Kind Heaven in everlasting Numbers praised.  
Amidst these holy Hymns, which all around  
From Saints and Angels in thy praise resound,  
Thrice blessed Maid! may there be room for me  
To throw my Mite into the Treasury?  
As Heaven did thine, my humble Gifts approve!  
And since I have no Lambs, accept my Dove!  
" Hail Mary! may thy Glories still prevail! *  
" Great Mother of my God and Saviour, Hail!  
" More blest than all our lost Forefathers Line!  
" 
Luke 1.28, 42.  Blest above all our Sex, as well as thine!  
" Above all mortals, only not divine!  
" Only below thy Son I thee confess,  
" And those who make thee more, but make thee lesle.  
" Midst your triumphant Lauds, if ought you know,  
" Ought that concerns our weary World below,  
" Permit these praises far beneath your due,  
" This humble Verse to be inscribed to you!  
" Still wear they your loved name as their defence,  
" And borrow Immortality from thence!  
" And after thee, O full of Charms and Grace!  
" Let our great Mary fill the second place!  
" For other Queen's long mayst thou look in vain,  
" Others like her, to fill thy glorious Train.  
" Humble like thee, like thee of Royal Line,  
" Her Soul to Heaven submiss, and bowed like thine!  
" Heaven, which Immaculate her Form designed,  
" As a fit mansion for so fair a mind.  
" (Sure none can e'er be Traitors, but the blind)  
" Which gave her Eyes that Love and Awe inspire  
" And cheer the World like the Sun's vital Fire:  
" O may they— but that saucy wish must dye;  
" He melts his Plumes, who dares attempt so high:  
" Yet I'll wish on, Retreats are now too late,  
" And, Icarus, I court thy noble Fate—  
" May they on these my humble Labours shine  
" With their kind Influence gilled each happy Line,  
" Endue with purer Forms the coarser Ore,  
" And stamp it Bullion, tho' 'twas dross before.  
Sweet Muse return! to nobler strains aspire!  
And touch, with utmost Art, the heavenly Lyre!  
With Seraphs sing his glorious humble Birth,  
Who raised the beauteous Pile of Heaven and Earth!  
What reverend joseph on his Oozy Seat,  
What zealous Cephas did from him repeat;  
Attended and pleased his Auditors appear;  
The more they heard, the more they wished to hear.  
He fervent, thus goes on—  
These, more than Friendly Salutations paid,  
With old Elizabeth a while we stayed,  
* Till thrice we saw the Silver Cynthia's wane, 
Luke 1.56.   
And thrice she filled her various Orb again;  
When the good Matrons welcome pains begun,  
Who in her Arms soon held a wondrous Son:  
* Her kindred most, around admiring sat, 
58.   
And her so rare a Bliss congratulate:  
And when they saw the eighth blest Sun arise, 
Gen. 17.12.   
Prepare the wondrous Child to circumcise:  
His Father's Name they gave, with kind presage, 
Luke 1.59.   
As Hope and Staff of his declining Age:  
And add their Prayers, that he as well might be  
Heir of his Virtues, as his Family.  
Well-pleased Eliza bowed, and wished the same,  
With thanks, to all agreeing, but the Name,  
All wondering, thus did she inspired proceed,  
It must be john, 
60.  for so high Heaven decreed:  

62.  His Father asked, with speaking Eyes and Hands  
* Of those around Tablet and Style demands;  
And when i'th' ductile Wax he'd stamped his mind,  

63.  The Name his Mother gave, surprised we find:  

64.  Yet more, his Lips unloosed when Hymns he sung,  
And all the House with Hallelujahs rung:  
Trembling we ask, on his reply intent,  
What his strange Speech, and stranger Silence meant!  
He thus—  

Luke 1.10, 11. etc.  As I with Incense did attend,  
I saw great Gabriel in the Flame descend:  
Of all who dearly love and guard mankind,  
There's not a mightier or a fairer mind:  
One hand he on the trembling Altar laid,  
The other raised me from the ground afraid;  
Th' Alwise, says he, has heard thy pious prayer,  
And thy Eliza shall embrace an Heir:  

13, 14.  john be his destined Name, and joy and Mirth  
Shall fill thy House at his miraculous Birth:  
Still dear in the Most High's impartial sight,  

15.  Devoted an abstemious Nazarite.  

Ibid.  Divine Illapses daily he'll receive,  
As much as he can take, or Heaven can give:  
T' illuminate his pure and piercing mind,  
For that great work to which by Heaven designed.  
His word like Thunder shall the World affright,  
Exposing guilty Souls to conscious Light:  
While crowds of penitents their Crimes shall mourn,  

16.  To God at once, and to themselves return.  
The Prophet who prepares the Saviour's way,  

17.  The Morningstar to the bright Prince of day.  
To this strange news I heard the Angel tell  

18.  When wonder made me yet an Infidel:  
On his loved Face a Frown he quickly wore,  
Which never sure was so disguised before;  
Then thus," Since Heaven itself must speak in vain,  
Nor Credence to its Oracles obtain;  
At once experience Truth and Power divine  
And be thy self unto thy self a Sign!  
Till thy despaired thy promised blessing come,  
I seal thy Lips, 
Luke 1.20.  and bid thee— thus be dumb!  
Trembling I kneeled, and would have mercy cried,  
But 'twas too late— my faltering Tongue denied  
T' express my labouring thoughts abrupt intent:  
The Angel nods, as knowing what I meant,  
And back in Curls of Incense smiling went.  
With mental Prayer I straight addressed th' All-high,  
Nor could those adamantine bonds untie; 
22.   
Which voluntary now fall off again:  
And since kind Heaven at once has broke my Chain,  
An given such joys, I'll that attempt to raise,  
And thee, O never ending Goodness! praise.  
Awake my Lyre, I'll strain each tuneful String!  
Awake my Voice which he has taught to sing.  

Zachary's Song.  

GReat God of Israel! 
Luke 1.67.  how shall we thy Laud express,  
" And, never satisfied with praises bless?  
Unutterable Goodness! how shall we  
For all th' unutterable Blessings pay,  
Of this triumphant happy day, 
68   
And what so largely we receive, restore to thee?  
Who hast thy chosen Flock with gracious Eyes surveyed,  
And visited with thine Almighty Aid!  
A great Redemption for us wrought, 
69.   
Surpassing our Desert or Thought,  
Surpassing those when wandering wide  
By Nilus and Euphrates side,  
You saved from Egypt, and from Babel's pride.  
Those only Types of this have been,  
Those only were from Slavery, this from Sin.   

II.  
Thee will we praise, thee will we sing,  
We'll sing with ardent Love and awful Fear;  
Who hast to Zion brought a great Deliverer,  
A mighty Saviour, and a mighty King!  
That promised Branch of Iesse's sacred Stem, 
Zach. 6.12.   

Isai. 11.1. Luke 1.69.70.  Heir of his Father's Diadem;  
Whom many an ancient Seer did descry  
Through the mysterious Glass of Prophecy,  
In the vast Heaven of dark futurity:  
They saw his Day, tho' far removed.  
And seeing smiled, and smiling loved:  
They saw great Iudas Kingly Lion, rouse,  
And his loved Nations Cause espouse;  
Vainly whole Troops against him rise,  
This vainly fights, and that as vainly flies;  
From their stern jaws he tears away  
Th' already half-devoured Prey,  

71.  And rents and tramples all our Enemies.   

III.  
Which of you shall my lofty Numbers grace,  

72.  Ye great Forefathers of the chosen Race?  

73.  Thee Father Abraham, first I'll sing,  
From whose blessed Loins so many Nation's spring,  
The Favourite, the Friend of Heavens' Almighty King!  

Gen. 22.3.10.16.  He gave his Oath, and thou thy Son,  
When the eternal League begun:  
Offensive and Defensive 'tis,  

Luke 1.74.  His Enemies are ours, and ours are his:  
His sacred Truth he did to witness take  
While his strong Words the solid Centre shake,  
While Heaven and Earth remained, he would not us forsake;  

74.  But guide us through fair Virtue Paths, wherein  
For ever walk sweet Peace and Innocence,  
All mischief ever banished thence,  
All Gild and Danger far removed,  
All that by him is disapproved,  

75.  And Fear, the Child of Sin.   

IV.  

76.  Nor thee, thou strange prophetic Boy,  
By Heaven inspired e'er thou didst come  
From forth the Closet of the Womb,  
Thy aged Parents Wonder, and their joy:  
Thee, tho' unsung, unheeded yet,  
'Midst Crowds of Heroes will the Muse forget!  
thou who the happy News shalt bring,  
The Harbinger of Heavens' high King; 
Ibid.   
The Banners of his Grace display,  
And scatter Pardons all the Way. 
77.   
He comes, he comes! I see him swift advance,  
He comes to our Deliverance:  

78.  I see his Orient Light arise  
Scattering ten thousand Suns around the Skies:  
It flashed through Chaos, whose wild Surges fell,  
As when the first strange Day was made;  
The Fiends were all of a new World afraid,  
As wide it glared through all the inmost Caves of Hell.  
If there it moved their Dread, though not their Love,  
What Wonders shall it not perform above?  
Sin to th' Abyss shall sink again, 
79.   
" Death the great Slayer, shall himself be slain,  
And Truth and heaven-born Peace for ever reign.    
Thus sung the Holy Sire entranced, and we  
Who heard, were little lesle in Ecstasy:  
These triumphs finished, back we hastening come  
To pleasant Nazareth, well wearied home:  
There fixing our abode, till now the Sun  
Through three bright Signs his glorious Race had run,  
Since we judea left, and all our care,  
Applied our homely Cottage to prepare  
For the great Prince, and heavens Almighty Heir;  
Whose Birth approached, which now we knew so near,  
Each Hour his Virgin Mother's Hope and Fear:  
Enough we had for Need, though not for Pride,  
Yet even that small convenience soon denied;  
The Roman Edict would not let us stay, 
Luk. 2.1, 4, 5   
But to our Birth-place, Bethlehem called away;  
The ancient Seat of David's Royal Line,  
Whence the bright Maids Original and mine:  
And when for our new journey we prepare,  
Hush were the churlish Winds, serene the Air;  
* Departing Winter's self grew calm and mild,  
And as it went, put on smooth Looks and smiled:  
Whilst in our way officious Nature strews  
The blue-eyed Violet, and the blushing Rose:  
Does, to oblige us, all her Glories bring,  
And all the pretty Flowers that dress the Spring; *  
Narcissus, who too well himself did please,  
The Iris proud, and rich Anemone's:  
From Naz'reth's odoriferous Fields got free,  
Hermon and beauteous Tabor soon we see:  
Then o'er Kedummim's Streams our passage take,  
Which loose themselves in the Tiberian Lake;  
And through the well-known Road came joyful down:  
On the third Night to Salem's sacred Town:  
And our Devotions at the Temple paid  
The next glad Morn, when there a while we stayed,  
We leave our Friends in the declining day,  
And with discourse beguiled the tedious Way:  
Till when sweet Bethlem at a distance spied,  
A secret joy through all my Soul did glide; *  
Increasing still, as still we came more near,  
And Rachel's Tomb tothth' right began t'appear: *  
Each noted place around, the Maid I showed,  
What e'er our Eyes could reach on either side the Road:  
'tis there, said I, still flows that precious Spring,  

2 Sam. 23.16.  Which his three Heroes did to David bring!  
'Twas there a Youth, he kept his Flock, and there  

1 Sam. 17.34.  Met the curled Lion and the rugged Bear.  
She shrieked and clasped me to her trembling Breast,  
Then begged me that I would not tell the rest!  
And now the Night her sable Veil had spread,  
Each little Bird couched in its mossy Bed,  
And Fowls of stronger Wing to distant Regions fled;  
As we to Bethlem's Walls well wearied come,  
And hear the busy Towns tumultuous Hum;  
Whole Droves like us we see, who came too late,  
Crowding to enter e'er they shut the Gate:  
And there so long we for admittance wait,  
Till we i'th' Windows glimmering Lights descry,  
Extinct in some, discovering Midnight nigh:  
With Fears o'th' Night, and Toils o'th' Day oppressed,  
Long did we seek a Place for welcome Rest.  
The Streets and Suburbs sought, but sought in vain,  
New disappointments still increase our Pain.  
And now new Griefs my much loved charge o'erpow'r,  
Who fast approaching found that fatal hour  
Of which her Sex so justly is afraid,  
No more than that of Death to be delayed:  
" O my distracted Heart! forlorn and poor,  
" Repelled at each unhospitable Door,  
" Strangers, benighted, tired, and yet far more  
" Still more than all, and what I could not bear,  
" What more than Life I loved must feel the largest share.  
" How false th' opinion that it gives relief  
" To have a sad Companion in our Grief?  
" Afflictions strokes more thick and heavy fall  
" When both each others feel, and both bear all.  
" Yet quiet still her Breast; to Heaven resigned;  
" In an uneasy Body calm her mind;  
" Not one impatient sigh or word let go,  
" These only from her Lips divinely flow  
" It must be best for Heaven will have it so.  
" And spite of clamorous sense let's still believe!  
Shamed with the kind reproof I soon repressed  
My wayward Thoughts, and calmed my murmuring Breast;  
* This done, I to a well known Cave repair  
Which her might shield, for whom my chiefest care  
From the moist heavens, and Night's unwholesome Air.  
In storms a refuge to the panting Swains  
When sudden Sleet came driving cross the Plains.  
* Whether by Art hewed in the living Stone  
Or Mother Nature's ancient work, unknown:  
Short stubble and light reed, which our low state  
Did best become, I gathered at the Gate;  
These to the Virgin for her Couch I gave,  
Placed in the inmost Corner of the Cave:  
Such pomp did David's Royal Heir assume,  
Such was the Furniture, and such the Room:  
The rest a Choir of modest Angels brings,  
But veil their Faces with their purple Wings.  
And now through liquid Air the silent Moon  
In silver Chariot mounts to her pale Noon:  
Still was the Night as Innocence or Fear,  
Nor human Sounds, nor grazing Beasts we hear;  
Faint did the Lamp on neighbouring Edar burn, *  
By snatches shined awhile, then sunk into its Urn. *  
The very Stars with drowsy motions roll,  
The Bear walks heavily around the Pole:  
When spite of all my Cares I slumbering lay  
Tired with the Toils and sorrows of the day.  
Till a strong light through my closed Eyelids shined,  
As the Sun's midday glories cheer the blind:  
Wondering I wake, and straight surprised behold  
The Cave all deluged with etherial Gold:  
Glories almost too fine for grosser sense,  
And numerous shining Forms departing thence:  
The Virgin too I saw, so brightly dressed  
I hardly could discern her from the rest.  
" In her chaste Arms the eternal Infant lies: *  
What an illustrious goodness in his Eyes?  
Which soon alike both Lights and Shades o'erpow'rs,  
And all the modest Beams around devours:  
I kneeled adoring, and my Eyes employ  
T' assist my faltering Tongue, and speak my joy:  
Thou from my pleasing Trance soon raised by Fear,  
For nigh the Cave I human Footsteps hear  
And rustic sounds confused, which as they grew  
More loud, before the Gate myself I threw,  
With feeble force my precious charge to shield  
From the rude Swains returning from the field;  
For such I thought 'em, till at length I spy,  
As the fair morn began to gilled the Sky  
A Troop of harmless Shepherds mild and good,  
Who near me on their sheephooks leaning stood,  
And bowing low, for the bright Babe inquire,  
The hope of Israel and the world's desire:  
Wondering from whence so soon they heard the news  
I asked, nor they to clear my doubts refuse.  
Two sprightly Lads, who could relate it best,  
With Chaplets crowned leapt forth from all the rest;  
Claius, who lately the lewd Town had left  

The Nativity.   
Of all his long his foolish Hopes bereft,  
Thou bounteous Heaven whate'er he now thought dear  
Indulged, in Peace and his Urania here:  
Strephon, a jolly youth, who did pretend  
To be, and was, e'er Love bred Hate, his Friend:  
Thomas since too oft, on many a vain pretence  
He left the Plains and left his Innocence.  
His Soul no tract of Modesty or Grace  
Retains, as steeled and hardened as his Face:  
Foul as those loathsome Brands his Body bears,  
And black as that dissembled Robe he wears:  
For now he does in other Garments shroud  
His ugly Vice. I saw him late, too proud  
Claius his Friend, or even himself to own,  
In Town by Malchi's nobler Title known;  
Where with those Priests he bans, whose daily Theme  
Is their still patient Saviour to blaspheme:  
Not so ere while when innocent and young  
With Claius thus his Birth he sweetly sung.  

Christmas Caroll.  Strephon. 
HOw Claius- are we dumb with joy?  
Come tune thy Pipe to Carols sweet!  
Let's welcome the celestial Boy,  
And throw our Garlands at his Feet!  Claius. 
I have a Lamb as pure as Snow  
Which my Urania smiling gave;  
Yet shall he to his Altars go  
Nor shall her Eyes the Victim save.  Strephon. 
Mistaken Swain! he ne'er requires  
That with such offerings we should part:  
Go give him pure and fair desires,  
And praise him with an humble heart!  Claius. 
Then all my hopes and all my fears  
I'll to their ancient Lord restore,  
And all my sighs and all my tears,  
His Love obtained, I ask no more.   
When thus each others rural skill they'd tried  
To my desire young Claius thus replied:  
As in you Plain that stretches wide away  
Near Edars' Tower to guard our Flocks we lay,  
The Night, as honest Shepherds use, we spent,  
In Tales and Songs and harmless merriment:  
On ancient Heroes stories some proceed,  
Who not disdained to touch the tuneful reed:  

Gen. 28, 29.31, 32, etc. Gen. 35.21, 22. 1 Sam. 17.2, 49.  Old Father Iacob's Travels these relate,  
And these unstable Ruben's crime and fate:  
Others that valiant Ephratean Swain  
Who vast Goliath quelled on Elahs' plain;  
How with his Praises all the Valleys rung;  
How well he fought how well he loved and sung.  
While thus, on Earth's soft Couch employed we lay  
From neighbouring Cottages the Bird of Day  
Loud sounds his first alarm, and every star  
Revolving swift through heavens high Arch declare  
Their Noon was past, and Night began to wear:  
When on a sudden aged Aegon cries  
See Shepherds see, descending from the Skies  
You light! Kind Heaven! What mean these Prodigies?  
The Sun it cannot be, for Night's not done,  
And almost half his Under-Day to run;  
Besides, it mounts not, but oblique descends,  
And hitherwards its wondrous journey bends—  
— He trembling said, but soon no more could say;  
For the next moment all around was day;  
The Ewes disturbed arose and scattered wide,  
The little Lambs ran bleating by their side:  
Our faithful Dogs couched on the ground afraid,  
And none besides my old Lycisca bayed:  
Profound we prostrate lay, long grovelling there,  
Nor could th' unsufferable splendour bear:  
Till a fair Youth, as my Urania fair  

Luke 2.9.  Sweet Peace and heaven-born joy descending brings,  
As soft he touched us with his purple wings.  

10.  Blessed Swains, let no vain Terrors you affright!  
Believe 'tis no Illusion of the Night!  
To you, he cried, I happy tidings bring  
From you fair place, and heavens Almighty King.  
To you, 
Luke 2.11.  the Lamb of God, this happy morn  
To you, the Saviour of the World is born  
In Ephratean Bethlem, where of old  
The Royal Swain so well did guard his Fold;  
You'll find him wrapped in feeble Infants bands 
12.   
Who grasps all Nature with his mighty hands.  
A Cave and homely Stable claim his birth *  
Who raised the goodly Pile of Heaven and Earth.  
— He said and straight we saw the welkin wide  
Thronged with the Heavenly Host from side to side; 
13.   
Thick as those glittering motes that ever stray  
And dance in the refulgent Beams of day;  
Night and our Fear they both from us remove,  
And thus repeat those Hymns they learned above.  

Song of the Angels.  

GLory to our great King on high! 
Luke 2.14.   
To heavens Imperial Majesty!  
To him that sits upon the Throne,  
" The adored Three-One!   

II.  
Peace from the Prince of Peace we bring;  
An Amnesty from Heavn's high King.  
Who at his First-born's welcome birth  
Scatters pardons round the Earth.   

III.  
Thunders we must use no more  
In which the Law was preached before, 
Exod. 19.20.   
But strive ingenuous Man to move  
With mild goodwill and Heavenly Love.   

Thus Hymning, by degrees they leave our sight  
And hitherward direct their parting Light.  
Here, Father, we arrived—    
On that bright Babe desired to feast our Eyes,  
The subject of so many prophecies!  
They said, to their request consent I gave  
And introduced 'em to the well-known Cave;  
With greedy Eyes when his loved Face they spied,  
On his loved Face they gazed unsatisfied;  
Sill more surprised more miracles behold!  
Each humbled Straw endues the form of Gold.  
Through the dark▪ Cave they see new day arise,  
Projected round from his illustrious Eyes;  
These o'er the Gates their rustic Garlands hung,  
These Flowers and Herbs around profusely flung;  
And these the Child and these the Mother sung:  
While others from the Rock live Hony bear,  
Or fragrant Balms inestimable Tear:  
Their humble presents paid, they part again,  

Luke 2.17.  And spread the joyful news o'er all the Plain.  
Sev'en times bright Hesper now had closed the Day,  
As oft sweet Phosphor warned the Stars away:  

Luke 2.21.  The eighth glad morn arising, when we bear  
The Holy Infant to the House of Prayer;  
Whence, as the Law directs, that mark he wore  
On all our pious Fathers stamped before;  
Inscribed in Blood upon his tender skin,  
Although he knew no stain of guilt or sin,  
And the next Moon elapsed, as custom calls,  
Again we speed for ancient Salems' walls;  
Our dear firstborn, so Holy rites require  

Levit. 12.4.  To dedicate to his immortal Sire.  
Nor sooner to the Temple Gates we came  
But th' Incense with a clear and generous flame  
Shot straight to Heaven.— The pious Mother went  
Her offering to his Father to present;  

Exod. 2.13.  And her two Turtles, innocent as they,  

Levit. 12.6.  Did near the Sacred Altar trembling lay:  
But scarce the double Sacrifice was done,  
To purge the Mother and present the Son;  

Luke 2.25.  When through the admiring Crowd old Simeon came  
Of noted Virtue and umblemisht Fame;  
To whom when cold decrepit Age had spread  

The Circumsision.   

Simeon in the Temple▪ holding Christ in his ●●nd.   
The Snow of fourscore Winters on his head,  
As he one Evening in the Temple stayed  
And for sad Israel's wished redemption prayed,  
A Heavenly Youth of those who waited there *  
Endues a thin-spun Robe of ambient Air  
And bids the aged Father not despair,  
For tho' too short his Thread of Life were spun  
Too many precious Sands already run,  
Him vainly threatening Death should not surprise 
26.   
Till the Messia blest his Longing Eyes:  
The same bright Form appeared this happy day  
As on his face in prayer he prostrate lay;  
And from his Closet beckoned him away:  
With Joy the good old man the signal takes,  
And, all extatick, to the Temple makes:  
In haste he cheerful came, erect, alone,  
His useless Crutches now aside were thrown:  
Through all the crowd of Priests and suppliants pressed,  
Then seized the Child and laid him at his Breast;  
With his dear burden to the Altar ran  
And thus, with sacred rage inspired, began.  

Simeon's Song, 
Luke 2.29.  or the Nunc Dimittis.  

YES, Now thy Servant dies, he gladly dies!  
This Life, dear Lord! prolong no more,  
But as you promised me before  
In peace now close mine Eyes!  
Mine Eyes which that dear object now has met  
For which so long they gazed in vain,  
For whose delay so long I did complain:  
I've seen the Sun of Righteousness arise; 
30.   
'Tis time my glimmering Lamps forsake the Skies  
And in the shades of Death for ever set.   

II.  
The World already hails his welcome birth: 
31, 32. Matth. 2.1.31.   
Already humble Gifts prepare  
To meet and bless th' Almighty Heir  
The King of Heaven and Earth:  
Him the lost Gentiles shall their Saviour find,  
Him Heathen Lands their Lord shall own,  
Their Lord and God, him who alone  
Not only giveth sight but Eyes tothth' blind.   

III.  

34.  Ah stupid Nation! Wilt thou still refuse  
Still hate thy Saviour? Ah thrice hardened jews!  
(Grant Heaven these boding fears may not be true!)  
Rejected by your Prince, as he by you!  
But Ah! What cruel Truths I see  
In the dark Womb of future days?  
To what a cursed Throne will you your Saviour raise?  
How will you crown with Thorns and Infamy?  

35.  What wounds, what swords, Great Mother, are prepared for thee?   

IV.  
But with our sufferings Heavens' at last inclined  
For see a glorious Scene behind!  
He comes he comes, again these Eyes shall see,  
Again, dear Saviour, welcome thee!  
The Cloud thy Chariot, and thy Wings the Wind,  
In Zion shall appear  
The great deliverer.  
My stubborn Nation then shall strive no more,  
But him whom once they pierced, adore:  

32.34.  Now Israel's Glory, as their shame before.    
He said, when straight to bliss his soul retired, *  
And slumbering soft he with a smile expired.  
New wonders still arise as these are past,  
Like Waves, the first confounded in the last.  
Each Sex, as well as Age, their Lord confess,  
A Prophet first, and now a Prophetess.  

Luke 2.36.  Anna, a Matron Sage, and whilst a Wife  
For spotless Faith renowned, and holy Life;  
Old Phanuels Heir, of Asher's fruitful Race  
Famed in her Youth for matchless Mind and Face,  
Sought by a hundred Wooers, nor denied,  
To bless the happiest by the name of Bride:  
Seven years they lived and no Dissension knew;  
Thou One at first, yet still more one they grew:  
Their Thoughts, their Wishes, nay their Souls the same,  
In naught they differed but in Sex and Name:  
So intimately close the knot was tied,  
That Death itself could hardly them divide:  
And when th' untimely Grave had him received,  
And her of more than her own Life bereaved,  
She wondered how, and scarce believed she lived;  
All thoughts of any second Love defies,  
And to all worldly joy and Pleasure dies;  
Within the Temple waiting the blessed hour, 
Luke 2.37.   
Which her might to her much-loved Lord restore:  
Her earthly Frame by Fasts so far refined,  
That little now was left but perfect mind:  
Oft her pure Soul to Heaven would take its flight  
Lost and absorbed in Glory infinite:  
Retired as oft, no Look, no Thought abroad,  
Nothing she knew besides her self and God;  
Nay sometimes scarce distinct herself could call;  
* Abstracted from herself, for God was all.  
What darling Visions, not to be expressed,  
Her constant fervent pure Devotions blest!  
What Beatific Glories warmed her Breast!  
What crowds of beauteous Seraphs left the Choir,  
At once, to imitate her and admire!  
What mystic Truths by them to her revealed,  
To all, but them and Heaven itself, concealed!  
From these she learns what strikes weak Reason dumb,  
What tries even Faith, that God should Man become:  
She learned the time, the day, the hour precise,  
When we approached to bring our Sacrifice:  
What joy, what Exultation she expressed,  
And hailed her Saviour at the Virgin's breast?  
Nor half content that him her self she head found;  
How gladly spread she the glad News around  
* To all the Just, by her and Heaven approved,  
To all who a Redeemer wished and loved?  
Thus much, tho' what remains did more surprise,  
For Fame reports three Princes great and wise,  

Matth. 2.1.  Were late arrived, from near the Sun's unprise ';  
From the fair Fields of happy Araby, *  
Judea's strange expected Prince to see;  
Conducted safely by a wondrous Star  
Cross all those sandy Worlds, outstretching far  
Through the wide Wilderness, until at last,  
To Moab's pleasant Plains and Hills they passed;  
Near Edom's Mount to Iordan's doubtful Brim, *  
Betwixt Selah and the cloudy Abarim:  
Crossing the Flood, as it by Gilgal falls,  
They soon arrived at ancient Salems' Walls;  

2.  And boldly for the new born King inquire,  
The hope of Isr'el, and the World's desire!  

Matth 2.3.  Proud Herod heard, and trembled at the news,  
Whose heavy Tyranny the injured jews  
So long had sighing born; nor they alone,  
His very Friends beneath his Axes groan,  
With his own blood he dies his slippery Throne. *  
Not all his sordid Flatterers now availed;  
Their Hearts, as well as their fierce Tyrants failed;  
Thou him so late they their Messia hailed: *  
However that Savage Wolf the Fox endued,  
Awkwardly pious seemed, and strangely good:  
The Sages to his stately Palace brings,  
And placed 'em in Apartments fit for Kings:  
Dissembling Hospitable Piety,  
Aloud he praised their Zeal and Industry:  
Blessed be th' unutterable Name! Said he,  
Who even to Gentile Worlds, so long concealed,  
At last has our great promised Prince revealed!  
O might we but the Royal Infant greet,  
And throw our Crowns and Sceptres at his Feet?  
How much, how infinitely blessed we were,  
If to his Father's House we him might bear?  
How happy, might we wait and serve him there?  
Thus close his Nets the sanguine Tyrant placed,  
(For when our humble Roof the Sages graced,  
They all repeated,) thus did them deceive,  
So easily will Innocence believe;  
So firmly on his Royal word they leaned;  
Who instantly the Sanhedrim convened:  
Solicitous he asked that happy place,  
Which the Messiah's glorious birth should grace? 
Matth. 2.4.   
If it their ancient Sacred Books declare;  
— As I remember, you, learned Sir, was there,  
* Fair Rama's Lord to wise Gamaliel cried,  
When this proposed- 'Tis true, the Sage replied;  
That morning in the Sanhedrim I sat,  
And 'twas by all resolved, on the debate,  
That humble Bethle'm, David's ancient seat,  
Must by his Godlike Offsprings birth be great:  
As thus, inspired, the famed Morasthite sung,  
While with his lofty sounds fair Salems' Mountains rung.  

Micah's Prophecy.  
LET Salem boast her ancient Kings, 
Micah 2.   
Salem, which Princely David sings;  
And Shemir's vain Apostate Town,  
Her Gods, her strength, her pleasure and renown!  
Bethl'hem alone's my noble choice,  
That claims my Lyre and claims my Voice,  
In that shall Israel's Land and Gentile-Worlds rejoice;  
Thomas mean thou art and humble now,  
Wide shall thy spreading Glories grow,  
And all around, like fruitful jordan, overflow:  
For if a Kings or Hero's Seat,  
Must by his Residence be great,  
All others infinitely this o'erpow'rs,  
Where heavens high King is born, as well as ours.  
Already I the Royal Infant see,  
How long his Rule, how vast his Realms shall be?  
Through boundless Space and Time he Reigns eternally!   
— The same, my Friend, says Cephas, did repeat  
The same to him, the Magis, wise and great.  
(Thou that before, and much beside he knew,  
Which from the Sacred Oracles he drew.)  
Nor they the humble Bethl'hems Walls disdained,  
Nor long in Herod's glittering Courts remained;  
Thence hastened, even by him, that Prince to find,  
For israel's Sceptre and the Worlds designed;  
Thou e'er they went, by strictest bonds enjoined,  
When him they found they the glad News should send,  
That he with adoration might attend.  
This his fair Semblance tho' his black Intent,  

Matth. 2.8.  Was but too plain discovered by th' event;  
For they no sooner safely entered were  
Under the Convoy of their first bright Star,  
Our lowly Roof, the reverend Sire goes on,  
Whither, not long before, our Offerings done,  
We from the Temple came— no sooner they  

9  Did Gifts at once and Adoration pay  
To th' Infant King- but by a Vision warned,  
To their own happy Country they returned;  
Nor called at Salem, as their first intent,  
But round, by secret winding ways, they went.  
What said not Herod when the Truth he found?  

12.16.  The Air how did his fruitless Curses wound,  
Which all were lost in Wind, or on his Head rebound.  
But tho' they soon were passed his rage and power,  
The Thunder ended in a bloody Shower  
On Mourning Bethl'hem, which at first hung high,  
And at a distance gathered in the Sky:  
'Twas just descending when an Angel came;  
'Twas he who first from scandal and from blame  
Cleared the chaste Maid, aloud he bids me rise,  
(I saw concern and pity in his Eyes;)  

13.  Rise e'er too late and our dear pledge convey,  
With his unspotted Mother, wide away  
To Egypt's distant Fields; nor thence remove:  
Till he received Commission from above,  
As now he Convoyed out to guard us home.  
— An hours delay was Death, the Guards were come  
From bloody Herod, eager to destroy  
His dreaded Rival in the Godlike Boy.  
Arrived already at the City Gate,  
And only there did for Admittance wait.  

The Adoration of the Mag●.   

  

The Flight of Joseph & Mary into Egypt   
Starting I rose, for my loved Charge afraid,  
Nor in the Town one precious moment stayed,  
Scarce had I time to tell the Sacred Maid,  
What my concern and this strange hurry meant,  
But silent through the Southern Gate we went;  
Nor many paces from the Wall had gone,  
When all the busy Streets with Torches shone,  
Crossing from House to House, which we espy  
* From a small Hill, and straight a dismal cry  
Of Blood and Murder did our Ears affright,  
With doubled Horror through the silent Night.  
Loud Shrieks we sometimes heard, 
Matth. 2.18.  nor that alone,  
Oft we distinguished some deep dying Groan,  
These of their barbarous Foes for Mercy prayed,  
These, desperate grown, with fruitless arms invade.  
How ghastly must that Scene of Horror be,  
Entire, which we did thus by piecemeal see?  
Here mangled Infants from the Windows fall,  
And Herod's bloody Banner on the Wall;  
There Children dashed on Marble pavements lie,  
There gored aloft on Pikes or Halberds die.  
The Virgin shrieked with Fear almost oppressed,  
And clasped the Royal Infant to her breast;  
Nor dared we more of the sad sight partake,  
Trembling lest we ourselves a part should make;  
But we e'er morning, in our speedy Flight,  
* Had reached the Forest of the Tekoite;  
Beth-haccerem we eat with cautious fear,  
For Herod's Garrison we knew was there;  
And past the Woods, and Siddim's Plain came down  
— On the third morn, to Sheba's bordering Town:  
— There leaving Palestine, our Course we take,  
* O'er the vast Sands by Syrbon's waning Lake  
* And Casius Mount, with Palms and Cedars crowned,  
For mighty Pompey's Fate and Tomb renowned:  
There entering on proud Mizraims' fruitful Soil,  
* Which asks no Rain, and knows no God but Nile;  
* Near old Bethshemesh we the River crossed,  
Which both its ancient Name and Gods has lost,  
Now Heliopolis; advancing on  
To the proud Walls of neighbouring Babylon; *  
Nor dare so near our dreaded Foe abide,  
But still pierce further, and at last reside  
At Royal Noph, now Memphis, Egypt's pride;  
(Near those vast Pyramids which wound the Sky, *  
Whilst at midway the empty Clouds go by;  
Vain Monuments of Power and Luxury;  
Huge useless Wonders, Wens on Nature's face,  
The Younger Brothers of the Babel-race;)  
And there in wished obscurity remained,  
By an old Friend with kindness entertained.  
— But the day wears, nor need I now relate  
What's known so well, proud Herod's dreadful Fate,  

Vid. joseph. Antiq.  An end he did, worthy his Crimes, receive:  
Nor must I say how we did Egypt leave,  
By the kind Angel warned, how a new fear  
Surprised us, when, our happy Birth-place near,  
We heard, to our uneasiness and pain,  

Matth. 2.22.  The Tyrant's Son did in judaea reign:  
How by divine Direction guided, we,  
Still Northward went to distant Galilee;  
Till to fair Nazareth again we came,  

Matth. 2.23.  That thence the Royal Child might bear his name,  
As ancient Prophets sung— how great his state? *  
What Angels on his Infancy did wait?  
How he increased in Age and Piety,  
How still t' his Holy Mother, and to me,  
Exact Obedience paid—  
What Wonders we from those that past presage,  
From Youth and Childhood measuring Manly Age.  
In every Virtue, every State complete;  
This only of his Actions I'll repeat,  
Thou many more I must in silence pass,  
Well worthy Marble Piles or Leaves of Brass.  
Three Lustres scarce complete, e'er the soft down, *  
His Nectar dropping Lips began to crown;  

Luke 2.41, 42.  We to the Pasch ascending, with us he  
Observes with joy the glad Solemnity.  
Which now in festal Songs and Offerings past,  
T' our own sweet Nazareth again we hast.  

Christ among the Doctors.   
But missing him, we both began to fear,  
Nor tidings could from all our Kindred hear;  
We search each Troop, 
Luke 2.44.  returning from the Pasch,  
Zebedee and his Grandsire Heli ask,  
Ask over and over, but could no comfort gain.  
As a fair Hind who wandering o'er the Plain,  
Or some thick Wood, her tender Fawn has lost,  
So looked the Virgin, so lamenting crossed  
Each Street and Road, 
45.  in vain she sought and mourned,  
Nor lesle when to the Town next morn returned:  
Two days, 
46.  alike, in fruitless search we spent,  
Two Nights in Tears, and him, as lost, lament:  
Her Feet ne'er rest by day, by night her Eyes,  
Which deluged saw the third sad Morn arise:  
Human endeavours vain, to Heaven she flies,  
Resolved to seek him in the House of Prayer,  
And from his Father ask Direction there: 
Ibid.   
We sought, and him amidst the Scribes we found,  
A pleased, 
47.  a numerous Audience seated round,  
His Words admiring, on his Lips they hung,  
And blessed each sound of his harmonious Tongue:  
How far his Sense his tender Age outran!  
Beyond a Child, he spoke beyond a Man!  
— heavens! was it he? Good Nicodemus cried:  
Then in the Schools, as chanced, I did preside,  
And heard it all; the wondrous Youth admired,  
Nor thought him lesle than by high Heaven inspired!  
So lofty, yet so evident and clear,  
All his surprising Thoughts and Notions were▪  
Each look, each word, such a peculiar Grace;  
So modest, and so grave his heavenly Face,  
Envy itself, his Foe, could hardly prove;  
He shared at once our Wonder and our Love.  
If then, with Zeal, the happy Friend rejoined,  
So justly you admired so great a Mind,  
How would you then, if him you now would see?  
How Fathers! would you all soon rival me?  
He now excels himself, as others then,  
He's fairer far than all the Sons of Men:  
Mild Mercy mixed with awful Goodness shine  
All over, confessing Love and Power divine:  
Each Look, each Line, bespeaks immoderate Grace,  
And shows his Father's Image in his Face:  
— Yet he but injures, who like me commends,  
The best of Masters and the best of Friends.  
Ah, had you once, like me, his Goodness proved;  
Were he but known he could not but be loved.  
— A warmth like yours, success can never fail,  
So strongly you persuade, you must prevail,  
Wise Nicodemus cries, for your great Friend,  
Whom I myself desire this Night t' attend,  
To find if Truth will these Encomiums bear,  
Or heighthened you present his Character.  
Gladly I claim the word, the Saint replied,  
And for the honour press to be your Guide:  
They join, tho' all the Company divide;  
When joseph first saluted every Guest,  
And the next morning fixed to hear the rest.  
The End of the Second Book.   

NOTES ON The LIFE of CHRIST. BOOK II.  
* ALL silent stood when Rama is Lord had done.] As I ended the First Book, so I begin the Second, with an Imitation of Virgil's, Conticuere omnes, and Interea Aeneas. By Rama's Lord is meant joseph of Arimathea, Vide Notes on the First Book.  
* So when our Prince shall Israel 's Throne regain, So may I by his side for ever reign.] It's too plain to need any great matter of Proof, that S. Peter especially, and I believe the greatest part or all of the other Disciples, did expect at that time the Temporal Reign of the Messiah. As for S. Peter's Wish here, to reign by his Side, on his Throne, the same with that of Zebedee's Sons afterwards, a Modern Critic tells us, 'twas the Custom for the ancient Throne to be made of a great Capacity, able to contain several Persons. As for the Form of the Asseveration, So when our Prince, &c, 'tis not unlike that which Grotius quotes out of their Chetub, Ita videam consolationem Israel, So may I see the Consolation of Israel: which, he says, was an usual Affirmation among the jews.  
Which these, which Fame, which all the World attest.] These, the two other Disciples: Fame, for we read of the Fame of jesus, Matth. 4.24. Luke 4.14, 37. & 14.1. Herod heard of the Fame of jesus, and in several other places. All the World here is no more than jew and Gentile, or all the Roman World, which every one knows was at that time called the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Nor were his Miracles only known to the Syrians, Matth. 4.24. The Phoenicians, Mar. 7.26. and afterwards the Grecians, John 12.20. but to the Romans also, as the Centurion, and probably many others. Vid. plur. infra.  
* From whose wise Books his Sacred Name we gain.] See our Learned Mede, on Daniel's Weeks, which he proves must be accomplished about the time of our Saviour's coming, whichsoever of the assigned Epoches we take for their beginning. And 'tis his Observation, that we have the very Name of the Messiah from that Prophet, Dan. 9.25, 26. where he's called Messiah the Prince; and 'tis added, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself. See more in Notes on Lib. seven.  
* The Period past our Rabbis all declare; And come he is, or we must now despair.] Malachy having foretold, that the Lord should suddenly come to his Temple; the jews having lost their Legislative power; the Weeks of Daniel being now accomplished; the Baptist also appearing in the Spirit and Power of Elias, and indeed all other Prophecies of the Messiah completed, and all centring in this very time; it would be but very reasonable to suppose the Rabbis did at that time publicly declare their Expectation of him, though we had no positive proof for such an Assertion. But yet further, 'tis not only plain from the Evangelists that he was then generally expected by the whole Nation of the jews, (whence I say Of what all Israel knows) and even the Samaritans, that Woman who was none of the best, nor, 'tis to be presumed, the wisest among 'em, yet speaking on't as a thing out of Question, the Messiah cometh, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, with a present signification; not only this is notorious, but even their great Men expressed themselves freely to the same Sense; thus old Simeon, whom some suppose a great Rabbi amongst them, and Caiaphas, who prophesied very clearly even of the Messiah's Sufferings. And josephus confirms the same, plainly acknowledging, that at that time, some great Prince was, by an ancient Tradition or Prophecy, expected in the East, which, according to his usual Flattery, he applies to Vespasian. With all which the modern jews find themselves so pressed, that they have been forced to own the time when we know the Messiah did really come, was indeed that appointed for his coming, but 'twas delayed, they say, for the Sins of the People: 'tis answered, the Promise of the Messiah was absolute, and he was to come to save his People from their Sins, when the World was in a desperate Condition, and, as one of the Rabbis says," filled with Dogs, Wolves, and Goats instead of Men. Others of 'em say he did then really come, but is not yet declared or revealed, remaining all this while incognito. And a third sort, as I find it quoted by a learned Person from their Bab Berachoth, that the Messiah was really born, and that of poor Parents, and in the time of the latter Temple, but was snatched away again for the Sins of their Nation; which is true enough, though not in the sense they intended. Nay I find one of their Rabbis, Sam Marochianus de adventu Messiae, who goes further than any of these, I dread and fear, O Lord, says he, lest that jesus who was slain by our Fathers, and whom the Christians worship, should be that Righteous one, sold for Silver, according to the Prophet Amos.  
24. By that fell Idumean Wolf oppressed.] Herod the Great, generally supposed an Edomite, though some make him of Askalon.  
28. Dissembling Piety our Temple raised.] He enlarged, adorned, and as good as rebuilt the second Temple, as joseph. Antiq. lib. 15. cap. 14. which though some learned Men have denied, as Eckius and Villalpandus, yet one would think josephus should best know, having so often officiated in it, and perhaps seen part of it building with his own Eyes; nor does he at all flatter Herod, who was dead many years before, whatever he says of Vespasian. This Temple was in truth a very magnificent Structure, though, by the leave of our Master Cowley, much inferior to that of Solomon, as shall appear more largely in Notes on Lib. seven. The main body of it was finished by Herod himself in eight Years and an half, employing about a thousand Carriages and eleven thousand Men, but 'twas forty six years before the whole was completed by the jews, as they told our Saviour.  
31. And makes th' Highpriest himself a Sacrifice.] john Hircanus, who was, if I mistake not, his Father-in-law into the bargain. See joseph. Antiq. Lib. 6, & 7.  
36. Their Idol Eagle to our Temple brings. Who perched on proud Antonia clapped his Wings.] Antonia was a Castle built by Herod in honour of his Friend Anthony, near the Temple, at the North-West Corner, on an inaccessible Rock fifty Cubits high, and the Castle upon it forty Cubits more; which was four square, with four Towers at the Corners, commanding all the Temple, into which there were also secret Passages from it. See the Description of it joseph. Antiq. lib. 6. cap. 7. But not only the Roman Banners, which the jews looked upon as Idols, and perhaps they were not mistaken, might offend the Zealots, when waving on the Towers so near their Temple; but josephus tells us in his Antiq. lib. 17. cap. 18. that Herod did really erect a Golden Eagle, of an almost inestimable value, on the very Portal of the Temple, which judas and Mathias, two brave young Men, and zealous for their Law, were so much offended at, that they got their Friends together, and cut it all to pieces with their Swords and Axes, though it cost many of their Lives.  
38. Judah no more gives Laws.] this seems the most natural Interpretation of the Sceptre's departing from judah, that is, the Legislative Power, which till now remained with those two Tribes returning from Captivity.  
41. Our Substance seized, etc. Which my fierce Country could not tamely bear.] See a large account of the Insurrection of the Galilean jews against the Romans under judas Gaulonitis, (so called from the City Golan in Bashan) on occasion of this Taxation, in joseph. Antiq. lib. 18. cap. 1.  
71. And brought, of seven Sabbatic years, the last.] joseph 'tis probable was a middle-aged person at the time of his Marriage. The Sabbatic Year is either the seventh Year, or seven Years, a Week of Years: suppose him then born either in the last year of the first Sabbath, or the very seventh or Sabbatic year, he might be now something above forty.  
76. Old Heli 's Daughter did the Garland bear.] Heli is said to be the Father of the Blessed Virgin. See Eusebius his Ecclesiastical History, who, from the relation of some Christian jews, gives one of the clearest Solutions of the difficulties in Genealogies that I've ever seen; though 'tis true his Scheme is liable to some Objections, and I should be glad to see any that was not.  
93. And scarce could Eden's Loss itself lament.] The Harshness of this Thought I've endeavoured to soften by the word scarce, at the beginning of the Verse, and if there needs any more to do it, the Reader is desired to consider that joseph speaks here as a Lover, and therefore must be allowed to think more extravagantly than another Person.  
94. Tender, not fond, etc.] The Idaeal Character of a good Wife. See the rest below, Yet still, etc.  
112. I found her pregnant, now 'twas plain to sight.] This was the best way I could think of to manage so nice a point with that Gravity the Subject required.  
141. On whose fair Soul no thought of Ill's impressed.] Not that I think her Immaculate in the Popists sense, but only as to the Opinion joseph had entertained concerning her.  
148. F●ve Courses more through her short Orb had gone.] The Remainder of nine Months must be allowed before, for obvious Reasons.  
163. Thus the sweet Rose, etc.] The Thought's too good to be my own, I had it from that of Vida, Roar velut demîssa caput Rosa matutino.  
199. Thrice happy oft I called and counted her.] In this Thought all Writers that I've yet s●en on this Subject, either Prose or Verse, have agreed: for Verse Vida, thus, 
Illam foelicem tacitè mecum ipsa vocabam,  
Quam Pater omnipotens tanto cumularet honore.  And Sannazarius, I think beyond him here, which he is not often.  
— Oculos dejecta modestos  
Suspirat, Matremque Dei venientis adorat  
Foelicemque illam, humanâ nec lege creatam  
Saepe vocat, necdum ipsa suos jam sentit honores.  
212. All hail! belov'd of Heaven, and full of Grace.] Wherein I include both Senses of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
237. My Faith I not refuse, etc.] I chose to take all the Angel's Discourse, and Virgin's Answer together, which makes 'em more entire, and I think more Poetical than if with many Interruptions and Interrogations.  
251. And melt my ravished Soul with heavenly Love.] Not unlike Vida's, 
Visaque praedulci mihi corda liquescere amore.   
260. A far greater name than Wife.] That of a Friend.  
261. Yet still I bore an undisputed sway.] Undoubtedly the Blessed Virgin was endued with all Conjugal as well as Solitary Graces and Virtues, and accordingly from her I here draw the Picture of a good Wife; more defensibly I'm sure than the contrary is often done by the Italian Painters, who from their Wives, and sometimes Mistresses, usually draw their Madonna's, or Pictures of the Blessed Virgin; nay, I'm credibly informed, something very like it was done some few years since in Ireland, where they borrowed the Face of a very lovely Person of Quality to put upon the Virgin, I suppose, that they might have some Excuse for their Idolatry.  
264. In our low House, etc.] Vida bestows many Marble Pillars on't, and makes it a famous business, indeed more like the Palace of her Ancestors, than an Habitation for Persons of their low Fortunes; I think therefore my House is better than his, a mean low built thing agreeable to their way of living▪ suppose like one of our Cottages in Lincolnshire.  
280.— my Consent— And Company obtained.] I think it more probable that her Husband joseph went with her, than that she should wander by herself quite cross the Country.  
283. Fatal Gilboa.] The Reason of that Epithet is assigned in the next Verse.  
286. New Walls of Shemir 's ancient Town.] Samaria, first named from Shemir, of whom its Ground was bought: long after rebuilt by Herod, and called Sebaste.  
288. Near Dothan 's Plains.] I am not ignorant that most of ou● modern Travellers, especially the Catholics, make Dothan far enough from Shechem and Samaria; nay they describe it, Relics and all (the Pitt that joseph was put in, and 'tis a wonder they han't a small parcel of his Coat too) about two hours' journey from Magdala, some scores of Miles from the true Dothan; which 'tis plain must ●e near Samaria, for when jacob sent joseph to look for his Brethren, he told him they were at, or near, Shechem; but they were gone thence to Dothan, whither he soon followed and found 'em, which he could not so easily have done, had they driven their dattle quite over Gilboa and Kishon, almost sixty Miles from Shechem. Thus can Ignorance remove both Plains and Mountains where Faith is too weak to do it.  
289. Gerizim 's proud Altar.] I say Altar not Temple, because at this time I believe they had no Temple there, what they once had being demolished, in his zeal, by john Hyrcanus, before the Birth of our Saviour: I say, Built in spite, because, as josephus tells us, Manasse, the Son-in-law of Tobias, being banished from jerusalem, Nehem. 13.28. fled to the Heathen or Mungrel-Samaritans, and built there an Anti-Temple on Mount Gerizim.  
293. And the third Noon.] 'Tis about three days Journey from Nazareth to jerusalem, as Surius tells us Lib. 2. p. 305. But Zachary's house not being much further▪ they might travel a little faster, and get thither that Night.  
296. To Geba Zachary's House, says Fuller, was near to Emmaus, though in his Map 'tis of the two nearer Geba, and it might indeed be near both, since there's but little distance between 'em.  
298. The pleasant Seat of Aged Zachary.] To tell the truth, I built Zachary's House from the very Ground myself, and thought it all pure Fancy, but it luckily happens 'twas exactly such a one as I describe it, as I have since found in my Pilgrim, p. 433. Maison de Saint Zacharie, etc. The House of St. Zachary is very pleasantly seated on the top of a little Hill. It has a Fountain of delicate Crystal Waters, not far from the Gate which is towards the East.  
300. Such as an humble Country-Priest became.] I can't think him any more; or but a sort of Prebendary at the height of his Preferment, by his waiting in his course at the Temple, much as ours do at the Cathedrals.  
311. A Cyrstal Stream.] See last Note but one.  
327. And ever since as strangely silent been] Vide infra.  
329. Thus inspired began.] 'Tis probable she had her Son's Name by Inspiration, as Zachary had it revealed, since he could not tell it her, and if he had written it before, she might with that have satisfied their Relations without anew consulting him.  
350." Hail Mary!] I hope there's nothing superstitious in this Poetical Address to the Blessed Virgin, as I'm sure there's no Flattery in that which follows it, nor will either therefore offend any judicious Reader, any more than Hail, bright Cecilia, etc.  
472. Endue with purer Forms.] According to the Chemist's Fancy, who talk much of curing the Leprosity of base Metals, in order to their Transmutation.  
411. Of those around Tablets and Style demands.] The ancient way of writing, among most Nations; so well known, there's, I think, no need to describe it.  
485. Till thrice we saw the Silver Cynthia 's Wane.] 'Tis not expressed indeed that the Virgin was present at Elizabeth's Labour, but it seems extremely probable, for the Angel told her at his Salutation, that 'twas then the sixth Month with her that was called Barren; and afterwards Marry abode with her three Months, when her full time being come, 'tis not likely her Cousin would leave her before she saw her delivered.  
444. The Angel nods, as knowing what I meant.] This he might easily do (without being in a proper sense, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which belongs to God only) by Zachary's Action, Face, and other Circumstances.  
493. When the Eternal League began.] Eternal, if understood of the Covenant made with the natural Posterity of Abraham for outward Blessings, must only signify a long time, as it usually does in the Holy Scriptures. If of the spiritual Children of faithful Abraham, it must be taken in its proper sense; either of which will do in the present Case.  
523. I see his Orient Light arise.] The Word Orient is taken in our Language (unless I'm out) either for Illustrious or Eastern. I aim therein at an old but a good word which our Translators here make use of, who tender the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Dayspring, though it signifieth also the Branch, by which Name our Saviour was often foretold; which Sense of the Word I've also given.  
553. Departing Winter's self.] It does not much affect me whether our Saviour's birth were in December, September, March, or whatever Month besides; though I'm extremely well satisfied I've one day appointed, whereon to celebrate the Memory of that greatest Blessing that God ever gave to Man.  
558. And all the pretty Flowers that dress the Spring.] The End of Winter is the Beginning of the Spring; and for the Flowers at that time growing wild in Palestine, see Eugene Rogier, who lived some time in the very Convent of Nazareth, as I find him quoted by Walker, in his Life of Christ p. 79. §. 102. This City of Nazareth, says he, is well called a Flower, for I might affirm, that having run through many Realms, and viewed many Provinces in Asia, Afric, and Europe, I never saw any comparable to this of Nazareth, for the great number of fair and odoriferous Plants and Flowers, which grow wild there throughout all the Seasons of the Year: for from December to April, all the little Hills, Fields and waysides are enameled with Anemonies, Hyacinths, etc. and Surius to the same sense, and almost in the same words.  
563. Then o'er Kedummim 's Streams.] Vid. Lib. 1.  
572." A secret joy through all my Soul did glide.] From that true, and I think universal Observation of the Poet, Nescio quâ natale solum, etc.  
574." And Rachel 's Tomb to th' left began t' appear.] A bad imitation of that in Virgil, 
Hinc adeo media est nobis via, namque sepulchrum  
Incipit apparere Bianoris.—   
619. Walker's account on't is thus, p. 26. § 27. 'Tis, says he, a place of common receipt on the East side of Bethlehem, without the Town made in a hollow Rock, as is usual for Stables in that Rocky Country, where was a Manger also cut out of the Stone. Surius says, that about Ann. Dom. 326. the Empress Helena built a stately Church over this Cave, which remains to this day, the Cave or Grott itself being under the Quire. The very place where Tradition says the Blessed Virgin was delivered, being covered with an handsome white Marble, in the middle of which is inlaid a green jasper, of about a span diameter, round which jasper is a Circle of Gold, in form of a Sun, with four Rays of several Colours, made of Diamonds, Rubies, Granates, and other precious stones, in the Circle are graven in Capital Characters these Words, HERE WAS BORN JESUS CHRIST OF THE VIRGIN MARY.  
624. Whether by Art hewed in the living Stone.] From Sannazarius, 
Incertum manibusve hominum geniove potentis  
Naturae formatum—   
638. Faint did the Lamp on neighbouring Edar burn.] The Watch Tower of Edar, in the Fields of Bethlehem, North East from the Town.  
652. In her chaste Arms th' Eternal Infant lies.] I think 'tis Cowley's thought and words.  
668. Lowting low.] One of Spencer's and I think Chaucer's Phrases, signifying no more than a rustic sort of a Bow.  
674. Claius, who lately the lewd Town had left.] An innocent pastoral Fable, proper enough, I think, here; some not unlike it being used by Casimir and others on the same occasion. But I am sensible there are some parts of this Description which han't the true Character of Pastoral Poetry: though for the Greek Names they were common then among the jews, witness S. Peter himself, and why not Shepherds as well as Fishermen?  
718. Old Father Jacob 's Travels these relate, etc.] A probable Subject enough for their Songs and Discourses, it being in this very place where he pitched his Tent, Gen. 35.21, 22.  
757. A Cave and homely Stable claim his Birth.] By the word Stable there's more Liberty allowed than if 't had been Manger, the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying both, answering I think pretty exactly to Praesepe in the Latin, However all Antiquity have agreed that Christ was born in a Cave, not an House, as Grotius proves out of justin and others.  
787. Each humble Straw endues the Form of Gold.] From that of Vida, 
— Quaeque  
Stramina tetra, modo horrebant, nunc aurea cernas.   
823. An Heavenly Youth of those who waited there] According to Mr. Mede's Notion, and indeed the belief of all Antiquity, that the Angels are always attending in Holy Places, in which, according to him, consists the Shechinah, or Tokens of God's peculiar Presence.  
879. He said, when straight to Bliss his Soul expired,  
And slumbering soft he with a Smile expired.] It's very probable Simeon lived not long after this Prophecy, and he could never dye in better Time, than immediately after he had made it. The same Thought almost, exactly in the same dress, I've since met in Vida, 
Haec ubi, confestim veluti cedentia somno,  
Lumina demisit, placidâque ibi morte quievit.   
910. Abstracted from herself, for God was all.] Three or four of these Lines contain a great part of the so much talked of mystical Divinity, which I'm inclined to think has neither so much nor so little in't as many have imagined. It seems indeed no more than an affectation of hard Words to express or rather conceal such Truths as are plain and easy; and if the Professors of it would but honestly tell us, that by their super-essential Union of Nothing with Nothing, their Self-annihilation, etc. they only meant [The most profound abasement and humiliation of a pious Mind before the Almighty, abstracted from all outward Objects, most intimately retired into itself, yet not deferring any thing to its own Merits, but exerting the most fervent Acts of Prostration and Adoration,] This would be good sense, and what any good Christian might easily understand.  
926. To all the Just, by her and Heaven approved.] See our Mede's notion of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, among his excellent Works.  
931. From the fair Fields of happy Araby.] They came from the East, as the Scripture tells us, and Arabia lay that way from the Holy Land. Nor am I much concerned whether they were Kings, a sort of Roytelets, like the Arabian Shecks at present, or Wise Men only, though I rather incline to the latter, because of their Poverty, since, had they been rich, we can't suppose their Presents would have left the Virgin so poor, that both joseph and his Son should still work at their Trades, as we find they did. But let 'em be never so poor, or never so wise, I can scarce believe 'em downright Wizards, as some of the Fathers make 'em.  
937. To Jordan 's doubtful Brim.] Because it overflows all its Banks in time of Harvest. josh. 3.15.  
947. With his own Blood he dies the slippery Throne.] He killed his Wife Mariam, his Brother Pheroras, his three Sons, Alexander, Aristobulus, and Antipater, the last just as he was himself expiring; and indeed if they were like their Father, 'twere pity any of the breed should have been left. Vid. jos. Antiq. lib. 6. cap. 17. & lib. 7.  
950. Thomas him so late they their Messiah hailed.] Eusebius, in his History, gives an account of that Sect among the jews mentioned in the Evangelists, and called Herodians, who, as he says, flattered Herod the Great with the Title of the Messiah, celebrating a religious annual Feast to his Honour. 'Tis perhaps worth remark, that not one of those, who unjustly usurped that incommunicable Title, either in those ages or since, as he, Barcochebas, judas, and in our times, David Sabbati-Sevi, and others, but what came to miserable Ends.  
975. Rama 's Lord.] joseph of Arimathea, as before.  
1051.— Which we espy— From a small Hill.] If there should be none such found in the Maps of Bethlehem, I hope the Reader will easily pardon it, since the throwing up two or three Mountains is but a small Poetical Miracle.  
1070. Had reached the Forest of the Tekoite— Beth-Haccerem we eat.] The Forest or Wilderness of Tekoah lies a little South of Bethlehem, in the way to Egypt, and Beth-Haccerem is near it; we read in jer. 6.1. of both the Places together, Blow the trumpet in Tekoah (which signifies the sound of a Trumpet) set up a sign of fire in Beth-Haccerem, a place I suppose much of the Nature of our Beacons. Now this Beth-Haccerem may either signify the House of Strong Men, or the House of Rustics; the former Interpretation I follow, supposing it a strong Garrison, probably in some narrow Pass of that Wilderness.  
1076. O'er the vast Sands, by Sirbon's wandering Lake.] This Lake had formerly an Inlet into the Sea, which being in time choked up, it now still grows lesle and lesle. 'Tis reckoned the utmost Eastern Bound.  
1077. And Casius Mount— For mighty Pompey 's Fate and Tomb renowned.] Near this was Pompey the Great basely killed, and afterwards buried by a poor Soldier. But the Emperor Adrian in the same place erected a fair Monument.  
1080. Which asks no Rain, and owns no God but Nile.] If it be a false Thought let Lucan answer for't, since 'tis his, who thus of Egypt, 
— Nihil indiga mercis  
Aut jovis, in solo tanta est fiducia Nilo.   
1081. Near old Bethshemesh we the River crossed, Which both its Ancient Name and God hath lost.— Now Heliopolis] It's ancient Name seems to have been On, hence called Onii by Ptolomey, but by the jews Bethshemesh, or House of the Sun, near akin to Heliopolis, or the City of the Sun, one of the Cities which, 'twas prophesied, should leave their Idols, and speak the Language of Canaan. To which place many Authors think our Saviour was carried, but I go a little further, as Vida does, and fix him more in the inland Country.  
1084. To the proud Walls of neighbouring Babylon.] This Babylon, from whence many think S. Peter wrote his first Epistle (though Bellarmine will have it Rome, rather than not get him there at all) has been a considerable Place, though nothing like its Namesake in Chaldaea. It stood just at the Confluence of the Rivers Trajanus and Nilus.  
1088. Near those vast Pyramids.] All we can certainly tell the Reader concerning those unwieldy Wonders, is, that they were made for no body knows what, and built by no body knows whom: They stand most of 'em about Memphis, on the West bank of the River.  
1106. That thence the Royal Child might bear his Name.] From that S. Matt. 2. ult. He shall be called, (an Hebraism for) He shall be, a Nazarene; but where is this Prophecy? I think both in Isaiah and Zachary, our Saviour being promised under the name of Nazarene derived from the Branch 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nazar, which signifies the same thing.  
1117. Three Lustres scarce complete.] A Lustre is about four Years, and therefore 3 Lustres I think a more tolerable Periphrasis to express our Saviour's Age, than if I had borrowed one from Quarles or Reynolds, and said, When the Clock of his Age struck Twelve.   

THE ARGUMENT OF THE Third BOOK.  
THE Introduction from the Happiness and Pleasure of pious Contemplation and Meditation. Nicodemus and the three Disciples find our Saviour at Gethsemane. His discourse with him concerning several Mysteries of the Christian Faith. Nicodemus departs well satisfied with the Conference; and Gamaliel being indisposed, the meeting and further Relation of the three Disciples is adjourned the next day from Joseph's Garden to Gamaliel's House, where S. John goes on with their Discourse of our Saviour, giving an account of the Baptist's History, his Character, Preaching, Prophecies and Baptism, to which many come, and among the rest our Saviour, who is attested there by the descent of the Holy-Ghost, like a Dove, accompanied with a Voice from Heaven; at which the People being about to take him by force and make him a King, he retires thence into the Wilderness, as well to escape their Importunity, and prepare for his approaching Work, as by God's permission to be tempted of the Devil. The Description of that part of the Wilderness whither our Saviour went. In the mean while Lucifer, who being alarmed at the Wonders of our Saviour's Birth, and his appearance now at Jordan, and doubting him to be the true Messiah prophesied of to destroy his Kingdom, had observed him at his Baptism, but frighted thence by the Thunder, fell down into the Lake of Sodom, arises thence at Midnight, and gives the signal to all the Fiends to meet him there; his Speech on the occasion of their meeting, Moloch is for undertaking to destroy our Saviour, but Lucifer forbids him, and himself sets about it: he finds our Saviour, and accosts him in the shape of an old Man almost famished, pressing him with his first Temptation, to work a Miracle, and change Stones into Bread: But our Saviour knowing him through his disguise, rejects his Temptation; Night approaching he attacks him with others raising a Tempest, and several other ways endeavouring to affright him, but without success. The next Morning he accosts him in a glorious Form, though not denying himself, finding he was discovered, but pretending Love to Mankind, especially to our Saviour, and offering him a Banquet, which he had provided in the midst of a Paradise raised in the Wilderness. The Song of two attendant Spirits to invite our Saviour to eat of the Feast, which, on his refusal, vanishes; and the Devil enraged changes himself into the Form of a Dragon, and snatching up our Saviour, hurries him away in the Air, and sets him on a Pinnacle of the Temple, whence he shows him below, the Priests, the jews and Gentiles in their three Courts gazing at him, the Roman Garrison taking their Pleasure in the Ampitheatre, and the Castle Antonia unguarded, persuading him to descend in the Flame of the Altar, that the jews might acknowledge him, and under his conduct redeem their Freedom, which he might more securely do, because God had promised to give his Angels charge over him. Our Saviour having answered his Text with another, the Devil once more snatches him up and carries him to the top of Pisgah representing in the Air all the Kingdoms of the World, with their Riches and Glory, shows him the Ishmaelites travelling through the Deserts with Caravans of Gold and Spices: the Kingdoms of Ethiopia, the Isles of the Mediterranean, Italy, Rome, France, Britain: Then back to East beyond Persia, over to China and India, the principal Rarities whereof he describes. And still more East, cross an undiscovered Strait, a new World, whither one of his Attendants was then conducting a Colony of Tartars; offering him his choice of all these, or, if none would satisfy him, to raise him a Throne on Pisgah, and make him King of both those Worlds, if, by way of Homage for them, he'd bow down and adore him. At which blasphemous Proposition, our Saviour instantly commands the Devil to leave him, the time wherein he was permitted to tempt him being now elapsed, who accordingly vanishes away in a Cloud of Smoke and Fire.  

CHRIST with NICODEMUS.   
THE LIFE OF CHRIST: AN Heroic Poem. BOOK III.  
* AND now the Night her peaceful reign began  
Indulging food to Beasts and rest to Man 
Psalm 104.20, 23.   
To all but him, whom love of Truth denies  
* E'er the day dawn to close his watchful Eyes:  
Who from the busy Worlds tumultuous Noise  
Retired, at once himself and Heaven enjoys;  
Now dives in Mother Nature's deepest springs  
Searching the Causes and the seeds of things:  
* Now higher soars on Contemplation's Wings;  
Views all the glorious Furniture on high  
That decks the Almighty's Palace in the Sky;  
Thence the great Maker argued, hastens on,  
Till past our narrow Earth's attraction gone,  
Past even this World, his vigorous Mind can trace *  
Some Angel through th' imaginary space;  
Thence follows to the Throne, and prostrate there  
With equal Zeal and Love presents his Prayer  
Before th' All-high, loose from all worldly care,  
All the dull joys, we wretched Mortals know  
And these vexatious hopes and fears below.  
Go then my Soul! through time and matter fly,  
Beyond the Earth and Air and Sea and Sky!  
Beyond the place where mortal Seeds are hurled, *  
Beyond the flaming Limits of the World:  
Long infinite durations measure so  
As rolling Numbers still themselves outgo!  
View Those bright worlds of joy which in each other shine!  
Live well through this short world, and they shall all be thine!  
But first must many a bitter blast be o'er  
As please high Heaven; many a fierce Tempest more  
Our little weatherbeaten Bark must find  
And some perhaps, some few white Days behind:  
First in this narrow Creek, beneath a Storm  
Must we our long appointed Task perform:  
Attend our Lord t' his Cross, bewail him there,  
And weep upon his sacred Sepulchre;  
Who in good actions all his Life employed  
And only in his Father's Service joyed:  
By Day he in the Temple prayed and taught;  
Still Night arrived, a calm retirement sought  
At sweet Gethsemane, there was he found  
By Zebedee's two Sons, who Coasting round  
From Calvary through Salem's Northern bound bound  
With Cephas and the trembling Rabbi came  

John 3.2.  Too fearful yet and much concerned for Fame;  
Whom mild our Lord received—  
With wont Sweetness and Benignity;  
Silent a while he gazed, intent to see  
Such Royal Meekness Humble Majesty;  
(For now the Silver Moon began to shine)  
Charmed with his Godlike mien and Form Divine:  
Then thus.— If my Confession ought avail  
Great Sir, who in the very Entrance fail;  
If Rabbi! such as me you e'er receive,  
Afraid to own those Truths I must believe:  
Permit me to acknowledge what's your due,  
Nay all our Sanhedrim must own 'tis true;  
And did not Interest blind 'em would confess  
With loud Hosannas they believe no lesle:  
That you the wondrous Prophet oft foretold  
In the Mosaic Oracles of old:  
Approved from Heaven by many a mighty sign, 
John 3.2.   
Your Mission and your Doctrine all-divine:  
True said our Lord— My Miracles are an Appeal to sense  
And are to that, Authentic Evidence;  
Against all Opposers they the Truth attest,  
Silence the Tongue, but cannot warm the Breast:  
A Change far deeper my strict Laws require  
Of those who not in vain to Heaven aspire;  
'Tis a new Birth, 
v. 3.  a change at once i'th' whole,  
At once performed in Body, mind, and Soul:  
On these mysterious words the Sage debates,  
And on their sense a while he besitates:  
Then thus goes on— Rabbi! of what you say  
If Sense may not be Judge, sure Reason may;  
And Reason seems express and clear to me  
This strange new Birth you urge can never be:  
To whom our Lord— And Rabbi are you read  
So meanly then among the mighty Dead?  
Must others from your Lips Instruction learn,  
Who not yourself these plain first Truths discern?  
If Reason what Sense offers justly weigh,  
And o'er it bears an undisputed sway;  
Why should not Reason to Religion yield  
As Sense when Reason comes must quit the Field?  
'Tis a good humble Guide, but when it soars too high  
'Tis reason what seems reason to deny.  
Shall man's weak knowledge fathom boundless might,  
Or Limits fix to what is infinite?  
Or the great Spirit by your low Laws confined  
Act nothing that's beyond a Mortal Mind;  
Which as it please its favours can convey  
Unknown to men the Reason, Time, and Way?  

16.  Go tract the Wind and tell me where it goes?  
From what deep Source its headlong Current flows?  
Whence into Gulfs 'tis formed, and how and where  
It makes such strange Meanders in the Air?  
How, not a Body, or not so to sight  
All body yield to its impetuous might?  
If you're with modest silence forced to own  
Even much of that which strikes the Sense unknown;  
With more of reason you'll your reason see  
In Revelation lost and Mystery:  
Nor darkly this to Saints of old revealed  

Matth. 11.25.  Thou from the wise and prudent now concealed;  
This saw great jesses' Son by heaven inspired,  

Psal. 51.10.  Who a new Heart with ardent Vows desired:  
The Prophet this, who struck with sacred awe  
Near Chebars streams the wondrous Vision saw:  

Ezek. 11.9, 18, 21.  This even the Gentile World— but that pure Law  
I now promulge, far nobler Truth contains,  
Which yet to you and them unknown remains:  

John 3.12.  A God that takes the Form of man to die;  
A Son of Man that lives Eternally:  
A God who Robes of mortal Clay doth wear  

13.  To Place confined— a Man that 's every where:  

16, 17.  Sent by the Father yet Himself the same;  

Isaiah 9.6.  (The Everlasting Father in his Name,)  
On this bad world the last Efforts to prove  
Of undeserved, yet unexhausted Love,  
Lost man to save, and raise to endless Day,  
Firm Faith in him and holy Works the way.  

John 3.18, 19, 20.  The Sage with his short visit not content  
Almost a Convert from the Garden went:  
From what he knew, what was behind he guest,  
And more impatient grew to hear the rest:  
Scarce did the Sun's impartial beams begin  
To gilled a World of Vanity and Sin,  
E'er he next morning did Gamaliel see  
And him again invites to Calvary;  
Who, indisposed of joseph had desired  
The Conference, which they all so much admired,  
Might at his house be finished, where retired,  
And undisturbed th' Apostles might relate  
What yet remained of their great Master's fate:  
Th' Arimathean yields, and when they came  
With like Facility they grant the same;  
Who at the house arrived and they and he  
Received with Cheerful Hospitality,  
His Friends, with a short neat Collation cheered,  
Gamaliel thus, the Room and Table cleared,  
To Zebedees', and Iona's son addressed:  
What yesterday you told us, 'tis confessed,  
The Air of truth and wonder has, nor we  
Without a groundless Incredulity  
Can doubt what such high attestation brings,  
From Heaven, and Earth, from Shepherds, Angels, Kings:  
Whose firm foundation equally relies  
On Faith, and Sense, Wonders, and Prophecies:  
Since this from what's already passed is clear,  
The rest more earnest we desire to hear!  
Thus he, thus all who sat attentive there:  
When th' Elder of the Zebedean pair;  
If this so much your wonder move, rejoined,  
What will be left for what remains behind,  
Which yet far more Deserves?—  
What by all Israel was at once Discerned  

Mat. 3. ult.  Or from our Master's sacred Lips we learned?  
His Abstinence, his Trial, and distress,  
And dreadful Combat in the Wilderness  
With man's sworn foe, and heavens, who through the Air  
Him to the Temples Roof did fearless bear:  
But first how he did heavens Commands obey,  
Baptised altho' no crimes to purge away  
In Jordan's sacred Waves, more pure than they:  
For now vast Crowds you might at Enon see 
John 3.23.   
With the great Son of aged Zachary:  
Enon and Salim, where rich jordan falls  
* Not far removed from valiant Bethshan's Walls,  
* And old ●ethabara, where ferrying o'er  
Men first arrive upon the distant shore:  
Here the great Baptist came, who from a Child,  
His Life had spent in Iudas fertile wild,  

Matt. 3.1.  Ten thousand little Villas scattering wide  
Their fruitful Flocks and Fields on every side:  
Austere he lived, removed from all resort  
Of the proud City or the pompous Court:  
Here tho' he was to a fair Fortune born  
The World's vain Pleasures soon he learned to scorn:  
Such humble Clothing and mean Food he used,  
As frugal Nature of herself produced;  

Matt. 3.4.  His Robes from the rough Camels shoulders torn  
Such spoils of Beasts by ancient Hero's worn,  

2. Kings 1.8.  Such great Elijah wore, his Food he found  
Ready prepared on every Tree and Ground;  
And if by chance on his low Table lay  

Matt. 3.4.  A Honeycomb, 'twas then a festal day:  
How little frugal Nature will suffice!  
How hard to please luxurious Avarice!  
Thus taught the pampered World to conquer Sense  

Matt. 11.18.  Himself a pattern of strict Abstinence:  
Severe his Life and Garb, his Words the same,  
From Heaven he armed with Zeal and Thunder came  
To rouse a stupid World, abroad he went  

Matt. 3.2.  By Iordan's banks and cried aloud Repent!  
Turn, Israel, turn, and cast thy sins away!  
Repent before the great and dreadful day!  
Gloomy and dark as Hell's or Egypt 's night,  
Or only seen in Claps of fearful light.  
This beauteous Vault above no more the same,  
But like an Oven, hot with deadly flame; 
Mal. 4.1.   
'Tis fed and kindled by th' Almighty's breath  
Which pleased gives life, but angry storms and death:  
Large flakes of pointed flame wide circling round  
Shall lick the stubble from the gaping ground:  
Both Pharisee and Sadducee must go *  
And bear their Sin in endless worlds of woe:  
The holy Hyprocrite and Atheist lewd 
Matt. 23.33. Luke 3.7.   
But first you Pharisees a viperous brood! *  
Could you be e'er mistaken? Could you be  
Misled with your Infallibility?  
What strange Caprice did you to good incline? 
Matth. 3. Luke 37.   
How came you once to eat the Wrath divine?  
Pressed with your Crimes, the Church, the Church, you cry  
Your meaning Grandeur, Wealth, and Policy:  
Each one a Child of God, all signed and sealed  
As your Salvation were from Heaven revealed.  
How long will madly you against the Skies  
A War maintain, how long believe in Lies?  
Fly Wretches rather, e'er it be too late!  
For Refuge fly from swift approaching Fate!  
You're lost if you a moment longer stay,  
You're safe if now you turn for now you may,  
Repentance and an holy Life the way. 
Matth. 3 8.   
So you'd among those holy Souls have place  
Rescued and saved by heavens peculiar grace  
From this vast ruin, so your longing Eyes  
Shall see the Sun of Righteousness arise;  
Arise to close each Mortal Wound within, 
Mal. 4.2.   
To cure the Poison of that Serpent, Sin:  
High-raised he like the Brazenserpent brings  

Num. 21.9.  Life and Salvation in his healing Wings:  
None look but live, recovering gasping breath,  
And wondrous Strength amidst the pangs of Death.  
These the true promised Canaan shall possess,  
While others perish in the Wilderness; 
Numb. 32.24, 25. Heb. 3.17.   
These shall through the wide World triumphing go,  
And by their blood subdue each hellborn Foe;  
All Lands their sacred Law shall entertain, 
Matth. 3.2.   
And o'er the Nations the Messiah reign:  
What strange effects among th' admiring jews  
His holy Life and Doctrine did produce  
Is known to all; each crowding Region hears,  
Purged in blessed Jordan's Waves, but first in tears:  
* Those who inwild Perea wandered wide,  
Near Iabbock's Ford or Arnon's Streams reside;  
Succoth and Peniel whose ill-natured Pride  
Brave jerubball revenged when Midian fled;  
And where before his Flocks old jacob fed: 
Judges 6.8, 16, 17. Gen. 33: 17.   
jabesh where Saul such welcome succours brought,  
And Gilboa where he successless fought,  

1. Sam. last chap.  Heaven and his Foes engaged, and in th' unequal strife  
He lost the day, his Sons, his Crown, and Life.  
All who on either bank of jordan go,  

Joshua 3.15.  Whose Fields his fruitful Waters overflow:  

John 1.44.  Some from Bethsaida far more distant came,  
Attracted by the Prophet's growing Fame:  
From strong Tiberias some, and some came down  
From Tabor's Mount and famed Bethulia's Town:  
These from old Shalem, Thebez, Bezek go, *  
From Pisgah these, and these from jericho;  

Matt. 3 5.  But thousands from the Royal City come  
And almost empty leave their Native home,  
You know how much our Elders did esteem  
The Baptist, know the message sent to him,  
And honours paid by our learned Sanhedrim.  

John 1.19.  Too well Gamaliel with a sigh replied,  
I know that story and the fatal pride  
With which his Testimony we denied:  
In vain we saw and heard, for I was sent  
The Truth to try, and still I dread th' event  
Of our rejecting him; but Sir proceed!  
He thus— The Baptist now had thousands freed  
In Iordan's Waves, their Leprosy of Sin  
First open laid, then washed away therein:  
After the rest our Saviour came, content  

Matt. 3.13.  And pleased that such vast crowds before him went!  
Whom when the Baptist in the stream did see  

John 1.33.  The Divine Spirit soft-whispering this is he;  
With pious reverence at his Feet he fell  
And hailed the undoubted King of Israel:  
Nor dared attempt to purge what knew no Crime  

Matt. 3.14.  But trembling asked to be Baptised of him:  
Our Saviour mild requires him to permit  
He all performed that wiser Heaven thought fit;  
Who came the Law and Gospel to fulfil,  
To do and suffer all his Father's Will:  
He yields at length, unwilling and afraid  
And what he could not comprehend, obeyed:  
Nor sooner he who came the World to save  

The Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist at Jordan.   
Had sanctified fair Jordan 's Limpid wave  
By washing there, 
The Baptism.  no sooner from the stream  
He reached the Bank, when, lo! a Heavenly beam  
Shot from the Clouds, which modestly remove  

Matt. 3.16.  To give it way, and lo! a wondrous Dove  
Almost unsufferable to behold,  
Silver his Breast, 
Psal. 68.13.  his Neck and Wings of Gold  
Came softly wafted through the yielding Air,  
And whilst he kneeled in Ecstasy and Prayer  
Upon our Saviour's sacred Head did rest  
At once enlightened that and warmed his Breast;  
With Grace immeasurable did inspire  
And filled him with his own Celestial fire:  
Again the Clouds with lambent Lightning broke,  
And thus th' All-high in awful Thunder spoke.  
" Th' Eternal Son of God by Miracles approved  
" Glad Mortals here behold! whom from my Breast beloved,  
" I, the Eternal Father full of Mercy gave  
" To rescue sinful Man, and from just vengeance save.  
All knew the Voice of their Eternal Lord,  
All heard and knew, and trembled, and adored;  
Prepare to kiss the Son, due honours bring,  
And o'er his own loved Nation hail him King.  
But ah! for Earthly Thrones he was not born,  
Here all the Crowns he sought were made of Thorn:  
Those glittering Toys he could with ease despise,  
And to the Desert thence the Hero flies,  
To eat what others often court in vain,  
Destroy the World and damn themselves to gain:  
A dreadful Wild there is, outstretching wide  
* It's spacious skirts by fruitful Edom's side,  
Impervious to the Sun's all-cheering light;  
There reign black horror and perpetual night:  
Never disturbed by one intruding Star  
To guide the weary wand'ring Traveller:  
A dark uncomfortable Vault the whole:  
And underneath here sooty Currents roll  
Of dull Bitumen, there their period make  
And stagnate in some melancholy Lake.  
No Flowers on the unlucky Rivage grew,  
No Herb or Tree but the black poisonous Yew,  
Rough Cypress for sad hearses only made,  
And heavy Ebon casting deadly shade,  
With Thunder-blasted Oaks—  
If any where an open Plate was found,  
Vast Serpents rolled along the sandy Ground,  
Their numerous Trains; on half-burnt Trunks around  
Sat Birds obscene, foul Harpies, Vultures fell,  
And all the ugly monstrous Forms of Hell;  
All mischiefs carried in their Voice and Face  
Nor could bided more to that unhappy place.  
Such was the field of battle, such the stage  
Where our Great Captain did all Hell engage:  
Rapt, by the sacred Spirit, he thither flies *  
Ardent t' achieve the glorious Enterprise:  
Already he his Rebel's strength did know  
Already grappled the redoubted Foe:  
Who stung with envy, swollen with foolish pride  
His mighty Rivals force successless tried;  
The sacred Mount of God affecting vain  
Transfixed he fell with all his blasted Train,  
To those uncomfortable Regions where  
For ever reign Confusion and Despair:  
Whence sometimes sallying out, the burdened Air  
They lash with loathsome Wings, and pleased disperse  
Mischief and Murder round the Universe:  
With these their Prince himself had broke his Chain  
And hardly here lesle absolute did reign  
Than in his own sad Realms, since that unhappy fall  

Gen. 3. Rom. 5.12.  Which in our luckless Parents lost us all:  
His Fate he knew, and did disdainful dread  
That the weak woman's seed must bruise his head:  

Gen. 3.15.  This deep he now revolved with conscious fear;  
Concluding his long fated-fall was near:  
Himself wide ranging round, with piercing eyes  
He much discerned, and much his watchful spies:  
From those at Herod 's Court in ambush lay,  
From those who basked in the warm beams of day;  
Who in loan Woods like lustful Satyrs rove,  
Or Earthly Fiends that Blood and Murder love:  
What yet had passed he heard, and all reserved  
In his dark mind, but had himself observed  
What at the Temple chanced, for always there  
With deep malicious thoughts, and utmost care  
He watched to catch each loose unguarded Prayer;  
Which wand'ring found, before they reached the Throne,  
He seized as his and thought 'em all his own:  
Alarmed with all the Wonders heard and seen  
He Mary's Son did from his Birth begin  
As the great promised Seed to hate and fear,  
But more when he from Iordan's banks did hear  
By a quick subtle Spirit posted there  
The famous Baptist did to all declare  
In no dark Types involved, express and plain,  
The near approach of the Messias' reign:  
Away he posts in person, unespyed,  
And mingled with the Crowd on Iordan's side,  
Who all Baptised, when Jesus was not found  
He soars aloft and sweeping wide around  
The fields Triumphant did a while surveyed,  
Again prepared to cut his trackless way  
To God's high Temple and the sacred Town,  
Till from his Chariot looking envious down  
As with a Curse he left 'em, he descried  
The Baptist kneel, the People scattering wide,  
His dreaded Foe amidst the Waves appear;  
He trembling saw, and almost dropped for fear;  
But when he did th' attesting Thunder hear  
By whose intolerable Terrors driven  
Wielded by Michael's arm of old he fled from Heaven,  
No more he could endure—  
But thence precipitate his flight did take  
Wide swooping down through Sodom's Brimstone-lake:  
So tumbling through the Clouds the Vulture flies  
As at vast distance he the Quarry spies,  
Struck by the Royal Eagles piercing Eyes:  
Confused and trembling there obscure he lay  
Nor durst again ascend, till hated day  
Forsook the World, and night a covert made  
To hide his shame in her loved conscious shade:  
Then mounting from the deep with Sulphur crowned  
All flaming, cast his glaring Eyes around  
And gladly would have cursed the unhappy ground,  
But finding 'twas too late, did doubly rave;  
Then for a Council straight the Signal gave:  
The Demons crowd from every lonely Grave.  
Each wretch whom they, possessed, in triumph led  
Through the polluted Mansions of the dead:  
The Conclave fills, from Earth and Hell away  
They hast, proud Belial, Lustful Asmoday:  
Their Nature in their Looks and Forms expressed,  
And haughty Moloch taller than the rest:  
Even more enraged than when at first he fell  
Their Prince appeared, and something worse than Hell,  
More deadly, more malicious did surprise  
His Court, nor dared they meet his angry Eyes.  
None durst accost the wayward Tyrant, none  
Durst speak or look, but trembled round his Throne,  
Who thus enraged begun— And are we grown  
So tamely good, so worthy more than Hell  
We dare not bravely once again rebel?  
None Council, none advice, nor act, but yield  
Without one parting stroke the glorious Field  
To this young conqueror? Must our Empire fall  
And he alone possess the spacious Ball?  
Forbid it Fate and these right Hands, nor we  
So long in vain have tasted Liberty:  
He can but thunder, and long since we knew  
And felt the worst his angry Bolts can do:  
Shall Man his Slave so oft his Vengeance dare  
Even while he sues for Peace and offers fair,  
And we do lesle, who must of Grace despair?  
Or will you all forget for what you fell  
And humbly praise your conqueror even in Hell?  
Must I forsake and abdicate my Throne  
And you Heav'ns-Deputy your Saviour own?  
How else so tame, so silent could you be  
Naught said or done worthy your self or me?  
Proud Moloch heard, but could no longer bear,  
Furious he rose, with the same scornful Air  
That cost him Heaven— 'Tis well he cries, 'tis well,  
That he who dares speak thus, is Prince of Hell!  
Half this, if from an Angel, should have cost  
His fall from those blessed Regions we have lost,  
Thou it more deeply sunk me— Are we prized  
No more than basely to be scandalised  
With feeble Penitence? Can that be born  
In Hell, which even earthly Tyrant's scorn?  
But time and words are lost, you know we're true  
Sworn Enemies to Heaven, and Friends to you:  
— And to convince you, straight such deeds we'll do  
As Hell shall env' at once, and spread our fame;  
For late myself from Iordan's Banks I came,  
Where I a holy Pharisee possessed  
And left my darling Viper in his Breast:  
Asmodeus too was there, and all the day,  
Within a jolly Saducee he lay:  
In vain it Thundered for we both did stay,  
And marked the Son of God whose haunts we know,  
Who thence did to the dreadful Desert go  
Where Israel wandered; thither I'll pursue,  
And nothing want besides Commands from you  
To crush this dreadful Foe? the Woods I'll fire  
Nor can he scape but must, if man, expire  
I' th' circling Flames; if these too weak should prove  
The solid Earth I'd from its Axis move,  
It's Bowels to the affrighted Centre rive  
And in the Gulf entomb him yet alive;  
Or Whirlwinds raise, vast Hills and Rocks displace  
And dash all Pisgah on his mangled Face:  
He said, and hardly would for Orders stay,  
Till the grim Prince of Hell obstructs his way,  
Lifting his Iron-Mace— To me, he cries,  
Alone belongs this glorious Enterprise:  
I'll instantly about the great Design  
Mine be the Glory, as the Danger mine!  
Heaven soon shall Mourning wear, all Hell shall joy:  
Him first I'll tempt to Sin, and then destroy.  
This said, in haste the sooty Conclave rose,  
And to the Wild disguised their Leader goes:  
Instruct with wont guileful Arts, and found  
Our Saviour lowly prostrate on the Ground:  
Intent his spotless Prayer before th' All-high  
He offers, rapt in holy Ecstasy;  
For strength against the dreadful Combat nigh:  

The Temptation.  He asked that him we might our pattern make,  
He asked as man, what he as God might take:  
Soon did the Fiend's vain hopes begin to fail,  
O'er them that pray he knows he can't prevail;  
Yet Tempts invisible, and did prepare  
His keenest Darts, all quenched with Faith and Prayer,  
Or driven rebated back, or lost in Air.  
Oft would his Thoughts disorder by the chain  
Of former Thoughts, but tried as oft in vain:  
And with the same success did on him try  
False hopes and joys and worldly vanity:  
Objects within; and those before his face,  
The solitude and horror of the place:  
Fruitless they fell and all his Labours mock,  
As storms of Hail against the solid Rock;  
Each rude Assault unmoved our Saviour bore,  
His mind still fixed on Heaven as 'twas before:  
The Tempter of his heavenly Arms afraid  
With caution first attacks him, whilst he prayed;  
But when six Sabbaths now he, prostrate laid,  

Matt. 4.2.  The seventh well worn, at length to faint began,  
And humbly tho' a God confessed the man;  
When this the Enemy insulting spied  
With secret wicked joy, he's mine he cried!  
This Son of God I soon shall Triumph over  
With as much ease subdued as that before: 
Luke 3. ult.   
So much his mortal weakness did despise  
Almost he'd fallen on without disguise;  
But soon with deep Serpentine guile repressed  
Those first warm eager thoughts that filled his breast:  
Resolved a while incognito to try  
What strength, or wit, what force and policy  
He must expect in his new Enemy,  
E'er open he attacked him— this to do  
Round his foul Form thin airy Robes he threw,  

Christ's Temptation in the Wilderness   
Such as a poor old man might best beseem,  
And such who e'er had seen had counted him:  
Lean sallow Checks, hollowed with cares and age,  
Dim eyes which did approaching death presage:  
Moved his pale withered lips and palsyed head  
And to our Saviour thus dissembling said:  
Hail Son of God by signs from Heaven approved!  
Great Prophet Hail, by God and men beloved!  
Full sixty Springs by heavens peculiar Grace  
Within the borders of this hideous place  
* Have I remained, as holy Essenes' use,  
Far from the hardened unbelieving jews;  
Long since by Revelation warned, I thee  
Like aged Simeon e'er my death should see;  
And when of late the mighty Baptist came  
To Iordan's banks whose wondrous life and fame  
Filled all the Wild, me from my Cell he brought  
And the Messiah him at first I thought:  
But soon my heightened Expectations fell  
When him no Sign no glorious Miracle  
Attested, which the Angel did reveal  
Should still attend, and be the Saviour's Seal:  
This Sign to thee on Iordan's banks was given  
When the bright Dove and wondrous Voice from Heaven  
At once descended, this amidst the Crowd  
I saw, and had like Simeon hailed thee loud  
Hadst thou not by some power to us unseen  
Swift to this lonely Desert hurried been;  
Whither with longing eyes, that fain would see  
More near, and weary feet I followed thee;  
But soon lost sight and tract, and often crossed  
By different paths at length my self I lost:  
Already once since I first wandered here  
The silver Moon has filled her little year,  
* And half another now is almost past  
Since I of any human Food did taste:  
On Roots and Leaves and humble Acorns fed  
I lived, nor asked the luxury of Bread:  
With trembling steps oft have I searched around  
The Forest, all but this unhappy Ground,  
Which sure no human Foot e'er traced before;  
Oft did I hear within the Lions roar,  
Oft bones and luckless Carcases espy  
Behind some Bush half-torn unburied lie,  
Of some lost Passenger, and did despair  
My self to scape or find thee living there.  
Yet in I pressed, if dead just Rites to pay  
And o'er thy Grave myself lamenting lay:  
But since my boding fears are yet in vain,  
Since nothing here that Nature can sustain  
No Fruits, nor Herbs, nor Leaves, nor Roots are found,  
Naught friend to Life above or under ground:  
If thou the promised hoped Messia be  
A Wonder work, and save thy self and me!  
I else must perish here, and you no lesle  
By these wan Looks and fainting Eyes confess;  
Nor longer wait, but all thy self appear!  
Exert the God nor pine unpitied here!  
These stones, (there stones by chance thick scattered lay)  
With speed command, nor can they but obey  
Command them straight the Form of bread t' endue!  
I ask no more, content as well as you  
With such mean Fare—  
Thou our Forefathers were with Manna fed  
I only beg for men's, not Angels bread.  
To whom our Saviour thus, whose piercing Eyes  
The Fiend discovered through the Saint's disguise:  
Full well can I discern thy black intent  
And all that's by so fair a semblance meant:  
The Serpent in the grass full well I spy,  
And to thy first Temptation thus reply:  
The sacred Oracles all anxious care  
For Food forbid, and thus 'tis written there.  

Matth 4.4. Deut. 8.3. " 'Tis not Bread only does Man's life sustain  
Nor were the Trees and Herbs all made in vain:  
The Trees and Herbs did Gods dread Word produce,  
That these we in extremities might use:  
These in the neighbouring Woods in plenty grow  
Thou here are none, and thither may we go  
If either needs, nor tempt th' All-high to show  
A sign where he doth common means afford:  
Who made the World by his commanding Word;  
To all things did their proper Natures give,  
And still preserves those Powers by which we live;  
Nay the first Cause who all these Causes made  
Can soon produce th' Effects without their aid:  
His Word preserves that Soul on him depends,  
Firm strength divine, and heavenly Vigour lends,  
And nourishes to Life that never ends.  
The Fiend did in imperfect Curses vent  
His rage, and murmuring thence reluctant went:  
Through dismal gloomy Shades unseen did glide,  
And for the next assault himself provide.  
Whilst the true Son of God no shelter found,  
But weary cold and hungry on the Ground  
Sweet sleep in vain he courts, for at his head  
The Tempter env'ing even his homely bed  
On some hard Rock, returns with ugly dreams  
Of Precipices vast and pitchy streams,  
Of thoughts morose and vain— The man's distressed  
* With sinless fears, the God repels the rest.  
Nor sooner frighted sleep did him forsake,  
And he from short imperfect slumbers wake,  
When distant gathering storms he heard on high,  
And Infant Thunders mustering round the Sky,  
Which to that Forest all their forces led,  
With hideous crack discharging o'er his head:  
The Clouds the Signal take: and when a while they loured  
*" From many a horrid rift abortive poured  
Fierce rain, which did with sheets of flame conspire,  
Like Egypt's dreadful Plague: water with fire  
In ruin reconciled; nor slept the winds  
* Where them enclosed their airy Leader binds  
" Within their stony Caves, but rushed abroad,  
And swept with saily wings through heavens high-road:  
*" From the four hinges of the World they ran,  
" To the vexed Wilderness, which soon began  
To feel their mighty rage; there scattering wide  
* Disrobe the beauteous trees of all their pride  
And Earth of them, their deep-fanged roots gave way,  
And on the ground vast trunks dismembered lay:  
The Sky-saluting Pine, and sturdy Oak,  
Proof against all but heavens- almighty stroke,  
Still proof till now—  
Which had a thousand tempest's rage disdained,  
And there coeval with the World remained;  
In vain they pled their long prescription now:  
" Loaden with stormy blasts their stiff-necks bow,  
Now this, now that way swayed, and all around  
Like Earthquakes with Convulsions heave the ground;  
Till fiercer blasts them from the Centre tear,  
And dart like chaff or stubble round the air.  
Now Hills of Sand came rolling with the wind  
Death-threat'ning, now the solid Rock behind  
On which as chanced, our Lord his head reclined  
In horrid Cliffs by bellowing Earthquakes rend  
Part sunk abrupt, part from red Volcans' sent  
Huge glowing stones, which thick as sparks aspire,  
Tempestuous smoke, and flame and waves of fire:  
Sharp sleet and driving-rain the while did power  
Direct against his face a rushing shower;  
Now doubly forced by the impetuous wind,  
Now hizzing in th' enraged flames behind:  
" From the rude storm ill wast thou shrouded then  
O patient Son of God— Birds, beasts, and men  
Were now, than thee with better shelter blest;  
Men houses have, Beasts dens, each bird a nest  
But thou no place thy wearied Limbs to rest.  
Yet only thou unshaken didst remain  
And hell's Artillery was spent in vain;  
Thou still the Fiend does his vain Arts repeat  
New malice gathering from each new defeat:  
The Flames were quenched the winds and tempest fell,  
At his Command, all dark as his own hell:  
No sounds are heard, or Objects now appear,  
A gloomy silence reigning every where;  
A while it reigned but with more horrid noise  
Was soon disturbed, the loud lamenting Voice  
Of all that mortal breasts can move to fear  
At distance through the trees our Lord did hear:  
Shrill shrieks for help that still approached more near:  
Of Rapes and murders the redoubled cry,  
(While glittering Swords he through the Shades could spy,)  
Then interrupted groans, such theirs who lie  
In Life's weak twilight, gasping thick for breath,  
And struggling in the Agonies of Death:  
Or, skulking close behind some Bush or tree  
He by the glowworms glimmering light could see  
Fierce shaggy Ruffians, hoary Villains they  
Appeared, which hunted more for blood than prey:  
Some their strong steely Iav'lings poise, the rest  
Their Arrows nick, and levelly at his breast:  
The Bowstring twangs, out flies the airy dart,  
But can no more affright, than pierce his heart;  
That and the tempters curses lost in wind,  
As all his other terrors yet behind. 
Mark 1.13. Gen. 2.19, 20.   
Each hideous Beast which once to Eden came  
From the first Adam to receive their name  
The Fiend produced, the second to affright,  
In the dead mazes of that dreadful night:  
* All that with Noah hosted, all and more,  
For Sunburnt Afric sent her monstrous store;  
Here from the slimy banks of fertile Nile  
Came slow, the vast amphibious Crocodile:  
Who on Cyrene's Sands does fearless see,  
And with him bring Serpents as large as he:  
The false Hyena's face was here discerned,  
Even more than what She Apes in flattery learned:  
There the fell Wolf and frightful Panther came,  
With the stern Ounce whose bloody Eyes shot Flame  
Across the Grove, the nimble Tiger too;  
All hideous forms, some false and others true.  
For many a Fiend with dreadful shape and face,  
Had mixed themselves among the brutal race;  
And when the Beasts by Nature fierce and wild  
Soon at our Saviour's sight grew tame and mild;  
These pushed 'em on, and urged with all their power  
To seize their hated Foe, and him devour:  
The roaring Herd himself th' Arch-traitor led,  
And like a Leopard darted at his head  
His spotted Form, but when the powers of Hell  
He found too weak to storm that Citadel,  
" Straight into trackless Air dissolved he fell:  
Two other Fiends like fierce jackalls did bay *  
And warned the kingly Lion to his prey;  
He stately stalks along, prepared t' engage,  
And lashes his firm sides with dreadful rage:  
But when he Iudas princely Lion saw,  
Struck with a fear unknown and wondrous awe,  
His angry star he gently pacified,  
And licked his hands and couched him by his side;  
Then soon at them he leaps that brought him there  
Who mock his anger fleeting into air.  
Fearless our Saviour stood, nor Beasts nor Night  
Nor those dread Forms which guilty man affright  
Once moved him, tho' dire Spectres now invade,  
And glide with double horror through the shade:  
With flaming Torches here and Flambos high  
Erect, a Corpse at distance passes by;  
There shrieking Ghosts glare cross, and face him there,  
With bloody breasts, fixed eyes, dishevelled hair;  
Last, wicked Spirits in monstrous Forms infest,  
And shake their fiery Darts against his breast:  
In vain their number, rage and yells increase,  
" He sits unmoved in calm and sinless peace. *  
Thus past the night till Phosphors cheerful Ray  
Warned guilty Ghosts and glimmering stars away;  
And gently beckons on the rising day:  
Whilst, e'er the Sun had shown his radiant face  
Our Lord forsakes th' uncomfortable place  
Of his so long abode, and as it rose,  
Hungry and cold to a near Hillock goes,  
Bending to East, there dropping by the storm  
His Robes to dry and frozen Limbs to warm:  
Him did the Tempter impudent, pursue,  
Resolved to attack, tho' well his strength he knew  
In glorious form accosts him, robbed in Light,  
And welcomes from the horrors of the Night,  
Welcomes with false devoir, on bended knee,  
And parasitical Humility,  
From that sad place where they encount'red last,  
Where he so many tedious hours had passed;  
Nor any longer would himself disown,  
So oft through all his thin disguises known;  
Yet veils his cankered spite in semblance fair,  
What's lost in force, he'd now by fraud repair:  
Then with feigned show of pity thus he said;  
Thou us Mankind as Enemies upbraid,  
Them in th' extremes of Life we often aid;  
By Oracles important Truths decide,  
And Tables for the poor and old provide:  
If this, O Son of God for them we do,  
What service can be thought too great for you?  
Thou lately you, discourt'ous, me denied,  
When your Divinity I would have tried;  
Did me so modest a request refuse,  
Nor Bread, for that alone I asked, produce;  
No Niggard of my Gifts, thou soon shalt see  
How richly I'll unasked provide for thee:  
He said and stamped,— straight from the Ground arise  
All Trees that could compose a Paradise:  
The stately Oak, the sailing beauteous Pine,  
Th' eternal Cedar, fit for Works divine;  
The shady Chestnut, and the Walnut fair  
* The Lover-Myrtle, Lotus chaste and rare,  
From sunburnt Africa brought and planted there:  
* The virtuous Palm, which does by pressures rise  
And spite of weight, triumphant mean the Skies:  
The Cherrys next their blushing Lips incline;  
The gold cheeked Quince with looks and smell divine.  
The silken Peach with noble flavour blest,  
The Plumb, whose name Armenian fields confessed:  
The juicy Mulberry which fables feign  
Two Lovers Blood with purple die did slain:  
Over their heads up springs the mantling Vine  
Nor needs its husband Elm whereon to twine;  
So large the Trunk, so wide the Branches rose  
They of themselves long levy Vaults compose:  
But yet for Ornament did not disdain  
Woodbines and Eglantine to entertain:  
This humble, stoops and decks the Arbours side,  
That gawdier, mounts aloft with decent pride;  
With the rich clust'ring Grapes so close entwined,  
That Fruit and Flowers at once the gath'rers find.  
A little more removed but plain to view  
In low warm Groves the golden Orange grew:  
The silver Lemons next, and next to these  
The rich pomegranate, cross the stormy Seas  
Well worth the pains, from Punic Carthage brought: *  
The Ground beneath like a fair Carpet wrought  
With various Flowers, so regular and true  
The Figures seemed, and yet so careless too,  
As Art and Nature both the Landscape drew.  
Around the place, all neatly bordered, grows  

Cantic. 2.2.  The Lily of the Vale with Sharons' Rose:  
Nard, Camphire, jassmin, every fragrant sweet  

Cantic. 1.12.14. Cantic. 3.14, 15, 16.  Which did in God's fair Spouses Garden meet:  
Here mossy Benches, voluntary rose,  
Where the sweet Musk and blue-eyed Vi'let grows;  
I'th' midst a Table did itself present  
Loaden with each choice dish that might content  
An hungry Epicure; a vast wild Boar  
The middle filled, the rest was covered over  
With Dishes piled, which court smell, taste, and sight,  
With various show and order exquisite.  
From distant Regions to the Banquet came  
Sea, Earth, and Air's Provision, wild and tame,  
Each Beast of sportive chase, and Fowl of game.  
" Each Fish that does in Sea or River dwell  
Or Pond; or smooth, or armed with scale or shell:  
All that Bethsaida's wellwrought Nets could take *  
In Air, or Deserts wild, or neighbouring Lake.  
What crowned the rest on a neat side-board nigh  
Vast stores of noble Wines stood sparkling by;  

Prov. 23.3.  In Crystal Walls, how dangerous to behold?  
Or Massy Goblets wrought of Ophirs Gold.  
Bright Youths and brighter Maids wait cheerful round,  
Their flowing hair with odorous Carlands Crowned,  
A Charger this, where Golden Fruit did shine  
Supports; that holds a Flask of generous Wine;  
All pleased with the fair Office they enjoyed,  
And looked as if they wished to be employed.  
Two lovely Nymphs—  
Whose Charms what ever's Mortal far excel,  
Lovely as ever Tempted Man to Hell,  
At once shot Darts from their false Eyes and Tongue  
And to their warbling Lutes harmonious sung:  

Say, what Songs shall we prepare  
For both World's immortal Heir?  
How our joy our Love express  
In this Barren Wilderness?  
Honey from thy Feet did flow,  
O'er thy Head fair Arbours grow;  
At thy sight fierce Beasts grew mild,  
And the barren Desert smiled.  
Welcome, welcome, welcome thrice  
To this happy Paradise!  
Here no Serpent need you fear,  
No forbidden Fruit is here.  
Hark the Amorous Turtles call!  
Hark! the silver Water's fall!  
And a gentle spicy breeze  
Whispers through the rustling Trees:  
These, the rugged Tempest over,  
Storms and Whirlwinds heard no more,  
These the Hero all invite  
To soft Love and gay Delight.  
Safe and friendly all appears;  
We thy gentle Ministers!  
We this Food before thee placed,  
Nor disdain to sit and taste!   
Thus they, back fell each weak rebated Dart,  
This reached our Saviour's Ears, but not his Heart:  
No dangerous softness there crept slily in,  
Not the first Embryo-motion of a Sin:  
The Tempter their design as vain pursues,  
Earnest, their Invitation he renews;  
To whom our Lord— Perish thy gifts with thee!  
Alike I scorn thy spite and flattery:  
How kind a Friend thou art to man and me  
Me, the last Night has shown, man's Offspring, all  
Those mischiefs waiting his unhappy Fall:  
Those Oracles which thou so high dost prize  
What are they but ambiguous specious Lies?  
That Food with which thou dost thy Vassals treat,  
And make each Wretch his own Damnation Eat,  
Are either fancied Viands, shaped of Air,  
As thy lean Hags with such delusive fare  
Oft feasted but still famished, plainly show;  
Or else illgot if solid they, and true:  
The richest fare thou canst thy Friends afford  
The stolen remains of some Luxurious board:  
Such this, set out with so much pomp and state  
Nor can thy power one single grain create: create  
" To whom thus answered Satan malcontent  
If all's suspect which freely I present,  
What follows you by causeless jealousy  
Deserve— 'tis Nature's voice friendly to be  
With Friends and dreadful to my Enemy: *  
And thus I give what you refused ere while  
" To such as dearly earned the far-fetched spoil!  
He said, straight Meat and Table disappeared,  
Fowl Harpy's Wings and ugly Talons heard;  
Each greedy of the Feast a part receives  
And in their room uncleanly Ordure leaves: *  
Soon than th' Arch-traitor all himself appeared;  
Each monstrous Form that Mortals ever feared  
Successive he puts on, our Lord t' affright;  
No more a glorious Angel robbed in Light,  
Human no more, a hideous Beak his Nose,  
His cank'red Breast blew poisonous scales enclose;  
A Dragons horrid Train behind him grows,  
A Dragon's Batlike Wings he did display;  
And underneath his hands, no hands were they,  
But pounces fit for such a Bird of prey,  
In which our Saviour snatched, he swift did bear,  
And with him soars sublime through yielding Air;  
As some fierce Hawk whose cruel Talons struck  
A harmless Dove near Cherith's silver Brook,  
Then o'er the neighbouring Fields with his weak prey  
Wheeling, triumphant, cuts his pathless way:  
Thus did the Prince of all the Airy host,  
Who back from distant Paran's desert Coast  
Hurry's our Lord, so his great Father's Will,  
O'er Bozra's Rock and Edom's fruitful Hill,  
In whose West-bounds to Moserah they come,  
And Hor, 
Num. 20.22.  renowned for holy Aaron's Tomb:  
* Near Sodom's dreadful Lake arrived, in haste  
* 'twixt Halak they, and dire Acrabbim past:  
Kadesh and Zin, to th' left behind they leave,  
Them Debirs airy Regions next receive;  
* Now Debir 'tis, once Kiriath-sephir named,  
For valiant Othniel's dear-bought Conquest famed: 
Judg. 1.12.   
Empire and Love his Triumphs did divide  
He humbled first the Canaanitish pride,  
Then won the charming Achsah for his Bride.  
Here the miraculous sight—  
Some learned Astronomer the People showed  
As o'er the Town, he marked their airy road:  
Men, Matrons, Children, Maids, all run to see  
With hands and eyes uplift the Prodigy:  
Short was the sight, they're in a moment gone  
To Maon, Ziph, and woody jeshimon;  
Hebron to th' left, which twice a Crown did grace,  
And more removed, descry that cursed place  
Which held of old the faithless fore-skined Race:  
Gaza by Bezor's brook, and Gerar fair,  
Proud Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron, where  
* While stood Philistia's state, th' Arch-fiend abhorred  
With Temple and with Altars was adored; 
2 Kings 1.2.   
Who next o'er Libnah's walls his course did steer,  
* And leaving on the left strong Lachish near,  
They Tekoa's Wood below and Bethlem spy;  
* Then shooting swift o'er Saveth's Vale descry  
Royal jerusalem, whose Southern bound  
By sacred Zion's beauteous Turrets crowned  
Where pleasant Millo lies outstretched, they past *  
Whose walls by Siloam's gentle Waves are washed;  
Which thence declining, into Kidron pour  
By Sol'mon's royal Seat and Ophel's Tower; *  
Not even to curse the Town th' Arch-rebel stayed,  
But soon from thence our patient Lord conveyed  
TO his Father's house, that spacious Temple, where  
All Israel wait with Sacrifice and Prayer:  
Near Herod's lofty Tower he with him fell, fell  

Matt. 4.5.  And drops him on the highest Pinnacle;  
On saily Wings then fluttering by his side  
Him, grinning, thus accosts with scornful pride.  
" There stand, if stand thou canst; thy skill 'twill ask:  
— Or wouldst thou undertake a nobler Task:  
Wouldst thou th' unquestioned Son of God be hailed,  
(Which much I doubt, since I've so long prevailed  
On thy weak mortal frame) below thee see  
Vast Crowds, who leave their Prayers to look at thee!  
Thee from you Court the vested Priests perceive, *  
Their morning Sacrifice unfinished leave;  
Whilst from the next, with lifted eyes and hands *  
Thy own loved Israel, gazing on thee stands;  
And in the Third, thick-kneeling at the Gate *  
As much amazed the humble Gentiles wait;  
Would Victims pay, struck with religious fear,  
And think they see some God or Hero here:  
Now wouldst thou set thy injured Nation free  
As did of old the valiant Maccabee,  
Now is the time, the golden moment now;  
Fate waits thy Will, a greater Hero thou:  

Vid. Notes on Lib. 2.  No more these marks of Idol-bondage bear,  
But drive you Eagle, proudly perching there  
Transfixed with his own Thunder through the Air.  
And see Occasion courts to mighty things  
Well-worthy thee and thy long Race of Kings:  
Below thee to the right direct thine eyes,  
And see Antonia's Tower unguarded lies;  
On th' other side regardless now of War  
The Roman Youth, unbent, and sporting there  
In Herod's spacious Amphitheatre: 
Vid. Joseph Antiqu.   

King David the Psalmist.   
Or else by Zions' Daughters beauty won,  
Dropping their Arms already they be undone.  
Now may'st thou with success thy Title own;  
Now bravely strike and be for ever known!  
Thee than if ought the sense of Glory warms,  
If Incense pleases, adoration charms;  
Or what moves more, if glad thou wouldst fulfil  
What's all thy pleasure, thy great Father's will;  
Who made it Fate, declaring long before,  
Thee Men, 
Heb. 1.6.  thou even his Angels should adore;  
Plunge hence in sight of all th' admiring Town,  
And in the Altars flames waft softly down!  
So shall the wondering World due honours bring  
At once adore the God, and hail the King.  
Nor canst thou, if true Heir of Earth and Skies,  
Suspect th' event of this bold Enterprise;  
For thus, while with his Notes fair Zion rung,  
To his Harp inspired thy great Forefather sung.  
Blessed is the Man whose sure defence 
Psal. 91.1.   
Firm Faith and spotless Innocence!  
Thrice blest, who compassed round with Hosts of Foes  
Can on the everlasting Arms repose!  
Nor will that God whom thou thy hope dost make 
2.3.   
Refuse to hear thy gasping Cry:  
Nor will he helpless let thee die;  
Nor will he thy Protection e'er forsake!  
See with what hast the blessed Spirits above 
11.   
At his Commands fly circling round,  
And make thy Dwelling sacred ground!  
See with what hast they to thy succour move!  
With what officious Care and tender Love!  
These, above, soft-hov'ring over,  
These behind, and these before,  
Thy glorious Guard de Cor?  
Thee these gentle Spirits shall bear  
Unhurt through yielding Air,  
On their soft Wings, and set thee lightly down  
Lest thou shouldst crush thy foot on some relentless stone.  
He said and stopped,— with meekness in his Eyes  
Tempered severe, thus short our Lord replies:  
As plain 'tis Writ.—  

Deut. 6.16.  When murmuring Israel went through Paran's Coasts,  

Matt. 4.7. " Thou shalt not Tempt thy God, the Lord of Hosts,  
To whom the Fiend, tho' oft his force he'd tried  
Repulsed, thus impudent, again replied:  
Lesle firmness could I not expect to find  
In one who owns such an exalted mind:  
These petty Crowns with justice you disdain  
Who over all the World deserve to reign,  
Come with me then one airy Journey more,  
And see what Gifts I've yet reserved in store!  
Nor sooner had he thus dissembling said  
But snatching swift he thence our Lord conveyed  
O'er lofty Olivet, who soon below  
Enshemesh sees, and beauteous jericho; *  
Thence lay their trackless road directly on,  

Josh. 15.6.  Gilgal to th' left, and ancient Bohan's stone  
To''th' right they leave, and thence as swift proceed  
O'er Iordan's stream, nor ford not ferry need;  
Which past sublime, they on its Eastern side  

Josh. 22.24.  The ruins of Ed's doubtful Altar spied, *  

Josh. 3.16.  Near Adam and Zaretans ancient Town,  
Not far from whence he sets our Saviour down  
On Pisgah mount, whence long before he knew  
Some courteous Angel did to Moses show  
Canaan's blessed Land on Jordan ' s either side, 
Deut. 34.2.   
Whilst wrapped in Clouds, the sly Seducer pried  
And learned the wondrous Art, the skill he learned  
By which far distant Objects are discerned;  
Yet to th' Invention adds, Experience gained  
By time, part truly shown, tho' more was feigned:  
With Mimic skill did aptly first prepare  
Figures exactly wrought of pliant Air;  
Then gave 'em Form, with Colours gilded the whole, *  
And where they needed filled with secret Soul.  
Towns, Cities, Kingdoms, Bird, and Beast, and Man  
All fitly ranged, the Tempter thus began:  
Well have we sped by my Care and Skill  
O'er field and sedgy brook, and dale and hill;  
* Conducted with no injury but fear  
To Moab' s plains and this fair station here:  
Whence cast thine eyes around and see what e'er  
The World can boast of excellent or fair 
Matt. 4.8.   
Of great or good! what e'er thou see'st is mine,  
And at an easy rate shall all be thine.  
West bending to the South, beneath thee, see  
The Desert and the happy Araby!  
Those Trains of Men and Beasts which strike thine Eyes  
Rich-loaden Caravans of Gold and Spice;  
* Which Ishmael's wealth Offspring far away 
Gen. 37.25.   
Through those vast Sands from Persia's Gulf convey  
To Zoan's fertile fields, and thence disperse  
* The wealth Traffic of the Universe:  
Still more to South vast Lubim's Deserts see!  
Nor there a Kingdom will I offer thee;  
* Thou proud of Golden Sands and Groves of Spice  
* They their parched Country think a Paradise:  
From those wide Worlds let thy lost eye retire  
And see if aught there is can please thee nigher!  
To the great Western Ocean turn thine eyes,  
Where many a beauteous Island scattered lies  
Crete, Cyprus, Rhodes— but thou shalt these despise;  
* Even fair Trinacria too thou shalt disdain  
Whose three sharp Points defy the roaring Main:  
To North of which behold you lovely Plain  
* Washed by the sounding Sea on either side  
* Which through the midst a Ledge of Hills divide!  
See to the South, not far within the Land  
* Near a fair Stream a Royal City stand;  
On seven small pleasant Hills divinely built!  
A thousand lofty Turrets richly gilded  
She boasting shows, and climbing over all  
On that steep Rock, the glittering Capitol:  
'Tis Rome the Mistress of the World you see,  
Which pleased shall bend its haughty Neck to thee:  
* Eternal Rome, which thee her Lord shall own  
* And raise thee to the Purple and the Throne:  
Or wouldst thou aim at something worthier praise;  
By thine own arms a mighty Empire raise;  
Over you cloudy mountains with me go  
Whose Tops all horrid with eternal snow;  
And see that lovely Plain outstretched below!  
'Twixt where Garumna's waters gently creep, *  
And rapid Rhine runs foaming to the deep; *  
Washed by the British and Ligustick Seas;  
And by yond mighty Hills, (the Pyrenees  
From old Tradition them the Natives call,)  
Fenced to the South,— The famed Transalpine Gaul!  
The people daring, curious, active, brave,  
Yet will be slaves themselves while others they enslave: *  
Their different Tribes thou by my help mayst gain, *  
Unite 'em all and in Lutetia reign:  
Nor this fair chance refuse till 'tis too late,  
For if aright I scanned the rolls of Fate  
Here shall in after-days a Prince arise  
Who tho' thy Name he bears will thee despise,  
And aid the banners of thine Enemies:  
Nor will like thee my proffered help disdain,  
But gladly by my Arts and Arms will reign:  
I'll make him Great, whoever dares rebel,  
Great as my self, enthroned and crowned in Hell.  
Or wouldst thou choose a lesle luxuriant Soil  
See in the Oceany on fair Western Isle,  
Whose three sharp points th' insulting Waves divide! *  
See with what beauteous Rivers 'tis supplied!  
How rich the happy Fields through where they glide!  
Well knew the old Phoenicians that blessed place: *  
Enured to Pain, there lives an hardy race;  
Daring as Virtues self, for conquest made;  
" Peace but their Recreation, War their Trade.  
Jealous of Liberty they chains refuse,  
Fair Death before inglorious Life they choose;  
Force cannot bend, but kindness may improve,  
And mildly melt their generous warmth to Love:  
From one they love they never can retire,  
But wade through Seas of blood and Walls of Fire:  
These may thy Goodness and thy Wisdom charm,  
Thy heavenly Eloquence their rage disarm:  
Polish the rugged mass, their Gold refine,  
And make 't in its own native Lustre shine;  
The gentle Arts of Peace implanting there,  
Well worthy thy best Industry and Care.  
Or wouldst thou rather them by Force obtain,  
By Laws unbridled, absolutely reign,  
As likes thee best thou shall the Sceptre gain:  
Thou that must cost us blood— See gathering there  
Upon the Gallic side a hover War  
* Refuged Androgeus to the Throne to bear!  
Of Horse and Foot the dusty-squadrons move,  
Their skill they try, and Piles and javelins prove:  
Charge, and retreat, and wheel and charge again:  
* Huge weighty Cataphracts, and Iron men  
With other Troops commixed, whose arms more light,  
To change fair Albion's cliffs to red from white:  
If they go there, they must expect to fight!  
* For cross the Morine Seas (nor Sail nor Oar  
* Our passage needs,) on the Rutupian shore  
Near Dubris point covering the blackened strand  
See there a thousand Chariots plough the Sand!  
Ten thousand Warriors trebled, mustering near,  
Each armed with Dart and Sword and knotty Spear.  
Hark with what eager Shouts they rend the Skies  
In hope to grapple soon their Enemies!  
Yond milk-white-Steed, now stately trots around,  
Now paws the Sand and beats the echoing Ground;  
Proud of its weight, its Rider's Glory shares,  
The great, the brave Cassibelan it bears.  
What different interests he together ties:  
What Worlds he arms against Britain's Enemies!  
* Soul of the League and Head of the Allies.  
Thou Rome's proud general's all the World esteem  
None e'er could think, or speak, or act like him;  
In Counsel cool, in Action brave and warm,  
* Pallas his Head directs, and Mars his Arm:  
Pursues unwearyed what he undertakes,  
Even of ill-Fortune just advantage makes?  
Yet that he's Great he hardly seems to know,  
Although, except himself, all think him so.  
Even I must praise him, yet if thou to me,  
I'll make him bend and homage pay to thee.  
Thus have I offered what the world can boast  
Of Rich or Great upon the Western Coast:  
But ah! how little have I yet revealed,  
To what's behind the wealthier East concealed.  
Nor will I, in the passage, ask thy Eyes  
For Dammesek, that earthly Paradise; *  
Nor stay thee long by fair Euphrates side, *  
Thou there the Roman and the Parthian pride  
This instant friendly meet, in you small Isle *  
And Herod both attempts to reconcile:  
Brave Artaban is he who highest there  
Is placed— Observe his great, his warlike air!  
Sprung from the old Arsacidaes *  
Much lesle will we in those wide regions stay  
Where mighty Indus headlong cuts its way,  
Through whose vast Currents Alexander hurled *  
Some Deserts won, and thought he had all the World:  
Still further on to ' utmost Eastern bound  
Direct thine Eye—" Where no more World is found:  
Wide Fields, rich Towns, tall Groves, fair Rivers see,  
Here, Son of God, 's a Country worthy thee?  
No Histories as yet its Name have shown,  
To Rome alike, and fabling Greece unknown. *  
'Tis China called, unnumbered Millions there,  
Who live so well, th' almost deserve thy care:  
Pious and good, mild and ingenuous they,  
One King, one God, those spacious realms obey. *  
There Arts and Arms in such perfection be, *  
As this cold Western World did never see:  
You River which against the Temple glides *  
And thence exact in two vast streams divides.  
That Bridge, prodigious, hanging in the air,  
That more prodigious Wall outstretching there;  
Wild Magogs' wandering offspring to restrain,  
Thou oft it tries to kerb their rage in vain,  
All these th' effect of industry and pain,  
All mortal works, altho' they hardly lesle  
Than some divine Artificer confess.  
* There reigns a peaceful Prince, who, did he see  
Thy Virtue, gladly would submit to thee,  
And hold his Kingdom as thy Deputy.  
More wouldst thou yet? from my exhaustless store  
I've shown thee all this World, but yet have more:  
Yet farther Worlds. For still more Northward see  
Bending to East, what numerous Droves there be  
Marching in haste, a potent Colony  
* For a new World; from those I'll Subjects raise  
Which shall be mine to long succeeding days:  
* See that small Strait already covered o'er,  
Already have they reached the happy Shore,  
One of my menial Spirits walks before:  
* First strikes that mighty Islands Western strand,  
And safe conducts 'em to their destined Land:  
Look not with partial Eyes, and you'll confess  
Canaan itself 's to this a Wilderness:  
A beauteous Face of Nature yet unseen,  
The Flowers still fresh, the Trees are ever green;  
Trees ever since the World's Creation, grown,  
Delicious Fruits of Tastes and Names unknown!  
You'd Eshcol's Grapes despise, if these I'd bring:  
* No Winter there, there reigns eternal Spring:  
Hither, lest me my Subjects should disown  
At your approach, you all and I have none;  
This chosen few I hither did convey  
Where I'll enjoy an undisputed sway.  
This promised Land I frankly gave, nor I  
Am always envious, nor do always lie:  
Nor from my Slaves large Tribute ask, content  
With homage paid, and just acknowledgement:  
Me Prince o'th' airy Host thy Father made, 
Ephes. 2.2.   
Whom ever since have Spirits and Storms obeyed▪  
God of this World by him himself I'm styled,  
And, 
2 Cor. 4.4,  like a God, I'm placable and mild  
To those adore me— No uneasy task!  
Yet this is all for all the World I ask;  
Nay take both Worlds— here I'll erect thy Throne,  
From East to West sway this vast Globe alone!  
This only shall the fair Condition be  
From us, as God, accept it on thy knee,  
And as we're heavens, be thou our Deputy!  
Unmoved, our Lord till then the Tempter bore,  
But when he thus blasphemed, would hear no more.  
He lets thro' his weak human Nature shine,  
As Sol through Clouds, one Ray of the Divine:  
With this he drove the wicked Tempter thence,  
When thus he'd said— Blasphemer get thee hence!  
Thy time's elapsed— Too much I heard before,  
But now thy arrogance will bear no more:  

Matth. 4.10.  'Tis writ—" The Lord thy God alone adore!  
That God whose Vengeance thou wouldst scape in vain,  
Who black Blasphemers dooms to endless Pain.  
Enraged, confused, defeated, cursing fell,  
Gnawing his Tongue, the baffled Prince of Hell:  
Such Looks and Words he could longer bear,  
His short-lived World's dissolved and lost in Air;  
And down he sinks blaspheming in despair:  
Did thence to th' howling Wilderness retire,  

Ibid. v. 11.  Born in a dusky Globe of Smoke and Fire.  
The End of the Third Book.   

Notes on the Third Book.  
4. e'er the day dawn to close his watchful Eyes.] See this Thought infinitely better managed by Milton, on Melancholy, in his Miscellanies.  
9 Till past our narrow Earth's attraction gone.] Alluding to the commonly received notion of the Earth's magnetical force within its own Atmosphere.  
14. Past even this World.] All the visible Frame or System of the Creation.  
23. Beyond the place where mortal Deeds are burled.] From Lucretius.  
43. From Calvary through Salem 's Northern bound.] This was their way to Gethsemane, going round by the Tower of Hananiah, the Gate of Ephraim, the old Gate, the Fish-Gate, and at the North-East corner, the Gate of Benjamin, and so cross the Valley to Gethsemane.  
158. From our Master's sacred Lips we learned.] I think, as 'tis already said in the Preface, it's at least full as probable that St. Peter, St. john, or St. james should know all these minute particular Passages, as that the Poet should, especially when we not only suppose, but know that they were all Inspired, one of 'em committing most of these things himself to Writing, another dictating to St. Mark when he did the same.  
169. Not far removed from valiant Bethshan 's Walls.] A Garrison of the Philistines, which it seems they kept a long time in the very heart of Israel; against whose Walls, not far from Mount Gilboa they hung in Triumph the Bones of Saul and jonathan, till the men of jabesh-gilead in requital for their Eyes, ventured their Lives to fetch 'em thence and give 'em an handsome Burial.  
170. And old Bethabara.] Bethabara, or Betharaba, as 'tis also Written, signifies no more than the House of Passage, or the Ferry-house: 'Twas situated on the Eastern side of jordan. There's another place of that Name, and probably for the same Reason, near the fall of that River into the Dead Sea: But this where St. john the Baptist and our Saviour were chiefly Conversant, must be the more Northerly of the two, because of Euon and Salim near it.  
173. His Life had spent in Judas fertile Wild.] There are warm disputes concerning this Wilderness of juda, whether properly and strictly so called, with nothing in't besides Beasts and Trees, whom the Papists would fain have us believe he endeavoured at first to Edify for want of better Auditors: (the Reason, I suppose, why St. Anthony and other of their Legendary-miracle-mongers have since done the same, Preaching to Hogs, Fishes, or whatever was next to 'em) Or whether it were only a part of the Country called the Wild, or Wilderness, as our Wild of Kent, (Wild, Weald, and Wold, being, I fancy, the same thing in old English) notwithstanding the Name; as well Inhabited as any other part of the Country, which is the Opinion generally embraced by our Protestant Writers: I take the middle way, describing it a rustic sort of a place, but not without any rational Inhabitants. Nay, it had a great many, since several Cities are described in't by the sacred Writers, (tho' those might only be Villages) and the Rabbis going much farther. The Account they give of their Montanum Regale, which Lightfoot thinks the same with the Hill-Country of judea, where Zachary lived, and that with the Wilderness of judea, being as follows. Montanum judaeae etc. The Hill Country, or if you will Highlands of judea, are called by the jews the Royal Highlands, and in Psalm 75.6. The Mountains of the Wilderness, and yet in these Highlands there are ten thousand Cities, in their Taanith, Fol. 69. And again Seah Jerusalem excedit Seah deserti, & tamen in eo sunt Myrias Urbium.  
201. But like an Oven, hot with deadly flame.] This and what follows, is the substance of 4. Mal. Behold the day comes that shall burn as an Oven; and I think the Interpretation I give of all the Proud, and all that do Wickedly; that 'tis to be understood of the Pharisees and Sadducees, is at least probable.  
223. Life and Salvation in his healing Wings.] Methinks that passage of the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing under his Wings, seems to allude to the Brazen Serpent, a Type of Christ, which was lifted up in the Wilderness, and on which whosoever looked, after they were bitten by the Serpents, immediately recovered.  
245. Those who in wild Perea wandered wide.] Of this Perea, thus Fuller, Lib. 1. p. 37. Perea, says he," is a Country containing all the Land once belonging to Reuben, Gad and Manasse, on the East of jordan.  
260. From ancient Shalem.] Some think this place is that Country whereof Melchizedeck was King, and the same with Salem, tho' others different from both.  
291. Had sanctified fair Jordan 's Limpid Waves.] According to that in our Form of Baptism, Who, by the Baptism of thy Son jesus Christ in the River of jordan, didst sanctify Water to the mystical washing away of Sin. Meaning only setting apart, or consecrating the Element for that Sacramental Use.  
321. It's spacious Skirts by fruitful Edom 's side.] I grant it's probable, that our Saviour went not so far as this Wild of Paran, styled, in Holy Scriptures, the great and howling Wilderness; containing in it many others, as Etham, Sin, Sinai, Kadesh, and, as it seems, on the very Edge of it, that of judah; through all which the Israelites so long wandered. I say, 'tis probable enough our Saviour might be carried to some Desert nearer jordan; but neither in fixing him here is there any absurdity, since we suppose it done by a supernatural Power: nor is he there at greater distance than in Milton's Paradise Regained, who chooses the Wilderness of judaea, as the Seat of his Temptation; whereas I go more West, on the Borders of Edom, the Reason of which a skilful Reader will find before the End of this Book.  
244. Rapt by the Sacred Spirit he thither flies.] It must be the Holy Spirit, for it could not be his own, since 'tis an odd and hardly proper Expression, to say, a Man leads himself any where: nor could it be the Wicked Spirit, or the Tempter, who did indeed afterwards hurry him about, because 'tis said, after he had been there forty days and forty nights, nay, after he was an hungry, not till the End of that time, then 'tis said, in St. Matt. 4.3. that the Tempter came, not returned, to him.  
350. Milton's Paradise Lost, that Verse being turned in his Mould, as well as supposing his Notion.  
392. To God's high Temple, and the Sacred Town.] jerusalem is called the Holy City, St. Matth. 4.5.  
470. Who thence did to the dreadful Desert go,— Where Israel wandered.] Vide supra.  
515. But when five Sabbaths now, He, prostrate laid,— The sixth well worn.] Sabbath for Week is common among the Sacred Writers. Six Sabbaths would have been six Weeks, or forty two days, but he fasting but forty, the sixth was not complete.  
521. With as much ease subdued as that before.] Adam, who is called the Son of God, St. Luke 3. ult. because immediately produced by him, without any natural Parent.  
565. And half another now is almost past.] Twenty eight Days to a proper Lunar Month, and twelve more are almost half another.  
617. His Word preserves the Soul on him depends.] I have, I think, included all those Senses, wherein Interpreters take those Words.  
631. The Man's distressed,— With sinless Fears.] It lengthens not my Hero's Character, to suppose something of Concern or Fear impressed on his Fancy, when sleeping, since he is always represented intrepid and firm while awake, even in the greatest Dangers; and even here 'tis added, The God repelled the rest.  
639. From many an horrid rift abortive Power.] I believe I need not tell the Reader, I here begin to make bold with Mr. Milton, about twenty of whose Lines I've wrought into my Storm, for a very good reason, because they're extremely fine, and I could not get near so good of my own. However I've owned and marked every one of 'em, nay even each half Verse for which I have been beholden to him.  
643. Where, them enclosed, their Airy Leader binds.] Thomas we have no Aeolus to introduce into a Christian Poem; yet there's what will do as well, the Prince of the Power of the Air; who, no doubt, by God's permission, has Winds and Storms at his Command.  
646. From the four Hinges of the World they ran.] 'Tis Milton's Thought, and a very beautiful Variation for the four Cardinal Points.  
649. Disrobe the beauteous Trees of all their Pride.] There might be Trees in other parts of the Wilderness, though I describe none just where our Saviour remained, besides a few blasted Oaks and Yews. Thus at Elim, one of the Stations of Israel coming out of Egypt, we read of threescore and ten Palm trees, and twelve Wells of Water, Exod. 15. ult.  
656. And there, coaeval with the World, remained.] So 'tis storied of the Hercynian Oaks, and I know no reason why I mayn't make these of equal standing.  
663. Now Hills of Sand came rolling with the Wind.] 'Tis usual in those Countries, for vast Storms, or rather Hurricanes of Sand to arise, and being driven with the Wind, overthrow, stifle and bury Passengers, whose Caravans, and sometimes make Mummy of whole Armies, as 'tis reported of that of Cambyses in the Libyan Deserts. See Thevenot, in his Description of Egypt.  
711. All that with Noah hosted, all and more.] The Truth and Ground of which see in the next Verse, the old Saw, even yet holding good, as modern Travellers tell us, Africa semper aliquid apportat novi.  
715. Who on Cyrene 's Sands doth fearless see, And with him brings Serpents as large as he.] Cyrene is a dreadful Desert Country, to the North west of Egypt, against the greater Syrtis, now a part of Barda; where, as modern Geographers tell us, is a City, to this day, called Corena. 'Tis inhabited with little else but such vast Serpents as Europeans can scarce believe ever were in Nature; and so indeed is almost all Afric, some of 'em so big, that Eye witnesses tell us, it's common, when any of those dreadful Creatures are killed, to find a whole Sheep or Calf in their Bellies. See Ludolphus of Ethiopia, and Vansleb of Egypt.  
734. Two other Fiends, like fierce Jackals did bay, And warned the Kingly Lion to his Prey.] These Creatures are very frequent in those Countries, and indeed, where ever the Lion is, being a sort of a Setting-Dog to that Royal Beast. The Pilgrim says, he met with many of them in his Journey from Sidon (now Said) to Damascus. He describes 'em somewhat lesle and more white than Foxes, keeping themselves all day in the Craggs of the Mountains, and coming down at night to seek their Prey and demand Contributions from the neighbouring Villages.  
755. He sits unmoved in calm and sinless Peace.] A Verse of Milton's.  
795. Lotus chaste and rare,— From Sunburnt Afric brought.] chaste, see Ovid; Rare, because far fetched; namely, from that part of Afric, where the Lo●●phagi (Lotus-Eaters) inhabit, North of the Psylli, and West of Cyrene.  
819. From Punic-Carthage brought.] Whence it takes its Name.  
841. All that Bethsaida 's wellwrought Nets could take, In Air, or Deserts wild, or neighbouring Lake.] Bethsaida is generally interpreted, an House of Hunting, at first, probably, only a Place of Pleasure, a sort of a Lodge in the Desert, or Forest, adjoining. Fuller is for another Etymology, and tells us, the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies Fishing as well as Hunting; whence, he thinks, it rather took its Name, by reason of the neighbouring Lake. Both which Opinions are here reconciled, since, probably, 'twas a place of general Divertisement, both Hunting, Fishing, and Fowling.  
904. Nor can thy Power one single Grain create.] Proper Creation, or the Production of something out of nothing, can be alone the Act of infinite Power, which no wonder that we can't comprehend, unless we were ourselves Infinite.  
909.— 'Tis Nature's Voice, friendly to be With Friends, and dreadful to my Enemy.] I suppose few but know whose Notion that is; nor am I very solicitous whether or no Satan takes it amiss, that I should make him one of the Hobbists, though they've gone yet farther, and would fain make him nothing at all.  
915. And in their room uncleanly Ordure leaves.] From that of Virgil, when the Harpies had snatched away the Feast of Phineus,— Foedissima Ventris— Proluvies, and Vestigia foeda relinquunt.  
939. 'Twixt Halak they, and dire Acrabbim passed.] There is a place just at the South-West Corner of the Dead-Sea, called Mahaleh-Acrabbim, see josh. 15.3 in English, the crawling up of Serpents; probably, from many of them coming up to that forlorn Place from the adjoining Wilderness, near which the jews were plagued with fiery Serpents. Opposite to which stands Mount Halak, vid. josh. 11.17. between which two Places, I suppose Satan took his airy Journey.  
942. Now Debir 'tis, once Kirjath-Sephir named, For Valiant Othniel's dear-bought Conquest famed.] This Debir, which signifies an Oratory, called also Kirjath-Sephir, or the City of a Book, is thought to have been a Canaanitish University. 'Tis situated in the Tribe of judah, South of Hebron, not far from the Plain of Mamre. The History of its Conquest by Othniel, vid. judg. 1.12.  
954. Hebron to th' Left, which twice a Crown did grace.] 'Twas one of the Canaanitish Royal Cities, josh. 10.37. and the Place where David was first crowned King of judah, remaining there seven Years, 2 Sam. 2, 3, 4. and 5.5.  
959. Th' Arch-fiend abhorred,— With Temple and with Altars was adored.] See 2 Kings 1, 2. where we read of the Oracle of Baalzebub, the God of Ekron; the same undoubtedly with Beelzebub in the New Testament.  
962. And leaving on the left strong Lachish near.] This City was besieged by Sennacherib, but we don't read that he took it, nay, it's said he departed from it, 2 Kings 19.8. and 'twas one of the last which held out against Nabuchadnezzar, jer. 34.7.  
964. Then shooting swift o'er Saveh 's Vale.] This Valley of Saveh is a little South of jerusalem; 'tis mentioned twice, and, I think, no more, in the Holy Scriptures, once by its proper Name, Gen. 14.17. as the place where the King of Sodom met Abraham, and Melchisedeck came forth and gave him Bread and Wine. The second only by a Periphrasis called the King's Dale, 2 Sam. 18.18. as 'tis also in the former place.  
967. Where pleasant Millo lies.] Millo, which signifies a Filling, because built in the void Space between Zion and jerusalem, was begun by King David, 2 Sam. 5.9. and finished under Solomon, jeroboam being Overseer of the Work, 1 Kings 11.27.  
970. By Solomon 's Royal Seat, and Ophel 's Tower.] Solomon had three Palaces, or Houses, in jerusalem; one, the House of the Forest of Lebanon, 2 Kings 7.2. like our St. Iame's, or the Elector's Palace at Dresden. The second, the House of Pharaoh's Daughter, 1 Kings 7.8. And the third, his own Dwellinghouse, which was thirteen Years in Building, 1 Kings 7.1. Which last is generally placed, in the Maps of jerusalem, near the Banks of Siloam, opposite to Millo. The Tower of Ophel is placed a little Easterly of this Palace, near the Fall of Siloam into Kidron.  
975. Near Herod 's Lofty Tower.] The old Tower in Solomon's Temple was of the Nature of a Porch, and very magnificent, as 'tis described 1 Kings 6.3. and 2 Chron. 3.4. From both which we learn, 'twas twenty Cubits long, ten broad, and an hundred and twenty high (sacred Cubits), and consequently, the Temple itself reaching but to thirty Cubits, this must be four times the height on't, and Herod's was not inferior. I say near this Tower, rather than upon it, because 'twas too great a Height to see distinctly what was done below. I suppose it might be on some of those stately Galleries josephus' mentions. See more Lib. seven.  
985. Thee from yond Court the vested Priests perceive.] The Altar whereon the Sacrifices were offered, was not within the covered part of the Temple, for what should they have done there with the Smoke of so vast a number of Sacrifices, but sub dio, in the open Air, in a Court; Incense only being offered within the Temple. Into which Court the Priests only came, as into the second none but Jews with their Sacrifices, whence they were taken in by the Priests, and the third was the outward Court, or that of the Gentiles.  
1006. In Herod 's spacious Ampitheatre.] Of which see a noble Description, jos. Antiq. lib. 15. cap. 11.  
1061. Eushemesh sees, and beauteous Jericho] Eushemesh sounds in our Language, the Fountain of the Sun; perhaps from some medicinal Waters hereabouts, as our Bath, formerly Aquae Solis. Beauteous Jericho, the situation of it was pleasant, said the Inhabitants to the Prophet; and Fuller and Surius describe it in the same manner, the Fields about it, as the latter says, being covered with Orange-trees, Limon-trees. Palm-trees, and others, intermingled every where with those Flowers, called the Roses of jericho.  
1067. The Ruins of Ed 's doubtful Altar spied.] Doubtful, because Geographers can't agree on which side of jordan to place it.  
1072. Canaan 's blest Land, on Jordan ' s either side.] Vid. Deut. 34.1, 2. All the Land of Gilead unto Dan, all Naphthali, Ephraim, Manasseh and judah.  
1080. Then gave 'em Form, with Colours gilded the whole.] First Figure, than Form, according to the old Notion, Forma est Figura cum Colore.  
1086. Conducted with no Injury but Fear.] Not that I suppose our Saviour was really affrighted; but, as Mr. Cowley says in a like case, 'tis hardly proper to make a Speech for the Devil without some Lies in't.  
1096. Which Ishmael 's wealth Offspring far away.] The Ishmaelites were some of the first Land Merchants, as the Phoenicians the first by Sea. Vid. Gen. 37.25.  
1099. To Zoan 's fertile Fields, and thence disperse Their wealth Traffic through the Universe.] This way all rich Persian Silks, etc. were formerly carried over Land, till a Passage was found out by Sea, in our own Age.  
1102. Thomas proud of Golden Sands, and Groves of Spice, etc.] The finest Dust-Gold being brought from the Coasts of Africa; and several Regions in't which take their very Names from Spices, as Myrrhifera, Cinnamomifera.  
1103. They their parched Country think a Paradise.] This is literally true; for the Abyssines will not be persuaded but the old Paradise was seated in their Country; and there have been European Authors who have reckoned it under the Line.  
1109. Even fair Trinacria too thou shalt disdain.] An old Name for Sicily; the reason of which is in the next Verse.  
1112. Washed by the sounding Sea on either side.] The upper and lower Seas, as they sometimes call 'em, Adria to the North, and the Sicilian, Sardinian, etc. to the South.  
1113. Which through the midst a Ledg of Hills divide.] The Apennineses, which run long-ways through the greatest part of Italy.  
1115. Near a fair Stream a Royal City stands.] I hardly tell the Reader, I mean Rome, on the Banks of the Tibur.  
1122. Eternal Rome.] So they affected to call it, Urbs aeterna; and 'twas almost a piece of Laese-Majesty to cut it shorter, or believe any otherwise of the City or Empire, whence St. Paul speaks so cautiously concerning it, 2 Thess. 2.  
1123. And raise thee to the Purple.] The Royal Insignia were of this Colour, with the Romans; and 'twas therefore Treason for any to affect it besides the Emperor.  
1126. Over you cloudy Mountains with me go.] The Alps, where Snow is said to lie unmelted in some Places all the Year round.  
1129. 'Twixt where Garumna 's Waters gently creep, And rapid Rhine runs foaming to the Deep.] Garumna, now the Garoune in Aquitain; it rises not far from Tolouse and Montpelier, whence running cross the Country, it falls, by Bourdeaux, into our Ocean. 'Tis true, this River is not the utmost Southern Boundary of France, Gascoign lying between that and Spain, nor do I affirm it; but I make that the Pyrenees afterwards. However this was the last considerable River on that side the Country, and running cross it too, as before. As for the Rhine, which I call the Rhine to be nearer its Antique Latin-Name, I know it reaches too far on the other side, beyond the Limits of modern France. (though truly not far, as they have stretched it) including Brabant, proper Flanders, etc. but 'tis reckoned by ancient Geographers the Boundary of Belgic Gaul, which was one part of the Transalpine, lying between the Rivers Sein, Rhine, and the Ocean, the other three parts being called the Celtic, Aquitanic, and Narbonensis.  
1135. The People daring, curious, active, brave.] This Character Caesar gives 'em, and a great part of Europe have found, to their Sorrow, that they still retain it.  
1137. Their different Tribes thou by my help may'st gain.] They were formerly divided into as many small Septs or Cantons as England or Ireland, as the Atrebatii, the Celts, Veneti, and twenty others.  
1142. Who, though thy Name he bears.] The Most Christian King.  
1153. Well knew the old Phoenicians that blessed Place.] It's generally believed, by our modern Critics, that the British Islands were the famous Cassiterides, as Bochart endeavours to prove from the Name; and yet any that read Dionysius would be of another Mind for methinks he seems to distinguish 'em one from the other, for after he has said, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which he makes overagainst the Promontorium Sacrum, and inhabited by the Iberians, he goes on, and says expressly in the next Verse, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, speaking of the two British Isles as distinct from the Cassiterides, or Tin-Islands. Indeed, would the situation bear it, Mr. Cambden's Conjecture would stand fair, that the Ancients meant the Isles of Scilly; and indeed these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may relate to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as well as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and then 'tis a clear case; for what can they be but those of Scilly, since he calls them all British Isles? However, it's no wonder that not only Dionysius, but most of the Greeks besides, give a very lame account of these parts, since the Phoenicians were so careful to conceal those matters, and their Trading hither, that Strabo tells us of a Phoenician Master of a Ship, who knocked his Vessel o'th' head upon the Rocks, rather than he'd fall into the hands of the Romans, as he was returning from his Voyage into our Seas.  
1156. How three sharp points th' insulting Waves divide.] The three Capes or Angels of Britain (whence some derive the Name of Anglia) that near Dover, the Landsend, and Cathness; the same, if I mistake not, with the Darvezum, Bolerium, and Orcas or Tarvidum of the Ancients.  
1174. Refuged Androgeus to the Throne to bear.] Some call him Androgeus, others Mandubracius, a British Prince, who fled to Caesar for Succour, and assisted him against Cassibelan and his Native Country. I'm not ignorant that these things really happened some years before I represent them; but not to pled Precedent, or excuse my own Error by that of Virgil, (and indeed of most other Poets, who are seldom mortified with Anachronisms in their Works) I rather choose to throw it all upon the Devil, who having Shapes enough new made, might adapt them to what History he pleased, and endeavour to impose on our Saviour in History as well as in Geography.  
1178. Huge weighty Cataphracts and Iron Men.] See those Cataphracts exactly described in Heliodorus' Ethiopian History.  
1182. Cross the Morine Seas.] So the Strait was called between England and France; hence that of Grotius in his Cynaegeticon, Hinc freta si Morinûm; adding soon after, Atque ipsos libeat penetrate Britannos.  
1183. Rutupian Shore.] The Rutupium of the Ancients, is supposed the same with our Richborough.  
1196. Soul of the League, and head of the Allies.] Cassibelan was Generalissimo of all the British Forces. See Caesar's Commentaries.  
1200. Pallas his Head directs, and Mars his Arm.] I've been pretty sparing of Heathen Gods throughout the whole Poem, (which Mr. Milton does not observe, though even his Faults are beautiful) and now I here mention two of 'em; I put 'em into the mouth of such an one as I am not to answer for what he says.  
1212. For Dammesek, that earthly Paradise.] So Dammesek, or Damascus, or Damas', (for by all those Names 'tis called, besides Cham's by the Arabians) is described by all that have seen it. The Arabians fancy the Sun has another sort of a benign Influence on this Town than any other, whence the Name they give it. Satan calls it an Earthly Paradise, and so a good Friend of his once thought it, I mean Mahomet, who was so afraid of being bewitched and softened with the Pleasures thereof, and rendered unfit for the great Projects he had in his head, that he refused to enter it when very near it.  
1214. The Roman and the Parthian Pride, etc.] See joseph. Antiq. lib. 8. cap. 5. where you have the entertaining Relation of this Royal Congress between Vitellius, Herod the Tetrarch, and Artaban King of Parthia, in a small Isle of the Euphrates.  
1222. Where mighty Indus cuts his headlong way, Through whose vast Currents Alexander hurled, etc.] Quintus Curtius, describing this Expedition of Alexander, says, He first passed the Choaspes, than the Cophetes, next the Indus, etc.  
1224. To Rome alike, and fabling Greece unknown,— 'Tis China called.] That the Romans had no knowledge of this Country, I think, all grants and our modern Geographers believe that Ptolomey knew it little better; for though he talks of Sinarum regio, yet by his description, it should be rather Si●m than C●ina.  
1233. One King, one God, those spacious Realms obey.] So their authentic Chronicles tell us; and that they sell not to Polytheism till the sixty fifth year of our Saviour. See Martinius.  
1234. Their Arts and Arms in such perfection.] Particularly Printing and Guns, which the Europeans found amongst amongst.  
1236. You River, which against the Temple glides.] The Yellow River, of which see the Description and Cut in Magaillan.  
1240. Wide Magog 's wandering Offspring to restrain.) The Scythians, or Tartars, bridled by the Wall of China.  
1401. There reigns a peaceful Prince.] As Augustus reigned at Rome, and the Temple of janus was shut when our Saviour was born; so 'tis remarkable, that in China all things were quiet, and the Emperor changed his own Name for another that signifies Pacificus.  
1408. A Potent Colony— In a new World.] According to our Mede's Notion, that the Americans were carried over by the Devil, at this time.  
1411. See that small Strait, already covered over.] The straits of Anian, which the Devil might find out, though no Mortal can do it.  
1414. First strikes that mighty Island's Western Strand.] 'Tis so far East that it must be West. Consult the Globe.  
1423. No Winter there, there reigns eternal Spring.] The Devil must have leave to make the best of his own Country, though some parts of America are really very pleasant.   

THE ARGUMENT OF THE Fourth BOOK.  
OUR Saviour having now foiled the Enemy, the Angels, who had all the while hovered over and been Spectators of the Combat, descend with a Banquet, and sing a Song of Triumph on his Victory, which ended, they wait him back to Jordan. The Baptist's further Testimony concerning him. Our Lord, departing thence, enters on his Ministerial Office; and ascending the Mount of the Beatitudes, chooses his Twelve Apostles, and then preaches that famous Sermon, containing the chief Heads of his Religion. Which he begins with an Enquiry after Happiness, removing the commonly received Notions about it, and fixing it rather in their Contraries. After which he repeats the Ten Commandments; assuring his Auditors he came not to destroy but to fulfil them; and instructs in Alms, Fasting, Prayer, and other Duties, giving 'em a particular Form to assist their Devotion, and concludes his Discourse with a lively Parable of two Houses, one built on the Rock, the other on the Sand. The Sermon finished, our Lord descends from the Mountain, and preaches in Galilee; working his first Miracle at Cana; and at Naim, not far from it, restoring the Widow's Son to Life. In the mean while the Baptist continued preaching Repentance, and acquiring a great Veneration among the People, and even from Herod himself, at that time Tetrarch of Galilee, who reforms from all his Vices but his unlawful Love to Herodias. The manner of his falling in Love with her; his Courtship, and, at length, accomplishing his Desires under the pretence of Platonic Love and an innocent Friendship. Their Familiarity continuing so long, till it grew public; which St. John hearing of, comes to Court, and boldly reproves the King. At which Herodias being enraged, gets him imprisoned in Machaerus, and some time after beheaded; he having first prophesied of the Invasion of Galilee, and the Discomfiture of Herod's Army; which soon after come to pass. Aretas, the King of Arabia, being enraged at the Injury done to his Daughter, whom Herod had formerly married; and entering his Country with an Army, which Herod prepares to encounter; but his Forces forsake him, and he loses the Day. All which our Saviour having advice of, and of the Rage of Herod upon these Losses, retires, with his Disciples, into the Deserts of Bethsaida.  

S PHILIPPUS   
THE LIFE OF CHRIST: AN Heroic Poem. Book IU.  
* 'TIS pleasant, when the rugged Storm is over,  
To see the Waves expiring on the Shore:  
Like some new World, at distance to behold  
The Silver Hills all Flame with heavenly Gold:  
The chiding Winds all hushed, the Sky look fair,  
The Fields in Smiles new clad, Sea, Earth and Air  
A different Face put on, a different Dress,  
And Mother Nature's self her joys express:  
So shined the Son of God, whose Love to Man,  
His Conquests in His Sufferings thus began;  
Oppressed with weight he still more powerful rose,  
And, when he pleased, shook off th' infernal Foes;  
Who, when they his unequal Might assayed,  
In vain so many a furious Onset made,  
Slunk desperate back to their own conscious Shade:  
Nor long removed, e'er brighter Guards were there,  
Wafted, Triumphant thro' the yielding Air.  
Hymning their Head, the heavenly Host descend,  
Who did before their needless Aid suspend,  
And hovering high the Wars event attend:  
Nor unconcerned Spectators, had they stayed,  
But each in their own glittering Arms arrayed;  
Indignant, saw the Fiend our Lord assail,  
And o'er what Mortal was, so far prevail:  
Saw the foul Spirit him mild and patient bear,  
From place to place wide hurried in the Air;  
Unfired, their dreadful Bolts could hardly keep,  
Oft had they sunk the Rebel to the Deep,  
And Thunder-nailed him there—  
Oft had their ancient Valour on him shown,  
Had they received Commission from the Throne;  
Nor durst beyond their Line one step proceed,  
Nor did our Lord th' officious Kindness need;  
Nor did their Royal Aid and Love refuse,  
In Triumph, which in War he would not use;  
Thou all the while he knew and marked 'em there,  
And beckons now away; through yielding Air  
They instantaneous glide, as Thoughts can fly,  
Untracked, from East to West, from Earth to Sky:  
Mama, Ambrosial-food, before him laid,  
And Wine in beauteous Eden newly made;  
Who tastes of these will regal Board's despise;  
Such Angels, such the blessed in Paradise:  
No dregss they leave, nor earthly relish know,  
Nor ever tempt to these vain joys below;  
But Hope, and Peace, and heavenly Love inspire,  
And warm the Soul with pure immortal Fire:  
While these our Lord upon the verdant ground  
Refreshed, his shining Train kept Guard around:  
Some cheerful wait, i'th' Air some hovering hung;  
And thus his mighty Deeds in mighty Numbers Sung.  
Hail, Son of God announced, confessed, approved! *  
Saviour of Man, and Head of Angel's hail!  
Thee thus adored we sing; thus cast our Crowns,  
With trembling awe, at thy triumphant Feet:  
Before all Worlds, who, from the Mount of God,  
When Lucifer had half dis-peopled Heaven,  
" Ledst forth th' embattled Seraphim to fight;  
Met at the Head of his rebellious War,  
Didst seize th' Arch-Traitor, all his Bands disperse,  
And crush 'em underneath thy flaming Wheels.  
We saw 'em from the top of heavens high-Wall,  
We saw 'em tumbl' abrupt, and Chaos wide,  
Struck with a dreadful Flash of unknown Light,  
Shrink back its sooty Waves, and inward roll  
To find a new Abyss; till wheeling down,  
Like falling Stars, th' Exile Spirits of Heaven  
On its black Bosom hissed, thick sprinkled over  
With scattered Drops of dying sulphurous Flame:  
They, deep confined, thou, O Eternal Word,  
Didst will this beauteous World from the dark Void:  
High Hills, rich Dales, sweet Springs, Sea, Earth and Sky,  
And those Eternal Lamps which flame above  
To light the Lord of the Creation, Man;  
The best, the last Essay of Wit divine;  
Whose Godlike Form thou didst with Soul inspire,  
Thee not unapt to Know and Love, designed  
To fill those Seats th' Apostate Angels lost,  
And placed him happy in sweet Paradise:  
Envious th' Arch-Fiend beheld, his Iron Teeth,  
Vexatious, gnashed with rage and rancour fell,  
That Man should Lord it over so fair a World:  
Shot up through Chaos and the frighted Deep,  
On dangerous Expedition bend, t' explore  
His Rival's Force; then grapple and subdue,  
And Captive drag t' his own Eternal Night;  
Who, ah! too far prevailed; nor could weak Man,  
The Woman and the Fiend, when leagued, resist:  
He eat, 
Rom. 8.22.  he fell; the sick Creation groaned,  
And symphathized with their lost Master's Fate:  
We sighing saw the ruins of the World;  
So wide the Breach we knew no Remedy;  
Nor all our Wisdom Methods could invent,  
T' atone thy justly angered Father's Wrath,  
Punish th' Arch-Fiend accursed, and Man restore:  
Till in deep Consult of th' Eternal Three,  
Thou didst stand forth and choose the mighty Task;  
The weight of heavenly Vengeance choose to bear;  
Which feeble Mortals would have crushed to Hell:  

Revel. 12.3.  The old Red-Dragon met, O spotless Dove!  
By thy unequal Arms is doomed to fall,  
Thou thou no Thunder in the Fight wilt use,  
But naked Virtue, and pure Innocence.  
Thou the chaste Womans-Seed, O Virgin-born!  

Gen. 3.15.  The mighty Serpent's vainly-threatning Head  
Shalt crush beyond retrieve; while Spirits enraged,  
And Life at once, and yellow Venom flow  
From his wide Mouth, that open Sepulchre:  
In long volum'nous Folds outstretched he lies,  
The Wonder and the Burden of the Earth:  
Hell's Principality thou shalt destroy,  
And stolen Dominion here; while Thunderstruck,  
And hurled headlong▪ the grinning Fiends forsake  
Their Temples and fallacious Oracles:  
What tho' their Malice, desperate, may prevail,  
Permitted, o'er thy frail Humanity?  
The God's still safe, and smiles at their weak rage;  
While they their own Confusion only gain.  
Hell's Masterpiece is Ill from Good to draw,  
The Art of Heaven Good from the worst of Ill:  
Thy Death the Life of Man, a Ransom paid,  
To thy just Father's Wrath for the lost World:  
Which from his Bosom thou in mortal Clay  
Didst come, first to instruct, and then to save.  
Thy Triumphs here begin, O Son of God  
The Tempter foiled with all his boasted Arts:  
He no uxorious Adam found in thee,  
No vain-consenting Eve— Salvation, Power,  
And Strength and Might, and Thanks, and Praise, and Love,  
We thus ascribe to thee, O spotless Lamb!  
Thus Allelujah! Allelujah sing.  
Here ending, they their Lord triumphant bore,  
To Iordan's reedy Banks, not long before  
Blessed with his sacred Feet, where lately he,  
Baptised by the great Son of Zachary,  
All Righteousness fulfilled— The Crowd, who mourned  
His Loss, surprised with joy when he returned.  
Nor sooner him again the Baptist spied,  
When loud, 'tis he! Extatic all, he cried:  
See Israel, see the Lamb of God, 
John 5.19.  designed  
To purge your Sins, your heavy Chains unbind!  
Him his great Father from the Clouds confessed,  
And I, th' attesting Dove myself attest:  
He, 
John 1.20, 28.  the Messiah, freely I disclaim,  
That next to our unutterable Name!  
Me, though unworthy, did high Heaven prefer,  
E'er his approach, to be his Harbinger;  
That Israel him might with due Honours meet,  
Unworthy even to kneel and kiss his Feet:  
Thou after-born, 
John 1.27.  existing long before;  
Should we thro' vast Eternal Ages soar, 
Ibid.   
His Birth we cannot reach—  
He still must Live, while I to Dust descend;  
His Kingdom and his Glory know no end. 
John 3.30.   
He said, again our Lord himself withdrew,  
Thou closely followed by a faithful few:  
Who learned what Arts to use, what Methods take,  
Others as happy as themselves to make:  
Envious of none; more Rivals they desired,  
Each Day, each Hour their Master more admired.  
Through Galilee's wide Coast soon spread his Name,  
His Auditor's increasing with his Fame:  
Thick rolling Crowds promiscuous far and near,  
Attend, the way to Life and Bliss to hear:  
For every Ill miraculous Ease they find,  
All Maladies of Body and of Mind.  
An easy Hill there is, 
Matth. 5.1.  whence looking down *  
Tiberias here, there fair Bethsaida's Town,  
At equal distance seen; our Saviour there,  
Did first entire his Father's Will declare.  
Well pleased, around the plenteous Harvest saw;  
And further still t' advance the Sacred Law,  
Twice six did from his constant Followers choose,  
Who might the same through the vast Globe diffuse.  

1 Cor. 1.26.  The Noble, Great and Learned he did not take,  
Poor Fishers most, who on the neighbouring Lake,  
In honest Industry their Lives had spent,  
Equally Ignorant and Innocent: *  
Barjonas' first, still eager to engage  
In the fair Cause, and first in Zeal and Age; *  
Firm as a Rock, he bold our Lord confessed,  

John 1.42.  Thence Cephas named, by him who knows him best.  
His Brother Andrew, of unspotted Fame,  
The next, both from Bethsaida's Villa came:  
Thence Philip, who Nathanael did invite,  

John 1.  Approved an undissembling Isra'lite:  
Matthew, who freely did the World forsake,  

Matth. 9.9.  Fair Seat, and gainful Office on the Lake,  
Near proud Capernaum: the lesser james,  
Who justly honourable Kindred claims,  
With our Loved Lord; Simon, whom Cana names,  
His Brother jude— All three did Mary bear  
To Cleophas: next jude our Treasurer;  
Iscariot from his Birth-place styled; and he,  
Whom his glad Mother in her Arms did see  

Thomas, Greek Didymus, both in English, a Twin.  But half a Birth—  
We, more than all the rest of that high Grace,  
Unworthy, fill the last and humblest place:  
Zebedee's Sons, o'th' Galilean Race.  
This past, to us he his blessed Law revealed,  

Matth. 11.25.  Which from the Wise and Prudent is concealed:  
What Noble Paradoxes did he teach?  
Above what human Wisdom e'er could reach;  
As much beneath his Worth is our Esteem;  
Sure never Man e'er spoke, or lived like him!  
He all false Eloquence, all Colours he  
Of Graecian, or of Roman Sophistry  
Disdained; nor Popularly low he bowed,  

Matth. 7. v. ult.  To beg, or steal Applauses from the Crowd:  
His Truths in their own native Beauty shine,  

St. ANDREAS.   

St. THOMAS.   

St. JACOBUS MINOR.   

St. BARTHOLOMAEUS.   

St. SIMON.   

St. MATHIAS.   

Chris●'● Sermon 〈…〉   
Delivered with Authority divine:  
They pierced the secret Soul where e'er they came,  
And warmed each conscious Breast with heavenly Flame:  
* Hear Father's part of what he then expressed!  
And, O that you from him would learn the rest!  

Our Saviour's Sermon of the Beatitudes, Matth. V.  
MIstaken men! He cries, who still complain,  
* Still search for happiness, but search in vain,  
For when you dream you've found it, false as fair  
It cheats your clasping arms with empty air.  
* There are who think their Bliss fast locked they hold,  
If their strong Chests are filled with Ophirs gold: 
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven, v. 3.   
Base vulgar drossy minds, with more alloy  
Than is that captive wealth they might enjoy;  
Which Thiefs may steal, which Rust or Fire destroy;  
True happiness is always in our power,  
Beyond the reach of one unlucky hour  
To rend away, 'tis for its self desired,  
While Riches are for something else admired,  
Pleasure or Ease, nor therefore can they be  
The solid Basis of Felicity.  
Woe, 
Luke 6.24.  woe, eternal woe and pain are near  
To those who only place their Treasure here.  
Sooner may happiness be found with them  
Whom for their Poverty the World contemn;  
Who, when my Honour and their Conscience call  
With generous unconcernedness part with all:  
If Providence a larger stock affords,  
It's Gifts enjoy as Stewards, not as Lords:  
These, rich in Faith, to Heaven directly tend,  
Heirs of a Kingdom that shall never end.  
* Unwary youth which seldom chooses right,  
Hurried by their unbridled appetite  
Rush hot and furious after vain delight 
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted, v. 4.   
And false delusive Bliss— No they'll not stay  
Thou Heaven called back, and Hell were in their way.  
And can a cheating short-lived vicious joy,  
Which even one moments thinking can destroy,  
Nay that it self.— Say, can it ever be  
A reasoning Creatures true felicity?  
Ah foolish Boy! Ah whither wilt thou run?  
Why in such headlong haste to be undone?  
Thy mirth is madness; e'er too late return!  
And learn how blessed are those who truly mourn;  
Who mourn their Sins while Life's swift sand does last,  
And dear irrevocable moments passed:  
O what a change! when those whom now they see  

Luke 6.25.  Spend all their days in thoughtless jollity  
Shall howl in quenchless Flames; while such as here  
Oft wet their Cheeks with a repentant Tear,  
Oft heave with pious Sighs their working Breast,  
Of him, whom long unseen they loved, possessed  
In Abraham's bosom find eternal rest.  
* Others, as vain, attempt their Names to raise,  

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth, v. 5.  Their Lives employed in eager chase of praise:  
Honour, that gaudy Nothing, they pursue,  
For this in Blood their guilty Hands imbrue:  
For this unhinge the World, and when 'tis done  
By all their long Fatigues what have they won?  
What gains, what Trophies but a Blast of Breath,  
Which seldom lives, tho' loved, beyond their Death?  
He then who here his Happiness would find  
As soon may grasp the Air, or tract the Wind:  
The gaudy Fly as soon as hatched is flown,  
'Tis in another's power and not our own:  
True Magnanimity my Laws impart,  
But fix it in a meek and humble heart:  
What lies so low can no rough Tempest fear,  
But unconcerned, above, the Thunder hear:  
Impenetrably soft's a lowly mind  
Where wrongs glide off and can no Entrance find;  
Not kindling into rage when e'er we see  
The least appearance of an Injury;  
Or suffering in ill Language wrath t' aspire,  

Matt. 5.22.  Lest Angers flames be purged with hotter Fire.  

Deut. 32.35. Rom. 12.19.  If wronged, all private base Returns decline;  
Your Wrath repress, Vengeance is only mine;  
'Tis a false Liberty that leaves you free  
Loving your Friend to hate your Enemy: 
Matt. 5.43.   
My Followers must to nobler things aspire,  
My Laws exalt the human Nature higher  
Than e'er before; if mine yourselves you'd prove  
Bless them that curse, and those that hate you love!  
Pray for their Lives who would not let you live!  
As you yourselves forgiveness hope, 
Matt. 6.15.  forgive!  
This makes you likest God, and all divine,  
Whose fruitful Rain does fall, 
Matt. 5.45, 48.  whose Sunbeams shine  
On good and bad promiscuous; thus you'll be  
As far as suits with weak Humanity  
Above the World, and perfect even as he:  
Thus wait and you'll at last the Conquest gain;  
When the meek Soul shall over Nations reign. 
Psal. 37.11.   
* How few who any true Concern will show  
For aught but these vain perishing Goods below! 
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after Righteousness, for they shall be filled. v. 6.   
To guard this Life mistaken Man contends,  
But little for that Life which never ends:  
How much of Toil, how much of fruitless pain  
No more than six small feet of Earth to gain?  
How hard for those in this who happy are  
For t'other World to take sufficient care?  
If that neglected, they refuse to know  
That Benefactor who did all bestow;  
Full fed, 
Deut. 32.15▪  refuse their stubborn Necks to yield,  
Loose and unyoked fly wanton round the field;  
Feasted themselves, 
Luke 6 25. and 16, 20, 21.  despise and scorn the poor,  
While Lazarus lies starving at their door;  
The day, the dreadful day they soon shall see  
When they in Torments, he in Bliss shall be:  
One drop of Water then they'll ask in vain,  
To cool their panting Tongues in endless pain: 
24.   
But blest are those, such all who would be mine,  
Who thirst and hunger after Food divine,  
Whom Heavenly thoughts and meditations fill,  
Whose meat and drink's to do my Father's will, 
John 4.34.   
This their first Care, and firmly can repose  
On him who all their wants and sorrows knows,  
Be then your care for a good Life expressed, 
Matt. 6.33.   
Nor doubt but God will care for all the rest.  
Why these distracted Thoughts? 
Matth. 6.25.  Why thus Dismayed?  
Wants he or Power or Love to send thee Aid?  
If more he gives, will lesser be denied?  
If Life, he'll Food; if Food, he'll clothes provide.  
All his Creation of his Love partake,  
Nor will he ruin what himself did make.  

26.  Behold the feathered Nations of the Air  
Which sing in yonder Trees— how full, how fair,  
They neither sow nor reap, nor plant nor plough,  
Yet God provides their Food on every bush and bough:  
And will He not for you? Who did inspire  
Your breasts with part of his own Heavenly fire.  
Besides, such anxious thoughts but vex the mind,  

27.  Which thence can neither Ease nor Comfort find:  

28.  Nor more for Raiment care! though forced to go  
Beneath your Quality, mean, scorned and low:  
What's not your Crime, no longer vainly grieve,  
You spite of clamorous Sense must still believe.  
Look on those lovely Lilies how they grow  
Thoughtless and free in yonder Vale below!  
For all those Robes they neither toil nor care,  
Nor spin the Web at home, nor fetch't from far;  
Yet Solomon himself, tho' covered over  
With Gold and Purple from rich Sidon's shore,  
Compared to these, had mean and homely shown;  
His all but borrowed Glories, theirs their own.  

30.  He then who thus the fading Herb supplies,  
Which flourishes to day, to morrow dies,  
Will he forget his Word and prove untrue?  
Has he lesle kindness, or lesle care for you?  
Injustice and Revenge the World divide,  
Mistaken Censure, Cruelty and Pride:  

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. v. 7.  Blest is the man himself who truly knows,  
And Mercy, which he hopes, to others shows;  
Whose joy, the miserable to relieve,  
Who tastes the mighty Pleasure to forgive:  
Justly severe when he himself surveys,  
As candid when he others Actions weighs:  
Born for the World and not himself alone,  
He always makes another's Case his own.  
Observe that Golden Rule of Equity,  
Thy Neighbour treat as thou'dst have him treat thee! 
Matt. 7. 12●   
How vain the Glosses foolish men device! 
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. v. 8.   
How do they blend eternal Truth with Lies!  
* Traditions teach you, if your Body's pure,  
Your Mind's your own, and from all stain secure:  
Whatever fond Pretences these invent  
I ask the Heart, nor am with lesle content:  
That must be purged from Sin, and all divine,  
Holy and pure, a Temple fit t' enshrine  
The sacred Dove, who never yet did rest  
In muddy Soil or a polluted Breast; 
Gen. 8.9.   
Gross Acts in vain you eat, unless you're free  
From th' heart's and eye's and hand's Adultery:  
Part with that guilty hand, that wandering eye,  
Or soon they they'll gangreen all, and you must die:  
Call then the wanderers home! 
29, 30.  yourself command!  
And make strict Covenants with the eye and hand! 
Job 31.1.   
Each secret Glance that glows with lawless fire,  
And kindles in the Soul a loose desire;  
Each trembling touch of a forbidden hand  
By which the sparks into a flame are fanned,  
All these avoid, in vain you these would hide  
From him who them in their dark Causes spied  
Long e'er they were— If him in Bliss you'd find  
Rather than sin, be ever lame or blind!  
While those who thus their Appetites deny,  
Half-Martyrs for forgotten Chastity,  
Bravely repelling every poisoned Dart,  
Holy and pure, alike in eyes and heart;  
Who thus their eyes, who thus their hearts employ  
The Beatific Vision shall enjoy;  
Which e'en while wand'ring here shall on 'em shine,  
In this dark World their Souls still more refine,  
And fill with Heavenly Love and joy Divine.  
How many, 
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the Children of God. v. 9  not content with mortal Fame,  
* Are eager for an Heroes sounding name!  
Poor Apotheosis! the God must die  
And worse, among the Fiends in Torments lie:  
But happy those who peaceful Triumphs gain!  
'Tis the best Empire o'er ourselves to reign.  
O blessed Employment! theirs: O happy state!  
Who Peace 'twixt God and Man negotiate!  
Who where they come my peaceful Law disperse,  
Bear these glad Tidings round the Universe:  
Ah! would they practise but as these advice  
How soon the World would be a Paradise?  
They must not there expect so calm a Fate;  
Peace will, tho' strange, breed War, and Love breed Hate;  
Murder and Blood my miscalled Followers slain,  
Discord and Spite, and wild Confusion reign:  
Hellborn Ambition will invade the Skies,  
And towering Pride and griping Avarice;  
Parties and Sects my seamless Garment rend,  
The Cause their Interest, tho' they mine pretend:  
Who dare but speak of Peace, they'll stop their breath,  
'twixt different Parties ground, or starved to death;  
As base betrayers of their Cause reviled,  

Vid. Hind and Panther Luke 26.22.  And Sons of Breadth by lewd Apostates styled,  
But tho' cast out, and underfoot they're trod,  
I'll give 'em better Names— they're Sons of God.  

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake. v. 10. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, etc.  However others widely then mistake,  
And of their Reputations Idols make,  
Even those, when I require, you must despise,  
And unto mine, your Honour sacrifice!  
In Curses let the World their Malice show,  
And all their Leaden Thunders at you throw!  
Let 'em, (the kindest thing they e'er can do)  
As false Apostles, separate from you!  
Out of their Synagogues and Councils hurled  
As Heretics, and Troublers of the World;  
Or as by Priest-craft sly, and juggling skill  
You'd fain bring men to Heaven against their William.  

13.  If you like Salt, a cleansing Virtue show,  
And credit Piety where e'er you go;  
If you still Light the World, who when they see  
Your spotless Life, know what they ought to be;  
If evil they, ungrate, for good, return,  
And you in more than lambent flames would burn;  
Now doubly blest if Innocent you are,  
If causeless all for me you meekly bear:  
Patience too mean a Virtue is, 
12.  your Choice  
Be something nobler here! Exult! Rejoice!  
To Heaven direct your Songs, your Hymns, your Prayer!  
A double Crown of Glory waits you there;  
You first, Triumphant, from the Dust shall rise,  
And with me ever reign in Paradise:  
Nor think, whatever Spite and Envy say,  
I come to show to Heaven a nearer way 
Matt. 5.17:   
Than by Good Faith and Life, t' annul or break  
One Word my Father did from Sinai speak:  
I came not to destroy, but to fulfil,  
To do and suffer my great Father's Will:  
Each type and shadow now complete shall be,  
Hither they tend, and centre all in me.  
What Laws of moral Obligation are,  
Eternal Truth, your pleasure be't and care  
To keep inviolate, they'll still prevail,  
Nor pass away tho' the Creation fail:  
By God's own Hand they were to Moses given,  
* When thus he them had Thundered down from Heaven.   

Exod. XX. The Ten Commandments.  

JEhova speaks, attend with awful Love and Fear!  
From Egypt's Bondage saved, O rescued Israel, hear!   

I.  
With me let no false Gods thy Love and Praise divide,  
* Nor from heavens piercing Eye such Treason hope to hide!   

II.  
* By no Resemblance vain the Godhead dare t' express,  
Who'll down to Grandchild Ages plague such Wickedness.   

III.  
No hallowed thing let thy bold Sacrilege profane!  
Nor take thy mighty Maker's sacred Name in vain.   

IV.  
Six parts of Time when freely I indulge to thee,  
Neither forget nor grudge to pay a seventh to me.   

V.  
If thou long Life dost hope, and many a happy day,  
Thy Parent and thy Prince in all that's just obey.   

VI  
Die not thy furious Hand in Murders guilty Red:  

Gen. 9.6.  For he that sheds Man's blood, by Man his blood be shed!   

VII.  
Against thy Neighbour's Honour harbour no design,  

Prov. 6.34.  As thou his heavy Vengeance wouldst avoid and mine!   

VIII.  
eat Thefts base sordid Sin, and mean unlawful gain,  
And for thy own provide with honest sweat and pain.   

IX.  
What's false ne'er speak, much lesle in Courts thyself forswear,  
But know a greater judge looks down and eye's thee there!   

X.  
Each Sin in Thought abhor, and not in Act alone *  
Nor seek thy Neighbour's Goods, contented with thy own!    
Let these claim all your thoughts exactest care.  
To these add Fasting, 
Matth. 6.  Alms, and fervent Prayer.  
If you desire your Fasts successful prove  
Feared Ills t' avert, or what you feel remove,  
Not like those Hypocrites distorted your Face  
Who make an ugly Look a mark of Grace:  
Who with rough Robes and Sackcloth raze their skin 
16.   
Or cut with Whips, or launce it deeper in,  
And mortify themselves, but not their Sin.  
Your Alms dispense as Stars shoot silent Light  
Untracked and large through the dark Realms of Night.  
In all let no vain Ostentation be.  
To your good Deeds, no witness ask but me.  
They shall not pass without a kind regard  
But at the last Great-Day I'll them reward.  
Discreet, 
Matth. 25.35, etc.  yet warm and zealous be your Prayer  
And still and silent as the Angels are.  

Matth. 6.5.  Since you a Form for your Direction need  
Thus let your faithful Vows to Heaven proceed.  

The Lord's Prayer.  

O Father of the World! whose Throne on high  
Is placed in Light above the Crystal Sky, 
9:   
Let all thy works thee their great Lord proclaim,  
And with loud praises hymn thy sacred Name!  
* Let thy dear Son his promised Empire gain,  
And over all th' obedient Nation's reign!  
Let Sin's an Hell's proud Kingdom soon decay,  
And Earth as well as Heaven their Lord obey!  
For our frail Bodies needful food assign,  
* But chiefly feast our Souls with Food divine.  
O thou on whose free Grace and Love we live  
Forgive our Sins as others we forgive!  
Save from the Tempter those who trust in Thee,  
O Save at once from Sin and Misery!  
Thy glorious Might no Time or Place restrain,  
Thou dost, O God to endless Age's reign!    

Thus to the King of Heaven devoutly pray,  
Nor that enough, you must his Laws obey;  
Else him in Glory ne'er expect to see  
Nor with vain idle Faith depend on me!  

Matth. 7.21.  If not your Lord, I can't your Saviour be.  
Who then themselves my true Disciples show,  
Not only know, but practise what they know;  
Them to wise Master-builders I'll compare  

24.  Who in the solid Rock with sweat and care  
Their firm Foundations lay, the Floods arise  
And meet new Floods thick pou'ring from the Skies:  
Th' impetuous Winds from stony Caves enlarged  
With all their dusty Squadrons on 'em charged,  
The House still stands, each vain assault can mock,  
Nor can they move it, till they move the Rock:  
But those who with cold Notions are content  
* Christians alone in Name and Compliment;  
To foolish Builders them I must compare  

26.  Who on th' unfaithful Sand their Houses rear:  
Already, hark! the whistling storm is nigh!  
See the black Tempest pouring from the Sky!  
Waves ride on Waves and push each other on!  
From the loose Earth the false Foundation's gone;  
The foolish House falls with the mouldering Shore,  
And sinks i'th' vast Abyss to rise no more.  
He said— Still his pleased Auditors attend,  
All thought too soon he his Discourse did end.  
Which passed, he did from the blessed Mount descend  
To Cana, whence the other Simon named,  
Amongst Galilean Zealots widely famed:  
There, whilst he at a Nuptial-Feast did dine  
When Wine they want, he Waters turns to Wine.  
Nor far from thence, by pleasant Naims Walls  
The mournful Widow's Son to Life recalls.  
Mean while the Baptist did to Virtue press  
His Voice, loud-sounding in the Wilderness:  
Censor of Vice, unblemished as severe,  
And as he none did fear, he none would spare:  
Even Life itself by far too dear he thought  
If with bare silence or mean Flattery bought:  
This honest Freedom and plain roughness pleased;  
Nor rarely wrought a Cure on Minds diseased:  

T●● Water made Wine at Cana of Galilee.   
Armed with Elijah's spirit and holy fire  
To his Acquaintance Royal Names aspire;  
Virtues they would not follow, forced t' admire!  
Among the rest so often Herod went  
And heard, 
Mark 6.20.  he grew almost a Penitent;  
With all besides one darling Vice did part,  
That kept its hold, still festering in his heart:  
Dishonourable Love, a lawless Flame,  
unnatural Crime, 
17, 18.  which Incests fouler name  
Disgraced; the Cause HERODIAS, fair, but vain,  
* Whose Lord did in poor Trachonitis reign,  
And wild Iturea, 
Luke 3.2. Vid. Joseph Antiqu.  from whose petty Court  
Where only bordering Arabs did resort  
Not long before Herod invites her down  
To fair Tiberias, 
Vid. Lib. 1.  his own stately Town:  
Until his Brother from the Wars returned,  
Who, while she him at home half Widowed, mourned  
* Through stony Fields, and Woods of fatal Yew,  
Did Bands of roving Ishmaelites pursue:  
Arrived, her Beauties all the Court surprise,  
Her Brother most, who feasts his wandering Eyes  
On her forbidden Face, thence soon takes fire,  
His careless Breast soon glows with loose desire:  
All Arts on her weak Sex, prevail he tried,  
Flatters her Vanity, and feeds her Pride:  
Now does he stately Masks and Balls provide,  
With Music's melting Charms, and now apply  
The powerful Bait of Courtly Luxury:  
Her in his Royal Barge would sometimes take,  
And splendid treat, upon the neighbouring Lake;  
Now her convey to proud Caperna'ms Walls 
See Lib. 1.   
Where, through broad Arches jordan headlong falls:  
To ancient Cinn'roth, 
See Lib. 1st.  or Bethsaida fair  
To hunt or walk in lonely Deserts there;  
Oft would he gaze, and with a sudden sigh  
As often— Ah! too happy Philip! cry!  
Why should his envious ragged Walls confine  
A Treasure ought in Cesar's Court to shine?  
Are these the richest Robes he can provide  
For such a Queen? This all Iturea's pride?  
Trample 'em sordid in the dust, and see  
If ought Tiberias has more worthy Thee!  
Then, costly Babylonian Robes he brings, *  
And Tyrian Silks, that cloth and ransom Kings:  
All honoured to be touched by her fair hand,  
Who Salem and Sebaste might command;  
In both his Royal Palaces did stand;  
The worst of both to Philip's she'd prefer *  
And both were hers, tho' both unworthy her.  
These Presents she receives, and more than these  
Without a Frown,— Sure 'twas no sin to please!  
With well-known Art repelled, yet did invite,  
— And wishes she his bounty could requite.  
But soon recalls that Wish— she had forgot  
That Herod was her Brother— Think me not,  
He trembling cries, my Gratitude to show,  
I'd gladly give my Crown I were not so—  
— Or if I am—  
" Friendship so pure as mine, who can reprove?  
" Minds have no Sexes 'tis your Mind I love:  
Platonic all, her Honour he'll prefer  
TO his Life and Love, nor wrong his Queen or her.  
He'd only ask a wish, an hand, an eye:  
Favours for which 'twas worth the while to dye,  
And swears in these eternal Secrecy.  
— What bounds has lawless Love? Soon headlong hence  
They sunk to Sin, and thence to Impudence:  
Bewitched with wicked joy and stupid grown  
No measures kept: To all the Court 'tis known,  
Last to his Queen, whom he'll no longer own;  
Whose Father long his peaceful Sceptre swayed  
At fair Damascus, Zobah him obeyed, *  
Him Arams fields, and those wild Troops which strayed  
Through Geshur's Realm, for Pastures ever green *  
Renowned, and the wide wandering Hagarene: *  
To him enraged with loud Complaints she fled  
Against the Rival of her Crown and Bed;  
Her and her faithless Lord with mortal Hate  
She prosecutes, and urges on their Fate;  
Whilst her old Father, youthful Anger warms  
Who for Revenge his fierce Arabians arms.  
Herod's lewd Court's all silent, or approve  
With wicked flattery their Prince's love;  
Till to the Baptist brought by babbling Fame,  
Whom Zeal to injured Virtue did inflame;  
Inspired with that, he from the Deserts came;  
Thence to the Court his steps directly bend,  
The opening Crowd bowed lowly as he went;  
He passed the Guards; struck with religious fear  
None durst oppose his way; approaching near  
Through every Gate and Antichamber past  
Preventing his own Fame, arrived at last  
To the retired Alcove; he thither pressed,  
Sees the false Charmer negligently dressed,  
Sees the luxurious King lean loosely on her Breast.  
Fierce Herod rose at the unwonted Noise,  
And hasty asks with a death-threat'ning Voice  
And Eyes all flame, what bold Intruder he  
Who dared invade his Prince's privacy,  
And rush on certain Fate?— Nay rather tell  
How dares a bold Adulterer rush on Hell, 
18.   
The Baptist firm replies.— No sooner saw  
The guilty King, but struck with trembling awe  
Silent he stood confused, his Queen the same,  
With anger pale by turns, and red with shame:  
So strange a power undaunted Virtue brings,  
Daring even Beauty's self and conquering Kings:  
Hard was the struggle.— Now his nobler Part,  
His Reason ruled, and from his Royal Heart  
Drew sighs of Penitence, Abortive sighs;  
Nor sooner were his Tempter's charming Eyes  
Bend on him, but again he doubtful stood;  
Which that cursed Spirit, eternal Foe to Good  
Perceiving, found 'twas time himself t' engage,  
Inspiring Him with Lust, and Her with Rage:  
Silent the King, thus haughty Herodias said—  
— Bold Priest— this Insolence shall cost thy Head,  
Is't not enough, hast thou not cheated well  
Who canst the Vulgar scare with Tales of Hell?  
Let them drudge on, dull Virtues Laws obey,  
But Princes find to Heaven an easier way.  
Guards, drag him hence, and him t' his Fate convey.  
The King arose, with the vexed Fair debates  
And her imperious Sentence mitigates:  
His ent'ring Guards the Prisoner bids secure  

17.  And him in strong Macherus walls immure:  
Fain each brave Warrior would himself excuse,  
And had they dared, th' ungrateful Task refuse;  
Feign, for the fearless Prisoner intercede,  
Who looks secure of Fate, and bids 'em lead.  
Where e'er commanded by the Tyrant, they  
With much regret and slowly, at last obey.  
Nor after long, as chanced, the festal day  
Of Herod's Birth arrived, at regal Boards,  

21.  As Custom called, his Captains and his Lords  
And all his High Estates invited Dine:  
The splendid Feast well over, in generous Wine  
Concluded, Royal Music finished all,  
" Treating their noble Fancies at a Ball:  
One Daughter, e'er from him Herodias fled  
Had blest the injured Tetrarches nuptial Bed;  
Too plain in her the World her Mother spies,  
The same fair Face and false deluding Eyes;  
Like her, of Slaves she had a mighty band,  
And could like her, Smiles, Tears and Oaths command;  
Like her, sweet Poison from her Eyes and Tongue  
Distilled; she like an Angel moved and sung.  
Some soft Arabian Tune the Music play,  

22.  She at the signal glides as soft away;  
Her feet as nimbly as their fingers move,  
From all that saw, she Wonder, forced or Love.  
The King extravagantly pleased, and proud  
As she herself to hear th' applauses loud  
So justly on her thrown from every side,  

23.  Ask, by th' unutterable Name, he cried,  
Ask what thou wilt, nor shall thou be denied,  
Thou half my Kingdom were the mighty Boon.  
Instructed by her Mother, but too soon  
She claims his Royal Word, Nor ought, she said,  

24.25.  Aught would she accept, besides the Baptist's Head.  
He struck the Board— Rather than that should fall 
26.   
Take, cruel Maid! not only half but all  
My Realms, he cried; If you'll my Words release,  
And leave the Holy Man to die in peace!  
Inexorable wicked still she stood,  
Nothing could quench her Thirsty, but guiltless Blood.  
The Council different suffrages divide,  
Some Love engaged, fair Murderess! on thy side;  
Some pure Revenge— He at the Court did rail;  
Some hers, because they thought she would prevail.  
A generous few there were, who tho' he'd sworn,  
His Oath unlawful thought, but overborn  
Are lost i'th' Crowd— The King himself gives way,  
And bids his Guards the Damsels word obey.  
Scarce with long search they found a Villain, who  
Was black enough the horrid work to do;  
Whom from the Dungeon when the Baptist spied,  
Warned he that moment must for Death provide,  
Long since that business is dispatched he cried,  
That I was mortal born, I ever knew;  
And since this Debts from all to Nature due,  
The sooner paid the better, gladly I  
In God's fair Cause, and injured Virtue's die:  
Nor if o'th' Edge of Life our Souls can see  
Within the Realms of dark Futurity,  
Shall long my guiltless blood unpunished be.  
I see th' Arabians from their Quivers pour  
O'er Galilee a dusky deadly shower;  
I see— The ugly Headsman will afford  
No longer time, his unrelenting Sword  
Soon stopped his breath, an easy way it found;  
And Blood and Life at once gushed from the ghastly wound.  
His Head they to the Feast in triumph bear, 
27, 28.   
With joy received by false Herodias there;  
Who, lest they should delude her Cruelty,  
Wipes his man bloody Face, and cries 'Tis he!  
Now saucy Censures at thy betters fling!  
Now, if thou canst, preach on, and scorn a King!  
Short-lived her wicked joys base triumphs were,  
For in the midst a panting Messenger  
With dust all covered, Terror and surprise  
And haste and danger in his Face and Eyes,  
Through the thick Circle pale and bloodless springs,  
And from the Borders dismal Tidings brings;  
That Aretas with his Arabian bands  
Passage obtained through wronged Iturea's Lands,  
Jordan's small streams had near Caesarea passed,  
And all the higher Galilee laid waste  
With Fire and Sword; to whom strong Abel's Town  
Their Gates had opened, marching Conqueror down  
Through old Zaanaims' Grove to Kedesh near,  
Which with high Ramah, struck with panic fear  
Prepared to yield— Thou Gild in Herod's Eyes  
Fear in his Face, to Arms, To Arms, he cries?  
With speed the bold Invader meet, before  
He march too far, his Troops shall rove no more!  
His Forces then from proud Sebaste draws,  
And strong Macherus, which th' Arabian awes  
Wide-wandring through Baara's distant Vale; *  
From Carmel's Mount and Hermon's fruitful Dale:  
With his own Troops his powerful Treasure brings  

Vid. joseph. Antiq.  Of Ishmael's Race, Auxiliary Kings  
From Jordan's Eastern side, and now could boast  
Had Heaven stood still, a formidable Host:  
Even Heaven itself to bribe t' his side he'll try  
By unbecoming awkward Piety;  
By mighty Gifts he to the Temple sent,  
And more than all— he promised he'd repent.  
In hast a Corier to the Prison sends,  

29.  The Baptist's body to his mourning Friends  
He bids be straight delivered, him t' inter;  
And he with Tears would wash his Sepulchre:  
Through the thin Vizard all with ease perceived,  
His penitence, nor Earth, nor Heaven believed;  
Loaden with Curses to the Field he went  
But more with guiltless blood— You know th' event!  
His swift Retreat, his numerous Army broke,  
The Day and Honour lost without a stroke.  
All this did babbling Fame t' our Lord convey  
Who with his Twelve at rich Caperna'm lay,  
While the great Baptist his Disciples mourned,  
Till Herod, furious to the Court returned;  
Then with wise Caution, no unworthy Fear,  
Seeks a more safe Retreat in Deserts, near  
Bethsaida's wealth Villa, where before *  
He did, in Heavenly Wisdoms sacred Lore,  
Instruct his Auditors— Thither he went  
With his loved few, and the calm Moment's spent,  
In thoughts of that great Work to which designed,  
And all the wondrous Things were yet behind.   
The End of the Fourth Book.   

NOTES ON The LIFE of CHRIST. BOOK IU.  
1. 'TIS pleasant when the rugged Storm is over.] The Hint was taken from that of Lucretius,— Suave mari magno turbantibus aequora ventis, etc. And though my Thought want of the Finess of his, I think it has also lesle Ill-nature.  
52. Hail, Son of God announced, confessed, approved!] I was so well pleased with the Song of the Angels in Milton, on the same occasion, that I had a desire to try what I could do in that sort of Verse▪ though I have but one Precedent of introducing Blank Verse into a Poem composed of Rhimes, and that is in the famous Art of Poetry, done by a Person of Quality in our own Language, and how I've succeeded in't must be left to the Reader.  
111. Hell's Principality thou shalt destroy.] So Mr. Mede interprets the Seed of the Woman's Bruising the Serpent's head; where he adds a pretty Observation of a certain Author, That there's not only a certain Impression of Fear on the Serpent, at the sight of a Man, which makes him run away, unless forced to fight for his Life, which he does with a particular Care of his Head; but which is more remarkable, that a naked Man frights him much more than one that's clothed, as if he still retained some Idea of his first Enemy.  
167. An easy Hill there is, whence looking down, Tiberias here, there Fair Bethsaida 's Town, etc.] Some place this Mount of the Beatitudes between Tiberias and Bethsaida: others East of Bethsaida, nearer Capernaum. Tradition agrees with the former Opinion, the People of the Country showing to this day a little Hill thereabouts, which they call Our Lord's Table; and which the Pilgrim, who saw it, says, is neither very large nor very high. And this Opinion I choose to follow.  
178. Equally ignorant and innocent.] Undoubtedly our Saviour might have chosen his Apostles all learned Men; but he had great and wise Ends to the contrary, namely, to humble the Pride of Man, and convince him that neither Birth, Learning, nor any other external Advantage, are so acceptable to him as Virtue and Innocence. And besides, to obviate such Objections as he well knew would, in after Ages, be made against his Religion; since 'twas an impossible thing for such simple and illiterate Men, as his Apostles, to compose so excellent a System both of speculative and moral Truths; nor could they have them any where but from Heaven.  
185. Thence Philip, who Nathanael did invite.] It's generally thought Bartholomew and Nathanael were the same; there's little to be said for't, and nothing against it. However Nathanael had the more treatable Sound, for which Reason I rather chose it.  
187. Matthew, who freely did the World forsake.] Levi and Matthew the Publicans, are generally thought the same.  
189.— The lesser James— Who justly honourable Kindred claims— With our loved Lord.] He's called james the Lesle, as is conjectured, from his Stature; and the Brother of our Lord, Gal. 1.19. because his Kinsman after the Jewish Idiom.  
214. Hear Fathers, part of what he then expressed.] I can't say I've wrought in every particular Passage of this best of Sermons, as 'tis left us entire in fifth, sixth, and seventh of S. Matthew, and some Fragments in others of the Evangelists, being a complete Summary of our Saviour's Law, at least, as far as practical Truths. But I think I've not omitted many things remarkable in my Paraphrase upon it, endeavouring to give, as near as possible, the utmost and largest Import of every Expression in the particular Beatitudes; under each of which I've ranked what seemed reducible to it in the following Verses and Chapters, adding the contrary Woes, from St. Luke's Gospel.  
217. Still search for Happiness.] 'Tis obvious to observe, as Grotius and others upon the Place, that our Saviour begins his Discipline with the Search after true Happiness; going higher than any Philosopher ever did before him, not fixing it in any worldly Enjoyments, Pleasure, Riches, Honour, etc. but rather in a Contempt or Indifference for them; nay even in the Want of them, in Poverty, Infamy, etc. if God's Providence think such Circumstances best for us; all which trifling Inconveniences, he asserts were so far from being Impediments to a good Man's felicity, that he carries his Followers even beyond the Indolence of the Stoics, bidding 'em exult and rejoice under 'em, on consideration of the divine support in this Life, and eternal Retribution in a better; and this he asserts in several Paradoxes directly opposite to the generally received Sentiments concerning Happiness.  
220. There are who think their Bliss fast locked, they hold, etc.] The most generally received Notion of Happiness is, that it consists in Riches, the contrary to which is proved, both from the Baseness of such an Opinion, and by applying several Properties of the Summum Bonum, none of which agree with 'em: Certainty, the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or having it in our own Power: Durableness and Desireableness for themselves and no other further good. 'Tis therefore rather fixed in Poverty; the sense of which none has given better and closer than our own incomparable Hammond, who thus in his Paraphrase, Blessed are they, that, how high soever their condition is in this World, are yet in Mind, Affection and Conversation, humble and lowly; and when they are in worldly Poverty, bear it willingly, and not only of necessity: for to such belongs a Kingdom, etc.  
241. Unwary Youth, which seldom chooses right, Rush hot and furious after vain delight.] The next common Mistake concerning true Happiness, is of those who place it in worldly Pleasure; which our Saviour obviates in his second Paradox and Beatitude, Blessed are those that mourn, for the meaning of which Mourning, vid Grot. in loc.  
263. Others, as vain, attempt their Names to raise, Their Lives employed in eager chase of Praise.] A third sort of Men expect their Happiness from worldly Fame, Honour, Praise, or things of that nature. These, if I mistake not, our Saviour opposes in his third Beatitude, Blessed are the meek. I know Grotius thinks the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the meek here mentioned, are opposed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as he says they are in Aristotle, to the Passionate and Angry: Others, that such are meant by them as are not covetous of Revenge, but by the Sweetness and Temper of their Minds endeavour to oblige all Men. And accordingly, De Dieu, that they are here opposed to the Proud, and signify no more than the Humble. However, if Meekness and Humility be here required, and the contrary Vices Pride and Revenge forbidden, the Causes and Effects of those Vices must be also included, and what can those be but an immoderate Desire of Fame, Praise, Glory, etc. Under which Head I've wrought in most of the Precepts in the following Verses, relating to Meekness. That of not calling our Brother Racha, (I think much of the same Import with our English Sirrah) in v. 283.  
Nor suffering in ill Language, etc.] An Elevation of the Christian Doctrine, as Dr. Hammond observes, far beyond the Heathen Theology; Homer introducing one of his Goddesses, nay Minerva herself, who should have had more Wisdom, encouraging Achilles to rail heartily at Agamemnon, though he was not to strike him, 
— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   
302. How few who any true concern will show, For aught but these vain perishing Goods below.] After removing these three former mistaken Notions of Happiness, our Saviour proceeds to establish a better, Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after Righteousness, etc. Who, as Spanheim explains it, being conscious of their own want of Righteousness, do most earnestly desire it. justice or Righteousness here mentioned, being, according to Grotius, A general, or Cardinal Virtue, implying all the rest, namely, whatsoever is grateful or acceptable to Almighty God. They shall be filled, they shall obtain what they pursue, says Hammond, and be satisfied in it. To this Beatitude is opposed the contrary Woe in S. Luke, Woe to you that are full, for you shall hunger. In the former Hunger and Thirst, Grotius and others think, is included, such a Desire after Piety and Virtue, as makes Men willingly or patiently undergo Hunger, Thirst, and all other Inconveniences, in order to obtain them. And under this Head I've inserted several of our Saviour's Lessons concerning Resignation and Contentment.  
360. Blessed is the Man, himself who truly knows, And Mercy, which he hopes, to others shows.] The Fifth Beatitude, Blessed are the merciful; which consists, as Walker explains it, in showing all Mercy and Compassion to our Neighbours in their Necessities; further explained ver. 44. and in chap. vi. 12, 14 and seven. 1, 12, etc.  
372. Traditions teach you, if your Bodies pure, etc.] The Sixth Beatitude, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. They, says Hammond, who defile not the Eye of their Soul, with worldly or fleshly Lusts: and as another, who do not only subdue evil Deeds but evil Desires. In opposition to the false Glosses of the Pharisees; who, it seems, taught their Followers, that if they abstained from outward Acts, they might think what Ill they pleased: and it's plain, josephus, who was a Pharisee, was of this Mind: and David Kimchi not only defends it, but wrists Scripture to that End. Now the Blessing promised to those who are thus pure in heart, by our Saviour, is, that they shall see God; not only by knowing his Will here, but in the Enjoyment of the Beatifical Vision, to all Eternity: as Spanheim, Br●gensis, and Walker, though I think the Old Man, last named, goes a little too far, when he says," Looking even upon a Man's own Wife, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, is a breach of this Purity of Heart, and will exclude out of Heaven.  
404. Are eager for an Hero's sounding Name.] The Seventh Beatitude is, Blessed are the Peacemakers;" which is placed, says one, in the Zeal on all occasions of" making and preserving Peace. First, negotiating the Peace of all men with God, which was the Apostles Employment. And Secondly, procuring by all means, the Peace of Men among themselves: for this reason putting up Affronts, and suffering Injuries. This Character and Employment, should, without doubt, belong eminently to the Governors and Doctors of the Church, who ought especially to be the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Light of the World, and Salt of the Earth, and to teach Men to keep God's Commands; but this not excluding private Christians. The Reward of these Peacemakers is, they shall be called [shall be] the Sons of God: like to God, says Hammond, as Children to a Parent; being already, as the Apostle says, Partakers of the Divine Nature: true Heroes or Sons of God; which Title was vainly affected by the great Men among the Heathen, and sought, not by Peace, but by War and Bloodshed.  
453. You first triumphant from the Dust shall rise.] There was a Notion, as Dr. Hammond, Dr. Sherlock, and others observe, generally received by the Primitive Christians, that the Martyrs, nay, some extended it as far as the Confessors and eminent Saints, should, immediately on their deaths, enjoy the Beatific Vision. But there was another Point also generally among 'em, concerning the same Persons, that they should rise before the rest of the Dead in the Day of judgement: whence that Suffrage in their ancient Liturgies, ut partem haberet in Resurrectione prima, for a part in the first Resurrection.  
468. When thus he them had thundered down from Heaven.] The Commandments were first spoken, and so are properly the Decalogue, or Ten-Words, after which they were written in the 2 Tables, first by God, and then by Moses; Deut. 5.22. I know not whether I ought to make any Apology for inserting here all the Commandments, which our Saviour does not; but considering he mentions them all in general, nay several in particular here, and most of the rest in other places; considering these things I say, there needs no great Poetical Licence for my bringing them in all together.  
472. Nor from heavens piercing Eye such Treason hope to hide.] Wherein I have given the sense of those words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or before me in this Command.  
473. By no resemblance vain, etc.] By the word resemblance I endeavour to express the force of the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which is so comprehensive, that all the Image-Worshippers in the World can never get clear on't; and there is no way of answering it, but by setting their Index Expurgatorius to work upon't, and razing it quite out of the Commands: Nor need we wonder they do so with the Words of good Men, when they begun with those of God himself.  
474. No hallowed Thing let thy bold Sacrilege profane.] The best Commentators conclude, that Sacrilege is forbidden in this Command; or the Violation of all holy Persons, Places, and Things, as well as the Tremendous Name of God, by a false or vain Attestation of it.  
480. Thy Parent and thy Prince, etc.] That Political and Ecclesiastical Parents, as well as Natural, our Governors in Church and State, are here included, as well as our Fathers and Mothers, I think all assert, who have written upon this Command: And 'tis observed, the Promise annexed to it, is repeated in the New Testament by the Apostle, as assuring the followers of Jesus, that the Obligation was not ceased either on God's part of ours: And I really believe that Blessing of long Life, on Obedience, seldom fails: I speak particularly as to Natural Parents. As well as all the rest, even Temporal Blessings, with which Providence does (according to the Observation of considering men) almost constantly favour the Piety of Obedient Children; whilst on the contrary the Impious Undutiful seldom or never escapes in this Life some Exemplary Severity from the Impatience of the Divine Justice.  
489. Each Sin in Thought abhor.] This seems to be one of those additional Explanations (if I may be permitted to use such a Phrase) which our Saviour made of the Old Law, contrary to the Doctrine of the Pharisees before mentioned.  
508. Since you a Form for your Direction need.] The Apostles did need a Form, otherwise they'd never have asked it, [" Lord, teach us to pray] or at least our Saviour would not have given it, who does nothing in Vain. For it's true enough, that those who are wiser or better than the Apostles, may do without it. That our Saviour gave the very words to his Disciples, and required them to make use of 'em in that very Form, Mr. Mede proves, I think unanswerably, in his excellent Works. Further, what Grotius affirms of this Prayer is very remarkable;" That the Form was not so much conceived in Christ's own Words, as compiled by him out of what was most laudable, out of the Old Euchologies or Liturgies of the jews; so far was he from any Affectation of unnecessary Novelty: Adding a curious Collection of all the particular Petitions, and most of the very words of that Prayer, from those old Forms of theirs. Nor sure, can any think the Rabbis would since have inserted 'em, had they not been there before. The Collection he gives is to this effect; Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name, O Lord our God, and thy memory Glorified, both in Earth below and Heaven above; (out of Sepher Zephillim, Lusitan. p. 115.) Thy Kingdom reign over us both now and for ever, (Sepher Hammustar. 49.1.) Forgive and pardon them that trespass against me, (Com. in Brike Avoth. 24.) Led us not into the hand of Temptation, but deliver us from Evil; (Sepher Hammustar. 9.12.) For thine is the Kingdom, and there shall reign gloriously for ever and ever. Amen. (Id. Ib.) And the same Observation has been made by our Lightfoot, Gregory, and others.  
514. Let thy dear Son his promised Empire gain.] To explain this, take a remarkable passage out of a Latin Catechism printed here in England in King Edward's time, for the Use of the Protestants. On the Explanation of this Petition, Thy Kingdom come, (the Author goes on in this manner); Adhue enim, etc. For yet we see not all things put under Christ. We see not how the Stone should be cut out of the Mountain without Hands which broke in pieces and reduced to nothing the Image described by Daniel. How Christ, who is the true Rock, should obtain and possess the Empire of the whole World, which is granted him by the Father, nor is Antichrist yet destroyed. Whence we yet desire and pray, that these things may in due time come to pass.  
519. But chiefly feast our Souls with food Divine.] Thomas they must have an excellent Art at Wiredrawing Consequences, who can prove Transubstantiation out of those words, even supposing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here should signify Supersubstantial; yet all grant, that under this humble Form, wherein we expressly beg for Bread only, are included all Necessaries for Soul and Body, the chief of which, our Saviour himself, or his blessed Assistance and Presence by his Holy Spirit, which was ignorantly desired by those who said, Lord evermore give us this Bread. [Christians alone in Name.] Indeed they were not then Christians so much as in Name, being first so called at Antioch, as the sacred Writings tell us. However 'tis but a common Prolepsis, like Virgil's Lavina Littora.  
578. Whose Lord did in poor Trachonitis Reign— And wild Iturea.] Herod the Great, as joseph. De Bell. jud. Lib. 1. in his last Will appointed Archelaus King in his room, Antipas Tetrarch, and Philip Lord of Trachonitis: Which Testament of his was thus altered by Augustus, (joseph, Lib. 2. Cap. 4.) Archelaus had half the Kingdom, with the Title of Ethnarch; his Dominion containing, judaea, Samaria, and Idumea: Herod Antipas was Tetrarch of Galilee; his Brother Philip of Batamea, Trachonitis, and Auranitis; the yearly Incom of all together, as josephus tells us, coming but to an Hundred Talents.  
585. Through stony Fields and Woods of fatal yew, Did Bands of roving Ishmaelites pursue.] Strabo gives an account of the wild and savage Temper of these Itureans, calling them by no better a Name than 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, either Rogues or Vipers, and describing those Parts full of Caves, Woods, and inaccessible Mountains, so infested with Robbers, that the Romans were forced to keep constant Guards there, for the security of the Country. They were, it seems, excellent Archers both in Iturea and Trachonitis; the Bows of the first being famous as far as Rome; whence that of Virgil,— I●ureos taxi torquentur in arcus. And josephus tells us, that Gratus the Roman General conquered the Thiefs that wasted judaea, by the help of the Bowmen of Trachon. Bell. jud. Lib. 2. Cap. 8. He also gives a pleasant account of this poor Prince Philip, That he used to have his Seat of justice carried about with him wherever he went; though he gives him withal such a Character as he could not his wealthier Brother: For he says, he was a just and honest Man.  
610. Then costly Babylonian Robes he brings.] These were accounted the richest wearing among the Eastern Nations, generally appropriated to Royal Persons; as Fuller in his Description of the jewish Garments. Hence Achan coveted the Babylonish Garment at the taking of jericho.  
614. Who Salem and Sebaste might command.] Herod had several noble Palaces, that at jerusalem near the Temple, another at Sebaste or Samaria. Joseph. Ant. jud. Lib. 15. Cap. 11.  
639.— At fair Damascus, Zobah him obeyed,— him Arams Fields, etc.] One Aretas, we are sure, was King of Damascus not long after our Saviour's time, who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. That one of the same Name (who was Herod's Father-in-Law,) was King of one of the Arabia's, josephus tells us; and that his Daughter fled from Herod to her Father, about the matter of Herodias; for which reason the Old angry King entered his Territories, and gave him Battle, wherein Herod was worsted, his Army forsaking him; which, the same Author adds, the People looked on as a Judgement on him, for his cruelty against the Baptist. All this is Fact; and I have, to mend the story, clapped two Kings into one, or given one a little larger Kingdom than the Map will allow him; 'tis now of no great Concern, nor I believe will any of the Princes thereabouts be angry at the lessening their Borders.  
693. And him in strong Machaerus Walls immure.] Some say S. john was Beheaded in Machaerus, others in Sebaste. josephus seems to be for the former, in his Antiquities, Lib. 1. Cap. 10. Concerning which, honest Ludolfus tells a right wonderful Story; That Herodias caused S. John's Head to be brought to jerusalem, and cautiously Buried there, near the Palace of Herod, being afraid lest the Prophet should rise again, if his Head and Body should have been buried together▪ All the Questions, how this Passage came to be known, which could come out by no lesle than 〈◊〉 Inspiration? and for it seems it 〈◊〉 for he goes on," This Head was afterwards found by the Monks, to whom the Blessed Baptist appeared, and revealed the place where they had buried it.  
724. Thomas half my Kingdom were the mighty Boon.] So those poor Proselytes affected to Talk, apeing the Magnificence of the old Eastern Kings. And because Ahasuerus thus complimented Hester, Herod must say the same to the Daughter of Herodias, though his whole Kingdom, I suppose hardly as large as one of the others, Twelve Hundred and Seven and Twenty Provinces; his whole Ann●al Revenue, as Ioseph●● tells us, amounting but to 200 Talents.  
776.— Strong Abel 's Town.] Abel-Bethmaacha was a strong Town near the North Borders of Galilee, into which Sheba threw himself when pursued by David's Army.  
786. Wide wand'ring through Baaras' distant Valerius] josephus says, Herod kept a strong Garrison in Machaerus to bridle the Arabians; just against which was the famous Valley of Baaras, for the Wonders of which, that Historian has been so much Talked of.  
812. Bethsaida 's wealth Villa.] 'Tis sometimes called a Village, at others a Town or City, though if only a Village, large enough, according to josephus, who says, every Village in Galilee, even the least of them, contained 15000 Inhabitants; (but sure there must be some mistake in the number). This Bethsaida he says, was for the pleasantness of it, erected into a City, and called julias': But let it be then what it would, our Saviour's woe is now accomplished against it, and 'tis reduced to its first Original, a Lodge in the Wilderness; nothing thereof now remaining, as Travellers tell us, besides 7 or 8 scattered Cottages, which scarce deserve the Name of Houses.   

THE ARGUMENT OF THE Fifth BOOK.  
THE Apostle proceeds and relates the Miracle of the Loaves, at which the Multitude surprised, would again have forced our Saviour to accept of the Kingdom; but he retires from them, and continues all Night praying in one of the Proseuchaes or Oratories of the jews, having sent his Disciples cross the Lake towards Capernaum; whom he overtakes, walking on the Sea, before it was Day; the Disciples being affrighted, till knowing his Voice, St. Peter leaves the Ship and goes towards him, who, when ready to sink, supports him, and entering the Ship, they immediately land between Bethsaida and Capernaum; to the latter of which our Saviour goes with his Disciples, being followed by the Multitude, more for Interest than Devotion. His Sermon to them, in the Synagogue, on that Subject, and Discourse concerning eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood, at which, the jews being offended, many of his Followers forsake him; and upon his Apostles Protestation of Fidelity, he prophesies that one of them should betray him. He cures the Son of Chuza, Herod's Steward, when desperately ill of a Fever, on which he himself, who had before been an Herodian, became his Follower, with all his House. The Miracle of the Centurion's Servant, Simon's Wife's-Mother, and the Paralytic, at Capernaum; and that on Blind Bartimaeus, at Jericho. Going up to Jerusalem, he cures one that was born Blind, curses the Figtree; the first time purges the Temple of Buyers and Sellers, and cures the infirm Man, at the Pool of Bethesda. The Apostle next recites several of his Parables, that of the wicked Judge, and importunate Widow, the cruel Servant, the rich Miser, the Pharisee and Publican, and, more at large, that of the Prodigal Son; which newly finished, Chuza, who was an Acquaintant of Gamaliel's being in Town against the Passover, comes to his House, brings his Friend the Centurion with him; where finding St. John and the other Disciples, whom he had formerly seen in Galilee, he desires a fuller account of the Mysteries of the Christian Faith, and the Person of our Saviour. This the beloved Disciple agrees to give him. Whose Preparations for it conclude the Fifth Book.  

  
THE LIFE OF CHRIST: AN Heroic Poem. BOOK V.  
THUS far, attended, and pleased the Fathers hear,  
Nor any signs of weariness appear;  
Thou half the day was past, and Sol had driven  
His flaming Coursers to the top of Heaven:  
Th' Apostle paused, his Hearers could not stay  
But urge him on, impatient of delay;  
What yet behind more earnest press to tell,  
Nay not t' omit one Word or Miracle:  
Who thus proceeds— Nor long our Lord concealed  
Lay there, even more by his Retreat revealed;  
As the Sun's Face is with more Eyes surveyed,  
When veiled in an Eclipses dusky shade:  
Where he himself and his loved Twelve reposed  
Some Shepherds to the neighbouring Towns disclosed, *  
They flock by Thousands and the Saviour found,  
As him the Twelve, they them encompass round:  
Where on an easy Hillock raised he taught,  
At once instructs, and cures who e'er were brought: *  
With him the Multitude unwearyed stay  
Till length'ning shadows showed declining day.  

Matt. 14.16. Luke 9.13. John 6.  When the Disciples hastened them away  
From the wild Desert, where with Hunger pressed  
And Travel tired, they'd neither Food nor Rest:  
Compassionate our Saviour casts his Eyes  
Amidst th' expecting Crowd, and thus replies:  
And shall we so unhospitably use  
Our Guests? a short Refreshment them refuse?  
Whom if the Night and Hunger joined oppress,  
They'll faint and perish in the Wilderness?  
Rather let's all our own small Stores impart,  
Presented with a cheerful face and heart.  
When frugal Philip and wise Andrew cried,  
Whence shall we Bread for such vast Crowds provide?  
Five Loaves our stock, to which we chanced to take  
Two Fishes, lately angling on the Lake.  
Give what you have out of your narrow store  
Our Lord, rejoins, nor I, nor Heaven ask more:  
Be't yours t' invite and place the Company,  
Dispose of them, and leave the rest to me.  
This with his wont Majesty he said,  
And they with faith and wonder mixed obeyed:  
Five Thousand Souls tho' we unreckoned pass  
The weaker Sex and Age, upon the Grass,  
Which plenteous flourished there, discumbent laid  
For their great Benefactor's bounty stayed:  
Whom whilst half-fainting him intent they eyed,  
We in a hundred different Troops divide: *  
Then in those glorious Hands the Food he takes  
By which what e'er he please, what e'er he please he makes; *  
His hands and eyes at once to Heaven he raised  
From whence all good, and the great Giver praised:  
Then blest, and broke, and gave— A strange surprise  
Seized all, nor could we trust our hands or eyes  
Till taste assisted— we from him receive  
And to th' astonished Crowd around us give  
* Both Fish and Bread, a welcome humble Treat,  
* Each wondering Guest with Thanks and Praises Eat:  
Still unexhausted our miraculous store,  
Till all the Company sufficed give over;  
When, as he bids, what still amazed us more,  
Gathering the broken relics of the Feast,  
We saw the Wonder like the Loaves increased:  
Twelve empty Baskets in the Vessel lay  
Wherein we Fish from place to place convey: *  
For these t' our Mates on Shipboard left we call,  
And with the wondrous Fragments filled 'em all:  
Loud shouts the People gave which shook the Ground,  
Tabor and Carmel's distant hills resound:  
In grateful Songs spread the soft Sex his Fame,  
" And teach their stammering Babes to lisp his Name:  
The Men in frequent knots together crowd,  
First whispering, murmuring then, then speak aloud:  
The Heathen Yoke why should they longer wear,  
Proud Herod and th' insulting Romans bear,  
When Heaven had sent 'em a Deliverer;  
Who all their Wounds could cure, their Wants supply,  
Nay even their Lives restore, if in his Cause they die?  
Greater than Moses' self, by him foretold,  
And all the holy Messengers of old:  
That Greatness whence he learned a Crown to scorn  
Declares he for a Crown was only born:  
We've Force enough, a greater Army we  
* Than joined at Modin the brave Maccabee:  
No longer his injurious modesty  
Let's suffer thus to hide his worth in vain,  
And thus defraud all Israel of his reign.  
First for Tiberias under him we'll go,  
Samaria next our Prince's power shall know;  
And next jerusalem, where stronger grown,  
We'll fix him on his Father David's Throne:  
Wrought to the height they Palms and Garments bring,  
Hail promised Prince they cried, hail Israel's King!  
Their dangerous kindness quickly drives him thence,  
Against a Crown, Flight's only his defence:  
Of this far more than all his Foes, afraid;  
By hastening night at once, and the thick shade  
Favoured, he scaped, and did himself convey  
TO a place remote where oft he used to pray; *  
Walled on the sides, as custom is, to yield  
A shelter from wild Beasts that range the field:  
Wide ope' to Heaven, unless by chance 'twas found  
With pleasant Trees, like some fair Arbour crowned,  
By pious Industry thick planted round:  
Here stayed alone, till night began to wear, *  
In Meditation, holy Hymns and Prayer:  
Mean while the chosen Twelve at his Command  
Directly steer for rich Capern'um's Land,  
Where with Bethsaida's pleasant Coasts 'tis joined.  
Long had we roved and beaten it in the Wind,  
But yet with all our labour made no way;  
And now shrill Cocks foretold th' approach of day *  
Which glad we heard, tho' yet no beam of light;  
All Sea-marks hid in the tempestuous night:  
Still wrought the Waves, the Bark so rudely tossed,  
Our Lord not there, we gave ourselves for lost:  
The Mast came close by th' Board, the Helm was gone;  
An useless hulk we lay, and sloated on,  
As the Waves pleased, 'twas vain we thought to strive,  
Nor could two Glasses more expect to live: *  
Some Rafts, and Board's provide, some ready stand  
To quit the Ship and try to reach the Land;  
Then of each other our last farewell take;  
— When sudden, thus concerned, Barjonas spoke;  
Or my Eyes fail me, Mates! or on the Lake  
Something approaching to the Ship I see:  
We looked, and all in the same thoughts agree.  
Forward it moved, in human Form appeared,  
Till with us close came up; anew we feared  
Some danger worse than death— still nearer viewed  
Some horrid Spectre 'tis, we all conclude;  
Which when we at the very Poop perceive,  
We with loud Shrieks prepare the Ship to leave;  
While crowding to the Stern in hast we fled  
Distinct th' Appearance spoke, and thus it said:  
—" Courage my Friends! me still at need you'll find!  
" 'Tis I myself— Give these vain fears to th' Wind.  
The dear loved Voice we heard 'twixt hope and fear,  
Yet hardly durst believe our help so near:  
When Cephas thus, if Lord thy Voice it be  
Again let's hear, and bid me come to thee!  
Again he spoke, whilst rapt in joy we stand,  
And mild, invites him with his Voice and Hand!  
Away he springs on the wide watery field,  
Solid as Rocks the Waves refused to yield:  
With daring feet through paths unknown he goes,  
And rises as the rolling Surges rose:  
But when he saw the surly Ocean frown,  
The hollow hanging Waves look lowering down,  
He in a dreadful Vale, the Seas and Night  
Conjoined to intercept our Saviour's sight;  
The Storm more fierce, the Winds obstruct his race,  
And dash the twisted foam against his Face;  
Surprised with fear he felt the slipp'ry Wave  
Sink underneath, and cried— O Master save!  
He heard, and did his want of Faith upbraid:  
He heard and saved, but asks him, Why afraid?  
Whence he so soon could so forgetful prove,  
And whether he distrusts his Power or Love?  
Then to the Ship received—  
We knew him all, and all our Lord adore,  
And the next moment safely reached the shore:  
* Nor long upon the sounding Beach we walked  
And of the various fears and dangers talked  
That dreadful night escaped, e'er welcome day  
* Did over sweet Hermon's Hill its beams display:  
To meet the Sun on a warm sandy Bed  
Fronting to East our Nets and clothes we spread;  
These quickly dried, thence to Capernaum went,  
To whose fair walls his steps our Saviour bend:  
But e'er we reached the Town, as back we threw  
Our wandering Eyes the pleasant Lake to view,  

John 6.23.  We saw the Western side thick covered o'er  
With Ships and Men, we saw the clustered shore  
Grow thinner by degrees, till black no more  
It's Face appeared, but a fair prospect yields;  
Here ragged Rocks and Sands, there verdant Fields;  
Whilst the green Sea as late the crowded strand  
Is blackened o'er like some well-wooded Land:  
So when their way a flight of Locusts takes  
From Lubims' wild and Chelonidian Lakes; *  
While Mizraim's Sons their sacred Ox implore  
And trembling see the Plague wide hovering o'er;  
So when the Westwind clears their reedy Shore, *  
Their Fields does of their straggling Squadrons sweep,  
Precipitating in the Arabian deep; *  
So looks the Gulf, when they a period find find  
To their long Voy'ge, and driven by the Wind  
Almost from Shore to Shore, their Bodies spread,  
Changing the Sea to black which once was red:  
So looked the Lake, when from the distant side  
Under a gentle Gale their Oars they plied,  
The Wind vered round to West, at once they sweep  
With equal numerous strokes the angry deep;  
At once their secret liquid way they find,  
And leave alike long closing paths behind;  
At once their Vessels cut the yielding Sand,  

John 6.24.  They at Chorazin or Caperna'm land:  
Where soon surprised, our Lord again they found,  
For well they knew he could not coast it round  
By Land through fair Bethsaida's bending Shore,  
Nor Boat, with winged Sail, or Fin-like Oar  
To waft him cross, his own put off before.  

25.  Solicitous they ask him, when and how  
He thither came; who with a steady brow  
Thus answers them severe," If I should tell  
This would no more than the last Miracle  
Convince your unbelief— Too well I see  

26.  You rather seek the wondrous Loaves than me:  
Fond Men! employ not thus your fruitless pain  
The miscalled Goods of this false World to gain!  
Why so much toil and care for per'shing meat,  
And why no more for what th' Immortals eat? 
7, 2.   
With this I all my faithful Followers cheer,  
To scatter this my Father sent me here,  
And seal's with Miracles; this you'll receive  
If you his words obey, and mine believe.  
The indocil Crowd more Wonders still desire,  
New Signs from Heaven, yet more august and higher:  
Nothing but Manna pleases, that they fain  
Would taste, 
Num. 11.6.  their stiffnecked Fathers did disdain:  
* For Angel's Food they long, to gratify  
Their curious, yet their lazy Luxury:  
How gladly he had their Messia been  
T' have saved 'em from their work, tho' not their Sin!  
For this the Empire of the World to gain  
That they in solid sloth might ever reign:  
Not so our Lord, who Labour recommends,  
And but th' industrious, none esteems his Friends:  
Nor would more Wonders work, lest if they grow  
Too cheap and mean, they should no more be so:  
But tells 'em, 
John 6.32.  'twas not Moses did bestow  
That Manna, which they did from Heaven receive,  
Nor was even that the best that Heaven could give:  
It's choicest Fare had Virtues far more high,  
Virtues which those who taste can never die.  
That Bread they fain would have, That Bread am I,  
Rejoins our Lord, 
33, 35.  tho' not as you desire;  
I not the Body, but the Mind inspire  
With Strength Celestial, Vigour all Divine,  
To do my Father's Will, 
38.  and his is mine:  
Whom thus I'll guard till Life's sad Scene be o'er,  
Nor shall they ever thirst or hunger more:  
Who e'er my Father sends, 
37.  by the sure Sign  
* Of a good Faith and Life distinguished mine;  
These with his Grace and Holy Spirit endu ',  
(Man's bad is all his own, heavens all his good;)  
These I'll receive, none e'er repelled shall be,  
Who leave the World and Sin and come to me:  
Yes, those who to my sacred Laws incline,  
And keep sincere, for only those are mine;  
Nor Earth's weak force, nor Hell's infernal bands  

39  Shall snatch or wrist from my tenacious hands:  
Them will I guard and keep in secret there  
Until the last great Day, then with me bear  
To judge the World unjust and doom to pain,  

40.  Then by my side in endless Glory reign.  
These new uncommon Truths still more amuse,  
More harden still th' already hardened jews:  
Him for low Birth and high pretence they scorn,  
What— Was he not a Galilean born  
In little nazareth? Know we not, they cry  
His humble Parents, can he them deny?  
joseph the Carpenter— HE has oft worked here; *  
His Mother Mary— his Relations near 
43.   
On either side— How can it ever be?  
Did these too come from Heaven as well as he?  
Our Saviour thus— if this you not receive  
How will ye yet far stranger Truths believe?  
Murmur no more in vain— Again, I say,  
'Tis I, I only am to Heaven the way;  
My Flesh such Bread, who tastes it never dies:  

57, 53.  My Body an unblemished Sacrifice  
To my great Father's pleasure I resign,  
My Blood effused at large, the only Wine  
Can cheer your Souls; unless you these obtain  
Your hope of Immortality 's in vain.  

John 3.13.  Seems this so strange that I from Heaven came down  
Stripped from my Robes of Light and starry Crown?  

John 6.61, 62.  What Admiration would possess you then  
If through the Air you see me mount again?  
If Angels you my Ministers should find  

Acts 1.911.  A Cloud my Chariot, and my Wings the Wind?  
O hard of heart! Yet won't you understand  
What I reveal, nor do what I command?  
Your gross, your carnal minds immersed in Love  
Of this low World, unfit for that above-:  

John 6.63.  A hidden secret Sense my words imply,  
Those who believe my words shall never die.  
Nor this can their false prejudice prevent  
Murmuring, the giddy Crowd from Jesus went;  
Reproved and disappointed leave the Shore  
In shoals as thick as they arrived before: 
66.   
Almost alone himself our Lord did find  
And none besides his chosen Twelve behind;  
Then with a sigh which not from Pride did flow  
But Pity, mildly asks— Will you too go?  
When servant Cephas thus, who scarce could bear  
So hard a thought— To whom dear Lord, or where?  
Thou, endless Life on those who thee implore  
Bestowest, and is there any can give more?  
We know thou must the true Messiah be,  
Our Hopes, our Souls, are all reposed on thee.  
Again with Sighs he did his sorrow show,  
More you, he says, than you your selves I know:  
* Your Folly, and your Frailty I surveyed,  
Your deepest thoughts as light and clear as day:  

70, 71.  I know the wretch who will his Lord betray;  
One of the Twelve I from the World did choose  
T' obey my Father, thence my Life I loose:  
* Soon will he with base Slanders me accuse,  
Soon will the Fiend himself, a dreadful Guest  
Seize for his own his avaricious breast.  
We all with just concern and horror hear,  
Each eyed the next, but for himself did fear:  
* Why should I strive to mention what in thought  
I scarce could tract, each mighty Wonder wrought,  
While in Caperna'ms fruitful Coasts he stayed?  
What crowds of Fiends his dread Commands obeyed?  
What crowds of Men by Physics feebler aid  
Left desperate, by their Friends and selves given o'er,  
His healing touch or powerful Word restore?  
With these, as oft as he occasion saw,  
His perfect Doctrine mixed and sacred Law:  
Sometimes unveiled relates, and sometimes tells  
In moving Schemes and lively Parables:  
Now does some ancient Prophecy explain,  
And blames the hardness of their hearts in vain:  
Then a false gloss from some true Text remove,  
And teach the People what to hate and love.  
All must not pass untold and some expressed,  
You'll easier form a Notion of the rest.  
As chanced, (with us 'twas Chance, with him Design)  
Where at the Feast he Water changed to Wine  
Returning from the Pasch a while we stayed  
Nor there we long our Residence had made  
E'er thither posting from Capern'um came  
A rich and powerful Lord, Chuza his Name; 
John 4.36.   
Herod's high Steward he, and did beside  
O'er all the upper Galilee preside,  
Who when Youth spurred to pleasure and excess  
Himself did of th' Herodian Sect profess▪ *  
Worse even than Sadduces, tho' near the same;  
Virtue they only thought an empty Name;  
All Good and Bad designing Statesmens' Rules,  
And Heaven and Hell but Tales to frighten fools:  
What wonder then, if madly they employ  
Their thoughtless hours in lewd voluptuous joy?  
If each some new delight each day contrives  
And to their Genius sacrifice their Lives?  
Among the rest too long young Chuza stayed  
In the luxurious Court, too long betrayed  
By Vices wiles, and Pleasures flattering Charms,  
Who clasped him close in their soft treacherous Arms.  
Till riper years the dangerous Cheat revealed  
And Judgement showed what Passion had concealed:  
To Business now, e'er 'twas too late, grown wise,  
Once his Aversion, he himself applies:  
One secret Cause which with success did move  
To such a happy Chance was virtuous Love:  
The bright joanna she that caused his Flame,  
Who even in such a Court preserved her Fame:  
Almost her looks with Virtue them inspired  
Her Mind and Lovely Form alike admired:  
Of a just stature and Majestic mien,  
With sweetness, in the great, but rarely seen:  
She like an Angel looked, and lived, and sung;  
Virtue that filled her Breast inspired her tongue:  
Her oft with transport had young Chuza eyed,  
Wellborn and Fair, without one spark of pride:  
He saw and loved, and won her for his Bride;  
With wise Susanna then, whose pious care  
Had formed her tender Mind, did soon prepare  
His Treasure from the dangerous Court to bear:  
So her desire; and sought a blessed retreat  
At his Hereditary Country Seat,  
Near fair Capern'ums Walls; nor long they went,  
E'er Heaven a joyful Heir to Chuza sent;  
Who now beneath a Fever's mortal rage,  
One Lustre hardly past of his short Age,  
Lay struggling, all sad signs of death appear  
TO his Parents, frighted, both half dead with fear;  
Whilst his sad Mother weeping o'er him stood,  
With quick uneven strokes the poisoned blood  
Did through his throbbing Veins small Floodgates roll,  
And beaten a march to the departing Soul:  
Black his chapt Tongue, earthy his Breath and short,  
Unnatural motions his quick Eyes distorted;  
Little Convulsions in each part appear,  
He catches swift at every Object near.  
When Art was posed, and him they yielded lost,  
They heard that through the Galilean Coast  
* Our Lord was seen returning, who they knew  
By his Almighty Word could all things do:  
Away the Father posts, more swift than death,  
For Cana, or for lofty Nazareth;  
And vowed, if he his Son restored receive,  
He'd the next hour with all his house believe.  
* When near small Iephthael's streams our Lord he found,  
Quitting ' his Chariot, prostrate on the Ground  
He lowly adores, and begs, if not too late,  
T' reverse his only Son's untimely Fate.  
* Our Lord who knew, tho' far removed, his Vow,  
Who best knows when to help, and where, and how,  
Resolved his Patience and his Faith to try,  
He'd his Request nor grant, nor yet deny:  
But turning to the Crowd his radiant Face  
His Followers thus accosts— O hardened Race!  
How far shall Infidelity proceed?  
How long will you these signs and wonders need?  
How long shall stubborn Sense against Faith rebel?  
Why will you not be saved without a Miracle?  
Th' impatient Father could no longer stay  
But interrupts—" The Case bears no delay:  
Thou to the Town we back like jehu drive  
We hardly now shall find the Child alive:  
To whom our Saviour this kind Answer gives  
Disturb thyself and me no more— He lives!  
With Faith and Joy his Chariot he ascends  
And back his course to rich Capern'um bends,  
The officious Servants meet him at the Gate  
With the glad News— Thou their glad News too late:  
What he well knew, they all in Transport tell  
His Son was on the sudden strangely well;  
He, whom given over as lost, they lately mourned,  
His health, nay even his strength again returned:  
Careful he asks, exact, the time, the hour  
When first they did observe the Fever's power  
Abated— He the easy Question soon  
Resolus, 'twas when the Sun was past his Noon,  
The Day before,— 'Twas then, he Ravished, cries,  
Lifting to Heaven his grateful Hands and Eyes,  
Precisely then the mighty Prophet's Word  
Declared my Son was from the Grave restored!  
Beauteous joanna heard with Tears of joy,  
And in her hand she led the smiling Boy;  
Him safe and well to his pleased Father shows,  
About his neck his little arms he throws,  
And welcomed home, with pretty folly said  
— What e'er the Servants told, he was not dead!  
Labouring with Thanks the noble Chuza now  
TO his Family declares his sacred Vow:  
All freely grant he could perform no lesle,  
And jesus the Messia all confess!  
Nor long e'er thither with our Lord we went,  
Whose Fame did his Arrival still prevent.  
The news of his approach was soon aloud  
Proclaimed, the doors, the streets, the roads they crowd  
With half dead Patients, by his Touch restored  
Or Look, or Word, they kneeled and him adored:  
A brave Centurion there among the rest  
By Proxy humbly his desire expressed;  
Whose Word, the Roman Garrison that lay  
* To bridle hot Capern'um's Youth, obey;  
The Cause, a Servant he from Rome had brought,  
Whom justly dear for his deserts he thought  
Whom many a painful day he faithful found,  
And many a night spent on the frozen Ground:  
Full Thirty hard Campaigns he had endured,  
To Southern Heats, and Pontic Snows inur'd:  
But when his Fiftith Winter now did wear,  
His Age feels what his Youth with ease could bear:  
Afflictive Cramps his stubborn Sinews bend,  
Which stronger in a deadly Palsy end:  
Helpless he more than half a carcase lay;  
A lump of cold disanimated Clay.  
All his rightside, his left but little lesle,  
And only his strong Vitals Life confess:  
Vast Sums in vain for his recovery spent,  
What Nature could produce or Art invent  
His Master tried, first to the Baths he sent,  
* Near where Calirrhoe's sovereign Waters fall  
By Lasha's Brook, and strong Macheru's Wall:  
When these no alteration on him make,  
Him next the King's Physicians undertake;  
A tedious Course prescribe his health to gain,  
But they too find their boasted Art 's in vain:  
No human help did now untried remain,  
His generous Master did his Fate deplore,  
And kindly sighed that he could do no more:  
A Servant whom such Faith and Love commend  
He justly thought a lesle familiar Friend;  
" Valiant and true, he him had often tried,  
" No danger ever made him leave his side;  
" Nor gold could tempt his Secrets to betray,  
" Nor knew he his own Worth too well t' obey:  
When now all human Remedies were vain  
He seeks Divine, for only those remain:  
*" With ill-directed Prayers devoutly made  
To his own Aesculapius flies for Aid;  
* Vows he'd a Cock and greater Presents give  
T' enrich his Fane, if his loved Servant live:  

2 Kings 18.27.  But the poor Marble Idol was not near,  
Or else too busy, or too dull to hear;  
His Vow's in vain, his Servant desperate grew,  
When some who of our Lord's Arrival knew  
Came panting in, the welcome News to bear,  
Persuading him to seek for Succour there:  
He rose and vowed, if him our Lord would hear  
He all his helpless Gods would straight cashier:  
Not Mars himself should stay— Long since his Mind,  
Thou weak, had been to Truth's blessed Laws inclined:  

4.5.  He loved our Nation, their Devotion praised,  
And a fair Synagogue his noble Bounty raised:  
Thus fixed, his Servant, he'd have fain conveyed  
Abroad, and at the Feet of jesus laid,  
But 'twas too late, he's gasping thick for Breath,  
And struggling in the agonies of Death:  
Yet durst he not himself to jesus go,  
His Thoughts were of himself too mean and low;  
But ah! he rightly did not jesus know:  
None for their Merits e'er did with him stay,  
None for Humility he turns away:  
jairus for him, and other Friends implore *  
That he his much loved Servant would restore:  
He yields, and kindly to the house repaired,  
Of whose approach when the Centurion heard,  
No, 'tis too much he cries— It must not be!  
Too much to go one single step for me.  
Thou he even a lost Gentile not disdain,  
Unworthy him those Walls to entertain!  
All I desire he'd do, which well he may,  
Since Handmaid Nature must her Lord obey,  
(As me my Soldiers under Discipline,  
Observant of each beck and secret sign,  
Nay hardly dare in Thought my Will control;)  

7.  Is, that he'd speak the Word and make him whole.  
Pleased with his noble Faith our Lord looks round,  

9  The like in his own Israel never found,  
Aloud professing, nor were they alone  
Designed Assessors on th' Almighty Throne:  
 

Christ 〈◊〉 king 〈◊〉 the Samaritan Woman 〈…〉 Wall.   
Who fear and serve him with a perfect mind  
In every Nation should acceptance find;  
And while lost Israel ' s Son's expect in vain,  
In bliss with all the holy Patriarches reign.  
But Faith like this what is there can withstand?  
'Twill even Omnipotence itself command:  
Bid the brave Man return, his grant is sealed,  
And even this moment his loved Servant healed:  
— He said, 'tis done, he ease and strength receives,  
His Master, he, and all the house believes.  
In vain I all his Wonders would relate,  
How many rescued from the brink of Fate:  
How with a Touch he Simon's Mother raised: 
Luke 4.39.5, 18.8, 55.   
How him the joyful Paralytic praised:  
How, jairus! thy Daughter he restored;  
Thou dead she heard, tho' dead obeyed his Word.  
What Virtues even his sacred Robes diffused; 
Matt. 9.20.   
How by th' ungrateful Nazarites abused 
Luke 4.29.   
He vanished through the crowd, they beaten the Air,  
Nor ever since his Presence blest 'em there.  
What wondrous Truths he did the Woman tell 
Joh. 4.5. etc.   
In cursed Samaria's Fields by Iacob's Well:  
How many long of their dear sight bereaved,  
Earthly and Heavenly Light at once received:  
This all Bethsaida's wondering confines know,  
And this thy Gates, delightful jericho!  
Even yet old Bartimeus lives, 
Mark 10.46.  who there  
Did many a doleful year in darkness wear;  
To which yet still a heavier plague was joined,  
He's miserably poor, even worse than blind:  
* His head with reverend baldness doubly bare,  
Exposed to all th' Inclemencies o'th' Air,  
To heat and cold— Methinks I see him there!  
Or in the Gate I see him begging lie,  
* Or at the lovely Balsom-Gardens nigh:  
Once as it chanced our Master passing by  
Vast multitudes attending, he admired  
The Cause, and earnest what it meant enquired,  
For he their noise and trampling feet could hear,  
And well he knew some mighty Concourse near:  
Nor sooner to the Blind was jesus named *  
But he with Faith and holy Hope inflamed,  
(For oft he heard what Miracles he'd done)  
Exclaims— O mercy! mercy! David's Son!  
Some bid be still! some cry to take him thence,  
Nor let him with his loud Impertinence  
Disturb our Lord, nor will he yet give over,  
But cries more loud and earnest than before,  
Great Son of David! let me mercy find!  
O show thy wont pity on the Blind!  
— None e'er denied or sad from Jesus part,  
His earnest Prayers soon reached his ears and heart,  
And till he's called he would no further go;  
Soon did th' old man the joyful Tidings know *  
From those about him, soon he cheerful rose,  

Ibid. 50.  Away his Staff and ragged Garment throws;  
His Garment left it might impeach his speed,  
His Staff, which he should now no longer need:  
Away he runs, nor for a guide would stay,  
Following the Voice, oft stumbling in the way,  
Of whom when near arrived, our Lord enquired  
What Boon with such loud outcries he desired?  

51.  Lord! thou canst do't, he with large Tears replies,  
And thou alone, restore me my dear eyes!  

52. — 'Tis thy victorious Faith directs thee right,  
Well pleased our Lord rejoins,— Receive thy sight!  
'Tis said, 'tis done, a thick and churlish skin *  
Which stopped the windows of his Soul within,  
Flew off, nor did he ought this painful find,  
Like Cobwebs loo●e, unravelled with the Wind,  
He saw, his Saviour with loud Thanks did meet,  
Embraced his knees, and prostrate kissed his feet.  
Nor need I, Fathers! waste the day to tell  
Those Wonders all the City know so well:  

Matt. 21.19.  The blasted Figtree, which you yet may see  
Without the Walls, i'th' way to Bethany,  

John 9 per t●t▪  Him who at Silo'm's streams received his sight,  
Nor ever saw, till then, the cheerful light; *  
Where, after their exactest scrutiny,  
No fraud the angry Sanhedrim could see.  

  
Him who so long at famed Bethesda lay, 
John 5.2.   
Beyond the Angel's Cure, sent healed away  
By ' our Saviour's powerful Word, whom hardened still  
For that good work the jews attempt to kill: 
16.   
Too well, says joseph, I their Envy know,  
At him whom height of Virtue makes their Foe:  
Much I rememb'ring learned from what he taught,  
Witness of many a mighty Action wrought;  
But few have scaped me here; myself I saw  
With what just anger and majestic awe  
He did his Father's House the Temple cleanse,  
And chased the Sacrilegious Merchants thence.  
I saw too, 
John 2.14, 15, 16. John 3.4.  when our captious Elders brought  
Th' Adultress in the very Action caught;  
* Whence them he self-condemned and blushing sent,  
And cleared the fair convicted Penitent.  
But of this Miracle I only knew  
By Fame, and glad would learn the Truth from you.  

John 5.2.  'Twas at the famous Pool, well known to all  
jerusalem, that Heavenly Hospital  
Where every injured Sense a Cure may find,  
The Deaf, the Blasted, Palsyed, Lame and Blind;  
* Here, says the Apostle, at the Sun's first rise,  
While they present the Morning-Sacrifice,  
* You know from Heaven some courteous Angel brings  
Unfailing Cures beneath his healing Wings 
4.   
To such as to the Water first descend,  
You know too him who did so long attend,  
Who Blasted in his tender Youth, had stayed *  
Almost six weeks of years expecting Aid: 
5.   
In vain expecting, weak and Bedrid laid,  
Whence others, readier, still stepped in before,  
Till disappointed oft, he hoped no more;  
His only Comfort now was in Despair,  
With speed to end his Life and Torments there:  
Our Saviour saw, and asks, his Faith to try,  
If for his pain he wished a remedy?  
Yes, Death, said he, with unconcerned neglect,  
Nor any other ease must I expect:  
The rich crowd in, and meet a speedy Cure,  

7.  Thou even an Angel will not help the poor:  
But that will I, our Saviour, kind, replies,  

8.  And bids him in his Father's Name Arise!  
Arise and Walk, and thence his Couch convey!  
His blasted Limbs their Maker's Word obey;  

9  Vigorous and strong he in a moment grows,  
His Blood through its forgotten channels flows;  
All o'er himself he views, but does so strange  
T' himself appear, he scarce believes the change.  
Such Acts, such Crimes as these, if Crimes they be  
Have made our Sanhedrim his Enemy:  

Ibid.  True, on the Sabbath he this Wonder wrought,  
And has against their vain Traditions taught,  
But sure those Works for which him Heaven did send  
To this bad World, can never Heaven offend.  
All Holy Works of Charity confessed,  
Nor does from them even his great Father rest;  
Nor does he old Traditions blame but where  

Matt. 23.2, 3.  With Laws divine they clash or interfere!  
For never man so meek, so good, so kind;  
All Love himself, all Love b' his Laws enjoined:  
Compassion, Alms, Forgiveness oft he pressed,  
And a good Life, true Faiths unfailing Test, *  
These the fair Terms on which he Pardon gave,  
" He came his People from their sins to save.  
This did he oft his crowding Audience tell,  
Now plain, now in some lively Parable,  
As ancient Seers used— And, but I fear *  
Already I've too long detained you here,  
Some of the Chief, I, Fathers! would recite,  
Equally yielding profit and delight:  
Almost they're angry at so short a stay;  
All, all, they ask, impatient of delay.  
Th' Apostle thus— Then gladly I'll relate  
The Prodigals Return, the Miser's Fate:  
The Lord who with his Servant did contend,  
His Cruelty, and just tho' dreadful end;  
The Widow and the judge did God nor Man  
Regard, the Pharisee and Publican:  
To prove we ought repeated Prayers to make  
At God's high Throne, 
Luke 18.1.  and no denial take  
This Parable did our loved Lord declare,  
— A judge there was, 
2.  no matter when or where:  
* Neither on Honour he or Conscience stood,  
Grown fat with Bribes, and Orphans Tears, and Blood:  
A Widow near him he had long since bereft  
Of her loved Lord, and poor and friendless left:  
Whom a vexatious Neighbour used to wrong,  
No help she had besides her Tears and Tongue;  
No Oily Advocate her Gold could bribe  
To espouse her Cause, no subtle smooth Tongued Scribe:  
What should she do, worse mischief to prevent?  
Even to the wicked judge himself she went;  
And with loud Outcries close besieged his door,  
With long Petitions begs he'd help the poor!  
There did she everlasting Sentry keep,  
Nor would in quiet let him eat or sleep:  
In vain 's she threatened Lash, as much in vain  
His Servants drag her thence, she comes again:  
If in his Robes he to the Bench repair,  
Or pays a Visit, or but takes the Air  
'Tis still the same, she haunts him every where.  
Attends him like his shade, go where he will,  
And worries him with justice, justice still!  
He grieus, he rages, fumes and swears in vain  
Sweats, stamps, and rails, she still comes on again.  
What's to be done, when he by chance got breath!  
Was ever judge before thus talked to death,  
T' himself he cries— Although I neither care 
4.   
For Man, nor God himself, much lesle for her,  
Her for my own sake I must right, 
5.  or she,  
As many I have done, will murder me:  
Good Woman say— What is't that you require?  
She asked, he gave her all her hearts desire;  
Punished her Foe, and then, and not before  
She raised her siege and left his Lordship's door.  
The moral easy is, and plain in view;  
If Importunity so much can do  
Even with the worst of men, if that can sway  
The Great, and all but Gold itself outweigh;  
If here so strong, it will not lesle avail  
In heavens high- Court, nor there of answer fail:  
Nor that th' Almighty judge above can e'er  
As those below be tired with mortal Pray●●;  
But though he's always prone and free to give,  
Man is not fit the Blessing to receive  
Till his unwearyed Faith to Heaven aspire,  
And help with ardent humble Vows desire.  

7.  Then will he aid, for he can aid alone  

Rev. 6.9.  Those injured Souls who under th' Altar groan;  
Justice aloud their guiltless Blood demands;  
Close by th' All-high full charged his Thunder stands:  
" Vengeance has leaden feet, but iron hands.  

Rom. 12.19.  Vengeance is Gods, his Wisdom us secures  
It cannot but be just; be mercy yours!  
If you'd of Heaven no such requital have  

Matth. 18.24.  As that bad Servant whom his Lord forgave.  
We beg to hear 't, which thus he did relate.  
A Lord of mighty Wealth, and vast Estate  
Ten thousand Talents to his Servant lent, *  
Which either he in Luxury misspent,  
Or lost by negligence— As on a day  
His Lord by chance did his Accounts surveyed  
And found he neither Interest would pay,  
Nor Principal, he straight the whole demands,  
Nor longer will he trust it in his Hands;  
Speechless and pale th' insolvent Servant stands;  
Trembling with Gild and Fear; his Lord displeased  
Gives order, he and all his House be seized:  
Low at his Feet the miserable fell  
And a short respite begs— His all he'd sell  
All his Estate, and his Friend's bounty try,  
Rather than in abhorred confinement die:  
Nor his Petition unsuccessful prove  
His Words, and Tears his generous Master move.  
Nor would he seize his House, nor him enslave,  

27.  But frankly all the mighty Sum forgave:  
Thence went th' ungrate, his Fellow-servant met,  
A hundred Pence was all his trifling Debt:  

28.  Yet grasps him by the Throat, with furious Hands,  
And every mite immediately demands:  
Trembling and pale he at his Feet did fall,  
Begs but a little Time he'd pay him all. 
29.   
Even that denied he's into th' Dungeon thrown:  
Whose Fate when to his Fellow-servants known, 
30.   
Themselves concerned lest they his Fate should share,  
They to their Lord th' unpleasing Tidings bear,  
For him, enraged, he the next moment sent,  
And thus, arrived, did his just anger vent.  
— O worst of Wickeds! 
32.  cruel and ungrate!  
Did I forgive so vast a Sum so late  
And is 't so soon forgot? such pity shown  
To thee Distressed, 
33.  hast thou for others none?  
Guards! without Pity drag him hence, and bear,  
Reprieved no more, 
34.  to th' Executioner.  
Slavery 's too little now; him scourge and bind  
That owns so much a worse than servile Mind:  
So justly will my heavenly Father do, 
35.   
So will severely be revenged on you,  
Unless you, as becomes my Followers, live;  
And from the heart your Brother you forgive.  
Why can you not this World's vain Goods contemn?  
Why are they Lords of you while you of them?  
On those if all the happiness depend  
You must expect the cheated Miser's end: 
Luke 12.16.   
Who scarce himself his countless Treasures knew,  
Scarce ever all his own Demeans did view;  
On every side could lose his wildered Eye;  
Scarce o'er one half a panting Kite could fly,  
But short of midway rest.—  
His Bags, his Chests so full, they both ran o'er,  
His Barns so full, long since they'd hold no more,  
High close-piled Stacks, besides his Granaries  
In every corner of his yard he sees.  
Let the poor curse! he hopes 'twill be more dear,  
Nor will one handful sell till the next year:  
Pressed with thick clay, and sunk in worldly care,  
He none for his neglected Soul can spare:  
Or fond thinks, he that might always please  
With sordid Wealth, or dull voluptuous Ease:  
For this considers deep what course to take,  
Resolves new Houses and new Barns to make:  

18.  Pull down, says he, those hovel raised before;  
Here's not halfroom for my increasing store,  
And add me twenty Bays of building more!  

19  Let's treat the moments kindly while they stay!  
I'll even enjoy my self, and live to day:  
Sure I've enough, nor need a Famine fear,  
Enough for many a long voluptuous year!  
— He said, when the same hour his Fate is sealed,  

20.  Which in loud Thunder thus the All-high revealed:  
Ah fool, who fond dost thyself deceive!  
Nor one day more is thine lost wretch! to live!  
Another cheerful Sun thou ne'er shalt see,  
This very Night the Fiends shall seize on thee:  
Then whose shall all thy boasted Treasures be?  
Hence for your Souls be studious whilst you may;  

Heb. 3.13.  Intent their safety while 'tis called to Day!  
They'll ask your utmost diligence and care  
To root out Vice, and plant each Virtue there:  
And all this done, to save the heaven-born Soul  

Luke 17.10.  An humble modesty must crown the whole:  
Pride's the most dangerous, and the last mistake,  
Of Saints as well as Angels, Fiends 'twill make:  
The best you do needs an atoning Friend;  
Despise not others, nor yourselves commend,  
To fix this Truth more deeply, yet attend  
And hear a Parable!— Two Men there were  
Who to the Temple went one morn to Prayer,  

Luke 18.10.  A Pharisee and Publican; the first  
Who t'other scorned, the proudest and the worst:  
What dost thou here, he cries, thy Pray'r's in vain:  
Touch not my holy Robes— Stand off profane;  
With stately steps then to the Altar goes,  
And thus, erect, tells Heaven how much it owes:  

11. — O Israel's God aloud I praise thy Name  
For such a Life as Envy cannot blame:  
That there should such a Gulf, such Difference be  
Betwixt th' ungodly carnal World and me:  
That no man e'er I've wronged by Force or guile,  
Or ever did my Neighbor's Bed defile:  
Unblameable my Life by God or Man;  
Not like that reprobated Publican!  
Each week I set apart two days as thine, 
12.   
thine Which almost equal makes thy Time and mine.  
Nor am of those whose wicked boast 'twould be  
Of rightful Tithes to wrong thy Priests and thee;  
If aught from thence they gain, triumphing more  
Than all their lesle belov'd Lay-Cheats before:  
Not the least Herb which in thy Garden grows,  
Not the least Gain which from my Labour flows,  
Naught Tithe-free made by Custom or Design:  
E'er I dare ever touch the other Nine  
I separate the sacred Tenth as thine.  
Thus he, with Voice articulate and clear,  
Then round him looks in hopes that some did hear:  
While thus i'th' outer Court the Publican 
31.   
With Voice and Eyes submiss to Heaven began.  
O searcher of all Hearts who knowst me best!  
I'm an unworthy Sinner, 'tis confessed:  
Father of mercy! Mercy I implore  
For Sins are past, and Grace to Sin no more!  
This humble self-condemning Penitent  
Answered and pardoned from the Temple went:  
The Pharisee returns as he came in, 
14.   
Or more confirmed in Vanity and Sin.  
These he, and many more; but most of all  
That of the poor returning Prodigal  
Deep fixed I still retain—  
And were not Day well wasted— Wast no more  
Gamaliel says, more earnest than before  
To hear the rest, while Nicodemus cries  
Those only waist the Day who lost in Vice  
The sliding Hours profusely misemploy  
In short-lived pleasures and voluptuous joy:  
Who while the sliding Hours fly swift away  
Fondly themselves beguile, and not the Day:  
But who like us their happy moments past  
'Tis they, they onl ' of Life have a true taste,  
They use their Time, which others only waist.  
But pray proceed, those Parables recite  
Which mix Instruction with so much Delight.  
Slip not one word or passage careless o'er,  
Believe we long to hear it all and more.  
Then thus the younger Son of Zebedee:  
Since yet I find I shall not tedious be  
At large I'll every Circumstance relate,  
In the young Prodigal's strange happy Fate:  

Luke 15.11.  A good old Sire there was, whom Age and Cares  
Had blest with Wealth and crowned with silver Hairs:  
Two Sons he had, his age's Prop and Pride  
Who at his Death must all his Wealth divide:  
The Elder grave and" careful of the main,  
Enured to earn his Bread with sweat and pain;  
Not so the younger, whom profuse and vain *  
His careful Father long with anxious mind  
To lewdness and ill Courses found inclined:  
He hated Work, but if a Wake or Fair  
In many a Mile, he'd never fail b'ing there:  
Above his business he, too great and wise;  
Did long the sordid Country Dirt despise:  
What cared he tho' th' Old man did chide and frown,  
So he for a few Days but saw the Town?  
Oft he flew out, and prodigally spent  
His own allowance and his Father's rent;  
In vain he, prudent, every Method tries,  
To make him quit each darling dangerous Vice;  
Oft begs with deluged Cheeks and flowing Eyes,  
He would from what must prove his ruin, part;  
What would he gain to break a Father's heart?  
Inexorably lewd he stops his Ears  
Against his Words, or laughs at what he hears:  
And thus ungracious answers— If he fears  
To see his ruin, 
12.  give him but his share  
He'd straight be gone, nor longer cause his care.  
With Hopes he might in time grow wise again,  
If traveling far he manners saw and men,  
The Father grants his wish, his Portion gives  
Liberal and large, which he o'rjoyed receives;  
To this his Mother adds (her darling, He,)  
Gold, which before the Sun did never see,  
But rusting close remained for many Years;  
With these both give their Blessings and their Tears;  
Thou neither did he, Graceless, much regard,  
But thought th' old Folks, that trouble might have spared:  
To bid 'em both Farewell, he scarce could stay,  
But to some foreign Region speeds away: 
13.   
Thither arrived, rich, young, profane and gay,  
Resolves to taste what e'er the World can give,  
And to the height of lawless Pleasure live:  
In Masks and Balls, in Gaming, Treats and Plays,  
In Mirth and Wine, he spent his thoughtless Days;  
Wit, Beauty, Music, all the World can boast,  
Their Forces join, and they're a powerful Host,  
To Charm him theirs.— How did he now despise  
His old, his doting Fathers grave advice!  
His Brother, who still drudged for sordid Pelf!  
And how applaud his wise and happy self!  
Thus lived he till his Bags, exhaustless thought  
At first, to their low desperate Ebb were brought:  
And worse, when thence the last slow Drop he had drained,  
O'er all those Realms a dreadful Famine reigned: 
14.   
His Trencher-Friends now no Relief afford,  
But drive him from their Houses and their Board:  
One only who more Kindness had professed, *  
And whom he had more obliged than all the rest,  
Him entertains, first by himself did seat,  
Soon after bids him with his Servants eat;  
Till by degrees he lower did proceed,  
And sends him to the Fields his Swine to feed: 
15.   
With them he lives, like them, or worse he fares,  
For his allowance narr'wer far than theirs:  
On Acorns they, or Wildings richly dine, *  
He sighing sits, and envy's even the Swine;  
Thou Hunger gnaws, 
16.  he wisely did refuse  
To steal from them, lest he his Place should lose:  
In this sad Posture when himself he found,  
Cold, naked, hungry, fainting on the Ground;  
Pleasures false mists from his deluded Eyes  
Removed, 
17.  he views himself, and inward— Sighs;  
Recalls to mind how vast the Gulf, between  
What now he was, and what he once had been:  
How oft his Father's Plenty he despised,  
When to his Lust his Wealth he sacrificed:  
Then thus, his long despairing Silence broke,  
With trickling Tears, and deep-fetched Sighs, he spoke:  
— Ah Wretch! who didst thy Father's House despise!  
Ah hapless Youth! unwary and unwise!  
Whilst here for Want, I perish in despair,  
And only think of Plenty reigning there:  
Nor dare I from his Table ought desire;  

17, 18, 19  That Bread which those partake, who serve for hire  
My utmost Wish, and thither gladly, I  
Would now return tho' at his Feet to die;  
At least if mine have strength enough, I'll try  
To bear me on— With much of Pain he rose,  
And by short journeys, homeward feebly goes;  
Of his unhoped return his Father hears,  
Up starts the reverend Sire with joyful Tears;  

20.  And does far off in haste to meet him go,  
Love wings his Feet, his Age no longer slow:  
See how they meet! How tenderly embrace!  
What different Passions reign in either's Face!  
Here, with Compassion mixed, is painted fair,  

Ibid.  Ingenuous Love, Ingenuous Shame dwells there.  
Surprised he should such kind Reception meet,  
The Son falls trembling at his Father's Feet:  

21.  Where thus— O Father! If you not disclaim  
That long abused, that dear, tho' injured Name;  
If 'tis not yet too late my Crimes to grieve,  
If either Heaven or You can yet forgive:  
Thomas I to a Sons Honour mayn't aspire,  
That Title lost, O let me serve for Hire!  
So may I oft enjoy the envied Grace,  
Even tho' he Frown, to see a Father's Face:  
Nothing to this, overjoyed, th' old Man replies,  
Or if he speaks, 'tis only with his Eyes:  
Nothing to him, but to his Servants there,  
giveth Order they his Festal Robes prepare;  
Which brought, he in the richest and the best,  
With his own Hands, did his loved Son invest:  
With this his Signet from his Finger gave,  
A mark of Honour, he no more a Slave: *  
Then bids a plenteous Feast that Night prepare, *  
And call his Friends, 
23.  so just a joy to share:  
They crowding came, and the blessed Moment's spent,  
In temperate joy, 
24.  and harmless Merriment;  
In Songs which Heaven itself did erst inspire, 
25.   
And Seraphs sing to David's royal Lyre: *  
In modest Dances, 
Ibid.  no Dishonour thought,  
When th' Ark of God to beauteous Zion brought.  
The sober Glass with sparkling Gaza crowned, *  
Grateful to God and Man, walks slow and cheerful round: *  
Mean while the Elder of the Sons, who now,  
Night hasting on, came sweeting from the Plough,  
Much wondered when, the House approaching near,  
He Light did see, and Songs and Music hear; 
Ibid.   
The Cause enquired, 
26.  a Servant thus replies,  
With haste at once, and pleasure in his Eyes;  
Your Brother whom so long as lost, we mourned,  
In distant Lands, 
27.  this Evening is returned:  
For his arrival all this Joy's expressed,  
And only you are wanting at the Feast;  
Where, with impatience you have expected been—  
— Enraged the Brother, 
28  would not enter in:  
The Guests disturbed, began to quit their Seats,  
The Father comes, and mildly him entreats:  
Still resolute and fierce without he stayed,  
And thus displeased did th' old Sire upbraid:  
— How many a Year, 
29.  still stupidly content,  
Have I in your unthankful Service spent?  
Slavishly dutiful I've with you stayed,  
Nor ever yet displeased or disobeyed;  
Yet never could I yet presented be,  
With one small Kid t' oblige my Friends and me:  
But when your hopeful Son, 
30.  your Darling's come  
From Stews and Brothels, stripped and naked home;  
For him has all this Feast and Rev'ling been:  
Give me my Portion too!— I'll not come in.  
— Again the Father mildly thus replies, 
31.   
Son! Why this Anger in your Words and Eyes?  
Thou knowst I only thee my Heir design,  
Wait a few Days, and all th' Estate is thine!  
Why art thou Angry then, and Discontent,  
At this small part upon thy Brother spent?  
Why should we not Rejoice, when since his Birth,  
There never yet has been such cause of Mirth?  
Whom given for dead, we strangely see revive, *  
Lost and despaired, again receive alive.  
Scarce he the lively Parable did end,  
When Chuza came, our Saviour's grateful Friend,  
And wise Gamaliel's both, whose welcome Guest,  
He often was at the great Paschal-Feast:  
Enters with him the brave Centurion too,  

Luke 7.5.  Their Benefactor all our Nation knew:  
The first Endearments past, when looking round,  
Th' Apostles well-known Faces, Chuza found:  
More pleased, he each Embraced, and tells 'em he,  
Hoped not to meet so much good Company:  
I know, he adds, your blessed Employment still,  
Is to perform and teach your Master's Will:  
I interrupted your Discourse, I fear,  
Which none, than me, with greater joy would hear:  
So much myself to that great Man I owe,  
You'll highly Oblige me if his Truth's you'll show,  
Something I know, but more I wish to know:  
Forgive me that I called him Man before!  
For sure his Godlike Actions speak him more;  
Around his Face mild Rays of Goodness Shine,  
His Life and Laws confess him All-divine.  
Say, you who happy in his Bosom lie,  
If aught of this tremendous Mystery,  
Ought, which from Vulgar Ears, is yet concealed,  
May be to us, your Trust still safe, revealed?  
Yes, Sir, the Son of Zebedee replied;  
We from the hardened Crowd some Truths must hide, hide  
Till more prepared to hear 'em; but to you  
Ranked by our Lord among the favoured few,  
And these good Men, who tho' they much discern,  
From our low Converse, not disdain to learn;  
I'll speak, permitted, what from him I heard,  
What he in Closet-Privacy declared;  
What in my Breast th' unerring Spirit seals,  
And by my acted Tongue to you reveals.  
He said— But O! how vast a Change they spy?  
What awful Grandeur sparkled in his Eye?  
So Truth would look, could she a Body take,  
And as like Truth he looked, like Truth he spoke:  
Greater he seemed, and something more than Man;  
And thus our Saviour's happy Friend began.  
The End of the Fifth Book.   

NOTES ON The LIFE of CHRIST. BOOK V.  
14. SOme Shepherds to the neighbouring Towns disclosed.] As probable a way of his being known as any.  
18. At once instructs and cures.] So says Beda, Quoscunque in corpore salvabat, eos pariter & in anima reformabat, He reformed their Souls as well as healed their Bodies.  
20. Till lengthening Shadows showed declining Day.] From Virgil's— Majoresque cadunt de montibus umbrae.  
25. And thus replies.] 'Tis a common Scheme of Speech both in the Evangelists and other holy Writers, to introduce Persons replying or answering, where there's at most only an involved Question going before. So S. Matth. 11.25. jesus answered and said, I thank thee O Father, etc. though we read of no preceding Question or Compellation; an usual Hebraism, as Maldonate on the places, the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying not only answering a Question, but also beginning or continuing a Speech.  
47. We in an hundred different Troops divide.] St. Luke 9.15. They sat down by fifties in a Company; an hundred of which fifties there are in five thousand.  
49. By which what e'er be please, what e'er he please he makes.] I don't think changing Substance, to be so great a Wonder as would shock my Faith, had our Saviour ever declared he had actually done it in the Blessed Sacrament; because we've not only an example of that Nature in Sacred Story, in Moses' Rod, but, if I mistake not, Instances on't every day in that Proteus-Matter. Had our Saviour therefore been pleased to have changed the Bread into real corporeal Flesh, undoubtedly he might have done it, (as God, in the former Instance, changed Wood into that Substance.) But still, as a great Man of our Church observes, here's the Miracle, that after the Change, the thing's still the same that ever ' 'twas. At which rate our Saviour might as well have persuaded the People here, that a Miracle had been wrought, the Loaves multiplied, and their Hunger satisfied without giving 'em one mouthful; alas, their gross Senses were not to be believed, this being all Spiritual Food. Ludolfus here, has a very odd Allegory, Mysticè, says he, per quintos Panes quinti libri Mosis intelliguntur, per duas Pisces Prophetae & Psalmi. By the five Loaves are mystically understood the five Books of Moses, by the two Fishes, the Prophets and Psalms.  
61. Bids us collect the Relics of the Feast.] Grotius in loc. observes, That this was more than Moses did in the Manna, or Elias in the Barrel of Meal. But Heinsius, That our Lord did this, according to the use of the Jews, whose Custom 'twas to reserve their Fragments for the Poor: whence that of Rabbi Eleazar, soever eats without leaving any Fragments must not expect a Blessing. Thomas indeed this was expressly forbidden in the Manna, where nothing was to be left till the Morning, and all had enough for that Day. And it might be enjoined by Elijah, though not recorded; nor is it very much difference whether our Saviour gave or followed a good Example.  
63. Twelve empty Baskets in the Vessel lay, Wherein we Fish from place to place convey.] There are two different Words used for what we tender Baskets, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the former in the Miracle of the five thousand, the latter of the four thousand. The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, were so famous among the Jews, that their Nation was distinguished by them, as Grotius and others: so juvenal,— Quorum Cophinus Foenoque Supellex, whose Basket and Hay were all their Householdstuff, and— Cophino Foeneque relicto. The Word being changed from Greek to Latin, and perhaps further, into our English Coffin. These twelve Baskets then seem to be the proper Goods of the twelve Apostles, serving 'em either for the conveyance of Fish, or as a kind of Sea Chests, to hold all their Necessaries. The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Dr. Hammond thinks, were a larger sort of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, since one of 'em was big enough to hold a Man, S. Paul being let down from Damascus, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in a Basket, we tender it, Act. 9.26. our Word not noting a limited Capacity, but only the kind of the Vessel.  
83. A greater Army we,— Than joined at Modin the brave Maccabee.] joseph. Antiq. lib. 12. cap. 8. says, those who joined Mathias were no more at first than the Inhabitants of the small Village of Modin, and even when his Son judas came against the Army of Antiochus, under Gorgias and Nicanor, consisting of forty thousand Foot and seven thousand Horse, he had no more than three thousand Men, and those raw and badly armed. Cap. 11. of the same Book.  
98. A place remote, where oft he used to pray, Walled on the sides as Custom is.—] I take that passage in S. Luke 6.12. where 'tis said our Lord continued all Night in Prayer to God▪ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to relate to the Place even more immediately than the Action, according to the Notion of Drusius, Dr. Hammond, Mr. Mede, and other learned Men, who think this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, aught to be translated, in the Proseucha, Prayer-house, or Oratory of God. The Fashion of which Oratories Mr. Mede describes from Epiphanius, after whom I have copied. His Conjecture he makes more probable by Philo's▪ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Alexandrians cutting down the Trees of the Jewish Proseucha's or Oratories: and the same is probable from that Comparison of David, I am like a green Olive-tree in the House of my God.  
104. Here stayed alone till Night began to wear.] The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or fourth Watch of the Night, among the Jews, was undoubtedly near day; but the Phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is here used, S. Matth. 14.23. When the Evening was come he was there alone. 24. But the Ship was tossed. 25. And in the fourth Watch of the night, etc. Now the same word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used v. 15. When it was Evening. Dr. Hammond thus reconciles these Places, That the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, is taken in different Senses, sometimes for the precise Evening or Sun set, at others Synecdochically for the whole Night, as Morning for the Day. So in Moses, the Evening and the Morning were the first Day, a natural Day of twenty four Hours. Thus, in the first place, 'tis to be taken for the precise Evening or Sunset, in the latter for the whole Night: to which might be added, (if any thing can be after Dr. Hammond) that the second 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be at a great distance from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, see v. 23." When the Evening was come, our Saviour was alone in the Mountain Praying; which must take up some time, as it did, we know, whole Nights together: then v. 24. The Ship was in the Sea, and not till 25. In the fourth Watch of the night jesus went unto them, etc.  
111. And now shrill Cocks foretold th' Approach of Day.] Either some they had a Ship board, or, if not so well laid in, from the neighbouring Shores, since it appears on comparing the Evangelists, that the other Side, to which our Saviour ordered 'em to row, was only cross a small Arm or Creek of that small Sea, compare St. Matth. 14.22. with St. Mark 6.45.  
120. Nor could two Glasses more expect to live.] Some may object, I make the Disciples better Seamen than they really were, and introduce 'em talking more Ship-shape, as the Sailors call it; but the same Objection lies fuller against Virgil, whose amphibious Heroes are as good at Sea as at Land Service, being grown excellent Seamen as soon as ever put a Shipboard; whereas my Sailors were bred to it, probably from their very Cradles: nay they might have Glasses too: for we read of the fourth Watch of the Night, and how should they know one Watch from tother, had they not Glasses to distinguish 'em, in the same manner with our modern Navigators.  
162. The sounding Beach.] I took the Epithet of sounding, partly from Homer's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, though indeed he uses it of the Sea, not the Beach; partly from Observation, the Sea or Shore, which you please, making a great Noise when the Pebbles are rolled or trailed along by the Motion of the Water, especially in a Storm.  
165. O'er sweet Hermon.] Hermon was East of jordan and the Sea of Galilee, Deut. 4.47, 48. They possessed their land (of Sihon and Og) on this side jordan (the Wilderness side, where this Book must therefore be written) toward the Sunrising, from Aroer, which is by the Bank of the River Arnon, even unto Mount Zion, (70. the Mount of Sihon) which is Hermon.  
180. 
So when their way a Flight of Locusts takes  
From Lubim's wild and Chelonidian Lakes;  
While Mizraim's Sons their sacred Ox implore,  And trembling see the Plague wide hovering over, etc.] All Authors who write of Africa, observe, that those Deserts produce vast Armies of these destructive Creatures, a People there called the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or Locust-Eaters, taking their Names from making Reprizals upon 'em, and devouring them, because they have left 'em nothing else to eat. See the Scholiast on Dionysius, v. 559, 560. Diodorus, Strabo, and several of the Ancients, (as Ludolfus since) and others quoted by Bochart, Lib. 4. Cap. 3. give us their Description and History; that learned Man deriving one of their Arabian Names, Alhabsan, from Habyssinia, a part of Afric, which they seldom fail to visit, being brought thither, by Winds, from those vast sandy Tracts of Ground that lie South and West, in which are the Chelonidian Fens, Chelonides Paludes, in the Geographer, by a continual Stream discharging themselves into the Niger. Now the same South or West Winds which brought them from the Wilderness, might carry 'em on to Egypt; Bochart being of Opinion, the Egyptian Locusts came from this Country: though I rather believe they took not so long a Journey, being born from the Happy Arabia, East of Egypt, and where enough of 'em are often found to supply all their Neighbours, the Arabians being but too well acquainted with them, and their Writers giving a more particular description of them than any others. It may not be unpleasant to instance but in one, because of his odd Easterly-way of Expression, who complains of their molesting 'em at their very Tables; he is quoted by Bochart, in his Locusta, in these Words, Said Algesen the Son of Aly, we were sitting at the Table, I and my Brother Mahumed the Son of Alchanaphia, and the Sons of my Uncle Abdalla, and Kethem, and Alphidal, the Sons of Alibas, and a Locust ●t upon the Table in the middle of us, etc. However though Bochart's Conjecture mayn't here hold, because 'tis said 'twas a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, an East-Wind that brought these Locusts, for which reason they must rather come from Arabia which lies East, than Ethiopia which is South from Egypt; yet they may be, and are frequently carried thither from Abyssinia, by those South and West Winds, which often bring 'em from the Cape, or the Deserts of Mount Atlas. For that Expression, The Plague wide hover.] 'Tis agreeable to what Historians deliver of the vast flights of these Locusts, which sometimes obscure the Sun, and darken large Tracts of Ground, two of their Names, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, being derived, by Bochart, from such Roots as imply Veiling and Darkness; further affirming out of Cadamastus, that they sometimes reach for twelve Miles together. And Surius says, That even in Poland, Anno 1541. a Cloud of 'em appeared two Miles in length, and hindered the Light of the Sun from all that Tract of Ground, over which they flew.  
383. So when the West-wind clears their Reedy Shore, etc.] Exod. 10.19. The Lord turned a mighty strong West Wind, which took away the Locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea. I call it Reedy Shore, because that Sea is styled in the Hebrew, jam Zuph, the reedy, sedgy, or flaggy Sea; from the Multitude of Flags and Weeds which grow in it, as well as on its Bank; Thomas never so many ill Weeds there, says Fuller after his way, as when the Egyptians were drowned in it.  
185. Precipitating in th' Arabian Deep.] The Red-Sea, of which see more Lib. 6. is also called by Dionysius and others, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Arabian Gulf, (now Mare de Mecca) from its washing the Shores of Arabia. This is the usual end of those Creatures, as Pl●ny, S. Jerome, and others; I'll only instance in Sigebert, even in our own Country, who tells us in his Chronicle. That after a parcel of these Tartarian Travellers had made a straggling Visit into Europe, and put all France under Contribution (or rather Military Execution) they were at last all carried away by a Blast of Wind, and drowned in the British Ocean, in such vast numbers, that being thrown up again on the Shores, their putrified Bodies infected the Air, and brought a terrible Pestilence, which destroyed an incredible number of Men.  
191. Under a gentle Gale their Oars they plied— The Wind veered round to West.] The Gale must be gentle, otherwise they could not have used their Oars. It must be to West, or somewhere in that point, for their convenient and speedy Passage over to the East or North East side of the Lake, to Chorazin and Capernaum, whither our Saviour went after his Landing, it being the Place of his usual Abode, vid. St. john 6.24. Thomas they might well be surprised to find him there so soon in the Morning, knowing his Disciples went away without him, it being at least fourteen or fifteen Miles from the Mountain of Miracles, supposing it to be South of Bethsaida, where 'tis generally placed, round to Capernaum; the Sea being, according to josephus, fourteen or fifteen Miles long, and six or seven broad, and this Journey containing about half the Length, and all the Breadth of it, besides the Loss of Way by Creeks and Turnings. I say Chorazin and Capernaum, because they lie near together, being joined together by a Bridge, in Fuller's Maps, like Southwark and London; both of which Places, according to our Saviour's Prophecy, now lie buried in Dust and Ruins; the Pilgrim, who saw 'em, telling us, that even Capernaum itself is now nothing but three or four little Fishing-Cabins near the Lake.  
221. For Angel's Food they long.] It seems the Jews desired our Lord to give 'em Manna, which they tacitly beg, St. john 6.31. and more plainly v. 34.  
263. Joseph the Carpenter has oft worked here.] I know the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as well as Faber in the Latin, has a larger signification than our English Carpenter, and some of the Fathers were of Opinion, that joseph was Faber-Ferrarius, a Blacksmith, as he's called in the Hebrew Gospel of St. Matthew; but the greater stream of Writers goes the other way, supposing him a Carpenter: thus justin-martyr, who affirms that our Lord himself did make Ploughs and Yokes, and indeed he is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, St. Mark 6.3. and therefore, it may be presumed, actually wrought at his Father's Trade. And to the same purpose the famous Answer of the Christian to the scoffing Heathen. As for Ioseph's working at Capernaum, I confess 'tis my own Addition, though probable enough; for if he were a Good Workman, as I know not why I may ned suppose him, he might be sent for from Nazareth thither, not above some twelve Miles distant.  
264. His Mother Mary, his Relations near.] These Relations of our Lord, called his Brethren in Holy-Writ, according to the Jewish way of speech, seem to be no more but his Cousin-germen, or Sons of his Mother's Sister; for she that's called the Mother of james and joses, St. Mark 15. ult. and 16.1. is styled Mary the Wife of Cleophas and Iesus' Mother's Sister, St. john 19.25. For which reason's there's no need of taking the famous 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in that same sense with Helvidius and his Followers: not but that I think full as bad Arguments are made use of, even by some of the Fathers, and by Walker, and other Moderns, to prove the perpetual Virginity. To instance in that Ezek. 44.2. This Gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, etc. though they might as well have proved it from Gideon's Fleece, or the Bush in Horeb, both of which Vida makes Types of the Blessed Virgin, Haec Virgo est rubus ille, etc. and it's a wonder none of her zealous Idolisers han't all this while found out that Text in the following Ezek. 46.3. to enforce her Adoration, The People of the land shall worship at the door of this Gate before the Lord; the same East-Gate, as appears on comparing the places. This, I say, might, in my judgement, be as properly and decently urged for her worship, as the other for the purpose to which 'tis brought. The best on't is, this Matter of Fact can be no Article of Faith, either of one side or tother, since nothing's said on't in Scripture. For which reason it should seem 'twas only a piece of Monkish Zeal that made Helvidius' mistaken Opinion a downright Heresy: an Extremity those ill natured Hermits were driven upon out of an abundant Caution for their darling Doctrine of Abstinence in those matters, in which many of 'em seem more than half-Gnosticks, or Priscillianists, if not akin to those mad Heretics, the Valesii and Severiani, of whom Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. lib. 4. cap. 27. and Epiphanius, Heres. 58.  
287. An hidden secret Sense my Words imply.] S john 6.63. It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the Words that I speak unto you they are Spirit, etc.  
289. Nor this can their false Prejudice prevent.] It seems plain, that the Jews understood our Saviour's Words, I am the Bread of life, in a gross, carnal, literal Sense, ●ounding to Transubstantiation; which Mistake our Saviour endeavours to rectify, but they continued obstinate, and would not give him leave to understand his own Words.  
307. I know the Wretch who will his Lord betray.] v. 64. jesus knew from the beginning who should betray him. This being a wonderful Instance of his Humiliation and Submission to the Divine Will, that in obedience unto it, he chose such a Person for one of his Family, as he knew from the very first would prove a Traitor.  
310. Soon will he with base Slanders me accuse,— Soon will the Fiend, etc.] I take the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here, one of you, namely judas, is a Devil, in the largest sense, as 'tis used in the Sacred Writings, answerable to the Hebrew, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which signifies, as Dr. Hammond, and Grotius, among other things, an Adversary in Foro, a Delator, an Informer, an Accuser, especially a false Accuser; so here, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, says one, is as much as qui deferet me apud Principes, One that will accuse me to the Elders. But I understand it in a yet stronger Sense. He is a Devil, that is, our Saviour saw he was already given up to the Power of the Evil Spirit, who would, at the last Supper, enter into him, tempting him to betray his Master; and indeed, without some such Diabolical Instigator, 'tis hard to suppose any thing human could be capable of such a piece of Villainy.  
315. What in Thought— I scarce could tract, each mighty Wonder wrought.] Agreeable to St. John's Hyperbole, St. john 21.25. And many other things did jesus, which if they should be written every one, I suppose the World would not be able to contain the Books that should be written.  
337. A rich and powerful Lord, Chuza his Name.] Lightfoot, Walker, and others, think that the Nobleman, St. john 4.46. whose Son was sick at Capernaum, was no other than that Chuza the Husband of joanna, who ministered to our Saviour and his Apostles, St. Luke 8.3. which Opinion I follow, for reasons, which will be plain in Lib. vi.  
370. He saw, and loved, and won her for his Bride.] The Courtship, I confess, should, in decency, have taken up more time; but that I've greater Business on my hands, and must therefore omit that Formality.  
391. That through the Galilean Coasts,— Our Lord was seen returning.] St. john 4.43. After two days, he departed thence, (from the Coasts of Samaria) and went into Galilee.  
398. When near small Jiphthael 's Streams, our Lord he'd ●ound.] A Brook of that name in Galilee, the same, I think, with Shihor-Libanus.  
453. To bridle hot Capernaum 's Youth.] The Centurion being fixed in this place, there seems little doubt, but that 'twas a Station of the Romans, of whom there was need enough in that factious Country of Galilee, whereof Capernaum was one of the most considerable Places, if not the Metropolis.  
472. Near where Callirrhoe 's Streams, etc.] josephus describes these Waters, both in his Antiq. lib. 8. cap. 17. and in Bell. jud. lib. 7. cap. 25. He says, They arise about Machaerus, from two Springs of contrary Natures, one hot and sweet, the other cold and bitter; which meeting together, have many excellent Virtues, giving Help, both by drinking and bathing, for several Diseases: though Herod the Great tried 'em in vain, by the Advice of his Physicians, they being like to kill instead of curing him. These Waters are so plentiful, that they not only run off, but make a fair Current, or River, on whose Banks, stood the ancient City Lasha, afterwards Callirrhoe, whence the Baths themselves are named, being styled by josephus, the Baths of Callirhoe, as our Tunbridge-Waters take their Name from the Town, though 'tis some Miles distant from them.  
488. With ill directed Prayers, devoutly made.] From Cowley's, With good and pious Prayers directed ill.  
490. Vows he'd a Cock.] A noted Sacrifice to Aesculapius; I suppose, because while a Mortal Quack, the Good Women used to present him with a Pullet or Cockrill, now and then for a Fee.  
492. But the poor Marble Idol, etc.] Aesculapius' his first Seat was at Epidaurus, thence, in a great Plague, his Godship was sent for to Rome, or the Devil in his stead, for Ovid says, a great Serpent appeared in the Ship that was sent to fetch him thither. But above all their foolish Gods, I wonder what good Wife first deified the Son of this Aesculapius, I mean Machaon, who, it seems, got a Lift among the Stars for nothing lesle than inventing the most excellent Art of Tooth-drawing.  
513. Jairus for him and other Friends implore.] St. Luke 7. the Centurion sent the Elders of the Jews; the Rulers of their Synagogues were chosen out of these Elders; one of these Rulers was jairus, with whom undoubtedly the Centurion was intimate, since he himself had built the Jews a Synagogue.  
565. Or at the lovely Balsom Gardens nigh.] For which the jews quarrelled with the Romans, vid. joseph.  
584. Soon did th' Old Man the joyful Tidings know.] In the History thus, Be of good comfort, for behold he calls thee.  
597. A thick and churlish Skin.] I suppose it a sort of a Catarract.  
608. Nor ever saw, till then, the cheerful Light.] He was born Blind, and therefore his Cure such a Miracle, as Grotius observes, as was unanswerable, after all the Cavils of the Jews.  
625. Whence them he self-condemned and blushing scent.] St. john 8.9. being convicted by their own Conscience they went out, etc.  
629. 'Twas at the famous Pool, well known to all— Jerusalem.] 'Tis hardly to be supposed so remarkable a thing could be unknown to any about jerusalem, any more than that St. john, who was an Eye-witness of all, would invent such a Story, had it not been true; especially when the Circumstance related not to the Honour of his Master: our Lightfoot, I think, gives the most probable Reason for the Silence of the jewish Writers in this matter; namely, That the wonderful Virtue of these Waters, might be reckoned as a sign of the Messiahs Coming; Miracles being expected as a Token of his Reign, for which Reason, he thinks, the Rabbis never mention it.  
635. You know from Heaven some courteous Angel brings.] That 'twas a real Angel, not the Priest's Boy, which wrought these Miracles, Grotius brings these following Arguments, 1. 'Twas done at a certain set time. 2. All Diseases were cured▪ 3. The Waters were first to be moved, whereas in natural Cures they must be calm. As for the first and last of these Arguments, the odd Hypothesis which a very excellent Person stumbled upon, in relation to this matter, absolutely precludes them; but the second, I think, is unanswerable; he endeavours indeed to avoid it, explaining all Diseases by some, the Word whatsoever there denoting, as he thinks, a limited Universality, referring to the Diseases abovementioned, the Blind, Halt, Withered, etc. But neither will this do, for though there may be a kind of a Virtue, in the Remedies he mentions, against Lameness, I believe 'tis a new discovery that they're good against Blindness too.  
668. Nor does he old Traditions blame, but where, etc.] He bids his Disciples, Whatever the Pharisees commanded, that to observe and do; that is, undoubtedly, in Cases indifferent, since he was very severe against 'em, as in the business of Corban, where they made God's Word of none effect by their own Traditions.  
673. And a good Life, true Faith's unfailing Test.] From that of our Saviour, Ye are my Friends, if ye do whatever I command you.  
677. Now in some lively Parable— As ancient Seers used.] Those who would know the difference between the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Ancients, wherein consisted all their Wisdom; and the parts of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, may consult Grotius on St. Matt. 13. These Parables, Apologues. Similitudes, or Fables, were much used by the Eastern Nations, especially the Syrians, and those of Palestine; who, as St. Jerome observes, seem to have a particular Genius for them.  
694. Neither on Honour he, or Conscience stood.] The same with, He feared not God, nor regarded Man.  
750. Ten thousand Talents to his Servant lent.] Which, unless I'm out in my Calculation, supposing the Talon but Silver, is, three Millions seven hundred and fifty Thousand Pound.  
843. Touch not my Holy Robes.] His Fringes and Phylacteries, and some wore a huge Flapping Hat besides.  
855. Which almost equal makes thy time and mine.] The Jews fasted Mondays and Thursdays; from a Tradition among them, as Drusius has it, that Moses went up to Mount Sinai on a Monday, and came down on a Thursday.  
905. Not so the Younger, who profuse and vain.] Grotius justly observes, that among all our Saviour's Parables, this seems to be the most excellent, adorned with the finest Colours, and full of the liveliest Passions, appositum, says he, in juniore ponitur Exemplum depravati Ingenii, Youth having generally lesle Wisdom and more Passion than other Ages.  
Ibid. Not so the Younger, who profuse and vain.] By Profuse I would express the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, living prodigally, lewdly, vainly, or naughtily, nequiter, which Grotius thinks exactly hits the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, after which, v. 14. 'tis said, He began to be in Want, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which, methinks, from the notation of the Word, should be translated to run behind hand, or run out, as we usually say.  
1004. One only who more Kindness had professed.] I confess, I thought this might have been some good Substantial Citizen, of his former Acquaintance; but Ludolsus, on those Words Civi se adjunxit, (〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, was a sort of a Hanger on) tells us, by this Citizen was meant the Devil, the Inhabitant of the Kingdom of Darkness, and the Shadow of Death.  
1008. And sends him to the Fields, his Swine to feed.] Quo nullum vilius Ministerium, says Bochart de Porcis. Who also tells us, out of Donatus, that there were three sorts of Pastors among the Ancients, Bubulci, our Cowherds, from whence the Bucolies, now the name for all Pastoral; the Opiliones, our proper Shepherds, the chiefest Subjects of our English Pastoral; though I think least of the Greek; the Caprarii, or Goat-herds, famous with the Grecians. But of Swineherd's there's no mention, either in Theocritus or Virgil; though what's greater, Grandsire Homer has made Eumaeus immor▪ who was Swinherd to Ulysses, vid. Odyss. lib. 22.  
1111. On Acorns they or Wildings.] There's much dispute what's meant by these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which we tender Husks, the Latin Siliquas. Some think 'em the Shells or Husks of Beans, Pease, or such Pulse, which pleases not Bochart, because he says, out of Theophrastus, those are not called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Others make them the Fruit of the Caroub, or Wild Figtree. But leaving the Learned to agree among themselves, I take a new way of my own, feeding 'em with Acorns and Crabs, as probable in itself as either of the other.  
1061. A mark of Honour, he no more a Slave.] A Ring was a mark of Liberty and Ingenuity with the Romans, and Wealth and Honour in the Eastern Nations, vid. Gen. 41.42. and St. james 2.2.  
1062. Then bids a noble Feast, that Night provide.] The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the fatted Calf, may be put, in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of this Parable, for all sorts of Dainties, in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Maldonat says, all Interpreters agree that our Saviour is thereby intended.  
1067. And Seraphs sing to David's Royal Lyre.] David's Psalms were sung in the Temple, where the Angels were present.  
1070. The Sober Glass, with sparkling Gaza crowned.] We are not to suppose they made a Dry-Feast; but that when they had Music and Dancing, they had a Glass of Wine, too; which sure was innocent, if a sober one: as honest Theognis says bluntly, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.   
1071. Grateful to God and Man.] To God in Sacrifices, judg. 9.13. and Num. 28.14.  
1075. He Lights did see.] Coming from work, it must be now the Evening, and Lights in the House, though, I suppose, not like our Illuminations.  
Ibid. And Songs and Music heard] We read, Music and Dancing, in the Original, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Camero, exultantem Coetum, or concinentis Coetus Carmina.  
1108. Whom given for dead.] Those are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, dead, in the Holy Scriptures, who are lost in Vice, or dead in Trespasses and Sins. So Philo defines the Death of the Soul, the Destruction of Virtue; and Pythagoras, as Hammond on the Place, was wont to erect Cenotaphs, or empty Tombs, for those that left him.  
1136. We from the hardened Crowd some Truths must hide.] jesus spoke in Parables for the Hardness of their Hearts. vid. Hammond on St. Matt. 8. Not. b.   

THE ARGUMENT OF THE Sixth BOOK.  
ST. John, in a Pindaric Ode, asserts the Divinity and Eternity of our Saviour, as be has done in his Gospel and Epistles; describing the Trinity in the greatest part of the three first Stanza's; the Creation of the World by the Son in the fourth; the Fall and Restitution in the fifth and sixth; Proving our Saviour's Existence before his Birth, by his appearing to, and conversing with, the Patriarches in human Form, in the seventh; and like an Angel with the Israelites in the eighth; further, in the ninth, proving him to be God by Isaiah's Vision and Prophecy; and that he, some way or other, enlightens all Men, in the tenth; as he is the Divine Word, and Eternal Essential Reason.  
The Centurion appears surprised at his Discourse, thinking he had been deeply read in the Platonic Philosophy, the Sibyls, etc. and wondering to find so much Learning among the Jews, whereas they were represented, both by Graecian and Roman Historians, as a mean and ignorant People. Gamaliel sets him right, and tells him, that though 'twas true, what the Disciples knew, was miraculous; yet the Jews, not only had all parts of Philosophy amongst them, but that they were also the first Learned Men in the World, and both the Graecian and Roman Antiquities originally came from them. Of which the Roman appearing very diffident, Gamaliel instances more particularly, and proves the Heathens had their very Gods, their History and Poetry, and other Learning from the Eastern Nations, as they from the Jews; beginning his Discourse on that Subject with a Disquisition concerning the first Rise of Idolatry, and ending it with Praises of the Ancient Poetry, which Linus and Orpheus first brought from Phoenicia into Greece; adding, that even as far down as their own Ovid, their Poets borrowed their Matter from the Hebrew Prophecies and Histories. The Centurion owns himself convinced with the Reasonableness of his Assertions, and Clearness of his Evidence, only thinks he is too severe against all the World besides his own Nation, on the account of their Image-Worship; which, though himself had left, he had yet more Charity for those that used it, pleading, the very Images were not worshipped, but the supreme God by them, and urging all the common Shifts, made use of on that Topick. All which Gamaliel answers, and closes his Argument with the second Command, wherens all such Worship was expressly, and unanswerably condemned. The Roman rejoins, that it's not fair to bring Scripture against them, when they themselves won't abide by it, as the perfect and only Rule of Faith and Life, the Pharisees not only equalling their Traditions with it, but exalting 'em against it. To this Gamaliel replies, He'll dispute no further on that Head, but if they desired to hear what could be said in defence of Traditions, he had a Pupil eager enough for 'em, and learned above his Age, and, if 'twere possible to be done, able to defend them, and whom he'd call in for that Purpose. On their agreeing to his Proposal, and St. James' undertaking to manage the Dispute, Paul of Tarsus enters, warmly urging the Common Arguments for Tradition and Infallibility, against the Scriptures, and judgement of Discretion or Private Reason, which St. James answers, and withal prophecies, that he himself shall become as strenuous a Defender, as now he was a forward Opposer of the Christian Faith. After he has left the Room in a Rage, Chuza, being pleased with the Discourses he has already heard, and finding some of the Sadducces Opinions and Arguments, which he could not yet well answer, desires Liberty to propose them, in order to his entire satisfaction in those Matters: and, Leave obtained, produces their received Tenets and Arguments against immaterial Substances, the Resurrection, and future Punishments and Rewards; to which Joseph of Arimathea and Gamaliel return him satisfactory Answers. After which St. Peter subjoins other Proofs, taken from our Saviour's Miracles and Discourses, and that they had not only heard him assert there were Evil Spirits, but had seen him cast them out; concluding with the Parable of Dives and Lazarus. Which ended, the Company breaks up, and the three Disciples return to our Saviour.  

St. JOANNES.   
THE LIFE OF CHRIST: AN Heroic Poem. BOOK VI.  

I.  
LO! th' Eternal Word I sing, 
John 1.   
Whose great Spirit my Breast inspire!  
Whilst I touch the sounding string,  
Tune, some Angel! Tune my Lyre!  
Rise, my Eagle-Soul! arise!  
Mount and mean thy Native Skies,  
And view th' eternal Sun with thy ambitious Eyes!  
(If once direct his Glories on me shined,  
How gladly would I be for ever Blind?)  
Let thy first bold Essay be,  
What would employ Eternity,  
To sing the Father of the World and Thee:  
— In the beginning of his endless now,  
Before this beauteous World was made,  
Before the Earth's Foundations laid,  
Before th' officious Angels round his Throne did bow;  
He was, he ever is, we know not how.  
No mean Succession his Duration knows, *  
That Spring of Being neither ebbs nor flows:  
No Point can mortal Thought assign,  
In his interminable Line,  
Nor our short Compass meet the Circle All-divine.   

II.  
Whatever was, was God, e'er Time or Place; *  
Endless Duration he, and boundless Space:  
Filled with himself, wherever Thought can pierce  
He filled, himself alone the Universe.  
One undissolved, nor ceases to be One, *  
Thou with him ever reigns th' eternal Son.  
In his eternal Mind conceived,  
Not to be argued, but believed. *  
Down goes my Reason, if it dares Rebel,  
As the ambitious Angels sunk to Hell.  
Ineffable the way, for who  
Th' Almighty to Perfection ever knew?  
But he himself has said it, and it must be true.  
The Father's Image he, as great, as bright,  
Clothed in the same unsufferable Light;  
More closely joined, more intimately one  
With his great Father, than the Light and Sun. *  
Equal in Goodness, and in Might,  
True God of God, and Light of Light:  
Him, with the Father we adore;  
There is no After, or Before. *  
Equal in their Existence have they been,  
Nor ever did the Son begin;  
No room for one short Moment, or bold Thought between.   

III.  
The Father loved the Son, the Spirit came  
From their conspiring mutual Flame,  
From both proceeding, yet with both the same.  
Equal to th' Father and th' eternal Word,  
The eternal God, th' eternal Lord,  
With equal Reverence his Great Name adored.  
One God, for what's supreme can be but one:  
* Three more than Names, the Father, Spirit and Son.  
Triad and Monad both, where Faith may find  
What strikes Philosophy and Nature blind,  
* Three Great self-conscious Persons, One self-conscious Mind.  
Who made the World is God, and he  
Who made all Time must needs Eternal be.  
* This by the Spirit did the Son,  
The Father's Will by both was done,  
* As was resolved i'th' Consult of the great Three-One;  
High on his Throne with dazzling Glory crowned  
Sat the Algood, Alwise,  
And with his piercing Eyes  
Surveys wide fields of nothing round,  
Privations airy Realms, and Wast profound.  
To his loved Son ay-reigning by his side  
With equal Glory dignifyed,  
Let's make a World he cried!  
* Those fair Ideas be expressed  
Retained in our Almighty Breast.  
This, mild, no sooner said  
His ready Son, his loved Commands obeyed.   

IV.  
And first the heavens he built 
Gen. 1.   
Not those above we see  
So gaily decked in glittering Bravery,  
* With Luna's silver Waves and Sol's fierce beauties gilded.  
Far more refined, far more removed than they,  
Their Light would soon put out Sol's twinkling Ray,  
Their Light is God's high Throne, scattering eternal day.  
The Angels next he made *  
In Love and Flame arrayed  
The newborn Angels, cheerfully adore  
Their Maker and their Lord unseen before:  

Job 38.7.  Their newborn Voice and Lyre they try  
In sweet Celestial Poessy,  
In lofty Hymns, and Heavenly Harmony.  
The Refuse of their World did ours compose  
Which yet's so beautiful and bright  
Each scattered spark of Heavenly Light  
Falling from thence some Sun or Planet grows.  
But first on the dark Void the gentle Spirit descends,  
First, Matter wills, than Form to Matter lends, *  
First different Somethings makes, then makes those Somethings Friends.  
No longer with wild Ferment now they strove,  
O'er Matters Waves the gentle Spirit did move,  
And all around was Light, and all around was Love. *   

V.  
After the glorious Orbs above were made  
And Earth and Sea and Air were framed,  
The Alhigh with Pleasure all his Works surveyed,  
And Man the King of all his Works he named:  
But ah! how short his reign!  
How soon by God who placed him on the Throne  
When Lawless he and Arbitrary grown,  
By God who had the Power alone *  
dethroned again.  
Ill Councillors his Fall, he did receive  
Into his Cabinet the Devil and Eve.  
Th' Alhigh as much as what's Divine can grieve  
Resents his Fate, and fain would save  
Both him and that fair World he for his Palace gave,  
But first he must his justice show  
Before he Mercy could bestow.  
If any, asks, would satisfy *  
His Wrath, that Adam might not dye?  
Archangels trembled, no bright Warriors there  
To undertake the vast adventure dare:  
Rather all Earth and Heaven they'd choose to bear  
Than the Creator's Wrath, sad Notes they sing;  
Each Cherub seems to flag his beauteous Wing;  
Those gentle Spirits signs of pity gave,  
And mourned the loss of man they could not save.   

VI  
When forth th' Eternal Son undaunted stood;  
(How vast, how infinite his Love?  
How deeply him did our sad Ruins move?)  
The dangerous Enterprise to prove,  
To God to reconcile us by his Blood.  
A Body he did for himself prepare,  
To save the World by suffering there.  
Nor like an Angels, formed of air  
Which when their Work on Earth is done  
Is the next moment into Atoms flown,  
But true and solid like our own,  
In all but Sin, like man— With goodness mild  
On his loved Son the Father smiled,  
Accepts his offer and declares  
For him the guilty World he spares.  
Whilst th' accursed Spirits below  
Trembling fear a greater Blow:  
While the gentle Spirits above,  
Who Mankind protect and love,  
The Great Redeemer's Glory raise  
In lofty Notes of Godlike praise.   

VII.  
'Twas he who oft in human Form attired  
Stooped to our World below.  
As he our better State would know,  
Or Company desired.  
Now shorter he, now longer Visits made,  
And once in Royal Robes arrayed,  
At sacred Salem stayed.  
To him their Gifts obedient Nations bring  
At once a wondrous Prophet, Priest and King.  
He, frequent, with the Holy Patriarches walked,  
With him they eat, with him they talked?  
At hospitable Father Abraham's Feast  
He, with two menial Angels, once a Guest,  
Where the old Sire his kindness did requite  
When coming faint and weary from the Fight,  
He him t' his frugal Board did call:  
There Abraham saw his Day and did rejoice, *  
To Heaven he raised his grateful Eye and Voice,  
And gave him Tithes of All.   

VIII.  
'Twas he who did the wandering jacob guide; *  
'Twas he, who met by Iabbock's side  
That valiant Shepherd tried;  
His more than holy boldness did dislike,  
And him with gentle Lameness strike.  

Gen. 32.25.  'Twas he to whom the expiring Father prayed,  
When on his Grandsons' head his Hands he laid,  
And begs he them as well as him would aid.  
This uncreated Angel he *  
Whom Moses in the Bush did see  
When it with Lambent Lightning flamed,  
What Angel else those Titles durst have claimed, *  
In every sacred Page Adonai named.  
Him Royal Esay saw, whose lofty Vein *  
Excels bold Pindar's Dithyrambic strain,  
Him saw and loved, and learned his Will  

Isaiah 6.  Whose Glory did the Temple fill,  
Officious Seraphs waited round  
And Holy! Holy! Holy! sound.  
And when with Sacred Fire they touched his Tongue  
Almost as loud as them he thus their Master sung.   

IX.  

Isai. 9.6, etc. " Sad Israel! Weep no more!  
" Dry those vain Tears, those Sighs give o'er!  
" Thy God will thee increase, and thee restore!  
" He comes, he comes! Welcome as the sweet Morn  
" That follows tedious Night the lovely Boy is born,  
*" The lovely Boy, in whose auspicious Face  
" Already opens each Majesty Grace.  
" With Virtues equal to so vast a care.  
" Unmoved the Frame of Heaven and Earth he'll bear.  
" But who, alas! who can proclaim  
" All his high- Titles, and his awful Name?  
" Proclaim his Titles far abroad?  
" Stupendous Wisdom! O all powerful God  
" Eternal Father! for he's one  
" With his Eternal Son.  
" O Salems' Prince! with speed thy Empire gain;  
" And o'er the peaceful Nations ever reign▪   

X.  
— Thou us, who from the Word a difference boast  
He with more large effusions does inspire,  
Not the poor Gentiles are entirely lost,  
Their Reason is a spark of his Celestial Fire:  
His Beams, than Sol himself more strong and fair  
* Enlight'ning all, and every where.  
They Life and Light at once impart,  
Through Error's scattering mists like Thunder dart  
Direct the Head, and warm the Heart;  
Although alas! to most they useless be,  
Who, stupid, close their Eyes, and will not see;  
Useless to those who in the Twilight stay  
When Revelation brings the Day,  
Too short, too dim to those to Heaven the Way:  
Yet still there were a wiser few  
Improved and practised what they knew,  
Devout and pious, chaste and just,  
* And did in their unknown Creator trust;  
These shall acceptance find where e'er they live;  
Who well improve their narrow store,  
Kind Heaven will soon indulge 'em more,  
And greater Talents give.  
That faint, that glimmering Light  
Which pierces through the Clouds, and shines in spite  
Of Errors and of Vice's Night,  
If followed close will to such Beams convey  
Such orient Lustre, so Divine a Ray  
As shall increase to perfect, and eternal Day,  
That this is God, the Argument stands fair.  
It can do all things, and is every where,  
Or God himself, or at the least must be  
Some Emanation of the Deity.  
The Word Divine, tho' not b' his own received  
Expected by the Fathers and believed.  
In the Messia this must centred be,  
And if conjoined the Baptist, Heaven, and we  
Can aught of Faith deserve, our Lord is Herald   

Surprised a while were all the Audience by,  

Poeta loquitur.  With such mysterious Truths, august and high,  
Beyond the reach of narrow Nature's Rules,  
Or Roman Eloquence, or Graecian Schools:  
Thou something not unlike in Greece which you  

Vid. infra.  From ancient sacred Hebrew Fountains drew  
Your pleasant Walks divinest Plato knew:  
Hence the vain Heathen World, and vainer Tribe  
Of Atheistick Fools to thee ascribe  
Many a noble Truth and Mystery,  
More ancient than the Graecian Name, or Thee,  
From all the blinded World before concealed,  
And only to the chosen jews revealed,  
Nay even by them kept secret, and alone  
To the few wise and good amongst 'em known,  
To all his Follw'ers by our Saviour shown,  
Hence even the learned Doctors they outdo,  
Who wondered whence such wondrous things they knew:  
So those who here— But freer than the rest  
Thus the Centurion his surprise expressed.  
— That you're good men is easily discerned,  
But I confess I never thought you learned:  
And are the Graecian Arts too hither spread?  
* For I perceive, Sir! you have Plato read!  
* Nay even our Virgil or I guests amiss,  
For many strokes of yours resemble his.  
* Our Sibyls too, who mingling false with true  
I naught believed till 'twas confirmed by you.  
I find our Roman Writers, to be free,  
Unjustly brand you with Barbarity.  
To whom Gamaliel thus replied, and smiled:  
Learning which is at Greece and Rome a Child  
Has been so long amongst the Hebrews known,  
'Tis at full Age, if not decrepit grown.  
Egypt from us, from us the Grecians drew  
Their Arts, and as their own they lent 'em you,  
Who borrow all you think of us you know  
* From fabling Greece, and falser Manetho,  
Who by Abuses cunningly provide  
Their ancient Thefts from all the World to hide.  
What have they that's not ours, had all their due,  
'Twere easy to convince you this is true.  
That who the jews as barbarous contemn,  
Have borrowed all from us, we none from them,  
Their very Gods, their ancient History,  
Their Shipping, and their boasted Poetry.  
Letters and Laws— Half this if you could prove  
Replies the Roman, you'd my wonder move,  
Till then, excuse my Smiles, for Truth to tell  
Yet, Doctor! I'm a very Infidel.  
I ask no favour, no Opponent fear  
Replies the Sage— Lend an impartial Ear  
And first their Gods, with which when wandering wide  
Phenicia all the Heathen Word supplied.  
To us their Gods Phenice and Egypt owe,  
We only their true Origin can show.  
* Their ancient mighty jao was the same  
With our concealed, unutterable Name,  
Their false jove from our true— Adonai came.  
And he to whom you did a Temple rear,  
* Was only the Phenician Thunderer.  
Thou skulking in as many different shapes  
As when employed below in Thefts and Rapes.  
Now Hammon him from ancient Cham you call,  
Now Belus name him from our injured Baal; *  
Your juno has the same Original  
However disguised as when she once did rove  
O'er all the Earth in quest of wandering jove.  
Whether by Sydon named, Baaltis she, *  
Belisama, or fair Astarte be:  
Where is not great Astarte known? the same  
Th' Egyptians Isis, you Diana name, *  
Whom when your Matrons fruitful pangs invade  
They loud invoking cry, Lucina aid! *  
Now Berecynthia, Mother of the Gods, *  
A Huntress she in Ida's sacred Woods;  
Rhea the same, the same with both the Moon, *  
Whose beauteous silver Rays make Night pale noon.  
Thus tract 'em to the Spring and still you're poor,  
Your Gods but few amidst the your boasted store,  
In vain you one poor Idol oft divide,  
He's still the same however multiplied;  
The same in vain 's in different figures thrown,  
All our Three hundred Ioves in lesle than one, *  
From Phenice first he round the World did rove,  
Old Saturn, Moloch, Phoebus, all but jove.  
Roundly you all assert, but Sir, I fear  
The Roman urged, we little proof shall hear.  
Sol, Saturn, jove— You young and old confound,  
In Errors endless Circle wandering round.  
Astarte, Isis, juno— How the same?  
What likeness in their Worship or their Name?  
How from Phenicians we, and they from you  
Divide their Gods? and if th' Assertion 's true  
How you'll avoid the shame of Idols too.  
To your Objections freely I'll reply,  
And doubt not but I them shall satisfy  
Rejoins Gamaliel— You must with me bear  
While first the rise of Idols I declare.  
When Man forgot his God, he soon began  
Himself t' adore, and make a God of Man:  
With God's true Knowledge all good Arts beside  
In a few Centuries decayed and died:  
The wicked World grew barbarous again,  
* As e'er the Flood, and montrous Beasts and men  
Ranged o'er the Plains, the strong the weaker awe,  
Love then was only Lust, and Force was Law:  
Among the rest some few bright Spirits arose  
Who shield the Weak, and Force with Force oppose;  
Incense as well as Praise the Vulgar bring,  
Nor was't enough to make a Hero, King;  
But of their Benefactors they device  
Prodigious Tales, and numerous grateful Lies:  
A Centaur then who e'er a Horse bestrod,  
And he that killed a Bear was made a God.  
Of some departed Father, Friend, or Lord  
They first an Image formed, and then adored;  
While others, who above the rest could boast  
Their skill and knowledge of the heavenly Host,  
How all things by the Sun's kind Influence grow,  
* And Seas, as Luna bids them, ebb and flow;  
What friendly Influences fill the Skies,  
When o'er th' Horizon the sweet Pleiads rise, 
Job.   
* Or mighty Mazzeroth, through silent Night  
Scatters profuse his Donatives of Light;  
These scorned their Adoration there to give  
From whence they could no Benefits receive,  
While to the glorious Bodies placed above  
* Which some thought living, for they saw 'em move;  
Which cheerful Heat and Light to all dispense,  
* And as they dream, some secret Influence,  
Which as they pleased, unblessed or happy make,  
To these, by a too incident mistake  
To human Minds, they think they all things owe,  
Which from the first Great Cause of Causes flow:  
These they adore, not him did them create,  
Their kindly properties they celebrate.  
Hence came the ancient Mythologic Tribe,  
Who secret venerable Names ascribe  
To what they worshipped, tho' as Time rolled on,  
The Reason of the name perhaps unknown,  
Yet Footsteps of our Language still remain  
In spite of Time and ignorance so plain,  
They their first Origin would hide in vain.  
Sometimes their Heroes they, and Stars would join,  
And both to ' oblige, they make 'em both Divine:  
At others, they import, afraid, and loath  
To disoblige 'em, Gods of foreign growth:  
Fish, Fowl and Beasts and Man their Gods they call,  
Nay to make all things sure, the Fiends and all. *  
They'd need some kind of Pantheon now provide  
So much at last the Race is multiplied  
Which neither they nor we can marshal right,  
For Truth is one, but Error infinite:  
How e'er we've yet some, glimmering Tracks of Light,  
Some marks in most, which not unlikely show  
From whence at first they came, where e'er they go.  
Most of Phenician growth and Language be,  
The same we not in fruitful Egypt see,  
First founded on our Tongue, or History.  
Of jove, if more there need, I'll prove't again,  
Father by you esteemed of Gods and Men,  
Now him Baalsamen, the Phoenicians call  
Great Lord of Heaven, now Eliun, Belus, Baal. *  
'Tis plain they only mean the Sun, by all.  
Moloch and Belus is with them the same, *  
Saturn with both, the difference but in name *  
These one Inscription oft together ties, *  
Alike their Form, alike their Sacrifice. *  
To both the Nations their Boetylia raise, *  
And both far more for Fear, then Love they praise. *  
Again, that Isis, Io, juno, are  
The same, your own best Writers oft declare. *  
The same their way of Life, all given to rove, *  
And all, (but one indeed,) the Wife of jove. *  
All horned alike their Images we see, *  
Whence jove himself too in the mode must be,  
For Isis, e'er to Libyan Wastes he fled  
With her own double Crown adorned his Head. *  
But what's more plain than that so odd a Dress  
In Hieroglyphics did the Moon express? *  
Thou something further too was their intent,  
Their sacred Ox did joseph represent; *  
Him then t' a Star they joined, and long before  
Your Rome was Rome, his Crest their Idols wore  
Even their Astronomy by us was taught,  
* By Father Abraham first from Chaldee brought,  
* Whether from Seth's eternal Pillars learned,  
Or by Traditions glimmering Light discerned.  
* To them the use of Letters long unknown,  
* Their boasted Hermes ours, and not their own,  
Nay even the old Chaldeans sacred Fire,  
Which Delphos, you, and all the World admire,  
Your Vesta, Persia's Mitra, are but one,  
The same with Moloch, Ammon, and the Sun.  
With as much ease I shall convince you soon  
Astarte's juno, Isis, and the Moon:  
Th' Egyptian Isis, Queen of Heaven you name  
* Your juno, our Astarte is the same,  
* And all the Moon, in Venus all again  
You find, great Mother she of Gods and Men.  
See then whence your Divinities do flow!  
Or Sun and Moon above, or Men below.  
Your Vulgar even their Images implore,  
And the lesle stupid sacred Blocks adore;  
From place to place where e'er they traveling come  
Officious, carry, or they'd stayed at home;  
For whatsoever their false Priests declare  
That Gods meet Gods, fierce-justling in the Air,  
Further than them their Votaries did bear,  
They never stirred— Thus came Astarte over  
* To Cyprus first, from the Sidonian shore,  
Cypria, and Paphia called, and thence went on  
* From Isle to Isle, and past Icaria gone  
gone At Samos touched, where they her Temple raised,  
* And by the Graecian Name of juno praised:  
Whence Men the neighbouring Land jonia stile  
And Samos bears the name of Juno's Isle:  
* Nor far removed other Erythians live,  
To whom the neighbouring Goddess Name did give,  
Fair Erycina called, when wafted over  
By Cithaeron to rich Trinacria's shore,  
* Melita past, thence her the Tyrians bore.  
By her old Name to those new Walls they found *  
Your Rival Carthage— West to utmost ground  
They next proceed, where no more World is found;  
To Gades, and the rich Tertessian strand  
Arrived, and fierce Geryon's fertile Land  
Whom their brave Captain slew in manful Fight,  
And seizes his rich Isle by Conquest's right;  
It's Name it changes, as it changed its Lord  
Erythia called, from Venus there adored *  
Now Aphrodisia it the Ancient's stile, *  
Astarta now, now Juno's sacred Isle. *  
Nay, through Herculean straits ne'er passed before *  
To that new World without their Gods they bore, bore  
Whose fair white Rocks oppose the Celtic shore *  
Where Cesar late, for Life, not Honour fought, *  
And at so dear a price their Conquest bought,  
Bel and Astarte known and worshipped there, *  
And Taramis, the dreaded Thunderer. *  
If back again to East you turn your Eye  
In the Red Sea a little Isle you'll spy  
Which Erythra, the name pronouncing false *  
The Fabling Graecian for Erythia calls:  
To Venus here a Fane the Tyrians found,  
And gave her the whole Isle as sacred Ground.  
From her Astarte termed— Still further on *  
Past even the Ethiopian Floods they're gone,  
There early and undressed surprised the Sun:  
Where he retired, lest Mortals should behold,  
By Heavenly Art turns the blessed Earth to Gold. *  
Where Gomer's Land thrusts out its double head *  
To West of Ganges-Gulf, even there they spread  
Their Idols praise, tho' by a different Name,  
Colias, is Venus called, tho' still the same. *  
Next more to East, threatening the Seas and Skies,  
Outstretched the Corean Promontory lies; *  
Near where a Town the Natives Cory stile,  
In Taproban, that ancient Indian Isle;  
Which easily, I think may be believed  
From Chora, Juno's Name, their own received: *  
Nor more than her has jove himself stood still,  
First born to Crete, and then to Ida's Hill.  
Now you at famed Olympus him might view;  
Then wandering with the Corybantic Crew  
The Thracian Samos him did entertain,  
* Where he did with the sad Cabiri reign  
Thus far we're then advanced, and you I've shown  
That Isis, juno, Venus are but one;  
As Moloch, Saturn, Hammon, and the Sun,  
That those choice Gods were from Phenicia born  
From utmost West, to utmost rising-morn:  
What yet remains as easy 'tis to clear,  
That they'd their very Names and Language here  
As Greece and you from them, and yet that we  
Cannot be blamed for their Idolatry,  
Beelsamen, Ashteroth, Baaltis, Baal  
However since changed from their Original,  
Must at the first be owned pure Hebrew all.  
Some Names of God, which the vain Mimic Tribe  
Of Idol-slaves to their false Gods ascribe;  
(Those which so high an Honour cannot boast  
At least claim Kindred with the Heavenly Host:)  
If hard enough, they well contented be,  
For then there's something in't of mystery:  
Like our unutterable Name 'twill show,  
Thou not their Priests themselves the meaning know.  
From Hebrew Histories ill-understood,  
They sometimes borrow; hence with human Blood  
Barbarous, heavens angry King they strive t' atone,  
With Virtue and with Mercy pleased alone.  
* Hence Moloch's cruel Food at ancient Tyre  
Where precious Victims fed their sacred Fire,  
* Thence did the Sauáge Rites to Carthage come,  
And thence, if I'm not missinformed, to Rome;  
Where oft your bravest Youth devoted dies,  
Or them, to save the Herd you sacrifice.  
* The same cursed Offerings are in Albion made  
When of their dreadful Painted Foes afraid.  
From Isaac all, whose Fathers Faith to try  
His Friend his Son required, but would not let him dye.  
Ill Apes of what they think from us they learn,  
Or by Traditions glimmering Beams discern  
Those two great Lights our Books describe, which sway *  
By their successive motion night and day;  
Hence to those Lights the stupid Gentiles pray,  
Now several Hero's they in one comprise,  
To ancient Truths new Dreams and Tales device,  
And oft they know not whom they Idolise;  
Now mighty Nimrod they their Bacchus make,  
Then our great Moses for the same mistake; *  
Who sometimes must the famed Taautes be,  
The Germane and Egyptian Mercury.  
That Letters did from us, and Learning flow  
The Elements themselves, consulted, show.  
From us— Had yours their Order, Names, and Powers, *  
Their very Form not much estranged from ours.  
Cadmus who taught the Grecians first to write, write  
What was he but a Coward Cadmonite?  
Who long in Rocks and Holes was skulking laid,  
Of God's and Ioshua's vengeful Sword afraid,  
Whence their old stories, mingling false with true,  
Make him at last a Serpent's Form endue: *  
Nor only this, the Letters Colour too  
Where large and great, their Origin confess,  
Their rise in glorious Tyrian stains express.  
Those Letters first to the Phoenicians came *  
From Grandsire Sem, and Father Abraham,  
Whose mighty Prayers, nor lesle prevailing Hand  
Incredible! with his small faithful Band  

Gen. 14.15.  From four invading Kings set free their grateful Land:  
Then, Arts and Piety amongst 'em brought,  
Which Abraham Sem, Sem holy Noah taught;  
Whose story learned, like his they Vessels wrought, *  
And coasting, traversed many a distant shore,  
E'er Rome was Rome, or Grecia handled Oar.  
This he whose Birth-place Samos boasts well knew, knew  
Whom Fame of Hebrew Knowledge hither drew,  
Nor thought his Blood too dear a price, to learn  
Those sacred Truths which only we discern;  
These once obtained, the precious Treasure bore  
To Croton's Walls, and your Portuguese shore,  
* This learned Hermippus owns, who with delight  
And diligence his Master's Life did write;  
This Plato's self had done, whose piercing Eyes  
Unveiled beheld our deepest mysteries,  
* Had that great man but been as just as wise.  
His One and Many he from us received,  
And our mysterious Triad he believed:  
* His Psyche, Logos, En what can they be  
But Elohims' great undivided Three?  
Who e'er his Works with curious Eyes surveyed,  
Would there perceive a World of Nothing made,  
By the first Cause; the Angels, and the Fall,  
And strokes of our great Moses in them all.  
* Whom the first Legislator you must own,  
The Founder he of written Laws alone.  
Nor was this useful Art by him concealed,  
By God to him, by him to us revealed,  
* Before Troy's War, as from our Books appears,  
By many rolling Centuries of years.  
Hence Graecian Lawgivers their Pandects drew,  
Who when they of so rich a Treasure knew  
knew Did to our neighbouring Isles from Greece retire,  
And steal some sparks of our Celestial Fire.  
* To us the Attic Laws, esteemed so wise,  
* To them your old Twelve Tables owe their Rise.  
For Poetry, which you yourselves confess  
* An Heavenly Art, and we believe no lesle;  
Long e'er 'twas apeed in Greece, we had it here,  
And can assign the Century, the Year,  
When our best Authors flourished, yet we show  
Their Works, which true and genuine all we know,  
Within our sacred Archives kept with care,  
* Each Line, each Word, each Letter numbered there.  
Then Poetry was pure, a Vestal then,  
The Acts of God she sung, and Godlike men;  
By the Great sacred Spirit himself inspired,  
And not by Wine, or Gain, or Passion fired:  
Poet and Prophet then indeed the same,  
Their Inspiration, not an empty Name.  
Past, future, present at one glance they see,  

Gen. 49.  Fathers their Children blest in Poetry.  
When righteous Heaven some monstrous Tyrant's crimes  

Exod. 15.  Avenged, his Fall they sung in sacred Rhimes;  
How on the Clouds great El'him conquering rod,  
And all the ancient glorious Wars of God;  
Nor did such Godlike men forget to praise  
Whom for those arduous Works he pleased to raise;  
Good Princes, which by suffering bad, we know  
The best good thing Heaven can on man bestow;  
For Love they praise, nor sordid Hopes of gain,  
Reward enough to share their peaceful reign.  
To wicked Nations they just Plagues foretell,  
But promise to the virtuous All things well;  
And Heaven with Signs attests their Oracle.  
This saw th' Arch-Fiend, and better to beguile  
The Nations, strove to ape the sacred Style. *  
But ill at first succeeded the design,  
His Priests invoking him, and all the nine  
With much of pain wrung out one doggrel Line. *  
Rough and deformed with ease their Author known  
Even Envies self would think 'em Satan's own.  
Ah! had he such a Poet still remained  
He ne'er had thus the cheated World enchained:  
Some Renegadoes to his side he drew,  
Who something of our sacred Learning knew;  
Old Linus, first enticing cross the Seas *  
The Master of the Tyrian Hercules;  
Famed Orpheus next, whose hot unnatural blood *  
Stained the wild Thracian Fields, and Hebrus flood;  
His Priests and Poets they, his rites attend,  
File his rough Verse, his frightful Style they mend;  
And that they might not him ungrateful call  
He to requite 'em, made 'em Laureates all.  
Aided by them his Idolworship spread,  
And all the World adored the Stars or Dead:  
Yet all by Rote they sung, the Prince of Night  
Yet had not taught his Votaries to write:  
Nor he himself, who next succeeded these  
The Graecian Bard, old Melesigenes  
His Works e'er saw to written Rolls consigned  
Worse than the Sibyls, wandering in the Wind,  
* But leaning on a Staff, (the Bard was blind)  
T' his Harp he sung, his followers do the same,  
Thence Rhapsodies his scattered fragments name.  
But to whatever distant Fields they've gone  
Our Siloam first supplied their Helicon.  
Something of the first Taste there still remains  
Thou tinged with passing through such various Veins.  
* Hence his famed Chaos, drew th' Ascraean Sage,  
And many a God that fills his antic Page.  
Hence even your Ovid his, and if ye admire  
Whence we our Learning; we more justly ' inquire,  
Whence he the Old World's Flood, the News last fated Fire.  
He said, and paused— The Roman,— I must own  
Far more than I could e'er believe you've shown,  
Evincing clear to an impartial View  
That all the World has been at School with you;  
And there's some Reason for the Nations Pride,  
Whom we unjust, as barbarous deride,  
Far more ourselves— But might I Sir, be free,  
For those I've left, I've yet some Charity;  
And in my Judgement, you Idolatry  
Unjustly on 'em charge; for Images  
* They only make the Properties t' express  
Of that Great jove who fills the thunderers Throne,  
Whom King of Heaven and Earth we all must own.  
Nor scarce the stupid Vulgars' selves believe  
Those Images relief or aid can give,  
Only designed to fix the Thoughts and Eye,  
And since at once we scarce can mount so high  
Or apprehend heavens boundless Majesty,  
What fits frail Mortals shorter steps they take,  
The Mediums these of their Devotions make:  
This better still t' attain, for this beside  
They all their Train of lesser Ioves provide;  
In these their weakness, and their Makers ' State  
Consult, betwixt 'em both they mediate,  
For since when here, they Mortals ne'er did fail,  
Much more the Heroes will, when Gods, prevail,  
If this the Vulgar Gods, much rather than  
The mighty Mother both of Gods and men,  
The glorious Queen of Heaven that reigns above,  
The powerful Mother of our mortal jove. *  
Isis' herself, who may her Son command,  
And stop the Thunder in his lifted Hand.  
The fairest Plea that is, or e'er can be  
Replied the Sage, for their Idolatry  
You've now produced, and if I that confute  
I've then for ever silenced this Dispute.  
For what you've urged, and oft has been before,  
That they the very Image don't adore,  
I must descent, since evident we see  
In numerous Instances the contrary.  
From these all good they ask, all bad they fear,  
These they from conquered Cities with them bear; *  
They to the very Image lift their Eyes,  
To that pay Incense, Prayers and Sacrifice,  
If then their Incense, Vows, and Trust, and Prayer  
Not proper Acts of Adoration are,  
We fain would know what 'tis they such believe?  
What have they more to jove himself to give?  
Besides, if them they Mediums only made,  
Why should not all alike Devotion aid?  
Why glutted this with Prayer and Sacrifice,  
While that forsaken and neglected lies?  
Where foul and old he's sour and wayward grown,  
Half starved to Death sits gloomy on his Throne.  
Whilst o'er his mouth their Nets the Spiders spread,  
And Owls and Bats perch on his Godships' head.  
Why they the great Diana magnify  
That dropped from Heaven— Unless her Priests do lie?  

Acts 19.35.  To all her Sister Idols her prefer,  
Thou as well made substantial Blocks as her?  
Those whom they choose for greater Ease and State  
Betwixt their jove and them to mediate,  
Whom they their Demigods or Heroes call  
Were now the worst of men, now none at all, *  
Mere fabled Names; now Death's and Hell's sad Lord  
In Satyr's or in human Form adored. *  
But grant 'em Good, yet would it, think you, be  
A Testimony of your Loyalty  
To snatch your Prince's Sceptre from his Hand,  
And contrary to his express Command  
That and his Crown to some great Courtier brings,  
And seated on his Throne, salute him King?  
Again, if we this baffled Plea should take  
That Stocks and Men they only Mediums make;  
Even this, if God himself a judge may be,  
Reason or God, is still Idolatry.  
For Reason's self declares, the Deity  
A Spirit unbodied, boundless, simple, pure,  
And thence can no base Mimic Form endure.  
This even your ancient Lawgivers confess,  
* Old Numa's Temple knew no Images.  
Our sacred Books in every Page declare  
God's Glory he with others scorns to share.  
All Images forbid in that Command  
Spoke by th' Almighty's Voice writ by th' Almighty's Hand,  
So plain expressed, 'twill no excuse admit,  
No vain perverse Essay of human Wit.  
Nor yet, replies the Roman, must I yield,  
Once more I'll charge before I quit the Field.  
No solid Reason e'er I yet could see  
Why that Command you urge confined must be  
To such a Sense, since God by whom 'twas writ  
More largely seems himself t' Interpret it:  
Did not that Moses whom you all admire  
When God he met in Sinai's smoke and fire,  
Observe his Laws, and his Direction take,  
* By that, exact, your moving Temple make.  
And did not he, as your own Books declare,  
Place glorious Forms with Wings extended there?  
Besides, if you a final end of strife,  
A Rule exact and sure, of Faith and Life,  
Those sacred Books affirm, the World contemn,  
How comes it you yourselves appeal from them!  
* Your Corban you'd unwillingly decide  
By that, but take Tradition as your Guide.  
The Rabbi thus— The Cherubin we own,  
By which the Form of God was never shown,  
But of those bright Attendants round his Throne,  
These there by his express Command were wrought,  
Thou of their Worship yet we never thought.  
Not visible, how can they Idols be,  
Or Images adored we never see?  

Vid. Joseph. contra Appion.  None even o'th' Priests themselves might enter there  
None but great Aaron's Mitred Successor,  
And he himself no more but once a year.  
For what you further argue, to be free,  
Other Opponents you must seek than me:  
Corban for Corban's self must pled, I fear,  
But if their usual Arguments you'd hear,  
A Youth there is at ancient Tarsus bred,  
Of Hebrew Race, whose Father lately dead  
Him to my Charge committed, deeply read  
In all that Rome or Athens yet have known, *  
In boasted Graecian, Learning, and our own;  
Deeply in all our Principles imbued,  
Although too hot his Zeal, too warm his Blood:  
In him, or I mistake, if you're inclined  
His Force to try—  
You'll no contemptible Opponent find.  
Gladly, rejoins the Roman, would I hear  
Their utmost strength, but since my own I fear,  
Lest a good Cause, and this I'm sure is so *  
Disgrace by an ill Champion undergo,  
The Argument I gladly would transmit  
To these good men, who oft have handled it:  
Oft have they heard, with Eloquence Divine  
This Topic managed by their Lord and mine:  
(For since for me such mighty Works he has shown,  
'Twere base, if I his Service should disown:)  
Whom both at Feasts, and Synagogues I've heard  
As of Traditions he his Sense declared,  
And even your Sect who teach 'em, nothing spared.  
The fair Proposal, james, desired by all  
Accepts, when speedy, at Gamaliel's call  
His Pupil enters, who no sooner knows  
The Cause, but glad his Art and Zeal he shows;  
Thus, eager, all Opponents did prevent,  
Full of himself, and the loved Argument.  
Still were those wholesome Laws our Fathers made  
In force, nor thus despised, and disobeyed;  
Who their Traditions break, condemned, t' expire  
* 'Midst showers of stones, or sheets of deadly fire,  
That would the cursed Transgressor's best confute,  
For ever silence the abhorred Dispute:  
* But since our ancient Discipline is broke,  
Our shoulders worn beneath the Conquerors yoke,  
With Reason's Sword we now content must be;  
With that alone extirpate Heresy:  
* Whose Patrons, sacred Oral Truths deny,  
And to the Scriptures still for shelter fly:  
*" For Heresies have all the same pretence,  
" And quote the Scripture in their own defence:  
Thus I demonstrate then from Reason's School  
* The Word is neither clear, nor perfect Rule.  
Not clear— It can't the doubtful Sense declare  
" When Piles meet Piles, contending in the Air,  
" Squadrons of Texts drawn out on either side,  
How shall the controverted Truth be tried,  
Without a last Appeal to some unfailing Guide?  
And where should that, search all the World around,  
But in th' High Priest and Sanhendrim be found?  
Nor perfect is the Word, since much is lost  
Of what the ancient Hebrew Church could boast;  
And Moses self did to the Guides commit  
Many a sacred Truth that ne'er was writ:  
Those Cabala, the Fathers did receive,  
To the great Synagogue and Ezra leave▪  
As they to us, these all Disputes decide,  
By these the doubtful Word itself is tried,  
They our unerring Rule, the Church our Guide.  
" Thus every Age does one another move▪  
" And trusts no farther than the next above,  
" Our good old Doctors always took this way,  
" Each asks but what he heard his Father say,  
All doomed to Death who dared their Sentence disobey.  
Thus he, with zealous Fury in his eyes,  
To whom thus, temperate, the Saint replies.  
With those who are to your sage Sect inclined,  
Beyond gross Sense and Reason too refined,  
The surest way to see is to be blind;  
That thus, their eyes subdued, and mortified,  
They, with Tradition's broken Reed supplied,  
May grope about for some unerring Guide.  
That Criminal must have a desperate Cause  
Whose only Plea 's t' object against the Laws:  
The Statute's clear, but those it won't acquit  
May well use all their skill to darken it.  
Cast by plain Texts, you to your selves appeal,  
By your own Votes declared infallible.  
Reason and Scripture both alike cry down, *  
Since they defend not you, you them disown.  
You urge not Reason, you, but its pretence,  
Not Scripture, but false Glosses drawn from thence,  
Reject— But is it not the same if you,  
Must the sole judges be of false and true?  
Reason you pled, if you it seems t' acquit,  
But if condemned, its Vote you won't admit.  
But still, if private Reason you pretend  
Must be the judge, Disputes will never end:  
Were this supposed, you could but thence infer  
That men must still be men, and still may err.  
Nor shall they that, if they with Minds prepared  
A higher Guide than Reason's self regard,  
Attending, free from Prejudice and Sin  
The Word without, th' unfailing Spirit within.  
Still you complain the Scriptures are not clear,  
And you the Spirits must try before you hear:  
Your meaning is, you fairly both reject,  
For both Tradition and the Church erect:  
But what can easier be to understand  
Than Gods own Word, his own express Command?  
Or what's more plain than that on no pretence  

Deut. 13.32. Psal. 119.  You ought must add, or ought diminish thence?  
That his blessed Law all perfect is, and pure,  
Nor can Tradition's base Alloy endure.  
Perfect as well as clear, approved and tried,  
In every part of Life a Rule and Guide.  
In Faith and Life the Scriptures both avail,  
Nor can you give one Instance where they fail.  
The justest Notions they, of God, impart,  
And teach to serve him with a humble heart,  
Describe the terms of Happiness, and more  
That wondrous Prince who shall the World restore,  
* That Christ, that true Messia we adore:  
By whom, if ought from Ages passed concealed,  
The Father's Will's entirely now revealed.  
If then some Books are lost, (which if they are,  
Where's the High Priests and Elders boasted Care?)  
This not affects the rest, since still we find  
A clear and perfect Rule is left behind.  
Much of the Cabala, so highly prized  
* Are Trifles by the Learned World despised;  
* Your Sephiroth are Truths i'th' Scriptures plain,  
But darkened whilst you them unfold in vain.  
Ezra and the great Synagogue you boast,  
Whose Doctrine both and Piety you've lost:  
Much younger those Traditions you embrace  
Beside the Word; for them in vain you'd trace  
* One step beyond the Hasmonaean race.  
Fallacious all those Arguments you use,  
And for Infallibility produce:  
Thou managed they with all your Art and Care  
They still against plain Fact expressly bear;  
For tho' High Priest and Sanhedrim you say  
Can without Error show to Heaven the way.  
'Tis plain to Sense, you this unjustly boast,  
Themselves in Error oft, or Vices lost,  
* Sometimes th' High Priests, as you must own, embrace  
Th' abhorred Opinions of cursed Sadoc's Race;  
* The Elders too, as sacred Writ averrs  
Have Israel's God denied, and turned Idolaters:  
And can two crooked Lines compose one right?  
Two Finites ever make an Infinite?  
But what the Fathers told, you must believe,  
Since such good men nor could, nor would deceive,  
Since every Age does on the other move,  
" And trusts no farther than the next above:  
— But the blind Heathen take the self same way,  
" Each asks but what he heard his Father say,  
He errs, they follow, and stupidly obey.  
While those no false or dangerous steps shall make  
Who Reason's and the Words safe conduct take;  
Which them, if from their paths they never stray,  
To our great Prophet will at last convey,  
Whose Divine Spirit shall with resistless might  
Soon fill the dazzled World with Heavenly Light:  
Gentile and jew shall his blessed Law receive,  
Vain Idols, and as vain Traditions leave;  
Even you yourself— Unless amiss I see  
In the unerring Glass of Prophecy,  
You, who so fiercely now our Law oppose,  
And think us Gods at once, and Cesar's Foes,  
Struck to the Earth by a kind dazzling flame,  
Your Conqueror shall to Gentile Worlds proclaim,  
And round the spacious Globe shall spread the Christian Name.  
He said, th' young Disputant shot furious thence  
Too weak, and much enraged to make defence.  
When Chuza thus— You so successful prove  
In this, my doubts I hope you'll too remove:  
From a loose Court to Sadok's Sect inclined, *  
Some Notions I imbibed which yet disturb my mind,  
These in their usual Words I'll urge, nor fear *  
To find a just and candid Answer here.  
You know that Sect all future Life decry,  
All Immaterial Substances deny:  
A Spirit they'll not believe, unless they see,  
What they've no Notion of can never be,  
No pains for th' ill, or joys for those live well;  
They laugh, as idle Tales, at Heaven and Hell.  
Those distant hopes and fears alike despise,  
Impossible to them the dead should rise;  
Much lesle, should they an afterstate receive,  
Could aught therein of endless pains believe,  
Since finite Sin is disproportioned quite,  
They think to Punishment that 's infinite  

St. PAULUS.   
And hard, for Thoughts or wandering or impure,  
We should t' eternal Ages, pains endure.  
This is the sum of what they reasoning call,  
The rest Scurrility, and Nonsense all:  
Thus, modest he objects, thus calm and wise,  
He who of ancient Rama named, replies  
That immaterial Substance cannot be,  
Because some can't conceiveed, and none can see,  
With ease is answered— Brutish Atheists own  
They can't conceive a God, but is there none?  
Ask the received Sense of all Mankind!  
Is there no Sun because the Beetle's blind?  
* Their Breath, the Air, their Thoughts they cannot see,  
Yet still they Breathing, Thinking Creatures be.  
That God's a Substance 'tis confessed by all,  
Whom, but Blasphemers, none material call:  
* Matter's extended, passive, finite owned;  
If God be such, he's from his Heaven dethroned,  
Equal with that vile Man of Dust he made,  
Nay lower yet, and nearer Nothing laid.  
He must have Parts, Mutation must prevail  
O'er his weak Frame," and what may change may fail.  
Angelic minds who ever reign above,  
Aye hymning the Great Spring of joy and Love;  
These are all Spirits, for they, tho' young and fair  
They seem to Men, dressed in light robes of Air;  
Their business done their short-lived Bodies leave,  
Their elemented Form the Winds receive.  
Lose from dull matters Laws no longer stay,  
But the next moment think themselves away;  
Preventing even th' amazed Spectators Eyes,  
From East to West, from Earth to Paradise;  
And from the Altar oft to Heaven aspire  
In Clouds of curling Smoke, and Globes of Fire.  
Can you such Powers as these in Matter find?  
Can aught do this, unless 'tis perfect Mind?  
There is a Spirit in Man, th' Almighty's Breath;  
Something Divine, that must survive his Death.  
Who can with patience think he all must die,  
And in dark Nothing's Chaos floating lie,  
Who would not rather with a blessed Eternity?  
If Man, as Sadoc dreams, all matter were,  
How could he apprehend, compound, infer?  
How Universals form, Reflect, or Will,  
And on those Acts make new Reflections still?  
How Sciences invent, or Arts device,  
And even by Folly and Mistakes grow wise?  
How everlasting Poems, Works divine,  
Which to compose both Earth and Heaven must join;  
How these produce, how wove each Notion there,  
And give each stubborn Thought its Turn and Air?  
As soon wild Atoms into Whirlpools hurled  
Might make this beauteous Poem of the World.  
A heap of Letters in a Mirror seen  
As soon might form great Maro's Works therein.  
If all were Matter, Sadoc argues well,  
Would no Hereafter be, no Heaven or Hell?  
All would be Fate, and Man as justly then  
Might punish Stones, as God could punish Men.  
But shan't the Judge of all Men justly do?  
Shall not eternal Truth itself be true?  
That here things equally he don't dispense,  
Even Sadoc's Sons must own, who argue thence  
Against his justice and his Providence:  
Thou we more fairly a future World conclude  
To plague th' Unjust, and recompense the Good;  
Which by th' inspired of old in every Age  
Was fair inscribed on many a sacred Page;  
Thou far more legibly than all the rest,  

Dan. 12.2, 3.  By him of Heaven and Earth beloved; expressed.  
Nor this last Refuge to th' unjust remains,  
This glimmering Hope, that Time shall end their pains:  
As soon the Fiends may break their Iron Chains,  
As wretched Souls from the ●ad Prisons rise,  
From those eternal Shades, regain the lightsome Skies.  
Habits of Vice are Hell, that World of Woe,  
They needs must with 'em bear, where e'er they go:  
The loss of Heaven is Hell, who banished thence,  
Their pain of Loss equals their pain of Sense;  
And could they to that blissful Place repair,  
Yet what, ah! what could vicious Souls do there?  
Who Life and Death proposed, the latter choose,  
And a fair Option granted, Heaven refuse.  
Thus he— When Chuza— Easily we learn  
Those Truths we might from Nature's self discern,  
And you my Faith with small reluctance, gain  
IT unmattered Minds, and endless joy and Pain:  
But that which shocks Philosophy and Sense,  
And crosses all our Notions drawn from thence,  
Is your assertion that the dead shall rise,  
Our mouldering dust again enjoy the Skies;  
Those Seeds of things through Air and Water tossed,  
Through Earth and Fire, Bodies in Bodies lost;  
That these shall be in their old Form rejoined,  
Each Atom shall its brother Atom find:  
If then there's aught your sacred Books contain,  
If aught in Reason's School can this explain,  
The useful Knowledge candidly impart,  
And ever more command a grateful Heart.  
Gamaliel thus— Who erring minds regain,  
Their Pleasure richly does reward their Pain;  
And Reason's self no worse success secures  
* In those so well prepared for Truth as yours.  
Not that from Nature you clear proofs can see  
Of what's a supernat'ral Mystery.  
But first we'll prove 't, tho' from the World concealed,  
By God's unerring Spirit to us revealed,  
Then to our Faith the aid of Reason bring,  
And prove no Contradiction in the Thing.  
* The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms contain,  
This Truth the Sadducee denies in vain.  
When Fate the Souls and Body's link unties  
* The Spirit says, Man rather sleeps than dies.  
Express great Esay writes the Dead shall rise; 
Isa. 26.19.   
When the last Trump the joyous news shall bring,  
That those who dwell in Dust shall rise and sing.  
Thou this seems strange to our short sights who dwell  
In mortal Clay, with God 'tis possible.  
His Power can do what Natures never can,  
And reproduce the same numeric Man;  
From various things that Body can restore  
Which his dread Word from Nothing made before.  
Those Seeds of things too fine for human Sight,  
Thou granted numerous, can't be infinite;  
But were they, the Almighty is the same,  
And knows 'em all who calls the Stars by Name;  
Each Atom can 't his proper place return,  
And raise a Phoenix from a dusty Urn.  
Thou should he different parts of matter take,  
With the same Soul he the same Man would make:  
The Soul's the Form, by this dull matter lives,  
And th' individuating Seal it gives;  
That still survives, for what can that destroy?  
The Body's Harbinger in Pain or joy..  
While Body's still in Flux, still lose it flies,  
Even joined to Soul, each Day 'tis born and dies, dies  
And when Fate calls, it thence divided, must  
Scatter in Air or moulder into Dust.  
He said and paused, all pleased with what he spoke,  
When zealous Cephas thus his silence broke.  
Well have you reasoned, Fathers! and as well  
For Truth have urged Truths sacred Oracle;  
Yet Reason some evade by Sophistry,  
Some Scriptures wrist, but none can Sense deny.  
To this our Lord by Miracles appeals,  
In all those Truths which he from Heaven reveals  
By Miracles him his Great Father seals;  
Which thousands can as well as we attest,  
By Friends admired, by Enemies confessed:  
Who can by his own Power both World's command,  
And raise the Dead by his dread Voice or Hand;  
Whom Heaven and Earth obey, all must believe,  
His Testimony all the World receive.  
But never Man like him these Truths e'er taught,  
He Immortality to Light has brought;  
That Heaven the Good with endless joy shall gain,  
The wicked mourn in Hell with endless Pain.  
As little, immaterial Substance, we  
Can doubt, so much we've heard, so much we see.  
Legions of Fiends we see our Lord obey,  
Who spiteful him confess, and hast away; *  

  
Whether to their own dark Abyss confined,  
Or them he in the howling Desert bind;  
Whether before they haunt some lonely Tomb,  
Or bolder into Towns and Cities come,  
And strike afflicted Mortals blind or dumb.  
This have Capernaum's Walls with wonder seen,  
* This from his Hills th' affrighted Gadarene,  
Where to their Saviour they their Swine preferred,  
Where Beasts and Fiends obscene in Legions herd.  
Were our Eyes false, we've stronger Evidence,  
And proof even more infallible than Sense.  
These Truths did Truth itself to us reveal,  
Or plain, or in some lively Parable:  
One I among the rest remember yet,  
And think I hardly ever can forget;  
Still are, methinks the Scene's before my Eyes  
The pains of Hell, the joys of Paradise;  
And were not Day well wasted— Wast no more  
Gamaliel says, more earnest than before  
To hear the whole: while Nicodemus cries,  
Those only waist the Day who, lost in Vice,  
The sliding Hours profusely misemploy  
In shortlived Pleasures and voluptuous joy,  
Who while the sliding Hours fly swift away,  
Fond themselves beguile, and not the Day:  
But who like us their happy Sands have past,  
'Tis they, and they alone, Life truly taste,  
They use their Time which others only waist.  
But pray proceed, slip not one passage over,  
Believe we long to hear it all and more.  
He thus— I'll every circumstance relate;  
Thus was the Poor-rich-mans' tremendous Fate,  
— See his luxurious Body covered over  
With Royal Purple, fetched from Tyre's proud shore.  
* The softest Linen next his tender skin  
Richly perfumed, (and need) to hide within  
A loathsome Load of Vanity and Sin:  
Arabia's choicest Odours, purchased thence  
With the exactest Care and vast Expense  
Rich Nard, Amomum, sacred Frankincense:  
All these profusely smoking filled the Air,  
As if the Land of Spices had been there,  
Where nothing else they burn; the choicest Fare fare  
His Table's load, the panting Servants come  
Half crushed with their piled weight into the room:  
Those Birds with which wise Heaven our Fathers fed,  
And thought the fittest meat with Angel's bread, *  
As coarser Fare, despised, he'd scarce afford  
A room at th' end of his luxurious Board:  
The beauteous Fowl by distant Phasis bred, bred  
Almost as richly as their Master fed;  
Both fatted for destruction, scarce he'd deign  
To taste, almost untouched born off again;  
And could the fancied Phoenix self been caught,  
The Dish he at a Kingdom's price had bought.  
While in a stately Gallery hard by,  
Adorned with Babylonian Tapestry  
His Honour's Music sat, and as they bring  
Each Course, anew they sweep the sounding string;  
At once to charm his Conscience and his Cares,  
Lull his loose Soul with melting Lydian Airs,  
Or soft Anacreon's Words from Greece they bring,  
Which Eunuches bought from Rome or Egypt sing;  
No Words e'er better chosen to excite  
His sated, yet his furious Appetite,  
And urge to lawless Loves, and vain Delight;  
Thus on his yielding Couch reclined he lay,  
Thus he, Luxurious, past the scorching Day  
Till cooler Evening come, he bids prepare  
His stately Chariot— He must take the Air:  
At his broad Gates arrived he casts his Eye  
And sees a miserable Object lie  
With sores all covered— Strait with cruel Pride  
He turns his Head and haughty Eyes aside,  
Then frowning, thus t' his crouching Servants near  
Take hence this Dirt he cries, what makes he here?  
Drag him to th' Dunghill, that's the fittest place;  
Let him rot there, and not these Walks disgrace:  
Too soon they obey, and spurning bid him rise  
And get him thence— He lifts his fainting eyes,  
With much of Pain he lifts his heavy head,  
Which soon fell down again, and sighing said  
With a low Voice— What hurt or injury  
Will 't be, if here you let me faint and die;  
Thou while I might have lived, you'd not afford,  
'Twas all I asked, the Fragments of your Board  
Which even the Dogs had left— The Wretch dares prate,  
Replies the Lord— Here trail him from the Gate!  
They did, across the more relenting Stones,  
Scarce could he speak, but just expiring groans;  
The kinder Hounds, who as it chanced were there,  
Soon scented him, where half exposed and bare,  
His festering nauseous Sores infect the Air;  
Scarcely one part from head to foot was sound,  
One frightful Ulcer he, all o'er a Wound:  
Around him the poor Curs with pity wait,  
And as they could seemed to bemoan his Fate;  
They of their Master's cruelty complain;  
With heads thrown up they deeply howl— In vain  
The Huntsman rates 'em off, they ne'er the more  
* Will from him stir, but gently licked his Sore.  
Some Ease he found even in the pangs of death,  
Thou whence he knew not; with his parting Breath,  
Too late's your Aid, who e'er you be, he cried,  
Requited you Heaven!— With all his strength he tried,  
A little raised his Head, then sunk and died!  
— His active Spirit no sooner winged away  
From her untenantable house of Clay,  
But straight fair Angels from the Clouds descend,  
And thitherward their Course directly bend;  
His shivering Soul wide wandering in the Air,  
On their warm Purple Wings to bliss they bear;  
Safe to the Realms of endless Peace conveyed,  
And in great Abraham's bosom softly laid;  
There all the glorious Orders round him shine,  
*" And calm the Relics of his Grief with Hymns Divine.  
When now Sol's Beams almost had left the Air,  
Back did the Miserably-rich repair;  
Who near his house, the lifeless Carcase there  
Did at first glance a little startled see,  
But soon himself recalls— What is't to me,  
If he be dead, he did insulting cry?  
That Wretch had nothing else to do but die.  
For me, I better can my time employ,  
And many an unexhausted Year of Joy:  
Should Fate and Death be saucy and pretend  
To rush into my presence e'er I for 'em send;  
Rich Cordials soon should make 'em quit their hold,  
I'd bribe 'em thence with showers of liquid Gold,  
— Now let 'em keep their distance— When I'm old,  
With Virtue and the Palsy bedrid lie,  
Return, I may have leisure then to die.  
— He said, and a new Banquet bids prepare,  
Rich Syrian Unguents crown his flowing Hair;  
Resolved that Night in all the joys to live  
That Wit or Wine, or flattering Vice could give;  
A few choice Friends, as great, as lewd as he,  
Sat round, t' augment and share his jollity;  
At length the Tables cleared, the Banquet over,  
Profusely plentiful as that before,  
He a huge golden Goblet raised on high,  
And swears to all their Healths he'd drink it dry,  
Then brought t' his head, when on the sudden, fall,  
His lips scarce touched, he, Goblet, Wine and all;  
The Servants shrieking overturn the Board,  
And run to th' aid of their expiring Lord;  
Rich Cordials fetched, they force 'em down in vain,  
His hand upon his heart, there, there his Pain;  
Death-struck, he fell, hard comes his rattling breath,  
His jolly Face now pale and cold as Death;  
Atheist no more, believes a God too late,  
Trembling with Horror of approaching Fate:  
All Arts in vain, with wild distorted eyes  
He desperate in their arms reluctant dies;  
So soon his Carcase, black and horrid grown  
Corrupts, it longer could be born by none;  
But as the time permitted, they Inter  
With State, in his Parental Sepulchre; *  
Proud Hatchments over, perhaps some praise him too  
For twenty Virtues that he never knew;  
Their Flatteries help him not, nor reach him, where  
His Soul, by th' ugly Daemons of the Air  
Is seized their own, their Mark they on him found,  
Which in firm Adamantine Fetters bound,  
To Aetna's Gulf, or further on, they bear  
To the sad Northern World through mirksom Air,  
O'er utmost Thule, thence through Hecla steep, *  
Sink with him down headlong to the boundless Deep.  
Amidst the dreadful Pains of that sad State,  
Which for all those who now despise 'em, wait;  
Where long he Tortured lay, he lifts his Eyes  
Unto the now almost forgotten Skies;  
The Earth to him, Diaphanous as Air,  
With ease looked through, for Souls see every where;  
Beyond heavens mighty Gulf he saw as well,  
Thou vast as that, from th' under-World to Hell; *  
Within whose shining Borders soon he found  
Sweet Paradise, that blest, that happy Ground  
Where Father Abraham sits, the Patriarches round,  
And holy Souls, aye reign in boundless Light,  
Expecting greater Bliss than Infinite; *  
Among the rest when Lazarus he spied,  
With a loud lamentable Voice he cried,  
O Father Abraham! Thou so far from thee  
Removed, O Father hear, and pity me!  
To live in yond blessed Realms I must despair,  
What would, alas! my guilty Soul do there?  
All the small Boon I ask, O that I might  
Obtain ' 't! Is but lesle Pain than infinite;  
Since I in this dire Place must ever dwell,  
O give but a more tolerable Hell!  
If this too much, one Moment's respite give,  
What 's that t' a Wretch must here for ever live?  
Still lesle than that, yet let me, let me gain  
Some small alleviation of my Pain:  
The happy Lazarus!— O what a Change,  
(But sure the Blessed above knew no Revenge,)  
Betwixt his Fate and mine! Let him descend,  
And with one drop of Water me befriend,  
Tortured in quenchless Flames e'er since I fell,  
And Thirst, next Gild, the greatest Plague of Hell.  
Ah miscalled Son, Abraham severe replies,  
With unrelenting justice in his Eyes,  
The time of Mercy's now for ever over,  
No more thy Friend, thy Father now no more:  
Then, than thou shouldst have sued, when long in vain  
GOD did a Pardon offer, you disdain;  
Nay dared, ungrate, his Providence arraign:  
Even from his Goodness, would no God believe,  
Because he suffered such a Wretch to live: *  
Then thou in Wealth and Opulence didst flow;  
Two are too much, thou hadst one Heaven below,  
Where Lazarus his Hell; now all things weighed  
In his just Balance, Retribution's made;  
He lives in endless joy, who then did mourn;  
Thou in unpityed Flames must ever burn.  
Besides, th' interminable Gulf's so wide,  
That does 'twixt your sad Realms and ours divide;  
Yours cannot hope a Change, nor ours can fear,  
You must be ever there, we always here.  
If then my Pain I must uneased deplore,  
O let it not (but can it?) e'er be more,  
The hopeless Wretch returns; for even here  
In Hell itself I've something worse to fear:  
I' th' lightsome World above I call to mind,  
I yet have Five dear Brethren left behind;  
Them my false Rhet'ric did too oft entice,  
My bad Example them inclined to Vice:  
I fear lest their Damnation mine enhance,  
Their added Sums my vast Account advance:  
If he so long a journey must not go,  
Or make a Visit to our Worlds of Woe;  
At least halfway let Lazarus descend,  
Rouse 'em from Vice, and warn of my sad End;  
This, this would strike their Souls with pious Fear,  
Sure they'd the Dead, tho' not the Living hear.  
Nor even can that be granted, Abraham says,  
If they neglect Lifes fixed and stated ways,  
What the great Moses their Forefathers told,  
Thundered from Heaven, what all th' Inspired of old;  
If they the Law and Prophets not receive,  
Nor would they the returning Dead believe.  
— He said, the Fiends about their Prisoner came,  
And sink him deep in liquid Worlds of Flame;  
While Lazarus forgets those Miseries,  
By which he thinks too cheap his Crown he buys,  
And learns triumphant Hymns in Paradise.  
The Apostle breaths, the Story all commend;  
Hence Fathers! See, replied our Saviour's Friend,  
Our Master came not, as the envious say,  
The Sanction of our Laws to take away,  
Or mighty Moses teach to disobey;  
Perpetual Doctor of the Churches, where  
His Truths of moral Obligation are,  
Nay even those who sit in Mose's Chair,  
He bids obey in all that's just and right,  
Suffer or do, nor must his Servants fight.  
Gamaliel thus— Since you so much have shown,  
I've now far other Thoughts, I frankly own,  
Of your great Master's Doctrine, than before,  
And must th' Iniquity o'th' Age deplore  
That him rejects, our Ruler's Spite and Hate  
The Cause, he worthy a far better Fate.  
But chance what may, avert my boding Fear,  
Kind Heaven! You ever shall be welcome here.  
And now the Sun behind the Mountains fell,  
Gilding, with parting Beams, fair Siloam's Well; *  
The Guests arise, Gamaliel with 'em rose,  
Since they'll no longer stay, he forward goes,  
Conducts 'em to the Gate, and parting there,  
Back the Disciples to our Lord repair.   
The End of the Sixth Book.   

NOTES ON The LIFE of CHRIST. BOOK VI.  
1. LO! Th' Eternal Word I sing, etc.] I chose Pindaric here, being most suitable to the Loftiness of the Subject: And for my Excuse in using it, desire no better than Mr. Cowley's Example. For the Matter of the Ode, it includes, for the main, little more than what's expressed or hinted in the First Chap. and other places of St. John's Gospel.  
5. Rise my Eagle-Soul! Arise.] That Epithet may be more proper to St. john, because he's generally thought represented by the Eagle, among the four living Creatures in the Revelation; which is accordingly pictured near him.  
18. No mean Succession his Duration knows.] I am not ignorant that our famous Parker, and the Men of New Notions, are generally of another mind. But this has not only been the Opinion of all Antiquity, who thought Succession disagreeable to the Nature of God, but of the best and most Learned of the Moderns in our own Nation. See Bishop of Worcester's Sermon on the Mysteries of the Christian Faith; Mr. Bently, and others; and among Poets, Mr. Cowley, 
Nothing is there to come, and nothing past,  
But an Eternal Now does always last.   
23. Whatever was, was God, e'er Time or Place.] From Vida's: Qui●quid erat Deus illud erat.  
27. One, undissolved.] The nearest word I could find to undivide.  
30. Not to be argued, but believed.] As to the Modus, I mean, the Manner of the Eternal Generation; as I explain it in the following Verse,— ineffable the way, etc.  
39— more intimately one With his great Father, than the Light and Sun.] This usually is given as an Illustration of the Trinity, and particularly the Procession of the Son from the Father; though it must come short, or else it would not be a Similitude, but the same thing. All that is pretended to be proved by such Instances as these, being that such things are no Contradiction in Nature.  
43. There is no after or before.] From that in the Athanasian Creed. In this Trinity none is before or after an other; that is, all the Divine Persons were coexistent from all Eternity, and do now equally partake of the Divine Essence and Perfections.  
46. No room for one short Moment, or bold Thought between.] The Arrians, who had much more to say for their Heresy than their modern Kindred, did grant, in some of their Confessions of Faith, that the Son was from all Eternity by such an Emanation from the Father, as that whereby the Light proceeds from the Sun, but yet contended for a Moment's difference between their Existence; the Son receiving his, as they think, from the Father; whereby they unavoidably fell into the same Absurdity which other Pretenders to Reason since have done: That I mean of a made God, or a subordinate Supreme. To which, if they can, let 'em find one that's equal in the whole Athanasian Creed.  
47. The Father loved the Son, etc.] Thus some endeavour to solve, or rather illustrate the Doctrine of the Divine Processions.  
54. Three more than Names, the Father, Spirit, and Son.] 'Twas the Heresy of Sabellius, that the three Persons in the Trinity were only three Names for one Person, as well as one Essence. Which some have charged on Dr. Cudworth, though, I think, with more ill Nature than justice.. Nor seems there need of many Arguments to con●ute it. Names can't act. Names are not distinguished by Personal Pronouns; one Name can't send or satisfy, or attest another: But there are in the Divine Essence different Agents, different Actions being attributed unto it, and those who perform 'em are distinguished by different Personal Pronouns in the Sacred Scripture. Of the Father and Son there's no doubt: Of the Holy Spirit 'tis said, He shall teach you all things. The Father is said to send, the Son to be sent, the Holy Spirit to witness. Therefore they are more than Names, and I think Persons is the plainest Word we have whereby to express them.  
57— one self-conscious Mind.] With all Submission and Respect to that Reverend Person, who, if I mistake not his meaning, asserts three distinct Minds in the undivided Trinity, I must acknowledge I can't be of his Opinion for those short Reasons; if three holy Minds, than three Holy Ghosts: But says the Creed, One Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. Again, if three Minds, than I see not how to avoid three individual Essences, as much as of three Men: Therefore not one individual Essence, though this all Catholic Christians acknowledge.  
60. This by the Spirit did the Son.] Gen. 1. The Spirit of God moved upon the Face of the Waters: Which could not be a Wind, the Earth not being yet made to send out any Exhalation, or so much as any Air to be moved, without one of which, Wind could not be produced.  
62. As was resolved i'th' Consult of the great Three-One.] That our Church thinks all the Trinity consulted or agreed together in the Creation of the World, and understands that Expression, Gen. 1.26. Let us make man; in that Sense, appears, I think, plain enough from her ordering that Chapter to be read on Trinity-Sunday.  
71. Those fair Ideas be expressed, etc.] According to that Notion so much talked of by some, of an Ideal World; though thus much is certain, that the infinite Mind, had before all Time, and therefore from Eternity, fore-seen and decreed, what were then only possible Essences, should be in Time reduced into Existence or actual Being.  
78. With Luna 's Silver-Waves, etc.] Alluding to the new Notion of Light; that 'tis performed by repeated Undulations.  
82. The Angels next he made.] So in Coloss. 16. By him were all things created in Heaven and Earth, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Powers: And in the Old Testament, The Morning-Stars sang together, and all the Sons of God shouted for Joy, when the Son, the eternal, essential Wisdom of God, as the Fathers interpret it, laid the Foundation of the Earth; and if he made the Angels, he could not be himself an Angel in a proper Sense, though he's called by Accommodation or Comparison, the Angel of the Covenant; and by jacob the Angel that preserved him from all Evil. Of which see more below.  
92. Falling from thence, some Sun or Planet grows.] Alluding to Galileo's Notion," That every Globe of the Universe was created at a distance from the Place wherein it was to move, and thence let fall to the place of its designed Residence.  
94. 
First, Matter wills, than Form to Matter lends;  First different Somethings makes, etc.] Matter, the Heaven and the Earth, Gen. 1.1. which must relate to the Matter of them only, the whole being at first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, inform and void, till 'twas in three Revolutions of the first created Light, and three more of the Sun, reduced into that beautiful and lovely Order, which denominates it a World; all the jarring Elements being separated and disposed into their proper Places.  
98. And all around was Light, etc.] Gen. 1.3. God said let there be light, and there was light; immediately after the Spirit's moving upon the Face of the Waters.  
106. By God, who had the Power alone.] This certainly held then, whatever some may think it does since.  
115. If any asks, can satisfy— His Wrath.] This Thought has been laboured at by some of the greatest Genius's the World has e'er produced, Milton, Dryden, and others, after whom I should scarce have dared to attempt it, had it not been almost necessary to the Subject.  
131. Nor like an Angels, only formed of Air.] 'twas the Opinion of some wild Heretics in former Ages, that our Saviour's Blessed Body was only fantastical not real; whom 'tis not worth the while to confute.  
150. And once in Royal Robes arrayed,— At sacred Salem slayed.] Many Learned Men have been of Opinion that Melchizedeck was our Saviour, who, as well might appear like a Man as an Angel; and as well stay some time as just appear. They think that 'tis a harsh Interpretation of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, without Father without Mother: to say, that it only meant his Father and Mother were not known, or not recorded, especially considering what follows, that he had neither beginning of Days nor end of Life; for further Christ is said in the Psalmist to be Sacerdos in aeternum, a Priest for ever, after the Order of Melchisedeck: Whence it should seem that he himself was a Priest for ever, eternal, and therefore no other than the Son of God; as it seems employed in the Apostle's Words, of whom 'tis witnessed that he liveth, Heb. 7.8. made after the Power of an endless Life, v. 18. as in the third, without Descent, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. (Who shall declare his Generation?) And, he abideth a Priest continually. And when that's objected, made like to the Son of God, therefore not the same; they answer, that he may be the same with him, though said to be like him, and produce that Instance where Christ is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Philip. 2. Made in the likeness of men: and yet more plainly and unexceptionably, Revel. 1.13. One like unto the Son of man: Whom yet all here grant to be Christ. Other strong Probabilities might be added, but these I think are sufficient to defend my making use of that Opinion.  
157. He, with two menial Angels, once a Guest.] Gen. 18.1. The Lord appeared to him; as Cap. 17. The Lord appeared to Abraham, and said, I am the Almighty God; which could not be an Angel, could not be the Father, must be the Son. v. 22. God went up from Abraham; therefore must have taken a bodily Shape, which the Father ne'er did. And in the following Chap. when the two Men, or two Angels, went to destroy Sodom, they tell Lot, The Lord had sent them to destroy it; that Lord whom they left talking with Abraham: And that Passage, The Lord reigned Fire and Brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrha from the Lord out of Heaven; the very Arrians understood of the Father and the Son; as we find in some of their Confessions of Faith in Eusebius.  
161. Then Abraham saw his Day, and did rejoice.] A not improbable Sense of our Saviour's Words, john 8.56.  
164. 'Twas he who did the wand'ring Jacob guide,— 'Twas he whom met by Jabbok 's side, etc.] That the Angel who delivered Jacob from all Evil, and whom he prayed to bless his grandchildren, was the uncreated Angel, our Blessed Saviour, has been the Sense of Antiquity, as Petavius observes, though he seems not willing to believe it, lest the Church of Rome should thereby lose one main Argument for worshipping Angels. But without him we are sure he was God: For Gen. 48.15. The God of Abraham and Isaac which fed him all his Life long, is called, v. 16. the Angel that redeemed him, etc. though no doubt but 'twas the same who redeemed and fed him. Again, Exod. 3.2. The Angel of the Lord appeared in a flame of fire out of the midst of the Bush: But v. 4. God called to him out of the midst of the Bush: And v. 6. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The same also who wrestled with jacob at Peniel, Gen. 32. who though called a Man, v. 24. because appearing in the Form of Man, yet was really God, v. 28. As a Prince hast thou power with God: And so it seems jacob himself thought; for he called the Place Peniel; for, says he, I have seen God face to face.  
175. What Angel else those Titles durst have claimed?— In every sacred Page Adonai named.] 'Tis not proper to make a jew pronounce the Name jehova, which was, I suppose, long before this esteemed unutterable, for which was used Adonai or Elohim. Now that the Angel which went before Israel, which appeared often to the Patriarches, was called jehova, is plain in twenty Instances: See Exod. 23.20. Behold I will send an Angel before thee: And 21. My Name is in him: Now the Name by which God revealed himself to Moses and the Children of Israel, when he brought them out of Egypt, was jehova: Exod. 6.3. By my Name Jehova was I not called: And say to the Children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto thee. But God will not give his Glory, Isai. 42.8. His incommunicable Attributes, and essential Glory to any other Being: Therefore whoever has this Glory, must be God; and this God the Son, whom the jews tempted in the Wilderness, as the Apostle says, 1 Cor. 10.9. and of whom all the Fathers interpret it: Nay, the very jews themselves do the same, as I find in the Notes on Grotius de Verit. Relig. Christian. p. 368. Out of Moses Ben Nachmen, as quoted by Masius; Iste Angelus, etc. That Angel, if we might speak the very Truth, is the Angel the Redeemer, of whom it is written, my Name is in him. The Angel who said to jacob, I am the God of Bethel: He of whom 'tis said, God called to Moses out of the midst of the Bush. He's called an Angel, because he governs the World: For 'tis writ, jehova brought us out of Egypt. And again, he sent his Angel, and brought us out of Egypt. Again it is written, The Angel of his Presence (of his Face) saved them, to wit, that Angel who is the Presence or Face of God; and of whom 'tis said, My Face or Presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. Lastly, that Angel of whom the Prophet, The Lord whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his Temple; the Angel of the Covenant whom you desire. Again, The Face or Presence of God signifies God, as all Interpreters agree; but none can understand this, unless he's acquainted with the Mysteries of the Law.  
177. Royal Isaia him.] He's generally reckoned of Noble, or Royal Offspring. The Glory he saw in the Temple when the Seraphim cried Holy, Holy, Holy, Isai. 6. was the Glory of our Blessed Saviour: For so says this Evangelist in his Life, john 12.41. These things said Isaia, when he saw his Glory and spoke of him.  
190. The lovely Boy, in whose auspicious Face.] This is borrowed from Mr. Dryden's Translation of Virgil's Sicelides Musae.  
207. Their Reason is a Spark of his celestial Fire.] God the Son, who made Man, and breathed into him the Breath of Life, gave him also Soul and Reason, forming him in this, as well as Piety, after his own Image, who is the eternal 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or first Essential Reason.  
251. And only to the chosen Jews Ioseph's Speech, in Lib. VIII.  
262. For you, Sir, I perceive, have Plato read] As the Heathen said of St. john, when he read the beginning of his Gospel.  
275. Who borrow all you think of us you know,— From Fabling Greece and falser Manetho.] See this proved at large by josephus against Appion.  
295. Their ancient mighty Jäo was the same, etc.] This Iäo, or as St. jerom, jaho, was very famous among the most ancient of the Heathens: Him the Devils themselves were forced to acknowledge to be the true Supreme God. So the Oracle of Apollo Clarius, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. He was the same with jehova, and as well as jove, deflected from it. That this was the God of the jews, we learn from Diodorus, who speaks as much of 'em as most of the Heathen Writers. Moses, says he, inscribed his Laws to the God Iäo: And Sanchoniathon tells us, he received much of his History from the Priest of the God Iäo, by which Name, as Irenaeus tells us, the Gnostics, who affected Antiquity, were used to call God.  
298. And him to whom you did a Temple rear,— Was only the Phenician Thunderer▪] The Saxon Thor, and Scythian Taramis are concluded by learned Men to be the same, both signifying jupiter the Thunderer; the Name of the latter, as Bochart thinks, derived from a Root, which both in the British and Phenician Language signifies to thunder. And to the same God did Augustus erect a Temple, I suppose after some great Thunder, that probably which Horace alludes to, in his Coelo tonantem credidimus jovem.  
302. 
Now Hammon him from ancient Cham you call,  Now Belus name him from our injured Baal.] There can't be a more natural or easy Derivation of jupiter Hammon, than from Cham or Ham as we write it. And that Belus is the same with Baal, and Baal with jupiter, and yet a true name of God, Host 2.16. I think all learned men are agreed. See more below, where also of Belisama, Astarte, Isis, etc.  
312. Lucina aid;— Old. Berecynthia Mother of the Gods, etc.] Lucina is the same with the Moon. Berecynthia seems a compound from" Hgn which is either Venus or juno, and Cynthia the Moon, both the same with Rhea, so called from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, fluo, from an obvious reason. Berecynthia was Mother of the Gods, So Isis, Cybele, Rhea.  
322. All your three hundred Joves.] A fair Company of them, for so many Varro reckons, though most of them different Names for the same Person, nay often only Fable at the bottom.  
354. 
Of some departed Father, Friend or Lord  They first an Image made, and then adored.] This has been looked upon both by Ancients and Moderns as the first rise of Idolatry, generally thought to have been begun by the Worshippers of Belus, though this the Egyptians were probably guilty of as soon as any others, because they had not only the Images of their Relations and Friends, but their very Bodies, as they have to this day preserved amongst them; and when they are reduced to straits did really often get help from 'em, by pawning their Father or Grandfather to the rich; whom they thought it a great piece of Impiety not to redeem again as soon as able.  
359. And Seas, as Luna bids 'em, ebb and flow.] I'm not concerned, whether 'tis the Moon's Influence, the Motion of the Earth, or whatever other Cause, to which the Flux and Reflux of the Seas are owing; 'tis enough that what I assign has been believed as most probable by Antiquity, which Mr. Cowley follows in his" Undisturbed by Moons, etc.  
362. Or mighty Mazzaroth.] I confess I can give no better Reason for calling him mighty, than because he has a very hard Name: But what's the true meaning on't, after all the Guesses of the Critic, perhaps he only knows who calls all the Stars by their Names, however Gamaliel might then know what it was.  
367. Which some thought living, for they saw 'em move.] They believed 'em intelligent Being's, says Mr. Bently out of More Nevochim; and the same appears from Plato, Diodorus, especially Eusebius, Demonstr. Evang. Lib. 1. Cap. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The Egyptians and Phoenicians first worshipped the Sun, Moon and Stars, as Gods.  
388. Nay, to make all things sure, the Fiends and all.] Which Porphyry fairly acknowledges, owning that Belzebub and Serapis were the same.  
402. Lord of Heaven.] Beelsamen signifies no more, as Belisama, Queen of Heaven, two Idols of the Phoenicians the same with jupiter and juno.  
404. Moloch and Belus is with these the same.] Moloch signifies King, or Lord; Belus, or Baal is much of the same Signification. That jupiter is the same with Belus I think few question. That the Sun had the same name appears from the Graecian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, derived of the Phenician Eliun, of whom Sanchoniathon; and we learn from Damasc. in Phot. that the Phoenicians confound Hell and Bell, as our British learned to do from them, the Father of our Cassibelaunus (rather Cassibelinus) being called in some of our old Writers Hell or Heli, in others Belgiosa And in Gruter's Inscriptions we find one at Aquileia, Apollini Beleno; and the Herb Apollinaris was called by the ancient Gauls, Belinuntia; to which add that Macrobius in Saturn, ult. affirms jupiter and the Sun to be the same.  
405. Saturn with both.] Thallus, an old Historian commended by Lactantius, Tertullian and Minutius, mentions Belus and Chronus as the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 some, says he, pay divine Honours to Chronus, and name him Baal, or Bel, the Romans call him Saturn, and some say that Linus first introduced his Worship. So Apollinaris in Catena on Psalm 106.28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The Grecians call Baal Bel, who they say is the same with Time or Saturn. Scaliger thinks this Baalpeor, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Taramis the Thunderer, Vossius the Sun, S. jerom Priapus; and I suppose are all three in the right.  
406. The same Inscription both, etc.] That famous one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mentioned in Bochart.  
407. Alike their Form, alike their Sacrifice.] Their Form, a King with a Sceptre in his hand; their Sacrifice human, as is notorious, both to Saturn, Baal, and Moloch.  
408. To both the Nations their Baetylia raise.] These were very ancient Idols, Name and Thing, as the learned conjecture, corrupted from Bethel, where jacob anointed a Pillar and dedicated it to God, whence the Phoenicians his neighbours might do the same to their Idols. These Baetylia were dedicated to Saturn, jupiter and others, being found formerly in great numbers near Mount Libanus, particularly at Heliopolis, the City of Hell, or Bel the Son of jupiter; as Photius from Damascius, which latter says he saw one of them himself sustained and moving in the air, sometimes bigger sometimes lesle. That they had some Motion and a sort of Life we learn from Sanchoniathon, who calls these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Their Form was different, sometimes like a Pillar; whence Baal's spired Stone to dust was ground. Which I suppose was the proper 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which the jews were so often forbidden to make: at others round and white, like an exact Globe. This Stone is also called Abaddir, as Gale from Priscian, whence perhaps the Devil's name Abaddon in the Revelations; all of them I'm inclined to believe the same with that jupiter Lapis or Terminus of the Romans, whom Lactantius mentions, who was so stubborn he'd not yield an Inch to jupiter Latialis himself, but kept his ground in the Capitol, when all the other Gods were afraid of the Thunderer.  
409. 
That Isis, Io, angry Juno are  The same your own best Writers oft declare.] Euripides as quoted by Bochart says, the Phoenicians and Thebans thought Isis the same with the common Mother. Herodotus in Euterpe, as I find him quoted in Gale, says, the Image of Isis was of the same Form with the Graecian Io. Now further, that Isis was juno is plain, because Plutarch says in Crassus that the Hieropolitan Goddess, who was this Isis, is also called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or juno. And the same Isis is called by julian in his Oration, De matre Deorum, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. ` Mother of the Gods, and Wife of jove; and again, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which could agree to none but juno.  
411. The same their way of Life.] See Herodotus, who describes Isis as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, running to and from on the Earth. So Plutarch, Apuleius, Sanchoniathon, Lucian and others; and the same is true of Io, and juno rambling after her jupiter.  
413. And all— The Wife of jove.] Of Isis 'tis proved, of juno not doubted, nor can it be of Io, if the same with juno, as she was by Ovid's leave, only a Contraction of it, though he only makes her a Concubine of jupiter.  
414. All horned alike.] So says Herodotus of Isis and Io, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, therefore true of juno. See more below in Astarte.  
416. Hence Isis, ere to Libyan Wastes he fled,— With her own double Crown, etc.] Libyan Wast where the Temple of Ammon is described by Dionysius, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉▪ Where the Scholiast thus; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. That Herodotus says, that this Image of jupiter had Horns like a Ram, whence the Fable of Jupiter's turning himself into a Ram when he fled from the Giants into Egypt; and some think Asteroth or Astarte was worshipped in the form of a Sheep, as we learn from the Rabbis.  
421. Their sacred Ox did Joseph represent.] So Vossius, and most other learned Men; which is made more probable by the Etymology of Serapis, which signifies as some think Ox Father. joseph was, as he himself says, a Father to Pharaoh. The Ox, a laborious Creature, is the Emblem of Plenty and Industry: Further, the Image of Serapis had a Bushel on its head, as Suidas describes it, in memory of his providing Corn for the people: And Sandford tells us, that Minutius the Perfect of Provisions at Rome was honoured with the Statue of a golden Ox for much the same reason.  
425. By Father Ab●am first from Chaldee brought.] That the Chaldeans were the most ancient Philosophers there is but little doubt, any more than that Abraham was a Chaldean. Philo ascribes the invention of Letters to Abraham, though Eupolemus, Artapan and others to Moses. Abraham might teach them to the Phoenicians, as they, we know, did by Cadmus to the Grecians, and Moses to the Egyptians; who though they might teach him their own Learning, there's no necessity they should teach him his Letters. But that the Egyptians learned 'em from a Stranger, their own Writers acknowledge, and we find in Plato.  
426. Whether from Seth 's eternal Pillars learned.] As josephus' asserts, and speaks of one of them as remaining in Syria to his time; which one would think he'd scarce have done, had there been no foundation for such a thing: nor is there any Contradiction or Absurdity in it.  
429. Their boasted Hermes ours and not their own.] Hermes is said to have invented Letters, or at least brought 'em into Egypt. This Moses is concluded to have done, therefore he must be that Hermes  
430. 
Nay even the old Chaldeans sacred Fire,  
Which Delphos, you, and all the World admire,  
Your Vesta, Persia's Mitra, are but one  The same with Moloch, Ammon and the Sun.] The old Chaldeans were the first who worshipped the Fire, which some attribute to Nimrod; this 'tis thought was done at Ur, which the vulgar tender Fire. The same sacred Fire or Symbol of the Sun was also adored at Delphos, and almost every where else, especially by the Romans, under the name or Vesta; the Persians worshipped it under the name of Mitra, and at other times they called it Amanus, why not from Ammon? who had also his sacred Fire perpetually preserved, of which see Plutarch in his discourse of Oracles.  
436. 
The Egyptian Isis, Queen of Heaven, you name  
Your Juno, our Astarte is the same,  
And both the Moon, in Venus all again  Agree, great Mother she of Gods and Men.] julian begins his Prayer thus to Isis, the same as he thinks with Dea, Rhea, and Demeter or Ceres, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O thou Mother of Gods and Men! and just after, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, ' Partner of the Throne of jove. That juno is Queen of Heaven among the Heathens, is granted. That Astarte is the same with juno, and both with the Moon, will appear from the Description we have of her in Sanchoniathon and others. She wore upon her own head, says he, that of a Bull, just as juno is before described, representing a Crescent or Half-moon. She's agreed to be the same with Ashteroth the Goddess of the Sidonians, whom the jews worshipped in Samuel's time, and Solomon afterwards. The same with that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Acts, which has so puzzled Interpreters, of whom the Writer of Tobit quoted by Mr. Cowley, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, `they sacrificed to Baal the Heifer; the same with Baaltis, or Belis, or Belisama, which last signifies exactly the Queen, as Beelsamen the King, of Heaven; by whom the Moon is thought to be intended, and called by that Title in the holy Scriptures. That this Astarte is the Moon further appears from Lucian's Dea Syria, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, ' I esteem Astarte to be the Moon. Further, that juno, and Venus, and the Moon are all one is Vossius' Opinion. It has been already proved of juno and the Moon, and is as clear of Venus from that forementioned passage of Plutarch, where he says, the Hieropolitan Goddess was called by some juno, by others Venus, and by others the Goddess which takes care of the Principles and Seeds of things. I have only to prove that Astarte is Venus, which Tully expressly affirms De natura Deorum:" Venus Syria Tyroque concepta, quae Astarte vocatur. And yet more plainly, the Isle Erythia near Spain, which as Bochart says was called Ashtoreth or Astarta by the Phoenicians, was also named by some 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, by others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Isle of Venus and juno. This Venus had also many other names; the Assyrians, as Herodotus, called Venus Mylitta, the Arabians Alytta, (from a Composition of both which, with a small Variation, might the Island Melita or Malta be named, where was formerly a temple of Venus, as Cithaeron, Erythia, and other places for the same Reason) the Persians as before Mitra, as learned Men have conjectured, from the Persian Meliter, which signifies great, whence the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Latin Mater, from the Doric, and our English Mother. But why may not this Mitra as well come from Mitzraim the Sun, as Vossius thinks, and accordingly some call this Idol the Sun, Venus, or whatever 'twas, Mitra, or Mithra, as Suidas; others Mesra or Mizra as Philo; nor is't any wonder it should be reckoned both Masculine and Feminine, since such was the Statue of ancient Venus, such, 'tis thought, Priapus, and the Deus Lunus, and so Astarte or Astartus. Nay the same God or Goddess was still worshipped by the Arabians in Mahomet's time, who in his Koran thus upbraids them with their Idolatry, Surat. 51. Have you not seen Allath, and Alloza, and Menath; which Alloth seems the same with the Alytta of Herodotus, only an Arabic Termination for a Greek. Beidar in his Commentary on the place says, they were all three one Image, bearing the resemblance of every living Creature, (as some think the Pantheon) and yet like a Woman. Iso-bar-ali, cited by Hottinger says, 'twas the Star of the God Remphan, S. jerom tells us this Star was Lucifer, which in his time the Arabians worshipped; and Lucifer in the Morning is Venus in the Evening. This Menath seems to be the same with Mercury, worshipped in those parts as some have thought by the name of Meni, and who according to Beidar's Description was the same with Venus, an Hermaphrodite in the most proper sense of the Words.  
450. To Cyprus first from the Sidonian shore.] It appears that the Worship of Venus came from Sidon and the Phoenicians to the rest of the World, because they were the first who adored her, near whose shore is the Isle of Cyprus, where she had an ancient Temple, and whence she bore the name of Cypria. See Pausonias in Atticis, who thus speaking of the Temple of Venus Urania, She was worshipped first, says he, by the Assyrians, then by the Cyprians, Paphians and Phoenicians of Palestine, whence the Inhabitants of Cithaeron learned to adore her.  
452. Past Icaria gone.] a small Island in the Aegean Sea, Samos, as Bochart thinks, a Colony of the Phoenicians.  
453. 
At Samos touched, where they her Temple raised,  And by the Graecian Name of Juno praised.] juno had a famous Temple at Samos, which Virgil celebrates. Vossius thinks jupiter was derived from jah 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and janus from the same jah, and that in the same manner was form jana, as from thence juno; which words among the ancient Romans were the same, the a and u being frequently changed, as Calamus into Culmus; and oh, as in Dido, being the Greek Termination.  
457. Nor far from thence other Erythian.] A Family of the Erythraei are placed hereabouts, by Dionysius, and others. Why I call them Erythians, not Erythraeans, see below.  
461. Melita past.] Where was a famous Temple of hers, as before; and indeed she left Temples and took Names at most of the considerable Islands and Ports of the Seas. Whence she's called Cypria, Paphia, Cytheraea, Erycina, Melitaea, etc.  
462. By her old Name.] That of juno most solemnly adored at Carthage, which gave Virgil a very neat occasion for most of his Machine's in his Aeneis.  
465. To Gades and the rich Tartessian Strand.] Tartessus was famous in all ancient Stories and Writers, though now the place itself where it stood is hardly known. Some think it the same with the Tarshish whither Solomon's Ships went, which is not improbable, from the vast quantities of Gold and Silver formerly found there; Baetica Hispania being also formerly called Tarsis. Thucydides says, the Phoenicians built this Tartessus.  
476. To that new World without.] Britain, which was called, when first known to the Romans, alter orbis; and is described as such by Agrippa in his Speech to the jews, which josephus gives us, with which none doubt but the Phoenicians were acquainted.  
477. Where Cesar late for Life, etc.] So say the British Historians, and he himself owns little lesle.  
479. Bel and Astarte known and worshipped there.] That Bel or Baal was known, and his worship introduced here in Britain by the Phoenicians, seems probable from the frequent Footsteps of the Name amongst us. Bel, as before, is recorded in our History as the Father of Cassibelan; our Belinus is also famous. Our Cunobelin and others; to which add the Names of Billingsgate, Billing-borough, etc. Nay, Camden's Inscription mentions the God Belinus here in Britain. That Bel or Baal was the same with Hammon or jupiter has been already proved, as also with Moloch or Saturn a Phenician Idol. Now we have the Name of Hammon in our Portus Hammonis, or Portsmouth; and Ham-ooze in Plymouth, and several other Places. We had an Idol whose very Shape and manner of Worship was proper unto their Baal or Moloch. Of which See Sams' Britannia, where he has a Cut of that huge wicker Idol, in whose Body the old Britain's used to enclose the Child that was to be sacrificed. That Astarte was known here Bochart thinks, and endeavours to prove it by the word Aestar, which he derives from the name of that Goddess, and by a passage in the Roman Historians; who tell us, when Queen Boadicia was joining Battle, she cried out, O Adraste help; which he believes was the same with Astarte. And why mayn't it be lawful to guests on, and derive the Name of the Startpoint in Cornwall from the same Goddess? Thomas more sure we are, that we have another of her Name without the alteration of one Letter, here on the British shores, and that's Belisama; for we find Belisamae aestuarium between the Rivers Deva and Sabrina, now Dee and Severn, in Ptolemy's first Table of Europe. Nay further, what if we should find both their Names Bel and Astarte in one word, and that's Belerium, now S. Burien in Cornwall; derived not improbably from Bel and Ery, Venus, or juno, or Astarte; as in Erythia, Erycina, and twenty other instances, the Phoenicians being desirous to perpetuate the Name and Honour both of their Gods and Goddesses together, exactly answerable to that proper Name Beleastartus, whom we find in the List of their Kings. See more in the next Note.  
483. Which Erythra.] There's hardly any thing of this nature has bred more Controversy among the Critics, than the Erythraean Sea, of which they give many different Etymologies, though I think most agree that 'tis so called from the Isle Erythra, where one King Erythrus was buried, though who or what he was, or when he lived they tell us not, some making him Esau, others they know not whom: all which difficulty vanishes, if we read Erythia instead of Erythra, and give the same name to this Island in the Arabian Gulf with that which is either near the Gades, or the same with them. This is made probable by a passage of Solinus concerning that in the Straits mouth: Erythia, says he, which some also call Erythraea, This Erythia may answer almost exactly to the famous Venus Urania, if we derived it from Ery, which, as before, signifies juno or Venus from the Chaldee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Here, libera; and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, divina; or Hesiod's old 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, whom he makes the Mother of the Gods. Which is still rendered more probable by what Bochart tells us of another Island called Astarte in the Arabian Gulf, which seems no other than this Erythia.  
491. By heavenly Art turns the blessed Earth to Gold.] The aurea Chersonesus, or Golden Island of Dionysius.  
492. Where Gomer 's land thrusts out its double Head.] Now Cape Comorri, which some think derived from Gomer.  
495. Colias is Venus called.] A Place hereabouts is termed by Dionysius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, not altogether unlike Calcutta, which is in our Maps in the same part of Asia with that in the old, which Colias is a name of Venus.  
497. The Corean Promontory lies,— Near where a Town.] Cape Cory, and the Town Talycory near it in Zeilan, by some thought the old Taprobane. Both probably from Chora the name of juno.  
503. First born to Crete, and then to Ida 's Hill, Then wand'ring with the Corybantic Crew, etc.] All known Stories of jupiter.  
506. The Thracian Samos.] To distinguish it from the other already mentioned where juno was worshipped.  
507. The sad Cabiri.] Samothracian Gods, as Bochart thinks, of Phenician Original. They were four, as the Scholiast on Apollon. Argonaut. Axieros, Axiokersa, Axiokersoes, and Casmilus; that is, as he interprets it, Ceres', Proserpina, Pluto, and Mercury.  
532. Thence Moloch's cruel food at ancient Tyre, Thence did those savage rites, etc.] The Tyrians sacrificing children is notorious in History, as the Carthaginians from them. The Romans also had human Sacrifices in the Boaria, and the Greeks the same as Plutarch tells us.  
538. The same cursed Offerings are in Albion made.] See this described by Tacitus, of the Druids in the Isle of Anglesey, in a very lively manner.  
544. Those two great Lights.] This is generally thought by some to have been the original of Zabaism, or the worship of the heavenly Bodies, represented as has been said by the eternal Fire among most Nations, and which has yet some Votaries in the East, both in Persia and the Indies.  
550. Now mighty Nimrod they their Bacchus make,— Then our great Moses.] See this proved by Gale, Vossius and others, in almost twenty particulars, all of which can't be Fancy. Bacchus' passed the Red Sea, made water flow out of the Rock, gave Laws in two Tables, is described as Bicornis, turned his Rod into a Serpent, struck his Enemies with darkness, first directed in the worship of the Gods. Bacchus Bochart derives from Bar-Chus, the Son of Chus, as Nimrod was, He's called Nebrodes, the Greek Name of Nimrod Zagreus a Hunter, as Nimrod famous for his Wars and Expedition into India, so Nimrod, all of which could not be by accident.  
552. Who sometimes must the famed Taautus be.] This Taautus, Mercury or Hermes, Teutates, Thouth, Theoth, or by whatever names he's called, seems to have much of the story of Moses in those Fragments we have left concerning him; 'tis the Opinion of the Theorist, that they are the same; Moses, says he, was both the Taautus and Hermes of the Egyptians.  
556. From us had yours their Orders, Names and Powers.] See this demonstrated by the learned Scaliger, none could think the order of the Letters natural, nor could so many Languages accidentally hit on the same Order.  
563. A Serpent's Form endue.] So Ovid and others describe him, the true meaning of which seems to be, that he and his Wife fled, lurked in holes and Caves, when driven away by joshua.  
567. These Letters first, etc.] Vid. supra.  
574. Like his, they Vessels wrought.] 'Tis granted by Heathen Authors, that the Tyrians were the first Navigators, as in that of Tibullus; Prima ratem ventis credere docta Tyrus. And 'tis not improbable that they learned the Art from the Model which Noah left the World.  
577. This he whose Birthplace Samos boasts well knew.] Pythagoras, who went to the jews as well as the Egyptians and Chaldeans to learn Philosophy, and Hermippus says as much of him who was his Scholar, and writ his Life. He was circumcised that he might be permitted the Knowledge of the jewish Religion; after which he went to Croton in Italy.  
587. Had that great man, etc.] Plato it's undeniable had many of his Notions from the jews, though he cares not to own it, naming 'em Barbarians, Egyptians, etc.  
588. His own and many, etc.] Either 'tis a natural Truth, or was left by Tradition, or he had it from the jews: neither of the two first I doubt can be proved, the last therefore must be granted. That he believed a Trinity, and had it from others; so says Plotinus, as I find him quoted in Dr. Cudworth's intellectual System, p. 546. Where he says, the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Tagathon or Hen, Nous or Logos, and Psyche, were not Plato's Inventions, but far more ancient: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That these Doctrines are not new or of Yesterday, but very anciently delivered, though obscurely. The Discourses now extant being but Explications upon 'em, appears from Plato's own Writings; Parmenides before him, having insisted on them. Thus Theodoret out of Porphyry, that God himself bears witness, that the Phoenicians and Hebrews have found the way that leads to the Knowledge of the Gods, though the Grecians have wandered from it.  
595. Whom the first Legislator.] So josephus says, and proves against Appion: And Diodorus expressly affirms the same.  
599. Before Troy 's Wars.] Vid. joseph. ubi supra. And Thallus the Historian tells us, he was 930 Years elder.  
603. Did to our neighbouring Isles.] Both Minos and Lycurgus, and others of the Graecian Legislators retired into Crete for the composing of their Laws; where, as Serranus thinks, they had 'em from the jews.  
605. To us the Attic Laws.] So Grotius affirms in his De Veritat. which is made more clear by Petit. de Legib. Attic.  
608. An Heavenly Art.] So it has been always thought; not taught, but inspired.  
622. Fathers their Children blessed in Poetry.] jacob his Twelve Sons.  
637. The Sacred Style.] Which was then Verse.  
640. With much of Pain wrung out some Doggrel Lines.] Alluding to those old blundering Verses ascribed to the Oracles.  
647. Old Linus first enticing cross the Seas.] Linus was certainly a Phenician, as well as Hercules, who was his Scholar, though a very unlucky one; for he knocked his old Master's Brains out. Thallus says, 'twas this Linus who first brought the Worship of Saturn into Greece, a Phenician God, as has been often proved, and the same with Moloch.  
649. Famed Orpheus.] Orpheus was the Auditor of Linus, being, as Tatianus contra Gentes, Hercules his Contemporary. justin Martyr says he was the first Author of Polytheism; and accordingly Diodor. Siculus, who gives the best Account of these sort of Antiquities of any of the Heathen," That he first brought into Greece the Mysteries of Bacchus, Hades, etc.  
663. Leaning on a Staff.] I think Gamaliels Conjecture has at least as fair a Face of Probability, as those of our Modern Critics, as to the Etymology of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Homer.  
667. Our Siloam first supplied your Helicon.] The Rabbis have a Story, that whoever drunk of the Water of Siloam, were filled with a Prophetical Spirit. The same the Heathen fancied of their Helicon. Thomas I have a further Intention here, namely, that their Poets borrowed most of their Fancies and Ornaments from the Hebrew Writings, as I have before observed.  
670. Ascrean Sage.] Old Hesiod.  
685. The Properties t' express,— Of that great Jove, etc.] Thus had Celsus and the cunning Heathens learned at last to pled for their Idolatry.  
700. Much more the Heroes must, when Gods prevail.] Thus julian, in his Oration already cited, of Hercules, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. After he is now gone to his Father, he can with more ease take care of Human Affairs, than he could while here upon Earth.  
701. Much rather then,— The spotless Parent both of Gods and Men.] I would not willingly hear an honest Heathen abused, nor let more be said by 'em than they really own. See almost the same Words which I use, in Iulian's Oration; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉" Much rather to the Mother of the Gods: And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. where he repeats his Ave to her with a great deal of Devotion, ask all good Fortune here, and that she'd receive his Soul hereafter.  
716. They from conquered Cities with 'em bear.] A notorious Custom of the Romans; and, I suppose, from the Story of the Palladium, the Tyrians, and others of also all the Heathens.  
738. Now the worst of Men, now none at all.] None could be worse than the best of their Gods, Saturn and jupiter, and many of them only fabled Persons that had never a Being; as Longinus, and others among their Successors.  
740. In Satyrs, or in human Form adored.] 'Tis observable the Devil has but little changed Fashions since he first endeavoured to cheat or fright Mankind. He was then horned and cloven footed, as Pan, the Satyrs, Taurus, Apis, etc. and in the same Shape, Story says, he usually still appears.  
755. Old Numa 's Temples knew no Images.] So says Varro, and that it was a long time before they were introduced at Rome.  
771. Moving Temple.] So josephus calls the Ark.  
778. Your Corban.] Some think this Corban, so famous among the jews, especially the Pharisees, signified a solemn Oath or Imprecation, whereby they obliged themselves to do or not to do a thing. Origen, and others of the ancient Writers, as Dr. Hammond on the 15 th'. of St. Matthew, think it signifies a Gift consecrated to God, a pretended devoting all their Substance to pious Uses, which by their Law or Custom, freed 'em from helping even their Father and Mother. Which Consecration, or Devoting, might be done with an Oath, and then both Senses agree.  
797. In all that Rome or Athens.] We can't suppose but that he had read the famous Latin, as well as Greek Authors.  
808. This I'm sure is so.] Opposing Tradition.  
826. 'Midst Showers of Stones, and Sheets of deadly Fire.] The Punishments inflicted by their Laws against false Prophets and Heretics, Deut. 17.12. Thomas the Romans did not care to put 'em in execution; as we may see from Pilate, Felix, and others.  
833. Whose Patrons, sacred Oral Truths deny.] 'Twas notorious that the Pharisees made the Word of God of no effect by their Traditions. So says the Talmud; Plus est in Verbis Scribarum quam in Verbis Legis; and Verba Scribarum amabiliora sunt verbis Prophetarum. There's more in the Words of the Scribes than in the Words of the Law; and the Words of the Scribes are more amiable than the Words of the Prophets, and yet higher, Egredienti à studio Talmudico ad studium Biblicum non erit Pax: There's no Peace to him who goes from the Study of the Talmud to the Study of the Bible. Christ spoke against Traditions, and commands to search the Scriptures. The Pharisees cry up Traditions, and forbid the Scriptures to be read. Whether are to be obeyed?  
835. For Heretics, etc.] I must doubly ask Pardon here, both for borrowing these Verses, and making thus use of 'em; which I did, because they express the Doctrine and Plea of the Pharisees as closely and fully as 'tis possible to be done; and had the Hind and Panther been writ in his time, would undoubtedly have read it, and might have quoted it too, as well as he does Menander.  
838. The Word is neither clear, nor perfect Rule.] So said the Pharisees. Hence their Cabala, or Lex non scripta, containing Traditions, to supply what they pretended imperfect, and Glosses, to illustrate what was not clear; both of which they themselves would have the keeping of, and what Work they made with 'em, we may not only find in the Evangelists, but even in their own Writers. Si dixerint Doctores dextram esse sinistram, audi: Says Grotius out of their Works; If our Doctors says your Right Hand is your Left, you must believe 'em.  
916. Trifles by the Learned World despised.] Great part of them Anagrammatic Fooleries.  
917. Your Sephiroth are Truths in Scripture plain.] Many of these Sephiroth the Rabbis describe in God; among the rest, there is the Amen, the Alpha and Omega, the Light, the Spirit, which must relate to the Blessed Trinity, being the very Expressions by which the Holy Scriptures denote unto us the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and accordingly the Rabbis say, that Many Sephiroth do not hinder the Unity of God.  
923. One step beyond the Hasmonaean Race.] They pretended Antiquity to authorise their unlawful Impositions, and called 'em," The Traditions of the Fathers. Epiphanius says, The great things the Pharisees pretended to more than others, and made Vows to perform 'em, were these following, Virginity, constant Prayers, Discipline of the Body, and Abstinence from Meat and Sleep. They pretended from Ezra, but could prove no further than from the Times of jonathan the High Priest; which though josephus calls à Temporibus antiquissimis, was but about 〈◊〉 Years before.  
932. Sometimes the High-Priests, as you must own.] See josephus, and Acts 5.17. 〈◊〉 Highpriest, and all they that were with him, which were of the Sect of the S●●ducees.  
964. A loose Court, to Zadoks Sect inclined.] The Court of Herod. Some make the Herodians and Sadducees all one; there might indeed be some difference between 'em, though 'tis hard to say which was worst; and many of their Opinions were the same.  
992. Their Breath.] This holds in that Country, though not in ours.  
1089. The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms contain.] Thus a learned Rabbi being asked how he proved the Resurrection from the Sacred Writings; answered," From the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.  
1092. The Spirit says, Man rather sleeps than dies.] That Expression is often used in Holy Scripture, even in the Old Testament, Deut. 31.16. 1 King. 1.12. job 7.21. and that with an Exclusion to Annihilation; for Daniel 12.2. Those that sleep in the Dust shall awake.  
1115. Even joined to Soul, each day 'tis born and dies.] That is, as to particular individuated Matter, by the addition of new Particles and avolation of the old.  
1142. Spiteful him confess.] It's not likely the Devils confessed our Saviour out of any Good Will, but rather, as it should seem, on purpose to disgrace his Doctrine and Person; for which reason he forbade 'em to do it.  
1143. Whether to their own dark Abyss confined.] Dr. Hammond thinks, that when the Devils besought our Saviour that he'd not send 'em out into the Deep, it relates to their own Abyss of Hell; and that 'tis equivalent to that other Phrase," Not tormenting 'em before their time.  
1177. The softest Linen.] Ludolfus is very angry with Dives for wearing this fine Linen, which he says he did, Propter mollitiem carnis: But if that had been all his Fault, methinks they should have let him gone no further than Purgatory: For though there are a sort of Men in the World, who may find I know not what Merit and Super-erogation in scrubbing their Carcases with Haircloth, and being more nasty than their Neighbours, yet one would think, wearing clean Linen, though it happened to be fine too, should be only a Venial Sin.  
1185. Where nothing else they burn.] One of the Arabia's, where they have such Plenty of Spices, and Want of other Fuel, that Geographers say, they make use of 'em for their common Firing.  
1189. The fittest Meat with Angels Bread.] Because the Israelites eat 'em with Manna.  
1192. The beauteous Fowl.] The Pheasant, which still keeps its Name, though it has fetched it a great way off.  
1243. Licked his Sore.] Ludolfus here has a very odd Allegory in his Prayer at the end of this Parable, Veniant Canes Doctores tui, ut lingant Vulnera peccatorum meorum!  
1258. Calm the Relics.] A Line of Mr. Norris.  
1307. O'er utmost Thule.] By this famous Ultima Thule, I think there's little doubt but Island is intended in ancient Writers, especially the Poets who have often occasion for it. Thus Dionysius having been before speaking of the Isles of Britain, he says, 'tis in the Ocean beyond 'em, and that you need a good Ship to carry you to it: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. He gives yet, if I mistake not, another Mark of it, particularly of this Hecla, a burning Mountain there, which Tradition makes one of the Vents of Hell▪ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Translator thinks relates to the Length of Days, translating 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Lumen. But it seems at least as probable, that by this Fire poured out Night and Day in this Island, the Author might intend this Mount Hecla, which is famous for incessantly casting out Smoak and Flames.  
1316. Thomas vast as that.] So the Poet.  
1314. Thirst, next Gild.] Undoubtedly a terrible Pain, since set to express what's infinite.  
1407. With parting Beams.] Siloam lies West of jerusalem.   

THE ARGUMENT OF THE Seventh BOOK.  
OUR Saviour and his Disciples come early to the Temple, the Music whereof is described, and the several Instruments the jews made use of in their Sacred Service. The Morning Anthem. The Buyers and Sellers in the Temple, and our Saviour's driving 'em thence, pursuing 'em to Solomon's Porch, which is described, with the Valley of Kidron, and the Precipice between Mount Moriah and Olivet. In the mean while his Disciples surveyed the Buildings of the Temple, the Gates, the Courts, the Pillars, and the Golden Vine, and finding our Saviour, with Admiration show them to him, and discourse of them; who prophesies the Destruction of all those stately Buildings; which he more at large describes, on their Desire, as ascending thence, and looking back on the City and Temple from the Mount of Olives; mentioning also the Rise of a False Christ, or Antichrist, in the World; and, on their still desiring to know more of these Matters, foreshews the Opposition his Followers should first meet with by the Roman Empire, under the Ten Persecutions; when Constantine should conquer the Heathens under his Banner, and embrace the Christian Religion. After which, on the Degeneracy of the Church, Mahometanism arises in the Eastern, and Popery in the Western World, the latter followed and checked by the Reformation, and at last destroyed by Christ's second Coming. Which he goes on to describe, and exhorts 'em to be always ready for it, the precise Hour not known, first by Parables that of the ten Virgins, and of the Lord and his Servants. Then by a plain Relation of the manner and Pomp of the last Judgement. The Conflagration of the World. The Sentence of the Just and Unjust, and their eternal Bliss and Misery. The Book concluding with a Prayer of the Author, being a Paraphrase on that Part of the Litany, In all Time of our Tribulation, in all Time of our Wealth, in the Hour of Death, and in the Day of Judgement, Libera nos.  
THE LIFE OF CHRIST: AN Heroic Poem. BOOK VII.  
AND now the Sun, gild the Earth and Skies,  
Did over lofty Olivet arise;  
Gently he rose, as him some sacred Awe  
Had seized, when first the Temple Roofs he saw;  
Saw through the Shades, nor durst directly see, *  
Lest that should dazzle him, as mortal he:  
Scarce could his own reflected Image bear,  
From the vast Golden Mirror flaming there:  
Earlier than he his watchful Maker rose,  
As early to his Father's House he goes  
With his loved Twelve, when those within unfold  
The mighty Gates, heavy with loads of Gold: *  
Twice Ten robustous Servants there attend, *  
Who to the Work their Shoulders panting lend:  
The Gentiles, and the women's Court they pass  
To the Third Gate, of rich Corinthian Brass; *  
Next Israel's Court they enter, prostrate there,  
T' atone high Heaven with pious Hymns and Prayer,  
In decent ranks the Vested Priests begin, *  
Loud answered by the full-mouthed Choir within:  
music's soft Notes, and loud Majestic sound;  
From the gilt Roofs and vaulted Courts rebound,  
And distant Zion-hill beats back the sacred Sound:  
Nature and Art in the blessed Service join,  
Voices and tuneful Instruments combine;  
The Consort first sweet Aijeleth begun, *  
And welcomed to the World the cheerful Sun;  
Next the Creator's Praises they recite  
On Alamoth, chaste Virgins best delight; *  
Grave jonath, soft Mahalah mixed with these, *  
And melting Harps that never failed to please: *  
Shrill Cornets, clanging Trumpets, apt t' inspire,  
With holy Raptures, or with Martial Fire;  
The Anthem this, once sung to David's royal Lyre.  

PSALM 135. Hallelujah!  

* LOfty Hallelujahs sing  
To th' Alwise, th' Almighty King!  
Him with Hearts and Voices raise!  
Him, ye his blessed Servants, Praise!   

Ye who ever stand to bless,  
In the Beauty of Holiness!  
In his House, with Glory crowned,  
Or the sacred Courts around,   

Him, the Spring of Life and Light,  
Boundless Goodness, boundless Might!  
Him, and his great Name record!  
The Service is its own reward. *   

You, O Isra'l's Sons rejoice!  
Your Father's God's peculiar Choice!  
Great and high! What Idol dare  
With the Lord of Hosts compare?   

His Power no other Limits knows,  
But what his Goodness will impose: *  
Heaven, Earth and Sea his Orders keep;  
Close he seals the Aged Deep.   

See his Clouds make black the Skies,  
Lightnings glare, and Storms arise;  
And freed from their dark stony Cave,  
Hark, th' impetuous Whirlwinds rave!   

To Zoan's Fields, with Blood o'erflown,  
Too well his Signs and Wonders known;  
Known by their Firstborn too well,  
First they, and then their Fathers fell.   

He powerful Nations did subdue;  
Monsters quelled, and Tyrants slew:  
Sihon, by th' Amorite obeyed,  
And mighty Og, who Bashan swayed.   

In vain proud Can'ans Kings combine,  
Their weak Arms in vain they join;  
The sooner all they Captive stand,  
To Israel, God disposed their Land. land   

Still, O God Thou art the same,  
Still we sing thy glorious Name;  
Our glad Hymns thy justice raise,  
And thy pardoning Goodness praise.   

Not so the Gods by Mortals made,  
To whom vain Vows and Incense paid;  
In vain for their Advice they come,  
Mouths they have, but still are dumb.   

Lifeless Eyes, which see no more  
Than those Stocks who them adore;  
Nor their Ears the sound can take,  
Which their lost Devotions make.   

Thou they lean their Nostrils down,  
If they have no Incense, they'll not Frown;  
Such are they, and such are those,  
Who on them their Hope's repose.   

You, O Israel, who alone,  
The great God of Gods have known;  
You, who guard his holy Place,  
Mitred Aaron's sacred Race!   

You, who from great Levi spring,  
His illustrious Praises sing!  
You too ought to do the same,  
Each good Man that hear his Name.   

At once let all our Vows aspire!  
Let our glad Voices fill the Choir;  
Him bless who does at Salem dwell,  
The Saviour of his Israel!  
Hallelujah!    

Exod. 30.7, 8.  Mean while, rich Incense feeds the sacred Fire, *  
And odorif'rous Clouds to Heaven aspire;  
Next on the Brazen-Altar bleeding lies  

Exod. 29.39, 40.  A Milk-white Lamb, the morning Sacrifice; *  
With these the Priests, the holiest Mincha join, *  
A cheerful blaze of Flower, and Oil and Wine:  
In silence then, their private Prayers they make,  
Then frequent Crowds the sacred Walls forsake;  
Our Saviour last; but such as still remain,  
With Isr'el's God t' adore their Idol Gain:  
Scarce from their Knees they rose, (and worldly Care  
Had seized their Thoughts, even while dissembling there;)  

St. MARK.   

St. LUKE:   

St MATTHAEUS   

St. THADAEUS.   

St. MATHEW   
When straight a busy Hum ran round the place,  
And all things straight put on a different Face:  
The Temple a profane Exchange was made,  
Religion vanished thence, or grown a Trade;  
* Some in the Cloisters gainful Shops unfold,  
And spread on Tables glittering heaps of Gold;  
Some fair-necked Doves, and murmuring Turtles bring,  
The poor Goodman's accepted Offering. 
John 2.15.   
Thus the arch'd-Roofs, while the void space between  
Soon fills with dusty droves of Beasts and Men;  
Here free-necked Bullocks which disdained the Yoke,  
Stand ready for the Sacrificers stroke;  
The largest that rich Basan's Pasture feeds,  
The choice of all that Flowery Hermon breeds:  
Here numerous Flocks from Sharon's lovely Plain  
Stand bleating by, or drag their ponderous Train;  
While spotless Lambs the next partition fill,  
* Driven with more ease from Carmel's fertile Hill.  
All eager bent on the hot chase of Gain,  
Some bargain, some advice, and some complain:  
All were deceived, or else Deceivers there,  
Dust and a confused Noise fills the Air.  
The Saviour saw, and straight such Frowns he wore,  
As ne'er were seen on his calm Face before:  
* Blushes at once of Shame and Anger rise;  
A just Resentment sparkling in his Eyes,  
Soon breaks in Words— Avoid profane! he cries!  
Hence sacrilegious Wretches, nor disgrace  
With your unhallowed Feet this sacred Place!  
That House where holy Prayers should force the Skies,  
You've made a Den of Thiefs, a Scene of Cheats and Lies.  
Actions his Words succeed, when slow they went,  
Them thence with unexpected hast he sent;  
A Scourge, with Slaves the fittest Argument,  
He does of strongly-twisted Cords prepare,  
And soon with strokes and cries resounds the Air:  
None durst resist, but murmuring melt away,  
As guilty Ghosts fly swift th' approach of Day.  
To the bright Eastern-gate he them pursued,  
Which Kidron's horrid Vale beneath it viewed;  
Unfashioned Precipice! to the lost sight  
At once affording Terror and Delight.  
Yet here great Solomon, and none but he  
Could do't, with much of Pain and Industry,  
A wondrous Pile, in spite of Nature raised,  
Whilst all the Nations round him feared and praised:  
The Workmen mined deep, wondrous deep below, *  
As to the Centre self they meant to go:  
Of Tyre they were, and oft had ploughed those Seas, *  
Where lie the doubtful Cassiterides:  
Beneath some Hill that threats the angry Main,  
There had they oft pursued some wandering Vein,  
And dug almost to Hell in search of Gain;  
Yet ne'er so near as now— The Turrets rise  
As high above the Earth, as deep amidst the Skies:  
Beneath whose spacious Arch our Saviour taught;  
For whose kind touch th' Infirm and Maimed they brought,  
He Cured 'em all, wide spreads his Fame around,  
And Death and Medicine no employment found.  
Thus busied there, his chosen Twelve the while,  
Wondering, surveyed the Temples glorious Pile;  

Vid. Joseph. de Bell. jud.  On solid Rock the firm Foundations laid,  
Of Earthquakes or of Thunder not afraid;  
Firm as the Centre's self on which they stayed:  
Those everlasting Gates the Porches close, *  
Tall as the mighty Cedars them compose;  
The spacious Courts, which such vast Crowds could hold;  
The glittering Pillars, and the Vine of Gold: *  
The Temple's self, all gilt its Front, and Side,  
A Godlike-Work, and worthy Herod's pride:  
The stately Porch 'twixt two vast Columns rose, rose  

1 Kings 7.21.  jachin and Boaz scarce more tall than those,  
Of the Corinthian Order, fair and high,  
Sweet Beauty joined with awful Majesty:  
The Stones so huge, they scarce dare trust their Sense; *  
Each a whole Mountain seemed, not hewed from thence:  
Yet these vast Ribs of Iron closer chain  
So large, each rather seemed a Native Vein.  
A heap of Miracles— When long they stayed,  
And all things with unwearyed Eyes surveyed;  
Wondering, they to the beauteous Porch repair,  
And find with Joy their much loved Master there;  
Whom they, yet full of the prodigious Sight,  
To the same Entertainment would invite:  
What Stones, what Building here! how rare, how vast!  
Sure these as long as Time itself must last!  
To whom, with a wise sadness in his Eyes,  
Which boded something more, our Lord replies;  
— With such vain Hopes no more yourselves deceive,  
Prepare to meet that Fate you won't believe!  
Not one of those proud towers which Heaven invade,  
Whose strong Foundations, deep as Hell are laid;  
But soon must kiss the Dust— Not one of those  
Prodigious Stones which this huge Pile compose;  
Now, even by more than their own weight combined,  
As parts of Matter, close to Matter joined;  
Not one, but by a Force superior born,  
* From its old Seat, from its strong Brethren torn,  
Must from these Walls and firm Foundations go,  
And sink for ever in the Vale below.  
Struck with these dreadful Truths they silent stood,  
Pale Fear had stopped their Words and chilled their Blood:  
Bold Cephas first revived, and as they went  
Their well known way, o'er Olivets' ascent  
Through the cool Shades for pleasant Bethanie,  
Submiss, he asks, When these dread Things should be?  
What sure Prognostics their approach declare,  
And his, that wise, they might for both prepare?  
What dreadful Sights his Coming should foreshow?  
* How they the Worlds and Temples End might know?  
Silent our Lord awhile, and looking down  
Compassionate on the devoted Town,  
Intent he stood, and fixed his labouring Mind,  
On the prodigious Scene of Woes behind;  
Till Tears and Words at length well-mingled broke,  
From his sad Eyes and Lips, and thus he spoke.  
Ah lost jerusalem! 
Matt. 33.37.  how much, how oft  
Hast thou thy Ruin, I thy Welfare sought!  
Oft didst my Prophets, as Impostors, stone,  
And shed their Blood who came to save thy own:  
Even I, the Heir, who left my Native Sky,  
Ungrate! to bring thee Life, myself must Die.  
How oft would I thy wandering Flocks have led  
To Crystal Streams, in Flowery Pastures fed?  
Thy stubborn Sons my kind Protection lent,  
At once preserved 'em safe and innocent?  
As heat and warmth the royal Eagle brings, *  
And cherishes her Young beneath her Wings.  
Still all was then in vain, now all too late,  
Heaven has thy Ruin sealed, and made it Fate.  
For you, my chosen Few, who firm remain,  
No sanguine Dreams of Pleasure entertain!  
Be ever on your Guard, your Lamps shine clear!  
The Night, the long, the fatal Night is near:  
How unprepared the most, as those who fell  

Matt. 24.73.  In Noah's Flood, through Earth's black Vaults to Hell?  

Luk. 17.36.  On their rich Carpets some Luxurious laid,  
Some underneath their Vineyards leafy Shade;  
Some in the busy Markets Sweated, and some  
Their glittering Brides conduct in Triumph home:  
Th' old Prophet all despise, and dread no more  
The Plague denounced an hundred Years before. *  
This saw just Heaven, and straight the signal gave;  
Nature aghast shrinks back, the roaring Wave  
Rides foaming o'er the Beach, new Rivers flow,  
In Earthquakes born from frightful Gulfs below:  
While pitchy Clouds a long continued shower,  
From heavens wide Cataracts incessant pour:  
O'er towers and Hills th' impetuous Floods arise,  
Sweep the lewd Earth, and vindicate the Skies:  
So sudden, so unthought will I appear;  
The Change as much expected there as here.  
Sudden to th' stupid World, who not regard  
The threatened Wrath, but You not unprepared,  
Secure shall be in my Protection found,  
And see unmoved the tottering World around:  
Then many a vile Impostor shall pretend *  
My Name, and meet a just, a dreadful End;  
These, mischiefs shall in close Cabals conspire,  
Those to the lonely Wilderness retire:  
All vain alike, when I from Heaven appear,  
The Lightning's not so sudden or so clear:  
But first for all the Injuries prepare,  
Which Malice can inflict, or Virtue bear!  
Hated by all, abused, contemned, betrayed,  
* My very Name and yours shall Crimes be made:  
Dragged to Tribunals, hurried up and down,  
Kings shall your judges sit, and Princes frown.  
Yet still intrepid, face 'em all, for I,  
My faithful Friends! unseen, will still be by:  
To me remit the care of your Defence,  
Safe in my Power and your own Innocence!  
This all their pompous Rhet'ric shall outdo,  
Your guilty judges trembling more than you!  
And much, much greater Cause have they to fear;  
When to this height arrived, their fall is near;  
My Blood and yours for loud Revenge will cry,  
Which Deluges of theirs must satisfy:  
Fierce War its wasting Squadrons scattering wide,  
Shall o'er the guilty Land triumphant stride;  
Death, Rapine, Murder shall compose its Train,  
And after proudly walk on heaps of Slain.  
* Nation with Nation, Tribe with Tribe engage,  
Excuse the common Foe, and save their Conqueror's rage:  
Who left, abroad, from these Distractions be,  
* Unhappy Solyma! shall fly to thee;  
To thee shall just Destruction with 'em bear,  
And all th' unnumbered Miseries of War.  
The mighty Foe, with long Successes crowned,  
* Shall with a Fourth, thy Three proud Walls surround;  
Fly e'er 'tis done, a Moment more 's too late  
Fly, or prepare for your approaching Fate!  
Fly those cursed Walls, for naught behind you stay,  
Escape for your Life, and on wild Mountains stray!  
But first th' abhorred Prophaners of your Law,  
* Which Heav'n-loved Daniels piercing Eyes foresaw;  
The Holy place with wicked Arms shall seize,  
And fill with Blood and piles of Carcases;  
The Guardian Minds shall the sad Word receive,  
And to those human Fiends the Temple leave;  
Leave with a Voice would i'll the firmest Heart,  
A deep, a mournful Voice— Let us depart! depart  
Scarce can the dreadful Sights above foreshow  
Worse Plagues than those, they then shall feel below:  
Thou high in Heaven a bloody Sword shall glare, *  
A Besom of Destruction sweep the Air;  
Horses and Chariots armed look ghastly down,  
And showers of Blood, slain all the trembling Town:  
Thunders and Earthquakes then they'll scarcely mind, *  
Hardened with what they feel and what's behind.  
All these, alas, compared to what remains,  
But the beginning of their hopeless Pains; *  
For now the Famine enters its sad reign,  
Attended by a ghastly meager Train:  
A single Death lesle dreadful in each Street,  
The half-starved Citizens like Ghosts shall meet; *  
Thence starting at the sight, each other fly,  
And tottering a few steps, fall down and Die:  
Thou now you think a barren Womb a curse,  
Woe to the Mother then, and vainly-fruitful Nurse!  
The miserable Mother shall become  
Her own dear Infant's Murderer and his Tomb:  
All Piety and Nature banished there,  
Bread shall the Sons from gasping Fathers tear,  
From them the ravening Soldier; Bread the Cry!  
Who gain it, are but longer e'er they Die.  
Within Sedition reigns, without the Foe,  
Above your towers, above your Walls they go;  
This after that each day resistless win,  
And like a Deluge over all come pouring in. *  
What a sad Conquest shall their Fury find?  
How few by Plague and Famine left behind?  
Yet ah! too many shall the Sword devour,  
The greedy Sword— These from a half-burnt Tower,  
Precipitate th' invading Soldier fly,  
And run on Death because they fear to die:  
While desperate, these leap headlong from the Wall,  
In hopes to kill a Roman by their fall;  
These to the Altar, sacred now no more  
For Refuge fly, they'd that Profaned before.  
— Here still they Fight, and a new War 's begun,  
* Till— See! the Temple fired, the Work is done.  
Ierusalem's no more, one Ruin all;  
This the last fatal Blaze before her Fall:  
Her Flames and dying Groans at once aspire,  
While Blood enough is shed to've quenched the Fire:  
Salem's no more, nor can she now Repent,  
Her Child's, and her own sad Monument:  
Nor e'er shall Israel's Race these Walls regain,  
Till Heaven has closed the Gentiles destined reign.  
But first must many a wondrous Thing befall,  
First my pure Doctrine fill the spacious Ball.  
What passes here, what here we've done or said,  
Shall be by after-Ages, wondering read.  
Four Scribes will I to that great Task assign,  
Whilst the blessed Spirit shall dictate every Line.  
Thence, till I come, my Friends my Law shall teach,  
In Times successive Links how vast a Breach!  
Which yet no points in God's Duration reach:  
Nor must my Followers soon a Calm enjoy,  
Nor soon my Rebel's power will I destroy;  
First he'll a Rival raise my Seat to claim,  
* And in the Church usurp my Throne and Name;  
Between the Seas superb, 
Dan. 11.45.  his Palace rear,  
On seven proud Hills, long tyrannising there;  
The World shall wonder, 
Rev. 17.9.  Kings his Train shall bear  
And kiss his Feet; my Followers, who refuse  
The servile Mark, he'll treat as me the jews;  
By Inquisitions, Tortures, Poison, Fire  
Unnumbered Thousands must prepare t' expire.  
Conquerors in all, these all shall have the Grace  
To join their Great Forefathers Martyred Race;  
The Beatific Vision first enjoy,  
And with me reign, when Babel I destroy.  
He said, but tho' such wondrous Things expressed,  
Their modest Silence still did more request:  
He knew their Hearts, 
John 16.19.  nor their Confession needs;  
And thus on the same mystic Theme proceeds.  
* The World for the Elect was chiefly made,  
And by the Church the Fates of Empires swayed;  
Who that defend shall stand, who that oppose,  
Can never grapple such unequal Foes;  
The Heavenly Host all ranged in bright array,  
Suspended till their King commands away;  
These o'er their stated Provinces preside,  
And these the mighty Turns of Nations guide:  
My Flock amidst a World of Wolves defend,  
While those that hate 'em meet a dreadful End.  
The World declines, Time rolling down the Hill,  
Shall soon the ancient Prophecies fulfil:  
The mighty Image ('twas a wondrous sight)  

Dan. 2.19.  Which Daniel saw in Visions of the Night,  
Now wears apace, and verges to decay,  
Soon will his Iron Feet be mixed with Clay:  
The ponderous Stone cut from the Mountain's side,  
Shall soon th' ill-mingled Policy divide;  
The lifeless Trunk and Limbs to Powder grinned,  
It's very dust wide-scattering in the Wind:  

Dan. 7.  The Fourth prophetic Beast, foreseen from far,  
Is entered now on the World's Theatre;  
Fiercer than all the rest— The Roman Power,  
Which the contending Nations shall devour:  
This, Hell shall to its interests soon engage,  
And you must grapple their united Rage:  
What Men and Devils, what Arts and Arms can do,  
Bravely prepare to meet, and conquer too!  
Ten furious Tyrants, fierce as ever wore, *  
Their Purple Doublets died in guiltless Gore,  
Shall their keen Axes and their Rods employ,  
And vainly would your Name and mine destroy:  
On their devoted Heads the Curse shall fall;  
An heavy Vengeance hovers o'er 'em all.  
A Wretch the first, who shall Mankind disgrace,  
To them a Foe as to your sacred Race:  
On his own Town and Mother first shall try  
In Fire and Sword, his Infant Cruelty;  
Murdered and Burnt, yet their desert they'll have;  
This gave the Monster Birth, and that a Sceptre gave:  
Pity on them is lost, but guiltless you,  
Whom he'll with the same Fire and Sword pursue  
You in his festal Flames shall shine, and be *  
The first bright Martyrs burnt for Heresy.  
But Vengeance shall the Parricide attend,  
His own cursed Hand his hated Life shall end;  
At once deliver the vexed World and you,  
The only Good the Wretch will ever do. *  
Who next shall against Heaven renew the Fight,  
Is Mankind's Hate; (his Brother their delight!) *  
The foul aspiring Fiend a God would be, *  
Mixture of Lewdness and of Blasphemy:  
If in his Race there's aught remains of good,  
Jealous, by Martyrdom he'll purge his Blood: *  
Then you, my Friend! from distant Asia born,  
At once his utmost Rage shall feel, and Scorn;  
Thou plunged in flaming Oil, you need not fear,  
Still shall the Son of God's bright Form be near; *  
Still safe you shall at the weak Tyrant smile,  
When kindly banished to some desert Isle: 
Rev. 1.9, 10, 11, 13.   
Even there I'll meet thee, there again relate  
In wondrous Types, the Worlds and Church's Fate;  
Whilst our proud Foe a hasty Death shall seize, *  
And his mild Successor our Friends release. *  
Nor must the Churches then, long hope for Peace:  
Then restless Schism, and wilder Heresy  
Shall all invade, and with bold Blasphemy,  
Some, even the Lord that bought 'em, shall deny: *  
To worldly Domination some aspire,  
And soon my Field will need a purging Fire;  
Which the third Time shall kindle, that dread Day  
Shall sift the Wbeat, and sweep the Tares away:  
Nor he himself, who wields the weighty Rod *  
Of injured Heaven, and a revenging God,  
Unplagued escapes a destined dire Event,  
Unless on your repenting he repent.  
Unwarned the next to th' Purple will succeed,  
And you again in Crowds must burn and bleed;  
But more the jews, whom their false Christ shall head, *  
Their short-lived Meteor to destruction lead.  
Rebellious, justly they, you guiltless, fall;  
Nor long unheard your Blood shall Vengeance call:  
What Plagues shall your vain Persecutor seize?  
How oft he'd fly to Death in vain for ease? *  
How oft his little fluttering Soul away,  
Which Vengeance makes in the loathed Carcase stay?  
By him who next succeeds, Barbarians tamed,  
A peaceful Prince, and Pious more than named: *  
God's Empire he'll, without design, restore,  
And punish those who tortured you before.  
A Vain Philosopher shall next arise, *  
By whom the Just with various torments dies:  
Till to my followers he his Life shall own,  
victory, and Rain their powerful Prayers bestow;  
As great Elisha once three Kings did save,  

2 Kings 3.17, 18.  And Water to their Host, and Conquest gave.  
This a far fiercer Tyrant knows in vain; *  
Swift moves his Fate, nor has he long to Reign.  
Whose wicked Sons as barbarous as lewd,  
In one another's, shall revenge your Blood.  
Next a fell Wolf, who, the mild Shepherd slain, *  
Shall by false Treason the World's Empire gain;  
Short his keen Rage, the Soldiers him displace,  
And ease the World of him and all his Race.  
The next an equal Gild and Fate attend, *  
Oppressed in War by an untimely End.  
Another yet will you and Heaven engage;  
Cruel Old Man! What means this impious Rage? *  
For you the worst of Tortures he'll prepare;  
How little thinks he what himself must bear? *  
These Nine fierce Waves in vain already gone,  
The Tenth, with all their Force comes rolling on:  
Two Monsters shall the groaning World divide, *  
And rule with equal Cruelty and Pride:  
With doubled Rage, the Fiend, and doubled Fear,  
Ranges the Earth, he knows his Fall is near;  
Knows the wise Nations will his Gods despise,  
The Idol-Banners stoop, and Cross must rise: *  
Their vainly-thund'ring jove himself, and all  
Their helpless Fry of spurious Gods must fall,  
Once more the fatal Stone shall claim the Capitol: *  
* The Tyrant's drop by justice or Despair,  
And my blessed Champion shall the Purple wear. 
Constantine the Great.   
See those brave Men his Throne and Honour's share,  
Whose powerful Prayers and Arms had fixed him there!  
See him the reverend Confessors embrace,  
And by his Royal Side triumphant, place!  
With Admiration, he'll, and Transport, see  
* Those glorious Scars they wear for Truth and me;  
" Of foregone ills almost the Trace remove;  
They blest in his, he in his Empire's Love:  
So much of Good, even one good Prince can do!  
So much I'll favour those who favour you! 
Matth. 18.7.   
* Yet still some Signs of ancient Fraud remain;  
Still shall the Lust of Empire and of Gain,  
* Distracted the World— Nor yet my fated Reign.  
Scandals must come, those in the Church arise,  
Who tho' they bear my Name, my Name despise:  
Vengeance at length th' ungrateful World pursue,  
New suffered Ills shall punish those they do:  
* Fierce Magog's Sons shall in the East embrace  
A cursed Law, with Ishmael's wandering Race;  
* Whilst all the West a fiercer Tyrant spoils,  
Hated and feared by Cittim and the Isles;  
Nay the dire mortal Gangrene shall disperse,  
It's hateful Poison round the Universe:  
Widely the Catholic Mischief shall prevail;  
* Some Stars to Earth drawn by the Dragon's Tail: 
Rev. 12.4.   
* The Earthly Gods this Monster shall dethrone,  
Even him in Heaven he would, and reign alone:  
Thou that he can it, he'll with his Laws dispense,  
Sure Death to all appear in their Defence:  
* But first, 
2 Thess. 2.7.  what lets must be removed away,  
The mighty Roman Empire first decay:  
Then shall this Name of Blasphemy arise,  
And soon renew the War against the Skies:  
Flattery and Murder shall his Title gain,  
Which he'll, by the same cursed Arts maintain;  
Luxurious, 
Tim. 3.4.3.  he shall Abstinence enjoin  
From what kind Heaven did for Man's Use design,  
* chaste Marriage shall the worst of Crimes be grown, 
Ibid.   
Thou all the Sins of Sodom shall be none:  
Long shall he Reign, but when he sits on high,  

Revel. 18.7, 8.  Sits most secure of Fate, his Fall is nigh:  
A Swan in Gomer's spacious Fields shall rise, *  
Will all his Laws, as he does mine, despise:  
Then even repenting Kings shall hate the Whore  

Revel. 17.17.  As much as they enchanted, loved before;  

2, 4.  Th' Illgotten Empire by degrees decay,  

2 Thess. 2.8.  Till by my Sword and Thunder driven away:  
Then shall the Just their promised Kingdom gain,  

Dan. 7.18. " And than the Saints of the most high shall reign.  
If more you ask, the Day, the Hour precise  
When I appear, my Father this denies;  
The wisest Mind that near the Throne does wait,  
And deepest read in the dark Rolls of Fate,  
Must own this Mystery is from him concealed,  

Mark 13.32.  Nor to the Son himself, as Man, revealed;  
Since, if far off, it might prevent your Care,  
If near, might sink in Terror and Despair.  

Ibid. 33.  Your Task is— Still be ready— Watch and Pray!  
Thus arm against the Fears of this dread Day!  

Matth. 25.1. to 12.  Come learn a Parable— Ten Virgins fair,  
Together lived, no matter when or where!  
Five Prudent, whom no danger could surprise;  
All fair, tho' th' other Five more Fair than Wise.  
These once a Royal Bridegroom did invite  
TO a Princely Feast, on his blessed Nuptial Night:  
Five had their Silver Lamps all clear and bright,  
With purest Oil supplied; not so the rest,  
Whose empty Lamps their Negligence confessed:  
Yet all prepare the joyful Pomp to meet;  
The Prince and his fair Princess lowly greet:  
They travelled long, but still no Bridegroom near,  
Nor any News of his approach they hear;  
Night hastened on, and the cold Air they fear;  
Unwholesome Mists, and dropping Evening Dew:  
At a Friend's House, which on the Road they knew knew  
They all take up, convenient 'twas and nigh,  
They'd soon be ready when the rest came by:  
There entered, long they waiting there in vain,  
With various Talk each other entertain;  
Till Sleep had seized and sealed their wearied Eyes,  
When the pale Moon had measured half the Skies;  
And scarce they on the downy Couch were laid,  
E'er at the Gate the joyful Cry was made,  
He comes, he comes— Quick starting at the sound,  
All rising, for their Lamps they searched around,  
E'er we'll awake; theirs soon the Prudent found;  
Well worth their Care, glorious they shined and bright,  
And shot new Day across the gloomy Night:  
Nor Light nor Oil in theirs the others find,  
Unpleasing Relics only left behind;  
Recruits for both they from the Wise entreat,  
In vain, for their own Store was not too great:  
They to the Merchants send 'em, there to buy,  
What might their thirsty Bankrupt Lamps supply,  
Then join themselves the Train, not yet too late,  
And find a cheerful welcome at the Gate.  
Not so the other, who in darkness strayed;  
Till all was shut, they their return delayed:  
Now all too late, they no admittance meet,  
Exposed t' Affronts and Dangers in the Street:  
clamorous and loud when closed the Gates they found,  
They knock and call, the Courts and Walls resound:  
Till from the Board the Bridegroom's self arose,  
And to the sounding Gates in anger goes;  
As loud demanding what ill-mannered Guest,  
Unseasonably there disturbed the Feast?  
Forward and bold they answer— Lord 'tis We,  
Part of thy own invited Company;  
Prepared and ready at the Gates we stand,  
But wished admittance, yet in vain demand;  
Repulsed by the rude Servants— But you here,  
We now no longer can our Entrance fear.  
— Ah 'tis too late, the time for that is over—  
'Tis past, already past, and comes no more;  
The Lord rejoins— You're Strangers all to me,  
And utter Darkness must your portion be.  
The Moral easy is, and evident;  
Delay no longer! Now, even now repent!  
Devout and vigilant, still on your Guard,  
Lest the judge comes, and finds you unprepared:  
Lest such your Fate as that bad Servants, whom,  

Matth. 25.14, to 30.  His angry Lord did to just Torments doom.  
Earnest they asked, intent and fixed upon  
Each Word he spoke, our Saviour thus goes on.  
A Lord there was, whose business called him far  
From his own House, whether for Peace or War,  
Not matters much, but his Estate was large,  
Of which he Part thinks fit to leave in charge  
With his remaining Servants; well he knew  
What each was worth, and what they all could do;  
Five Talents this received, the other Two,  
One even the least; he this Division makes,  
And straight he his far distant journey takes:  
Who had the Five, by Merchandise and Trade,  
So well improved his Stock, Five more they made:  
Who Two, received proportionable Gain;  
Who only One, and even that One in vain;  
Digs in the Earth, his Talon there he leaves,  
No pain he takes, or profit thence receives:  
Long after comes their Lord from foreign Lands,  
And of his Servants their Accounts demands:  
The two with humble joy their Master meet,  
And cast their Labours product at his Feet;  
Both from him meet a just and kind regard,  
And both his generous bounty did reward;  
With guilty Eyes demiss and conscious Face,  
The third comes in, and thus with an ill Grace  
Accosts his Lord— I knew you e'er you went,  
A hard Exactor of what Sums you lent.  
Rigid and hard, nay did from others pains  
Expect, I know, large unproportioned Gains?  
How could I then propose myself to save,  
If I in Trade had lost those Sums you gave?  
With these vexatious Thoughts I struggling lay  
A while, but took at last the safest way:  
Your Talon I entrusted to the Ground,  
And there the same again in Specie found:  
'Tis here, tho' I've no Interest gained, here's all,  
Each Mite and farthing of the Principal.  
To him his Lord, whose Eyes just Anger dart—  
—" Wicked and slothful Servant as thou art—!  
If gain from others Labour I desire,  
Whose all is mine, I but my own require:  
But since thou this didst know, since so austere  
A Lord I was, a Master so severe,  
Since honest Pain like these thou wouldst not take,  
Why might not others the advantage make  
Of what I left: but since I see my cost,  
And kindness all on thee, Ungrate! are lost,  
Thy Talon given to those who'll it improve;  
Hence let thy Fellow-Servants thee remove,  
thou hence, unprofitable Wretch, convey,  
Hid, like thy Talon from the cheerful Day,  
In noisome Dungeons; bound and fettered there  
For ever mourn in Darkness and Despair.  
But if these Truths you more distinct and clear  
Without a Parable desire to hear,  
Attend while I th' amazing Scenes display,  
The awful prospect of the last Great Day?  
* My Harbingers the Seven Archangels bright,  
Hark how their Trumpets the guilty World affright! 
Vid. From v. 32. to the end.   
The awful Trumpets of God a Call they sound,  
Is heard through Nature's universal Round;  
That Signal heard from the dissolving Sky,  
Decrepit Nature lays her down to die:  
Not so Man's deathless Race, who now revive,  
And must in joy or Pain for ever live:  
From long-confining Tombs each dusky Guest  
Disturbed arise, most, never more to rest;  
The clust'ring Atoms as before they were  
Together Troop; the Earth, the Sea, the Air  
Give up their Dead— How different all they rise?  
These light and cheerful, these behold the Skies  
With Looks obverse and horrid, how they shine  
All dreadful bright, all red with Wrath divine.  
Even yond fair Star, 
Mark 13.29.  whose Webs of Light disperse  
Their golden Threads around the Universe.  
Lose from its Centre down heavens Hill must roll,  
And by its Fall unhinge the steady Pole,  
And whilst he, hissing in th' Abyss, is drowned,  
Ten thousand- lesser Suns lie scattered round. 
Ibid. 25.  *  
The Moon's bright Eye shall dark and bloodshot grow,  
Reflecting only Smoke and Fire below.  
Vast Heaps on Heaps, thick Orbs on Orbs are hurled,  
Chaos on Chaos, World confused in World:  
Huge Spheres, so fast each after other rolled,  
Even boundless space their ruins scarce will hold:  
If the Great Whole no more from Fate secure,  
What Ravage shall this little part endure!  
This Point in the great Circle! As before,  
When by th' impetuous Deluge floated over;  
The Oceans both of Heaven and Earth did join, 
Gen. 7.   
Both with the Fountains of the Deep combine;  
And Wave did after Wave unwearyed come,  
Sea after Sea from its hydropic Womb;  
So from the Sources whence that ruin came,  
Deluged with Seas of Fire, and Waves of Flame:  
As when heavens Vengeance on cursed Sodom fell;  
The World's one Tophet now, one Aetna or one Hell.  
From Earth's wide Womb large Floods of Flame shall flow,  
The fiery World above shall meet with that below:  
Thence holy Souls refined and made more bright, *  
Shall safe emerge to World's of calmer Light;  
While those still stained with odious marks of Sin,  
Must desperate sink, for ever sink therein.  
But first that Doom which they deserve so well,  
They must receive, that Sentence, half their Hell;  
The Thrones are set, the conscious Angels wait,  
And turn th' eternal brazen Leaves of Fate;  
High in the midst shall my Tribunal stand,  
Apostles, Prophets, Saints on my Right-hand,  
Martyrs and Confessors— A glorious Train!  
Now well-content they suffer, then to reign.  
Whilst on the left, a dismal gloomy Band,  
Of Kings, proud Nobles, factious Commons stand;  
Lewd Priests, Apostate Poets, who disgrace  
Their Character, and slain their Heaven born Race.  
Lean Hypocrites, who by long Fasts and Prayer  
Get damned, with much of pain, and much of care:  
— But strange! there will not be one Atheist there.  
All Marshaled thus, tho' now they be mingled seen;  
To you I'll with applauding Smiles begin.  
" Come you, 
Matt. 25 34. etc.  by me and my great Father blest!  
" Come, holy Souls, to endless Peace and Rest!  
" For some short Years of Misery and Pain,  
" In Light and joy for ever with me reign  
" In that blessed Place, before all Worlds prepared  
" By Heavenly Skill, by Hands Almighty reared:  
" In that bad World yourselves you've faithful shown,  
" You owned me there, and you in this I'll own:  
" Fainting for Hunger, me you oft relieved,  
" And burned with Thirst, I your kind Aid received;  
" Wide wandering through the World, you entertained;  
" Half Naked, not my Poverty disdained,  
" But careful, Clothed; when Sick, your help did lend;  
" Nay, even Imprisoned, not forsaken your Friend.  
With modest joy, in their enlightened Eyes,  
Thus humble, all the righteous Host replies:  
—" Thy Mercy, 
37, 38, 39  not our Merits, Lord, we own,  
Must place us by thee, on thy radiant Throne:  
Much, of ourselves, of Ill, ourselves we knew,  
Such Good, alas, when did we ever do?  
Thus they— Thus will again the King rejoin— 
40.   
Those Kindnesses I still accounted mine,  
My Friends received; these did I still record,  
And this great Day shall bring their full Reward.  
Then to th' unjust he turns, who trembling wait,  
Their too-well-known intolerable Fate;  
justice unmixed dwells on his angry Brow,  
Thou Mercy only there, and Pardon now;  
Ah what a Change? why will they not relent?  
Since now they may— Why will they not repent?  
Yet, yet there's hope, I'll cover all their Sins!  
— Then all too late, for thus their judge begins.  
" Go, 
41.  ye accursed! to endless Torments go!  
" (For such your Choice) to endless Worlds of Woe!  
" Prepared at first for those lost Spirits who fell;  
" You shared their Crimes, now doomed to share their Hell.  
" I'th' other World unkind yourselves you've shown,  
" Me you disowned, you now I here disown.  
" Fainting for Hunger, me you not relieve,  
" For Thirst, you'd not one Cup of Water give;  
" When wandering through the World, ne'er entertained;  
" Half Naked, Poor and Mean, you me disdained,  
" Or Clothed with Stripes, when Sick did Curses lend  
" For Balm; Imprisoned, Stones for Bread would send.  
With all the haste of impudent Despair, 
44.   
They'll all deny, and ask me when and where?  
To them my Answer like the last shall be,  
— What to my Brethren's done, is done to me.  
A Place there is, from heavens sweet Light debarred,  
Where dismal Shrieks of guilty Souls are heard;  
Loud Yells, deep Groans, thick Stripes, long Clanks of Chains;  
There solid, everlasting Darkness reigns:  
Even that sad Fire, which on the Wretched feeds,  
Nor new supplies of Matter ever needs,  
Lends 'em no Gleam, no comfortable Ray,  
But change of Torments measures Night and Day:  
Hither black Fiends shall snatch th' Unjust away,  
Tormentors and Tormented— Deep they fall,  
And on the ruins of this flaming Ball  
Whirl to th' Abyss, on Waves of Sulphur tossed,  
In that black direful Gulf for ever lost.  
Not so the Just, who shall their Lord attend  
To Worlds of joy, that know no bound or end:  
A Place there is, removed far, far away,  
From that faint Lamp that makes this mortal Day:  
A blissful Place, that knows no Clouds or Night,  
But God's high Throne scatters perpetual Light:  
There Angels live, there Saints, so far refined,  
Their Bodies scarce lesle glorious than their Mind::  
There, true, eternal Friendship all profess;  
There, in the height of Piety, possess  
The Heaven of Heaven, the height of Happiness:  
Perfect their Joys, yet still their Joys improve,  
For still the Infinite they See and Love.  
Here shall they enter, here triumphant placed,  
Unutterable Bliss for ever taste  
In mine, and my great Father's Arms embraced.  
— Here, Thou whom Men and Angels must adore!  
Here, Saviour! When this storm of Life is over,  
Thy worthless Servant place! One Moment there,  
For many tedious Years of Want and Care,  
Will more than even make— And whilst I stay,  
If from my Post I must not yet away;  
Accept this humble Verse, my Lifes great Task!  
'Tis all I can, and more thou wilt not ask:  
Bless my few Friends, or if but Names they be,  
My Friend,— For I've scarce more than One and Thee.  
Bless even my Foes! may they, till better, live,  
And my vast Debts, as I do theirs, forgive!  
Thy help in all my Tribulation, 
In all time of our Tribulation.  lend!  
More than in Promise, (like the World) my Friend.  
Down all vain towering Hopes! But Saviour! grant,  
I may ned my daily Bread and Clothing want!  
The very Flowers and Ravens these possess;  
Thy Will be done, if I must still have lesle!  
Or if to Wealth or Fame I e'er should rise; 
In all time of our Wealth.   
(Those Gifts I neither Covet, nor Despise,  
Choose for me, 
Herbert.  Lord!" For thou hast both my Eyes!  
If e'er thou me from this low Turf shouldst raise,  
Grant, as thou me, I may advance thy Praise!  
Else, in this Dust, let me to Dust return!  
— Then, 
In the hour of death.  then when my sad Friends around me Mourn,  
O be not far away! Thy Grace supply,  
And like a Man, and Christian let me Die!  
And when my weary Soul forsakes my Breast,  
O take it in thy Arms, and give me Rest!  
— So shall I for my Consummation stay,  
And hope, 
And in the day of judgement.  not fear the great decisive Day:  
Refreshed, beyond the reach of Pain or Vice, *  
In the Celestial Shades of Paradise.  
The End of the Seventh Book.   

NOTES ON The LIFE of CHRIST. BOOK VII.  
5. SAW through the Shades, nor durst directly see— Left that should dazzle him.] The Description we have left us of this Temple, is indeed very glorious, Opus omnium quae unquam vidimus aut audivimus mirabilissimum, says one concerning it, the most prodigious Work I ever saw or heard of. And Tacitus in Lib. 5. calls it, mirae Opulentiae Templum, a Temple of wonderful Riches. And josephus tells us, that not only the Front was gilded, but, as I understand him, the Outside was covered with Plates of Massy Gold, which dazzled the Beholder's Eyes, and to Strangers, at a distance, made it appear like a huge white Mountain.  
12. The mighty Gates, heavy with Loads of Gold.] The Gates of the Temple were all covered with Silver and Gold, except one with Corinthian Brass, of more value than any of the other. See the forementioned Author.  
13. Twice ten robustous Servants there attend.] One of the Gates of the Temple, as josephus tells us, was so large, that it employed twenty Men, every Night and Morning to shut and open it. The same Gate, which also he says, opened prodigiously, about Midnight, of its own accord with a great Noise, not long before the Destruction of jerusalem.  
16. To the third Gate, of rich Corinthian Brass.] vid. supra.  
20. Loud answered by the Full-mouthed Choir within.] I think there's no great doubt but this was the manner of the Temple-service, there being several of the Psalms which seem to have been sung alternatim, between Priests and People. Heman and jeduthun, as we find, singing an Anthem of David's composing, and therein praising the Lord because his Mercy endures for ever; to which all the People said Amen, and praised the Lord. 1 Chron. 16.36,41. But the most lively Description of the Temple-Service, which will much illustrate what follows, is that in 2 Chron. 5.11, 12. When the Priest were come out of the Holy place, also the Levites, which were the Singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, and jeduthun, with their Sons and their Brethren; being arrayed in White Linen, having Cymbals, and Psalteries, and Harps, stood at the East end of the Altar, and with them an hundred and twenty Priests sounding with Trumpets. The Trumpets and Singers were at once to make one Sound, to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord. They lift up their Voices with Trumpets, and Cymbals and Instruments of Music and praised the Lord, saying, for he is good, for his Mercy endureth for ever.  
26. The Consort first sweet Aijeleth begun.] I here insert most Sorts of Musical Instruments, mentioned in David's Psalms, according to the usual Interpretation of 'em. The first is Aijeleth, from the 22. Psalms, which is inscribed, Aijeleth Shaber, generally rendered the Hind of the Morning, a sort of Music, as some think, of the Nature of our Waitss, going about in the Courts to wake the Priests; but 'twas also, we are sure, from David, used in God's immediate Service.  
29. Alamoth, chaste Virgins best Delight.] They are thought a sort of Virginals, and mentioned in Psal. 46.  
30. Grave jonath.] See Psalm 56. inscribed jonath Elem Rechochim, rendered, The dumb Dove in silent places; like Mahalah afterwards, I suppose, a sort of grave Music, fit to compose their Minds to Attention and Devotion.  
31. And melting Harps.] The Sheminith, and all other sort of stringed Instruments.  
35. Lofty Hallelujahs sing.] A reverend Person, now an Honour to our Church and Nation, is of Opinion, that this 135 Psalms was used at Morning Service, the Priests, Levites, and all the People inviting each other to praise God.  
91. Mean while rich Incense feeds the sacred Fires.] This was done twice a day, vid. Exod. 30.7, 8. Aaron shall burn sweet Incense every Morning. When Aaron lighteth the Lamps at Even he shall burn Incense. See also joseph Antiq. lib. 3.  
94. A Milk white Lamb, the Morning-Sacrifice.] Exod. 29.38, 39 This is that which thou shalt offer, two Lambs of the first Year, day by day. The one Lamb thou shalt offer in the Morning, etc.  
95. With these the Priests their holiest Mincha join, A cheerful Blaze of Flour, and Oil, and Wine.] Vid. Exod. 29.40. A tenth-deal of Flour mingled with an hin of Beaten-Oyl, and the fourth part of an hin of Wine. This Mincha, Meat-offering, as we tender it, with its Drink-offering, is called most holy of all the Offerings of the Lord. Bread and Wine is the most ancient Sacrifice; that which Melchisedech brought forth seems to have been sacred. This is still retained by our Saviour, who was a Priest of the same Order. Vid. Mede on the Jewish Offerings.  
115. Some in the Cloister's gainful Shops unfold.] The three Courts of the Temple, which are all included under the same Name, because we want two distinct Words for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, being all consecrated Ground, took up a considerable room each of 'em having Cloisters round, and a void space in the middle. In the space were the Sheep and Oxen; under the Cloisters, I suppose the Money-Changers and Dovesellers. The Roof of these Cloisters, if I understand josephus aright, served as Foundations for those sumptuous Galleries round the Temple, which Sabinus burned down in an Insurrection of the Jews; for they could not be on the Covered Part, or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, since 'tis not probable they could have burned the Top and left the Bottom standing. Vid. joseph. Antiq. lib. 7. cap. 12.  
128. Driven with more Ease from Carmel 's fruitful Hill.] Because, though that's further from jerusalem, their Tails were not so cumbersome, which were incredibly large in the Asiatic Sheep, and therefore I say before, Drag their ponderous Train.  
135. Blushes, at once, of Shame and Anger rise.] Shame for his Countrymen, not himself.  
136. A just Resentment sparkling in his Eyes, etc.] St. jerom says here, Igneum quicquam ex Oculis radiabat, etc. there were certain fiery Rays came from our Saviour's Eyes, which they were not able to endure.  
146. He does, of strongly-twisted Cords, prepare.] We never find our Saviour, in all his History, so angry as he is here, but once before, and that on the same Occasion; for it's thought he drove these sacrilegious Wretches two several times from the Temple. Nothing, I say, ever made him so angry as their thus confounding things sacred and profane. The Jews, 'tis plain, made no distinction, and believed not any Holiness in this Place: after Prayers once over, all Places were, it seems, alike to them. The Distinction was our Saviour's own, and must still hold, if a Christian Church is still the House of God.  
153. Yet here great Solomon.] That noble Tower or Porch, which though Herod re-edified, it seems, still retained the Name of its first Founder; was built by Solomon, and its Foundations laid so deep and firm, that the Babylonians could not destroy 'em, though no doubt they ruined the Superstructure. If I mistake not, here was the East-Gate, the Golden-Gate, the Beautiful-Gate of the Temple, all different Names for the same thing. 'Twas built over the Vale of Kidron, and from the top of its Towers to the bottom of that Valley, such a vast depth, that josephus says, 'twas horrid to look upon, and would almost dazzle the Beholders. This Porch of Solomon I wonder how Capellus happened to place on the South of the Temple, which he does, unless Fuller mistakes him; whereas 'tis seated in the East, by josephus, and, I think, all others. This Gate and Courts about it cost more Pains and Time than all the Temple; Solomon began to bring Earth and even the Valley, but 'twas not finished in several Ages. Vid. joseph. lib. 6.  
157. The Workmen mined deep, wondrous deep.] josephus says, the Foundations of the Temple were three hundred Cubits deep (sacred Cubits we are to understand, in a sacred Work, twice as much as the Vulgar) and in some places more, and that great part on't was built upon the solid Rock.  
159. Of Tyre they were.] Solomon had Carpenters from Hiram of Tyre, and he might have Masons too; who, I here suppose, had formerly been Miners in Britain. See Lib. iii and vi.  
175. Those Everlasting Gates.] I'm inclined to think that Phrase in Psal. 24. (which should seem to have been composed on the Dedication of the Temple, or some such Occasion) of Everlasting Gates, relates immediately to the vast Height and Bigness of the Gates of the Temple; as the Everlasting Hills, in another place, in the same sense. Thomas I believe the whole Psalm has a further respect, and is prophetical of our Saviour's Ascension into Heaven, in which sense I take it at the End of Lib. x.  
178. The glittering Pillars, and the Vine of Gold.] josephus reckons above 100 of these Pillars, all gilded, and describes this Golden-Vine as one of the most noble sacred Ornaments in the World. It reached, says he, all along under the Chapiters' of the Pillars, whereon hung Bunches of Grapes, all of Gold, each Cluster as long as a Man. To which Vine our Saviour might allude, when preaching near it.  
181. The stately Porch 'twixt two vast Columns rose.] So josephus describes it, and says," These, as well as all other Pillars were of the Corinthian Order; the tallest and most beautiful of any other.  
185. The Stones so huge they scarce dared trust their Sense.] Nor I; josephus, in the Account he gives of them, making them so many Cubits long and broad, that one would think they needed as many Workmen to raise and manage 'em, as that which Acosta tells us of in America, drawn cross the Mountains, at the Command of one of their Inca's, by no lesle than an hundred thousand Men; however, undoubtedly they were very large: for so the Apostles to our Saviour, who not only show him in a general, St. Mark 13.1, 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, those great Buildings; but, in St. Luke, take notice of the Stones in a particular manner, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, what manner of Stones, what goodly Stones, as we very well tender it. And they had need be firm, when as josephus tell us, lib. 7. cap. 9 The Romans were six days battering the East Galleries of the Temple (with their prodigious Rams) but prevailed nothing against them. They then endeavoured to dig up the Foundations; but could only pull out some of the outer Stones, with a great deal of fruitless Labour. He further tells us, these Stones were all fastened to each other by huge Clamps of Lead and Iron, I suppose he means, the Iron was sodered unto them.  
207. Not one but by a Force superior, etc.] The Romans did at last prevail, and tore up the very Foundations of the Temple, ploughing the Ground whereon it stood, which was performed by Terentius, or Turnus Rufus, left there by Titus, for that purpose, on the 19th day of the Month Abib, as Maimonides; so says Eleazar, afterwards in his Speech to the jews, when he exhorted them to kill themselves, The Temple, says he, they have razed to the very Foundation, and hardly the Memory thereof is now left. And josephus says, even of the City, That 'twas beaten quite flat and plain to the Ground; exactly according to our Saviour, They shall lay thee even with the Ground, and thy Children within thee.  
220. How they the World 's and Temple 's End might know.] They seem to confound 'em in their Question, as if they supposed both should be together. And our Saviour's Answer does not, I think, as left recorded by any of the Evangelists, distinctly and orderly separate 'em. The Reason of which might be to keep 'em more on their Guard. In the following Discourse of our Saviour, the Reader will see, I have joined several of his Prophecies, which we find in different places; expatiating as the Subject led me.  
237. As heat and warmth the Royal Eagle brings.] So 'tis in Deuteronomy, whence this Simile seems to be taken. Our Translation indeed renders it Hen, but the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will reach the other Sense, which seems more Poetical and Noble.  
252. The Plague denounced an Hundred Years before.] The most natural Sense of those Words, Gen. 6.3. Yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty Years, seems to be, that the World should have so much respite before its Destruction: Which is favoured by S. Peter, in his Reflection on God's Long-suffering at that time. I say an Hundred because 'tis a round Number.  
267. Then many a vile Impostor shall pretend— My Name.] josephus tells us of many of these false Prophets before the Destruction of jerusalem.  
276. My very Name, and yours, shall Crimes be made.] Indeed their Persecutors could find 'em guilty of no other Crimes, and therefore made the very Name their Accusation. Hence the famous Christianos ad Leones. etc.  
293. Nation with Nation.] Galilee against Samaria and judaea, Simon against john, etc. And the very Words josephus makes Jesus use in his Oration to the Idumaeans against the Zealots, are, That they rejoiced to see Nation against Nation.  
296. Unhappy Solyma shall fly to thee.] If the Galilaean Zealots had not fled to jerusalem, josephus thinks it might have been saved.  
300. Shall with a fourth thy Three Proud Walls surround.] The Romans not only cast up a Trench, but even built a Wall round jerusalem, to keep in the jews▪ after which no more could escape. joseph. Lib. 6. Cap. 13.  
306. Which Heav'n-loved Daniels piercing Eyes foresaw.] The Abomination of Desolation I think were these Zealots, because it could be nothing else, that I ever yet saw, assigned. Not the Destruction itself, because 'twas to be the Sign of it. Not the Statue or Idol placed, or designed to be placed in the Temple, by Cains, or Tiberius; because either not done at all, or too soon to be a Sign for this Destruction. Nor the Roman Ensigns, Titus, or Adrian, because these all too late; and the Effect not a Sign of the Judgement. On the other side, the word Abomination exactly hits those Zealots, who, as josephus, Lib. 2. Bell. jud. Cap. 9 Dressed themselves like Women, fell to unnatural Lusts, and profaned the whole City with their execrable Impiety. They were a Desolation too, or such an Abomination as made Desolate. So Jesus in his forementioned Oration, Houses, says he, they have Ruinated and made Desolate, by their Robberies. And josephus tells us, That at one time the Idumaeans and they, murdered 8000 in the Temple, and 12000 young Men in the City. They stood in the Holy-Place, or where they ought not to stand. So Anamis in his Oration, lamenting that he should live to see the Sanctuary, where nothing ought to come but the Highpriest, profaned by the wicked Feet of these Impious Persons. And josephus, in his Speech to the jews, of these Zealots, That having their Hands embrued in the Blood of their Countrymen, they presumed to enter into the Sanctuary; where, says he, none ought to come. Nay, they were here before the Romans besieged the City, and therefore were properly a Sign of its Destruction, and a warning to others to leave it, as many did; and flying to Titus, saved their Lives. There remains but one thing more, which will almost demonstrate, that the Zealots were meant by this Abomination of Desolation; and that is, to inquire who it was caused the Daily Sacrifice to cease. But this the Zealots too did; josephus in the forementioned Oration, who says, That john and the Zealots, had not only robbed the Temple of all the Ornaments given by Augustus and others, telling the People, That Sacrilege was no Sin, because they fought for the Cause of God: But, as he adds expressly," They had deprived God of his daily Sacrifice in the Temple. All this, is one of the most clear and unanswerable Proofs of a Prophecy exactly fulfilled, that I ever met with. Which, for that reason, I've enlarged upon, and which I challenge all the Atheists or Deists in the World to answer.  
312. A deep, a mournful Voice,—" Let us depart.] The famous 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Our Saviour we know did Prophesy of great Signs and Wonders before this Destruction.  
315. The high in Heaven a bloody Sword.] Vid. joseph. Bell. jud. Lib. 5. Cap. 12. Where he says, A Comet in the fashion of a fiery Sword had hung over the City for a Year together; before the Siege.  
319. Thunders and Earthquakes then they'll scarcely mind.] Lib. 4. Cap. 7. He says," When the Edomites Encamped by the Walls of jerusalem, there arose a terrible Tempest of Wind, Rain, Lightning and Thunder, with an Earthquake, and several very strange and dreadful Voices. Notwithstanding which, their Friends within the Gates sawed the Bars in sunder, and admitted them into the City.  
322. But the beginning of their hopeless Pains.] Our Saviour says, All these are but the beginning of sorrows. And so it will appear to any who reads the whole History.  
329. The half starved Citizens like Ghosts shall meet.] john and Simon having in their Rage at one another, burned the City Granaries, enough to have supplied 'em for a long time, the Famine soon raged amongst amongst. Of which josephus gives many terrible Instances, Lib. 6. Cap. 11. etc. The Seditious, says he, in this Famine, broke up Houses for Corn and Meat; if they found any, they beaten Persons for denying it; if none, for concealing it; if strong and likely, they Killed 'em, on presumption they had some secret Stores; if weak, because they'd soon Die of themselves. Wives snatched the Meat from their Husbands; Children from Parents; Mothers from Infants; nay, one Miriam, boiled and eat her own Son. Babes were dashed on the ground by the Soldiers, when found with meat in their mouths. The young Men, pale as Ghosts, walked about till they dropped Dead in the Streets; and some, striving to bury others, fell Dead over 'em. And so he goes on with such a dreadful Description, as almost shocks Humanity to read it.  
340. And like a Deluge over all come pouring in.] The end of it shall be with a Flood, says Daniel: and accordingly it was, universal and irresistible.  
352. Till— See— the Temple fired.] josephus says, After they had been Fight many days about the Temple, a certain Soldier, contrary to the Order of Titus, moved as it were with a certain Divine Fury, got some of his Companions to help him up, and set Fire on the Temple, by one of the Golden Windows, which happened on the 10 th' of August; the same Day, he says, that it was burnt formerly by Nabuchadnezzar. The manner of which, and circumstances whereof, the Historian Describes like one who was no unconcerned Spectator. He tells us, Many whose Eyes were just closed with Famine, got strength to bewail the Temple, as they saw it Burning; and an innumerable Multitude being killed about it and in it, fixed their Eyes thereon, in the very Agonies of Death; whose dead Bodies rolled down the Temple-stairs in streams of Blood. All was filled with dismal Shrieks and Lamentations, echoed by the Mountains round the City. The Hill of the Temple now appeared all on Fire, though there was Blood enough shed to have quenched it. Some of the Priests being killed Fight, others leaping voluntary into the Flames, and the rest Burnt alive, resolving not to survive the Temple. Indeed, through the whole, josephus has done it so admirably, that I'm not ashamed to own I cannot reach him.  
360. Till Heaven has closed the Gentiles destined Reign.] From that of our Saviour, Till the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.  
373. And in the Church usurp my Throne and Name.] Our Saviour Prophecies of those that should come in his Name, saying, I am Christ. So did some of the little Antichrists, particularly jonathan in Cyrene, who said expressly, Ego sum Messiah. But this was to be eminently and remarkably fulfilled in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the great Adversary or Antichrist. And that some such is foretold in the Scriptures, Bellarmin himself, and all the Papists believe. He than that usurps the Throne, the Power, the very Divinity of our Saviour, wherever we find him, must be The Antichrist. This the Pope does his Throne, for he's carried by his Slaves, after he's chosen, placed upon the High Altar, and there actually Adored. His Power, for he'll forgive Sins, and rule Kings and Nations, with a Rod of Iron. His Divinity, for not content with being the Vicar of Christ, his Flatterers have given him the very Name and Power of God; for which, we could never hear, that he was so angry with 'em, as to put them into his Anathema against all Heretical Kings and Princes.  
389. The World for the Elect was chiefly made.] 'Tis a Notion of the Rabbis, that the World was only made for the Elect, which I've somewhat softened.  
417. Ten furious Tyrants.] The Ten Persecutions.  
424. To them a Foe, as to your sacred Race.] Nero was the Wretch who stirred up the first Persecution against the Christians, which occasioned that sharp and just Remark of Tertullian; Non nisi grande aliquod bonum quod à Nerone damnatum," It must needs be some extraordinary good Thing if Nero condemned it. This Monster was justly Voted by the Senate a Parricide and Enemy of Mankind. And accordingly his Memory has been ever detested by all Men, unless by the Parthians, and a few other Heathens.  
431. You in his Festal Flame shall shine.] From these puzzling Verses of juvenal, Tedâ lucebis in illa,— Qua stantes ardent qui fixo gutture fumant— Et latum mediâ sulcum diducit arenâ. Alluding, whatever the Grammar of 'em is, to Nero's Burning the Christians for Torches at his Night Revels.  
436. The only Good the Wretch will ever do.] Almost David's Words in Cowley, to Goliath.  
438. Mankind's hate, his Brother their delight.] Domitian, who raised the second Persecution, one of the foulest of Men, (some think worse than Nero,) and as much detested, as his Brother Titus loved, who was styled, as all know, Deliciae humani generis.  
442. By Martyrdom he'll purge his Blood.] History tells us, that he Murdered Flavius Clemens, his near Kinsman, and Banished his Wife Flavia, for being Christians.  
446. Still shall the Son of God's bright Form be near.] Alluding to the History of the Three Children.  
451. Whilst our proud Foe an hasty Death shall seize.] Stabb'; d by Parthenius and Stephanus. Concerning which, see the famous Story in Apollonius' Life.  
452. And his mild Successor.] Nerva, who swore solemnly, no Senator should ever dye by his Order. See Aurelius Victor and Dion. He recalled the Christians by an Edict, from Banishment; and amongst the rest S. john, though some would fain have him dead a great many years before; and others that he never died.  
456. Some even the Lord that bought'em shall deny.] Ebion, Cerinthus, and other Heretics, who first denied the Divinity of our Saviour; against whom S. john wrote his Gospel.  
461. Nor he himself— Unplagued escapes a destined dire Event, etc.] Trajan, who began the third Persecution. The dire Event, here mentioned, is that of the Earthquake at Antioch; where, the Emperor being then present and a vast Conflux of People, the Earth opened, and devoured an incredible Number of Men, one of the Consuls perishing, and the Emperor himself hardly escaping.  
467. But more the Jews.] Adrian, who began the fourth Persecution, Burnt a Thousand Towns of the jews, for Rebelling against him under their false Christ Barcochab, to whom Rabbi Akiba was a sort of Elias, crying, Hic est Rex ille Messias! and Killed 500000 Men; then re-edifying jerusalem, etc.  
472. How oft he'd fly to Death in vain for Ease.] Being sick of a languishing Distemper he would often have killed himself, but was hindered by his Friends. A little before his Death, he is said to have made those pretty foolish Verses, Animula, vagula, blandula, etc. Which, Little, fluttering Soul, alludes to.  
476. A Peaceful Prince and Pious more than named.] Antoninus Pius, who, on Iustin's Apology, made an Edict, that the Christians should not be Punished, but those who Accused 'em: As Orosius in his History.  
479. A vain Philosopher.] Antoninus Philosophus began the fifth Persecution, stirred up by Crescens the Cynic, and continued with great Fury, till the Emperor being distressed in War with the Quadi, for want of Water, and obtaining both that and Victory, by the Prayers of a Christian Legion, ordered it to be stopped; as P. Orosius tells us.  
485. This a far fiercer Tyrant knows in vain.] Septimius Severus, who raised the sixth Persecution, under whom so many were Martyred, that some thought him Antichrist. His two Sons, Bassianus and Geta succeeded him, the Elder of which killed the Younger in his Mother's Arms.  
489. Next a fell Wolf, who, the mild Shepherd slain.] The seventh Persecution under Maximin, who Murdered the good Emperor Alexander Severus; and was himself Killed, together with his Son, by his own Soldiers at the Siege of Aquileia.  
493. The next an equal Gild and Fate attend.] Decius, who raised the eighth Persecution, whose Son was killed by the Goths, and himself drowned in the Fens near the Danube, as he fled from the Enemy.  
466. Cruel old Man.] Valerian, the Author of the ninth Persecution, at the Instigation of an Egyptian Magician. He was afterwards conquered and taken by Sapores the Emperor of Persia, who made use of his Back to mount his Horse, and when he refused that Office, flayed him alive, and covered him with Salt.  
502. Two Monsters shall the groaning World divide.] Dioclesian and Maximinian.  
506. The Idol Banners stoop and Cross must rise.] The very Signa or Ensigns of the Romans, have been thought by learned Men Idolatrous: Which Constantine changed, and bore the Cross in his Banner; according to the famous Story.  
509. Once more the fatal Stone.] See Lib. 6. Note on the Baetylia of the Ancients.  
510. The Tyrant's drop by Justice or Despair.] Dioclesian, some say, Poisoned himself; Maximinian, who had once Abdicated; but when his Mind changed, and he for recovering his Empire again, being caught Plotting against Constantine, he was fairly Hanged for his reward.  
517. Those glorious Scars.] A known Story. Vid. Sozomen. Lib. 1. Cap: 11.  
522. Yet still some Signs of ancient Fraud remain.] From Virgil's Pauca tamen suberunt, etc.  
524. Nor yet my fated Reign. Vid. last Note on Lib. 10.  
529. Fierce Magog 's Sons.] The Scythians, as Sir Walter Raleigh proves beyond contradiction.  
531. Whilst all the West a fiercer Tyrant spoils.] The Turks give Liberty of Conscience; the Pope denies it; for which Reason, I make him the more Cruel of the two.  
537. The Earthly Gods this Monster shall Dethrone.] 2 Thess. 2.4.  
541. But first what Lets must be removed away.] This the ancient Christians Interpreted of the Roman Empire.  
549. chaste Marriage shall the worst of Crimes be grown.] A Man may be a good Romish Priest though he has half a Dozen Concubines, but not if he has one Wife. But amongst all the doughty Arguments against the Marriage of the Clergy, I think that of his Infallibility, S●ricius himself, carries the most weight; They that are in the Flesh cannot please God.  
553. A Swan in Gomers spacious Fields shall rise.] 'Tis said in the History of john Huss, that at his Martyrdom he Prophesied, of a Swan to rise an hundred Years after, whom the Papists should not be able to Burn.  
586. At a Friend's House, which on the Road they knew.] Some such thing seems necessarily employed from the Oeconomy of the Parable. For it's said in the 1 verse, They actually went forth to meet the Bridegroom. But ver. 5. While the Bridegroom tarried they all slumbered and slept; which they can't be supposed to do in the open Air.  
691. My Harbingers the seven Arch-Angels bright.] It has been generally believed in all Ages of the Church, that there are different Orders of Angels; and there are great probabilities from Scriptures, that the Number of the Chief Angels is 7; which are also called, The Eyes of the Lord, running too and from throughout the whole Earth. That these Angels shall be principally employed in the Preparations for this Judgement, appears, from comparing 1. Thess. 4.16. The Lord shall descend, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the Trump of God; with that of the 2 Thess. 1.7. The Lord jesus shall be revealed from Heaven, with his mighty Angels; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: Which seems much the same with these Arch-Angels.  
712. Ten thousand lesser Suns lie scattered round.] According to their Notion, who think all fixed Stars Suns.  
733. Hence holy Souls Refined and made more Bright.] This seems the only ancient Purgatory: Some of the Father's being of Opinion, that the Souls of all Men, nay that of the Blessed Virgin herself, were to pass through this purging Fire at the last judgement. But this would do the Church of Rome no good, and therefore they have since altered the property on't, making it a Culinary Fire with a witness, and blowing it up some thousands of Years sooner than those good Fathers ever thought of.  
798. With all the haste of Impudent Despair] They shorten our Saviour's Accusation, and say, ver. 44. Lord when saw we thee an hungered, or a thirst, or a stranger, or naked, etc. whereas the Righteous are more deliberate. Ver. 37. When saw we thee an hungered and fed thee, etc.  
862. Refreshed, beyond the reach of Pain or Vice, etc.] Agreeable to the Notion of the Primitive Churches, who constantly prayed for this Refrigerium, or Refreshment of their Fellow Christians, departed this Life; they supposing them in a sort of Pain, by their thirsty and eager Desire for the final Consummation of their Happiness.   

The Argument of the Eighth Book.  
A Catalogue of the Nations that came to the Passover, together with the Inhabitants of the Herod's Entry and Train from Galilee. Our Saviour privately comes thither with his Disciples, sending St. Peter and St. John before him to prepare the Passover in Mount Zion. But could not remain undiscovered, some Greeks, from Athens, having heard of his Fame, and pressing to see him; which having obtained by the Assistance of some Tyrian Merchants of Philip's Acquaintance; God the Father, at his desire, attests him now the third time by a Voice from Heaven. At which the People being again ready to force a Kingdom upon him, he retires, with his Disciples. However, his Fame and Doctrine spread so far, that all things were now at a Crisis, and the whole Nation upon the point of owning him the Messiah. At which Lucifer being alarmed, takes with him a Detachment of Devils, and flies to Earth, where sending the rest to their appointed Posts, to facilitate his Design, he himself enters the Palace of Caiaphas; and Night being now come, and the Highpriest asleep, appears before him in the Form of old Hircanus, chiding him for his Remissness, and stirring him up to destroy our Saviour. In order to which, as soon as he wakes, he sends privately to assemble the Sanhedrim; which being known to Gamaliel, Joseph, and Nicodemus, they hasten likewise thither. Caiaphas' Speech to the Sandhedrim, against our Saviour, accusing him for a Subverter of their Laws; pretending to prove, he was not, for that Reason, to be harkened to, though he wrought Miracles; complaining of the Meanness of his Doctrine on one side, obliging to forgive Enemies, and of the impracticable Heights on the other, not admitting Liberty of Thoughts, or the first Motions of Desire or Anger; with other Objections usually urged by the Deists against Christianity. After which he rises higher, charges him with Blasphemy; and at last, falling into a Prophetic Fury, he declares, 'twas necessary one Man should die for the whole Nation; urging, that could not be a Sin which God himself had decreed. His Speech variously received by the Sanhedrim. Nicodemus stands up, and begins cautiously to answer him. Whom Joseph of Arimathea interrupts, and boldly, before 'em all, confesses Jesus; distinctly answering all the Cavils of Caiaphas against his Person and Law, and pressing the Sanhedrim to receive him as their true Messiah. While they were divided in their Opinions, and debating the matter, our Saviour celebrates the Passover, with his twelve Disciples, and institutes the Sacrament of his Blessed Body and Blood; foreshowing and describing the Traitor Judas, who went out from the rest with a resolution to betray him; whose Offer to the Sanhedrim was agreed to by the majority, and Preparations made to apprehend him. Our Lord comforts the remaining Disciples, but prophecies of their forsaking him, and particularly St. Peter's Denial. Thence he leads them to Gethsemane; and takes St. Peter, James, and John with him into the thickest part of the Garden, leaving the rest at the Gate. His Agonies and Prayers, not for fear of the approaching Pain or Infamy, but of his Father's Anger. An Angel appears to strengthen him. A Comparison of him with the most famous ancient Heroes, showing how far he exceeded them in Patience and Virtue. The three Disciples asleep for Sorrow. Judas, having received Guards from the Highpriest, comes to the Garden, and, with a Kiss, betrays our Lord; who being apprehended, after he had healed Malchus, whom St. Peter had wounded, all his Disciples forsake him. He's carried to the High-Priest's Palace, and there abused by the Guards and Rabble. St. John, who soon resumed Courage, followed our Saviour, and owned himself his Disciple. St. Peter comes after, though with more Fear, and is introduced into the Palace, by the Interest of St. John; but being known to some of the Company, and charged as a Follower of Jesus, he thrice denies him, the last time with Curses and Imprecations; till, on our Saviour's looking back upon him, be returns to himself, and, departing from the Palace, endeavours to expiate his Gild by a severe Repentance. Our Saviour accused by the Highpriest and Caiaphas, but no Proof against him, that would reach his Life; till Caiaphas adjuring him to own it if he were the Son of God, and he telling them, they should hereafter see him come to judge the World, he's accused for Blasphemy, and buried away to the Roman Governor, being adjudged, by the Sanhedrim, worthy of Death.  
THE LIFE OF CHRIST: AN Heroic Poem. BOOK VIII.  
NOW o'er the Hills the Paschal Morn arose,  
And from high towers the sacred Trumphet blows; *  
Proclaiming their great Feast, all Israel; meet,  
Thick crowding through each dusty Gate and Street;  
Strangers and Proselytes, where e'er their Birth,  
Whatever part o'th' many Peopled Earth;  
Some from the Isles, Crete, Rhodes and Cyprus, some  
From double-seaed Byzant, and Corinth come;  
From the fair Fields with Rivers circled wide, *  
From Elam and Euphrates flowery side.  
With all th' Arabia's, to the Feast repair  
The Realms of Monobaze and Helen fair; *  
Strong Adiabene called, well known to Fame;  
But most from blessed Iudaea's Regions came;  
From Dan, to old Beersheba's fruitful Plain,  
From jazers, Sea, to the great Western Main:  
These from Phenician Fields their Journey take,  
From Tyrus-stairs, and the Cendevian Lake:  
Herod, his numerous Galileans brings  
From all his Towns, a Pomp well worthy Kings:  
Strong Sephoris, and rich Tiberias send send  
Their choicest Youth, Sebaste's Lords attend  
With Prayers for their great Frounder, who his Guests,  
On Iordan's Banks, at proud Herodion Feasts; *  
Who Guarded thence and Honoured, wait him down,  
By jericho, to Salem's sacred Town:  
His rich paternal Palace they prepare,  
And ranged before the Gates, Salute him there;  
Nor sooner his approach the Elders know,  
But to receive him in long State they go;  
The Roman-Guards the same, loud Shouts they made,  
Their Eagle on Antonia's towers displayed:  
Not so our Saviour met, nor he desired  
Vain Honours, or mean wordlly Fame required;  
A train of Virtues did the Hero bring,  
Unseen officious Angels guard their King.  
In vain a private Entry made his choice,  
For all Goodmen at his approach rejoice:  
Ent'ring the Town, he did before him send,  
As Harbingers, bold Cephas and his Friend:  
These all prepared, (nor could they want success,  
For where himself he sends, himself he'll bless:)  
What Moses, or the Elders did enjoin, *  
The Lamb, the Herbs, the Bread, the sacred Wine.  
Mean while, the Croud's Hosannas to prevent,  
He rounds the Walls by Sion's steep ascent:  
In vain their unbespoken Pomp he'd eat,  
From every part the gazing People run;  
Fame bears the News through all the pestered Gates,  
And the vast Town almost depopulates.—  
So, when some Godlike Prince by Heaven designed,  
The common Benefactor of Mankind;  
Triumphant over even himself and Fame,  
Who would by Virtue only raise his Name;  
So when he, envious of himself, would go  
Through some saved Town, or Realm Incognito;  
Through the vain Cloud his stronger Beams will Shine,  
The mortal Form confessing the Divine:  
Forth pour thick Floods of Men, the Saviour meet,  
And strew thick Flowers and Blessings at his Feet.  
So here, all press to see his Heavenly Face,  
Nor only now the Hebrews sacred Race;  
His growing Fame to Gentile-Worlds is spread,  
His Light Divine had struck their Daemons dead:  
The servile Gods to their black Caves retire, *  
Great Ammon, 
Vid. Lib. 6.  than his own, now feels a hotter Fire:  
Athens, which did from Egypt first convey *  
Vain Idol-Forms, and spread them wide away  
Thro the deluded World, now learns t' adore,  
A Sovereign Deity unknown before; 
Acts 17.23.   
Nor had the Sibyls scaped 'em; there they find  
A Prince whose facile Yoke should bless Mankind,  
In scorned judaea born: They thither came,  
More by the Savior's Miracles and Fame,  
Than the great Feast attracted—  
Came with some Tyrian Merchants, Trading down  
To newnamed julias', once Bethsaida's Town:  
Their Interest these, and frank assistance lend,  
Since in his humble Court they had a Friend  
To introduce 'em; meeting, they embrace;  
'Twas Philip, of the Galilean Race,  
Whom long they'd known, and asked the Liberty,  
These Graecian Strangers might his Master see.  
He beckons Andrew, 
John 12.20. etc.  both to Jesus went,  
And favourably their Request present:  
When thus our Lord— Thou I vain Pomp disclaim,  
Nor in my own, but my great Father's Name  
As yet have taught, yet since he 's pleased t' attest  
My weak Mortality, it must be best.  
Now is the Hour I shall be truly known,  
A glimpse of my paternal Glory's shown;  
Now that false Traitor, who from Honour fell,  
Yet seized these Worlds, and taught 'em to Rebel,  
Transfixed with vengeful Flames, sinks back t' his destined Hell.  
But ah! How dear an Empire must I win!  
On what a Throne my promised Reign begin!  
How sad an Exaltation! Yet even there,  
Will I the ruins of the World repair:  
Nor me my Friends, nor them I'll there disown,  
But with 'em mount to a far brighter Throne:  
The way o'er Rocks and Thorns myself I'll lead,  
Nor must they only on Roses think to tread;  
Through Blood, but 'tis their own, a Crown must gain,  
True Hero's Race, enured to Sweat and Pain,  
Which sweetens all their future peaceful reign.  
— Yet still will this relucting Body thrive,  
Base Flesh and Blood the servile War revive  
Against the nobler Spirit, still disgrace  
Man's better Form, and slain the heaven-born Race;  
Still Pain is his aversion— Thou 'tis true,  
Had he not this, he'd nothing to subdue;  
No Merits, no Reward— Do what I can, *  
My labouring Heart has something still of Man;  
Feign would avoid th' unequal shock, and fain  
Would shrink from this intolerable Pain;  
These more than human Terrors— Father save!  
O, if 'tis fit, preserve that Life you gave!  
No, 'tis not— I myself a Victim give;  
Willing I Die, that rescued Man may Live:  
Yet, left they me as an Impostor blame,  
E'er I to those blessed Regions, whence I came  
Return, Dear Father! Glorify thy Name!  
He said, when straight calm Lambent Lightnings fly,  
And sacred Thunder murmurs round the Sky.  
Then the dread Voice of God—" As I've already done,  
" I thus attest thee still, my loved eternal Son!  
They heard the awful Sound, they heard it all,  
And to the Saviour lowly prostrate fall;  
So little their false Homage he desires,  
That from the flattering Crowd he straight retires;  
A Miracle he works to chain their Sense,  
And with the Ten, pass undiscovered thence:  
Still more amazed they strictly searched around,  
Each Street and Suburb searched, and had they found,  
Had him by force the King of Israel crowned:  
So their great Saul himself, they cry, withdrew,  
And wish some Samuel his retirement knew:  
For factious Arms, themselves and Friends prepare,  
Scarce on the Towrs the Roman Ensigns bear.  
Thou this the thoughtless giddy Crowd alone,  
Many o'th' Elders knew, but dared not own,  
Knew him the Prince designed for Israel's Throne:  
On worldly Fame, and Reputation stood;  
How hard a thing to be both Great and Good?  
Mistaken Fame! if from fair Actions done,  
'Tis good; if not, far better lost than won.  
Happier the common Race of human kind,  
Happier in this, since for their Eyes or Mind  
They no disguises need, vain Forms they break,  
And what small Sense they have, they freely speak.  
These his Opposers scarce untouched endure,  
His Foes scarce more than he himself secure; *  
Thou he himself their Conduct not approved,  
Nor Rabble-Reformation ever loved:  
Interest, not Love their partial Votes did sway,  
They'd call him King, but not his Laws obey;  
Too pure for their gross Taste, too right and just;  
Nor he such Subjects would receive or trust.  
How e'er his Doctrines more and more prevail,  
Still more the Elders false Foundations fail,  
Scripture and Reason gone, they only rail:  
All things were at the height, the Crisis all,  
And his Religion now, or theirs must fall.  
This saw th' Arch-fiend in his own loathsome Cell;  
A Spy through Sodom's Lake shot swift to Hell  
And brought th' affrightful News, 
Vid. Lib. 3.  repulsed before,  
The Conclave he resolves to call no more,  
Till some great Act achieved, some Mischief done,  
So black, as he'd himself not blush to own,  
From every Squadron silently he drew, drew  
Such Spirits as he most fit for action knew;  
Some from blasphemous Belial did command,  
From Moloch some, but most from Envy's band:  
Such as all Parties might to his engage;  
Some skilled in raising Tumults, Storms and Rage:  
The same that tempted Dathan e'er he fell,  
And dragged him, yet alive, through Earth's black Gulf to Hell.  
Some like himself, when cheating facile Eve,  
So subtle they'd almost th' Elect deceive:  
These guilty Mortals, knew t' illude or fright  
With monstrous Forms, and Spectres of the Night:  
With joys impure oft filled, with Sloth oppressed,  
Their Guardian Friends away, their Eyes and Breast:  
Some Miser Fiends, most sordid and most base,  
The lowest sunk of all th' Apostate Race;  
These Mines and loan Churchyards, and Treasures hold,  
And howl in Tombs around their secret Gold:  
Yet these, the nobler Mind do what it can,  
Maintain the strongest Party still in Man:  
How few are proof against their fatal Arts!  
Sure Satan arms with Gold his fiery Darts:  
Like those of Love they no distinction make,  
Kings, Peasants, Civil, Sacred, all they take;  
All but one rank of Men, they ne'er took place,  
Ne'er found a Quarry in the tuneful Race:  
'Tis strange that Poets are not virtuous still,  
Since out of reach of Gold, that Root of ill.  
These Spirits their Leader, in whose Cause they fell,  
Musters in Hast, the strong Gensdarms of Hell;  
These Troops of his own Household did review;  
Then swift to Earth for Man's Destruction flew;  
Arrived, each takes his Post, which well they knew.  
As the sly Tyrant ordered, each conceal, *  
Lest some kind Angel should to Man reveal  
What their design; some did themselves dispose  
T' excite their Friends, and some to tempt their Foes:  
I'th' foremost Rank, their Leader wings his way,  
For Night had now relieved the weary Day,  
To Salem's Towrs, and as he o'er 'em flew,  
A spiteful glance and Curse amongst 'em threw;  
Afraid lest the fair City should Repent,  
And by their Prayers the destined Wrath prevent.  
To the high Priest's proud Palace did repair,  
And like a falling-Star shot headlong there;  
The Guards and Gates he penetrating past,  
Swift and invisible, and round him cast  
The Form of old Hircanus, grave and sage,  
The same his Face, his Stature, Mien and Age;  
His Voice the same, his Hands a Censer bore,  
The sacred Mitre on his Brows he wore.  
In still and deep Repose the Pontiff lay,  
Tired with the Work and Pleasures of the Day;  
Stern Caiphas— The Fiend approached his Bed,  
And leaning on his Hand, his Palsyed Head,  
With loud and lamentable Voice he said;  
" Awake my Son! Is't thus your Flocks you keep?  
Or now Awake or else for ever Sleep!  
But canst thou Sleep?— Yes— Canst thou stoop so low,  
To yield the glorious Day without a Blow,  
— T' our Laws, our Nations and our Temple's Foe?  
Who now, by your remissness, fierce and proud,  
Heads dark Cabals among the factious Crowd.  
All that is Sacred, left without defence,  
You violate my Tomb, and raise me thence.  
Was it for this my great Forefathers broke  
A Stranger's Chains, shook off the Heathen Yoke?  
For this like Bulwarks round their Country stood,  
And shed such Seas of honourable Blood?  
O ye great Maccabees! to dear it cost,  
To purchase what your Sons have tamely lost:  
Say, did Hircanus thus your Line disgrace,  
Or act a thing beneath your glorious Race?  
He grasped the Censer and the Sword you bore,  
Your Mitre and your Diadem he wore;  
Spite of ill Fortune he preserved your Fame,  
Nor trembled even at mighty Pompey's name. *  
Scarce half his Power his weak Successors share; *  
Nor only you the Roman Thraldom bear:  
(Since Manly 'tis to yield, if Men subdue)  
But even a weak Enchanter conquers you;  
If aught by Herbs and powerful Names he has done, *  
To Solomon's wise Sons it can't b' unknown:  
Yet still he Lives, you the blind Crowd forsakes,  
And droves of Proselytes each hou'r he makes:  
These will he soon to greater Things persuade,  
The Sanhedrim and sacred Throne invade:  
Hast then— The Crown and Royal Ensigns bring,  
The Galilaean Carpenter's your King.  
— But shall he be, or are my Fears in vain?  
O'er none but Slaves, a Slave deserves to reign:  
Thou yet he does not— Israel yet is free,  
And will, I know, maintain their Liberty;  
Quench the new-kindled Flame, and pull this Serpent down,  
Before he higher leaps and gets a Crown:  
— Hast then, and tho' past Ills you can't redress  
Him, Meditating more, secure, oppress!  
Or there dispatch, or else t' his Fate convey,  
To purge the Town on this great festal Day;  
Call you the Sanhedrim, I'll find the way.  
He said and sunk— The Pontiff raised his Eyes,  
And looking ghastly round, My Guards, he cries;  
All in cold Sweats— Yes, mighty sacred Shade,  
Thy kind, thy wholesome Counsel shall b' obeyed:  
He Lives no longer, his sure Fate is past,  
'Tis done, and this succeeding Day's his last.  
His ent'ring Guards he round the City sends,  
And calls to Council his confiding Friends.  
The Elders, and the Priests of greater sway,  
Each did their numerous subject Course obey: 
Vid. Luke 1.   
Pressing Affairs did their wise Councils need,  
They must attend, with silence and with speed:  
Yet not so close they the dark Message do,  
But joseph and the wise Gamaliel knew:  
To Council they among the rest repair,  
And meet their Friend, sage Nicodemus there.  
All present, Caiaphas ascends the Chair,  
And thus began—" You'll, Fathers! soon believe,  
Not without Cause, I thus disturbance give  
TO th' Honourable House, nor need I fear,  
The just Occasion known, from any here  
Reproof for this Assembly. But too well,  
All who are Lovers of our Israel,  
The growth of Nazareth's cursed Sect perceive,  
* On their Impostor, the whole World believe;  
How undeplored our own and Nations Fate,  
Unless we help, if help's not yet too late:  
— If nothing us our Country's danger move,  
(Thou no Goodman but must his Country love;)  
If we these Walls can leave, and see our Place,  
* And Honour filled by a vile Earthborn Race;  
So humbly, or so meanly quit our Seat,  
And live without a Name, obscurely Great;  
If we all this might kindly give away,  
Our Laws, our sacred Laws we can't betray.  
There there the Venom lurks, at these he drives,  
Their Ruin he in close Cabals contrives;  
Th' abhorred of Nazareth—  
The World promulged by Angels he'd repeal,  
A better Law than Moses did, reveal;  
Unlettered Peasant he, assuming thus  
A Power unknown, must teach the World and Us.  
The Crowd, 'tis true, his Miracles proclaim;  
But did not Egypt's jugglers do the same?  
Spite of our Sense, our Reason still is free,  
Nor are we, were it not, at Liberty:  
For wondrous Signs our Law we must not leave,  
Nor a false Prophet, tempted thus, receive:  
Should he prevail, which O avert! ye Powers  
That rule the World, 
Dan. 4.26▪  his Laws exchanged for ours;  
What should we gain? What has he more complete,  
Then our great Prophet? What Sublime or Great!  
For Carpenters or Fishermen they'll do,  
But Fathers, not for such as Us and You;  
* Rulers and Warriors, to brave deeds inclined;  
These clog the Soul and sink the rising Mind:  
Exposed it Affronts, you must the Giver spare,  
Nay Love, they teach you nothing but to bear:  
Now sunk too low, he straight too high aspires,  
And strange impracticable heights requires;  
He would not have us men, but spite of Fate,  
Be neither pleased or angry, love or hate;  
Not even our Thoughts, our Sense, our Reason free,  
Clogged with unnatural Laws and Mystery: *  
No Rule he will, besides his own endure,  
Where his obtains, no Government's secure:  
Our Nations Crimes and Fate, his daily Themes,  
And God and us alike, th' abhorred Blasphemes.  
Not even our blessed eternal Temple spares;  
Nor more the Heathen or Samaria dares *  
Our Power to censure, his proud Sect disown,  
Our Curses lost in Air, or backward thrown;  
Serpents and Vipers this high Court he calls,  
Sly Hypocrites, gay Tombs and whited Walls:  
This his Respect, thus Fathers, us he treats;  
'Tis a small Crime that with th' unclean he Eats:  
All our Traditions broke; in vain we grieve,  
Corban and he together cannot live:  
Yet more, beyond what's Mortal he presumes,  
The awful Name of God himself assumes;  
With the unrivalled Father equal he,  
The Son, the Word, born from Eternity:  
If he impunely this, if still we bear,  
How can we but deserve a Fate, severe  
As what th' Impostor threatens?— How can we  
Our Selves, our Children and our Nation free,  
From the black Gild and Fate of Blasphemy?  
This restless Troubler of our Israel dies;  
This fatal Achan we must sacrifice:  
— And if the sacred Ephod ought inspire,  
I feel the glowing sparks of Heavenly Fire:  
Then hear what my enlightened Mind foresees!  
Can that be bad which Heaven itself decrees?  

John 11.50. " Israel in vain thy Fate thou dost attempt to fly,  
" Unless for all thy Sons, one Man devoted die.  
He said, then to debates the matter leaves;  
The Sanhedrim with different Tastes receives  
His warm Oration, some his Zeal admire;  
The Soul of Phinehas sure must him inspire; *  
The Church can never pay too much esteem,  
T' had sunk infallibly, if not for him.  
While those who looked with more impartial Eyes,  
Saw through with ease, the thin, tho' neat Disguise;  
Saw all vain Sophistry and specious Lies:  
Yet none dared stem the muddy Torrent, none,  
Till prudent Nicodemus, bolder grown,  
Thus rising spoke—" With all submission due,  
* And just respect t' his Holiness and you;  
Men! Brethren! Fathers! a few Words I'd add,  
To what's with so much Zeal already said.  
Well has it been observed, and none denies,  
Our Laws are Sacred, the Blasphemer dies  
Convict by these, but the same Laws take care,  
We none condemn till his Defence we hear.  
Who could be safe, might popular Fame accuse?  
None here, I dare be bold, that judge would choose:  
— Not that an Advocate I'd e'er be thought,  
For any who my Country's ruin sought;  
But Truth and justice this— He had gone on,  
But the brave Lord of Rama's ancient Town,  
Thus fervent interrupts him— Why should we  
Ashamed of so Divine a Master be?  
Let Naked Truth prevail, plain natural Sense,  
Without the gaudy Paint of Eloquence.  
I own him, I confess him— Lord, I'm thine!  
(Thou sordid Interest or Pride repine:)  
He came from Heaven, and all his Laws Divine.  
What e'er the Sacrifice, I'll him adore,  
I love my Country much, but justice more;  
He Laws refix? with God's blest Will dispense?  
And Word?— The most improbable pretence,  
On which e'er suffered spotless Innocence.  
Can he Blaspheme the Heaven he hope's t' enjoy?  
Can he God's Temple build, and yet destroy?  
How oft to Law and Prophets he appeals,  
Myself I've heard, nor other Truth's reveals,  
But what within our sacred Volumes lie,  
Thou veiled till now in Clouds and Mystery.  
How oft (again I my own Witness give;  
You used not Fathers, me to disbelieve!)  
Declared one Tittle should not pass away,  
Till this vast Frame of Heaven and Earth decay!  
Eternal Truths must our short World survive,  
Writ on our Souls as long as Souls can live.  
These may be blotted, tho' they can't be razed,  
He graves 'em new when by our Crimes defaced:  
Sure we're but Men, nor all things all discern;  
Are we too wise from Heaven itself to learn?  
When the Oraculous Ephod used to shine, *  
Did any doubt the Characters Divine?  
Say not 'tis ceased, see here deciphered still,  
More plain and legible, the Father's Will!  
Th' Eternal Word does mortal Mould assume,  
Our wretched Clay— Does he in this presume?  
Announced from Heaven t' instruct the World he came;  
Could e'er Impostor yet pretend the same?  
Or should they Honour, they, or Profit seek;  
But Zions' King is humble, lowly, meek:  
Lowly, yet Great, all here beneath a God;  
He treads on Crowns as on the Stars he trod:  
If we heavens attestation should deny,  
Twice spoke in Thunder from th' opening Sky, *  
In all, the Son of God distinctly shown,  
In all did him th' Eternal Father own:  
We Moses too must leave, in Clouds and Smoke;  
But once from Heaven the Ten dread Words were spoke.  
But Egypt's jugglers wondrous Signs did show,  
'Tis owned; but did not our Great Moses too?  
And yet you all confess his Mission clear;  
Assign the difference and we'll find it here.  
Theirs for false Gods and Idols vain were wrought,  
The other in Defence of Truth were brought:  
T' attest the one Supreme, their Charms o'erpowred,  
As th' active Hebrew Serpent theirs devoured.  
Further, 'twas long foreshown, the chosen Band  
Should deep enslaved remain in Mizraim's Land,  
Till manumitted thence by God's own dread Right-hand.  
Truth, Prophecies, and many a wondrous Sign,  
Beyond dispute, attest our Lord Divine:  
What Rabbi, e'er so clearly taught before,  
In Spirit and Truth, the one true God t' adore?  
Not all things Moses saw, we something need,  
Beside, why did the Prophets else succeed?  
Another Teacher why himself foreshow, 
Deut. 18.15.   
If from his Laws the World did all things know;  
jesus this Teacher, true if God be true,  
For none but God such mighty Works could do;  
His Doctrines rather are renewed, than new.  
We'd Gold at first, but he refines our Gold,  
And his New Law, fills and explains the Old:  
The Piece before was masterly and fine,  
But he Life-touches gives, and makes it more Divine.  
Death their desert, the heavy threatening fear!  
So Moses self, who him refuse to hear.  
How many a Prophet sings, how full and plain,  
Of the Messiah's wondrous Birth and Reign.  
His wondrous Works? if need of proof there be,  
Even Caiaphas has owned that this is He;  
All Time and Place, and Ages him confess, *  
All wait him now— Shall Isr'el then do lesle? *  
470 In every part of Nature's System found;  
That World he made, by him together bound.  
So just his Laws, should Heaven no witness give,  
Right Reason would oblige us to believe:  
Shall we heavens condescension then abuse,  
Since over-weight it gives us, all refuse?  
So just his Laws, that were they but obeyed,  
The World would soon a Paradise be made:  
If mean, may I that meanness ever have!  
Still may my Passion be my Reason's slave,  
Above all Wrongs, like all the Great and Brave:  
Above my self as well as others live,  
Still I'm a conqueror if I still forgive:  
He that dares die, die scorned and tortured too,  
But dares not an unhandsome Action do;  
He that dares own his Friend, tho' far disjoined,  
And absent long, tho' Earth and Hell combined,  
Satan and Sanhedrims against him sworn,  
By two whole Worlds vast weight not overborne:  
Equal, nay still superior, still secure;  
Myriad of Fiend's assault, unmoved endure:  
Myriad of Men almost as black defy,  
Impregnable in his own Honesty;  
Naught but his Soul and Honour cares to save—  
— If such as he be base— The World is brave.  
No, his worst Foes ne'er thought him base or mean;  
What e'er their Words— Why change they else the Scene?  
Why else that he requires such Heights complain,  
As weak humanity attempts in vain?  
The World too good he'd make, too pure his Law—  
— In Modesty that shameful Plea withdraw!  
Yet here it sticks— Who can such strictness bear?  
We must not steal, nor rail, nor lie, nor swear.  
A spotless Breast he loves, his Laws require  
To tame the Rage of Anger and Desire:  
Manly and just they ask, and give no lesle,  
Than height of Virtue, and of Happiness;  
They're possible, convenient, easy, free,  
Natural as undissembled Piety:  
What Nature or true Reason can't receive,  
He neither bids us practise, nor believe:  
If sunk below our proper Selves in Vice,  
Or Folly we, he comes, as great as Wise,  
To raise us to the state of Paradise.  
Who e'er did the three Principles deny, *  
Gentile or jew, nor other Mystery  
Unknown to us, the whole of his contains,  
The rest the vain device of fabling Brains.  
But above all the Slanders which rebound,  
And like their Curses, those which cast 'em wound;  
None so ill-said, tho' deadly, as that he  
Is to all Government an Enemy.  
Can Orders self Confusion e'er approve?  
(As justly may the Hawk implead the Dove,)  
War suit the Prince of Peace, or Hate with heaven-born Love.  
If he one Lord proclaims, one Faith requires,  
The same our Church believes, the same desires;  
Yet rational and free he leaves us still,  
No Force upon the Intellect or Will:  
The still small Voice of Reason warns from Sin  
Lost Man without, his gentle Spirit within.  
His followers bids with tenderness reprove;  
No Argument so strong, so soft as Love.  
Even the poor Publican he'll not disdain;  
None that reputes refuse to entertain:  
Yet hates a Hypocrite, all Hearts he knows,  
The secret Villain seldom fails t' expose:  
With these he can almost be angry; These  
He oft declares heavens righteous Plagues shall seize:  
Our guilty Land, if in their Crimes resolved,  
Avert it Heaven! in the same Fate involved.  
Why will you not the Surgeon's Hand endure,  
To lance the Wound which yet admits a Cure?  
Will the All-high from Dust a Check receive,  
Nor thunder, till the Creature gives him leave?  
Can he blaspheme himself, or is he afraid  
Of Laws which his poor crawling Worms have made?  
Hear my Confession then, 'tis plain and free,  
Once more the Word is God, and jesus He:  
In mortal Form, Flesh clouds th' Eternal Sun,  
Like human Soul and Body, two in one.  
Hence, tho' the Pontiff urges, 'tis Decreed,  
That for our Sins, this spotless Lamb should bleed;  
This can, to ill nor force us, nor excuse;  
Fig-leaves like these even Adam would not use: *  
To us unknown the secret Laws of Fate,  
Move us they may, but not necessitate.  
Reason with Truth revealed our steps must guide,  
Else you defend the blackest Parricide;  
Else heavens the Principal, more deep by far,  
But Accessaries we in Murders are.  
Since then 'tis plain, that this just Man in free  
From all those Ills that Spite or Calumny  
Conjoined would blast him with, nay since far more  
He's the Messiah promised long before;  
The Lord, the God whom Israel ought t' adore:  
O rather kiss the Son, 
Psalm 2.  just Presents send,  
Avert the threatened Wrath, what's past amend,  
And he'll forgive, engaged your mighty Friend.  
Undaunted, joseph thus— The Senate gazed,  
All, mute, most pleased; some angry, all amazed:  
So, when rough Boreas! thy black Squadrons sweep,  
The aged Bosom of th' Atlantic Deep;  
Convolved, the foaming angry Surges rise,  
The loud Gigantic Waves invade the Skies:  
But when blessed Zephyr from his spicy Vales,  
Rides gently out with soft Elysian Gales;  
The Billows hushed, lie panting on the shore,  
Appeased, the factious Floods forget to roar,  
And smiling, wonder why they raged before.  
Dazzled with Truth, so here their Passions yield,  
And Reason had almost regained the Field;  
All but fierce Caiaphas, who frowning by,  
Would nothing grant, yet nothing could deny:  
Ashamed, not grieved, he in the Cause engaged;  
Silenced, confounded, baffled, more enraged:  
Yet soon his steadfast Brow and Voice regains,  
Argues, reproves, denounces and complains;  
Unknowing to repent, all limits he  
Transgresses, both of Truth and Decency.  
Now Right, now Wrong, th' unsteady Senate swayed,  
Their Conscience now, their Interest now obeyed:  
Still who speaks lasts speaks best, or the Debate,  
At least by Numbers managed, not by Weight;  
Equally furious in their Love or Hate.  
While here contending Minds and interests fright,  
Under the shelter of the silent Night,  
Our Lord, who knew the Power and Rage of Hell,  
Takes his last Supper and his last Farewell;  
Did his weak Friends, and the false Traitor know,  
Yet, mild, submits, since Heaven would have it so.  
First on the Lamb, as Use requires, they fed,  
As their Forefathers, when from Egypt led,  
The Cup of Blessing then, and hallowed Bread,  
In his blessed Hands our Saviour deigns to take,  
To his Disciples Gives, and thus he spoke.  
" Take, Eat! this is my Body, soon designed,  
A painful Sacrifice for lost Mankind!  
This my Memorial when from Earth I'm gone.  
The hallowed Goblet next, and thus goes on;  
This is my Blood, for Man's Redemption shed,  

  
Drink all of this, as all received the Bread!  
I go, the Traitor and my Fate I know,  
But woe to that lost Wretch by whom I go!  
He's lurking here, his Hand is on the Board,  
He eats my Bread, and yet betrays his Lord!  
Each, jealous for himself with honest care,  
Trembling inquires if he the Traitor were?  
Iscariot with the rest, guilt in his Eyes  
And double-faultring Tongue— Our Lord replies,  
Thyself thou knowst, and canst too well divine;  
To these my Friends the Sop shall be the Sign.  
He, that received, departs, and leaves the rest:  
Whole Satan in his avaricious Breast:  
Himself to th' wavering Sanhedrim addressed.  
This fair occasion soon decides the strife,  
The Traitor bargains for his Master's Life.  
The few good Men, who fearless did remain,  
Against the Stream a while, stood firm in vain,  
And when no more they could their ground maintain,  
Protesting, left the House; the Wretch demands  
A Band of Men, and safely to their Hands  
He'd him deliver, he his Haunts did know,  
And could to th' very place directly go:  
He thirty Pieces only asks, Content  
To serve 'em for the small Acknowledgement.  
Ravished with wicked joy they all provide,  
Eager to follow their accursed Guide:  
Mean while our Lord, well knowing Grief and Fear  
Oppressed his Friends, his fatal Hour so near;  
Thus, Sad himself, to them did Comfort give:  
" Let not your Hearts be troubled, 
John 14.1 etc.  but believe!  
I go, so wills high Heaven, but do not fear,  
I'll Love and Guard you there as well as here!  
I go before, nor can I, if I stay,  
To those bright Mountains, mark the shining Way;  
Thou absent, still I'll love you, still as dear,  
If faithful still, as when I taught you here.  
I the blessed Paraclete will shortly send,  
The wisest Advocate, the gentlest Friend;  
Him naught but Sin can from the Breast remove,  
O never, never grieve the spotless Dove!  
If he your Friend, you may with smiles despise  
The weak Efforts of your worst Enemies:  
The World will hate you, (me it did, would you  
Escape?) the kindest thing the World can do!  
Life's ruffling Storms the greatest Friends will be,  
If home they drive you to your Selves and Me.  
Firm to my Cause, and each to other stand!  
A Band of Friends, a glorious deathless Band!  
— Yet soon, unguarded left, you'd Men be shown,  
To me far better than your selves you're known:  
Too weak your boasted Faith and Courage all,  
You'd by th' unequal Tempter baffled fall:  
Forsake my Cause, unguarded leave my Side,  
Your Master and your Faith at once denied.  
— When Cephas thus abrupt— Lord, I can die  
For thy dear Name, but not thy Name deny:  
As much the rest, with virtuous Grief and Pain,  
They, so abject a baseness, all disdain.  
When Jesus thus— Again, your hearts I know,  
And whether are deceived, th' Event will show:  
For You who such a Champion now appear,  
And more than all the rest removed from fear;  
Thrice, 
Matth. 26.34.  e'er this mournful Morn its beams display,  
E'er thrice the watchful Fowl has warned the Day;  
So weak when left to your own strength you are,  
My Name, my very Knowledge you'll forswear.  
But tho' th' infernal Foe so fierce assail,  
And hopes on all my House he shall prevail,  
I've prayed— Your Faith may shake, but shall not fail.  
O righteous Father hear! thy Will I've shown  
To those thou gav'st me— O preserve thy own!  
The World I leave to thy wise Will resigned,  
But these, a part of me, still leave behind.  
O Guard 'em there, all intimately one,  
Like thee, O righteous Father, and the Son!  
Let thy bright Image ever on them shine,  
Full filled with Grace, and Love, and joy divine!  
Till the vain dazzled World confounded see,  
That these from me came forth, as I from thee!  
The genuine Glories of fair Virtue own,  
Ay-Beaming-bright from thy illustrious Throne:  
When Life's dull Scene is past, and wretched Days,  
Thither, O thither thy true Servants raise!  
A double Heaven to them, to see and share,  
Their happy Friends immortal Glories there!  
Through me to them shall all thy Goodness shine,  
Theirs all the Glory, all the Love that's mine;  
What I with thee enjoyed Eternal Ages past,  
The same which shall to long Eternal Ages last.  
He said, then o'er deep Kidron's Brook and Plain,  
To sweet Gethsemane he leads again,  
With Cephas and the Zebedean Pair—  
He seeks ' i'th' Shades a close retirement there.  
The rest without, nor even to these he talks,  
But silent all, deep-meditating walks;  
As gentle Philomela sits musing long,  
Before she ease her Sorrows with a Song:  
At length, thus with a Sigh that rends his Breast,  
— O my distracted Heart with Grief oppressed;  
Heavy as Death's Dead-weight, with loads of Care,  
Too heavy for Humanity to bear.  
Why should you any further with me go?  
Why should my Friends share my contagious Woe?  
Wait here a while, altho' in vain you wait,  
For who can be too vigilant for Fate?  
He says, and thrusts into the deepest Shade,  
Where on the Ground he fell and prostrate prayed:  
Never such Griefs, as thou for Us didst prove!  
Never such Woes, O agonizing Love!  
Amazing Sorrows, which we can't conceive,  
But think the God eclipsed, the Man did leave:  
O Father, O, if possible it be,  
Unbounded Might! what is not so to thee?  
The Saviour cries, as on his Face he lay;  
O take this Cup, this bitter Cup away!  
The Wrath divine unmixed this Cup contains,  
And with infernal Poison burns my Veins.  
'Tis not, alas, a single Death I dread;  
How calmly could I lean my weary Head  
On the cold Earth, and common Mother's breast?  
How gladly sleep away to endless Rest?  
'Tis not a public Death— Even that I'd scorn,  
Thou that of Slaves, on the cursed Gibbet born;  
Shameful and infamous, I'd ne'er complain,  
Nor fear the Pomp of Death, beyond the Pain.  
My frowning Father's Wrath— There, there's the Curse;  
Than Pain, than Shame, than Death, than Hell, 'tis worse.  
O can I, must I be from him removed,  
Whom I've from long eternal Ages loved?  
Never offended, never saw his Brow  
With Frowns disguised, nor Clouds obscured till now.  
What has thy fond prevarication cost,  
Weak Man, to gain the Eden thou hast lost?  
Yet if no other Way heavens Wrath t' atone,  
The Victim I the Sacrifice alone,  
T' appease my injured Father, Lord I yield!  
Nor longer shall refuse the dreadful Field:  
For this, by thee to the lost World I'm sent,  
I can't my Love t' unhappy Man repent:  
Ah, Loved he thee as well, Ungrate! to cure  
His Wounds, more Deaths, more Passions I'd endure.  
What mortal Pains did then the Saviour feel?  
As Hearts when trembling on the pointed Steel:  
What deep convulsive Agonies he found,  
Which every part of Soul and Body Wound?  
The comely Order, they of both displace;  
Large Clods of Sweat and Blood roll mingled down his Face.  
As much as Man could do, as much and more,  
Already he, without a murmur bore;  
Had but all Earth and Hell their Forces joined,  
Not Heaven too in th' Triple League combined,  
Even in this mortal elemented State,  
His Virtues had been equal to their weight:  
But 'twas Heaven crushed him; Heaven, severe, yet just,  
Which bruised his Adamantine Soul to Dust.  
It longed to sally from 〈◊〉 dark abode,  
Pressed with our Sins, a vast, an odious Load.  
He can no more, but in th' unequal Strife,  
Had, with his very Being, lost his Life;  

  
If longer he had maintained the Field alone:  
Th' Eternal Father heard, he heard him groan  
And shake whole Nature's Frame—  
To his Relief a mighty Angel sent,  
On the great Embassy he wondering went;  
Did Flowers of Eden to our Lord convey,  
And kneeled to him, as he to Heaven did pray,  
And wiped the big-round Drops of sanguine Sweat away.  
— Enough, the Saviour Cries, thy Service spare,  
I'm not all lost, my Father yet takes care  
Of his weak mortal Son— All, all again,  
And more, if possible, I'd bear for Men;  
For Men, he struggling prays, nor prays in vain,  
Thou strength renewed, but more renews his Pain.  
Here, here let boasting Greece her Heroes bring,  
How far excelled by Salem's peaceful King?  
Even him who over Oeta-Hill did rove,  
His Veins all fired, the fabled Son of jove;  
Alcides self unequal Match for Pain:  
He raved at Fate, and struggled with his Chain.  
— Saviour forgive! 'Tis almost Blasphemy,  
To name at once their spurious Gods and Thee.  
Thou only like thyself— What Daemon dare,  
What wretched Man with thee, true Son of God compare?  
O, of Celestial Stem! O hear our Prayer!  
Through all the World let Vice and Discord cease,  
And bless with lasting Virtue, lasting Peace!  
Mean while the three sad Friends with sleep oppressed,  
Which seized their Eyes, as Sorrow seized their Breast;  
On the soft natural grassy Couch reclined,  
Stole Ease at once for Body and for Mind:  
To whom our Lord, returned— Is't thus you prove  
Your boasted Courage, and your boasted Love?  
Is 't thus for all my Care you me reward?  
And can't you, one short Hour your Master guard?  
But if already you my Name disown,  
Yet watch, if not for my sake, for your own!  
O watch and pray! never such cause for fear,  
The Hour's at Hand, th' invading Tempter's near:  
Thence back our Lord did to the Shades repair;  
The selfsame fervour and the selfsame Prayer,  
The Posture too the same, repeating there.  
Twice did repeat, as oft his Friends he found,  
In Sleep alike, and stubborn Sorrows drowned;  
At last returning— Now sleep on, he cries,  
And if you can, indulge your drowsy Eyes!  
I sleep no more, till the great Ransom's paid;  
The Hour is come— The Son of Man's betrayed:  
— Yet I'll not leave you thus— My Care you'll see  
Employed for you, altho' not yours for me.  
Once more arise, and wisely learn to fear,  
Fate hastens on amain, the Traitor here.  
This scarcely said, the rest, who'd frighted seen  
Th' approaching Lights and Guards, came trembling in;  
Yet not so swift, but the mad Crowd appear,  
As soon as they, or mingled in their Rear:  
Fearless our Lord, himself doth interpose,  
Between his timorous Friends and spiteful Foes,  
Now only Man t' encounter, well he knew:  
He knew and learned the worst that Man could do.  
Undaunted asks, they more than he afraid,  
Whom there it was they sought— What there they made;  
jesus, they cried— If that your business be,  
No farther seek, he answers, I am Herald  
O what a Guard is Virtue! by the sound  
Of those Majestic Words, struck back, they fell to th' Ground.  
Yet stubborn rose, again they forward go,  
Obdurate, stun'd, not softened by the Blow.  
Again our Saviour asks, and they the same  
Bold Words repeat, again he owns his Name.  
If me you only seek, let these depart,  
Mildly he adds; his Friends still near his Heart.  
This fervent Cephas, more impatient saw,  
And his broad Sword did from his Scabbard draw;  
Amongst the foremost flew, who e'er he found,  
Not spares, but deals swift doubled strokes around:  
The scattering Crowd avoids, nor cares t' engage  
His forward Zeal, thus armed with desperate Rage.  
Malchus alone stood firm; a Servant he  

  
Of some Remark, ' i'th' Pontiff's Family,  
Against his warmth opposed his single Might.  
— Nor Cephas this, who dared whole Armies fight;  
But when before almost he had looked him dead,  
One furious Blow he makes full at his Head,  
Nor scaped his Ear; tho' bending he gave way,  
But bleeding on the Ground, dismembered lay.  
— Thus far, our Saviour cries, Endure! to show,  
What if I pleased my faithful Friends could do!  
Cephas! return thy Sword! stay thy fierce Hand,  
Could I not Legions of bright Spirits command  
To my Relief? They Know, they Love me still—  
— But 'tis not my Almighty Father's Will:  
He said, and did the wounded Ear restore,  
A golden Circle, where the Scar before.  
Till now, not dared the Traitorous Wretch appear,  
But sheltered in the Crowd his Gild and Fear;  
Thus mild our Saviour seen, as Villains use,  
His Goodness he takes courage thence t' abuse.  
In Friendship's Vizard hides his odious Guile,  
And base, accosts him with a Kiss and Smile:  
This only did the patient jesus say,  
— Ah! miscalled Friend! Is't thus you me betray?  
That mark once given, by the false Wretch assigned,  
That they in Night's dark Shades our Lord might find,  
From all the rest the Crowd him seize and bind;  
And hurry thence, his scattering Household fly  
As heartless Sheep, the Wolf or Robbers nigh,  
Their faithful Guide, or absent thence, or slain;  
Even C●phas flies, now all his Boasts in vain:  
In vain at his own Fear and Baseness grieves,  
He flies, but scarce himself his Flight believes.  
So when two Kings for Empire or for Right,  
In glittering Arms meet on the Mounds to fight?  
If one by his chief Minister betrayed,  
And seized by th' adverse part, his Host afraid,  
Fly scattering o'er the Plains themselves to hide,  
The Base and Brave alike born by th' impetuous Tide:  
If with the rest some Kinsman to the Throne,  
In Battles and in Triumphs hoary grown,  
Is hurried thence, he from the Rabble free,  
Stands firm, near some strong Pass, or Defilè:  
Looks on his Sword and Blushes— Musing stands,  
Looks on his Ensigns, and victorious Hands;  
Rallies and Fights, till all his Guards are gone,  
" He Raves as he goes back, and shakes as he goes on.  
The while our Saviour to the Hall they bear,  
With Scoffs abuse, with Blows torment him there:  
Of the dull Rabbles Wit the patient Theme,  
They spit with Mouths impure, and then Blaspheme;  
Such Guards the King of Earth and Heaven attend,  
None of his Follo'ers there besides his Friend;  
He, tho' at first he fled among the rest,  
Yet, soon returned, his Master, bold confessed,  
And pleads him innocent.— With much of Fear,  
Comes Cephas after, slowly ' approaching near  
The Palace-Gate; and when he there was seen  
By the Great Friend, his Interest gets him in:  
Trembling, he follows his courageous Guide,  
With care from every Eye his face to hide;  
To all revealed by that suspicious Care;  
The Porter asks, if he too was not there?  
Unless he strangely is mistaken, he  
A glimpse of him did in the Garden see.  
— The timorous Saint replies, and straight withdrew,  
Him till this Hour I never saw nor knew;  
— But still where e'er he goes his Fears pursue:  
Charged with the same again, the same replies,  
And all as firmly as before denies:  
Nor long before a Third did him accuse,  
His Idiom different from the other jews:  
Rustic and gross, betrayed his Country, He  
Was doubtless bred in factious Galilee:  
When pressed thus home and full, he Cursed, he Swore,  
Sure then, he thought they'd ne'er suspect him more.  
So God to me, he cries, as this is true,  
As him before I never saw or knew.  
Scarce from his perjured Lips the Words were born,  
E'er thrice the watchful Fowl proclaimed the Morn:  
The Saviour turned, the timorous Saint stood by,  

  
And on him fixed his mild, but piercing Eye.  
He did no more, nor Cephas more did need;  
Soon did his honest Heart begin to bleed:  
Within their Banks his Sorrows could not keep,  
But sought a close Retirement where to weep;  
There did, with Seas of Tears, his Fall deplore,  
And washed his Breast even whiter than before.  
And now the guiltless Criminal is brought,  
Bound, to th' unjust Tribunal; long they sought  
To murder him upon some fair pretence,  
But could not find one Thorough-Evidence:  
All Arts they use; now this, now that they try,  
Now Charge with Treason, then with Blasphemy:  
Yet nothing prove; too little, or too much  
Still Sworn, nothing that yet his Life could touch:  
Enraged, the wicked Caiaphas arose,  
His Thirst of Blood, each Word each Action shows;  
Blood in each Line of his distorted Face,  
murderous his Looks, revengeful, mean and base:  
How long must we on this Impostor wait,  
Foaming, he cries?— Confess, and meet thy Fate!  
What Blasphemies? what Treasons? quickly show,  
In vain thou wouldst deny what all Men know,  
What we can prove— Then better own it all,  
— There may be Mercy— Where your last Cabal?  
When you're to pull the Roman Ensigns down,  
And when the Temple seize, and fire the Town?  
Mildly our Saviour, no resentments shown  
At such loud Falsehoods— Well may I disown  
Such Calumnies as not yourselves believe—  
But since unlikely 'tis you should receive  
Even Truth itself from me; I but desire  
From those that heard me, fairly you'd inquire:  
Secret Cabals I never loved nor sought,  
No dangerous private Doctrines ever taught:  
My Words the Synagogues and Temple know,  
From thence my Blasphemy and Treason show!  
He said, when one o'th' Zealots factious Race, *  
With a rude Halberd strikes his heavenly Face:  
Is that an Answer? adds, for you to give  
His Holiness? Why should such Wretches live?  
Our Lord— Still Patient, and unconquered still,  
Declare 't, if ought I've said that's false or ill!  
If well, why have I such hard measure found  
In open Court? Why am I struck when bound?  
Again, the Pontiff rose— One way did rest,  
To force the fatal Secret from his Breast:  
If thou the Sacred promised Seed, he said,  
From Ages, doomed to crush the Serpent's Head;  
The destined Prince for Israel's mighty Throne,  
Why dost thou longer thy high Birth disown?  
By our concealed unutterable Name,  
With whom thou dost ambitious Kindred claim,  
I adjure thee speak— Then the Dispute is done:  
We'll own thee all— Art thou th' Almighty Son,  
The Christ of God? Our Saviour— Thomas I take  
Your whole Design; and know what use you'll make  
Of my Confession: yet I'll not deny  
Myself, nor my great Kindred in the Sky:  
— Whom now you see, and a weak Mortal scorn,  
The Son of Man, to your Tribunal born;  
When High-enthroned in boundless Light and Bliss.  
As he at yours you shall appear at His.  
With a cursed Joy— 'Tis past, the Pontiff cried;  
He's ours— Now Fathers! are you satisfied?  
— That all his doting Followers were but near,  
His owned, his public Blasphemies to hear!  
The Fact is plain, if Sense itself be true:  
Speak Fathers! and I'm sure you'll justice do.  
— Their black united Suffrage rends the Skies;  
Yes— The Blasphemer dies: he dies, he dies!  
The Court adjourned, to Pilat's Palace went,  
Mixed with the Crowd, t' accuse the Innocent:  
Dust on their Heads they fling, and Dust i'th' Air,  
And thence with many a Curse our patient Saviour bear.  
The End of the Eighth Book.   

NOTES ON The LIFE of CHRIST. BOOK VIII.  
2. AND from High-Towers the sacred Trumpet blows.] josephus says, The Priests were used to give warning by the Sound of a Trumpet, from the Towers of the Temple, against any approaching Festival.  
9 From those fair Fields, with Rivers circled wide.] Mesopotamia.  
12. The Realms of Monobaze and Helen fair.] Monobazus was the Son of Izates, the famous Proselyte of whom josephus gives such large Encomiums. Helena was Queen of the same Country, who was a great Benefactor to jerusalem, and, after her Death, had a stately Tomb, near the City, erected to her Memory.  
21. Strong Sephoris.] See Iosephus' Description of that Town and its Siege.  
24. At proud Herodian Feasts.] A stately Palace built by Herod the Great, near jordan, and called by his own Name; as another he had in jerusalem.  
43. What Moses or the Elders did enjoin.] The Cup of Benediction, and the Bread, were added to the Passover by the Successors of Moses; or rather, being at first only civil, and necessary to a Meal, were, in process of time, reckoned sacred, because so nearly joined with what was so.  
65. The servile Gods.] 'Tis Cowley's Thought, who calls the Daemon so, because obedient to the Charms of Magicians.  
67. Athens, which did from Egypt first convey, &c] Herodotus says, the Greeks had all their Gods from Egypt, and the Athenians were the chief Traders in those Commodities. Some of these, it's not improbable, might be at the Feast, since many came much farther to it.  
112. No Merits, no Reward.] I take the Word Merit here, in the old Orthodox Sense, not implying either Condignity, or a proper Congruity, except when restrained to our Saviour, who had both; but only for such Qualifications as will be accepted of God, for the sake of his Son, wrought in Believers by his Blessed Spirit.  
131. A Miracle he works to chain their Sense.] He had done so before, and its probable might now repeat it.  
152. His Foes scarce more than he himself secure.] 'Tis said, the Pharisees feared the People; and were not for seizing our Saviour on the Feast day, lest there should be an Uproar among the People. But their own natural Levity soon made them alter their Opinions.  
170. From every Squadron.] If there's a Hierarchy in Heaven, there is, in all likelihood, a sort of Polity too in Hell, where we read of the Prince of the Devils, etc.  
203. Each conceal,— Lest some kind Angel.] An Angel being but a finite Creature, cannot have infinite Knowledge, whence it seems possible, that the wicked Spirits may conceal their ill Designs from them.  
246. Nor trembled, even at mighty Pompey 's Name.] Who, in his time, came to jerusalem. See the Story in joseph. Antiq.  
247. Scarce half his Power.] Old Hircanus, and the rest, had the Sacred and Civil Power, united, being both High-Priests and Kings.  
251. If aught by Herbs and powerful Names he has done.] The Rabbis talk much of the Power of Charms, and profess the Knowledge of 'em. They pretend they deduce from Solomon. josephus tells a very grave Story, as if he believed it, of one who did strange things with an Herb, casting out Devils, and bringing Persons to Life again when they lay senseless. The Jews have a foolish Tale, that our Saviour wrought all his Wonders (against the Reality of which, it seems, they have nothing to say,) by Virtue of the Tetragrammaton, sowed up in his Thigh.  
294. On their Impostor the whole World believe.] According to that Saying of theirs, The whole World is gone after him.  
300. By a vile Earth born Race.] The Rabbiss call the sort of Vulgar, Terrae Filii, Sons of the Earth.  
324. Rulers and Warriors.] So says Matchiavel; who understood the Christian Religion so ill, that he says, it makes Men mean-spirited, and is an Enemy to Magnanimity and Glory.  
333. Clogged with unnatural Laws and Mystery.] I've endeavoured to make Caiaphas as good a Spokesman for the Atheists and Deists as I possibly could; though I hope joseph fully answers every part of his Argument.  
339. Nor more the Heathen or Samaria dares.] The Samaritans did commonly put Affronts on the jewish Temple; once particularly, josephus says, they came in the Nighttime and scattered Bones about it, which occasioned a great Tumult.  
418. When the Oraculous Ephod used to shine.] Some think the way whereby the Ephod delivered Oracles, was the shining of certain Stones, in the Breastplate, above the rest; which the Jews owned was ceased during the Second Temple. Therefore I say, used to shine.  
431. Twice spoke in Thunder.] Once at jordan, and once at the Feast; indeed there was a third Attestation in the same manner, at Mount Tabor, at the Transfiguration; but this joseph could not be supposed to know, because the three Disciples only were Witnesses of it, and forbidden to disclose it before the Resurrection.  
478 All Time, and Place, and Ages him confess.] Vid. infra.  
479. All wait him now.] I have shown formerly, from the Heathen Writers, that some extraordinary Person was, at this time, expected by the whole World. I shall here insert a Passage out of Plato; which methinks, without the help of Fancy, looks very much that way: 'tis in his Dialogues, the Words are these, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. It is necessary that we expect till it may be learned how we ought to behave ourselves towards God and man. Says the other, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. But who is this Teacher? for I would most willingly acknowledge the Man. Answ. This is he who takes care of thee: But it seems to me, as Homer makes Minerva take away the Cloud from the Eyes of Diomedes, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that he might be able to distinguish between a God and a man, so ought the Darkness to be first removed from thy Mind, etc.  
524. Who e'er did the three Principles deny.] I think 'tis demonstrable, that all Sects of Philosophers did own the three Principles, and consequently had some Notion of the Trinity, though few of 'em wholly Orthodox. The Pythagoreans own, the first, second, and third ONE, the third partaking of the first and second. The same I could prove of others, out of Plutarch, nay julian himself; but I remit the Reader to Lib. vi. Nor is there, that I know, any thing besides the Doctrine of the Trinity (on which the Incarnation depends) that's properly mysterious, I mean, not clear and fathomable by our Reason, when once revealed.  
564. Fig-Leaves like these even Adam would not use.] He never pleaded Necessity for his Sin.  
621. Drink all of this, as all received the Bread.] This Passage confounds both Papists and Deists. The express Words of Institution are, Drink ye all of this; whereas the Papists deny the Cup to their Laity, or unconsecrated: and let any one, if they can, assign any tolerable Reason why this All should be added here, after the Wine, rather than the Bread; unless it be, that our Saviour foresaw what would come to pass in After-Ages, and that such who pretended to be his Followers would give it only to some, not to all. And for the same cause, I suppose, is it also said in the Preface to the Ten Commands, God spoke all these Words; because the Divine Spirit foreknew there would arise such Persons in After-ages as would be for taking some of those Words away; and a great part too, in the second Command. Whence the Divine Authority of the Scriptures seems fairly deducible, because neither of these vastly distant Events could possibly be foreseen by any Human Wisdom.  
977. He said, when one o'th' Zealots factious Crew,— With a rude Halberd.] I make him of the Zealots, because 'twas so like 'em. The Word we tender Palm of the Hand, bears another sense, a Reed or Rod, or some such thing; which I don't much altar by clapping an Head upon't, and changing it into an Halberd, a proper Weapon for one who guards Malefactors.   

THE ARGUMENT OF THE Ninth BOOK.  
THIS Book begins with a Complaint that Virtue is generally miserable in this World. Which is silenced by the Instance of our Saviour's Sufferings, though perfect Purity and Innocence. Who is accused before Pilate by the Highpriest and Elders; but nothing being proved against him, the Governor would have acquitted him. The Rabble, excited by the Priests, are eager for his Death. Pilate, hoping to divert 'em, hearing he was a Galilean, sends him to Herod; who, on his Silence, despises, derides, and returns him to the Governor. Whose Wife, having had a terrible Vision relating to him, sends to her Husband, by no means to concern himself in his Death. On which he laboured to deliver him, offering the Jews to give them his Life, as was usual at the Passover; but they refused it, and ask Barrabas, a Robber and Murderer; Till, by their repeated Tumults and Insinuations, that unless Pilate would grant their Desire, he must be disloyal to Caesar. They at last prevail, and our Lord is scourged and condemned. He's mocked by the Soldiers, crowned with Thorns, and, bearing his Cross, dragged to Execution. His Advice to the Matrons of Jerusalem, in his Passage through the dolorous Way: Where he faints under his Cross, and Simon coming by is compelled to assist him. Arrived at Calvary, he's crucified between two Malefactors. The Blessed Virgin, hearing the Rumour of her Son's being taken by the Rabble, follows him to Calvary; and finding him there, falls dead at the Sight. Is recovered by the Soldiers. Her Lamentation for the Death of her Son. Who being moved with her Sorrow, speaks to her from the Cross; and commends her to the Care of his Friend, St. John, who stood by him, and would never forsake him. The Discourse of the two Thiefs with our Saviour. The Prodigies at Jerusalem. Our Saviour's Exclamation on the Cross, under the Sense of God's Anger for the Sins of the World. The Angels in Heaven enraged to see their Master thus used, one of them gives the Signal of War, Michael appears at their Head, and they are all ready to descend to his Rescue and destroy the World. The Father represses their Anger; letting 'em see the Book of the Eternal Decrees; and that 'twas necessary our Lord should die for the Sins of Man. At which being appeased, they return to their usual Posts and Employments. Our Saviour's last Agonies, his Thirst, receiving the Vinegar, and yielding up the Ghost.  
THE LIFE OF CHRIST: AN Heroic Poem. BOOK IX.  
The PASSION.  
* O Why was Virtue made to be distressed,  
Like Noah's Dove no place of Ease and Rest  
In this tumultuous World she ever found;  
By Fortune's giddy Wheel still dragged around:  
If not too, Crushed on the relentless Ground.  
Her best-loved Children mean and humble go,  
Friendless and Poor, contemptible and low;  
Exposed to pinching Want, and sharper Shame;  
" O what is Virtue but an empty Name? *  
Presumptuous Thoughts no more! no more pretend!  
Blaspheme not what you cannot comprehend!  
What please high Heaven till this dull Life be passed:  
Be this enough, 'twill not for ever last:  
Short joys, who would not gladly lose to find  
A long long Train of happy Years behind?  
Yet murmurs Flesh and Blood, still discontented,  
And asks, if only made to be tormented?  
If all this beauteous earthly Paradise,  
Was only formed as the reward of Vice:  
If Honour on the virtuous would not wear  
As decently and well, and sit as fair;  
As on the vicious Brow— Be this confessed!  
Nor is fair Virtue always here oppressed:  
Eclipses only make her shine more bright,  
She lovelier looks in mingled Shades and Light.  
Should all this fail, there needs but one reply,  
Ah! murmuring Soul! and did not jesus die?  
jesus, in whom were admirably joined,  
The purest Virtues, and the noblest Mind;  
The greatest Merits, and the greatest Pain,  
The tenderest Love treated with worst Disdain:  
Thou all his Life one act of Mercy were,  
Thou all Mankind did so profusely share  
The Makers' Bounty, and the Saviour's Care.  
Unequalled Merit, Virtue too sublime  
And spotless Innocence, was all his Crime;  
That Fame, which wheresoever he went pursued,  
To every Desert Plain or lonely Wood;  
Nor suffered him to be obscurely Good:  
How oft the ravished Crowd with Wonders fed,  
And feasted high on more than Angel's bread;  
Had him degraded to an earthly Crown,  

John 6.15.  Whom all the bright Etherial Kingdoms own;  
Had he not used as oft one Wonder more,  
To scape their Kindness, as their Rage before;  
And veiled the Clouds too thick for piercing Day,  
Glided unseen in secret Shades away:  
Not so when the sad fatal Hour was come,  
And Heaven resolved to call its Lieger home:  

  
See where th' Almighty judge of Angels stands  
Like a vile Criminal! dishonest Bands,  
At once restrain and load his guiltless Hands.  
Born with the giddy Crowds tumultuous Tide,  
The very same who late Hosannas cried;  
Hark how their thick hoarse Voices rend the Sky,  
No Word, no Sound is heard, but Crucify!  
Sickness itself forgets 'tis weak and slow,  
Even Children which but newly learned to go;  
Nay the soft Sex i'th' common Cause engage,  
Wild Youth, and manly Strength, and hoary Age:  
The same their Malice, and the same their Cries,  
The same wild Fury in their Voice and Eyes:  
Mild Pity's banished, Mischief fills its place,  
And murderous Forms in each distorted Face:  
Wide foaming Rage, black Malice, Hatred fell,  
And grinning Envy, best-loved Child of Hell;  
Like furious Beasts, themselves and Earth they tear,  
And scatter Dust, 
Luk. 23.18. Acts 23.23.  loud bell'wing round the Air.  
The real Fiends, in mortal Figures dressed,  
Which in amidst the crowding Rabble pressed;  
So like, you could not know 'em from the rest;  
Found no Employment there, the Work was done,  
No need of Vipers now to urge 'em on;  
The Priests their place supplied, the foremost they  
The great immaculate Paschal-Lamb to slay:  
Scarce had the Sun glanced on our upper Skies,  
E'er the wild Rout, so early Spite can rise,  
Were ready to behold the Sacrifice:  
To Pilat's Gate, the guiltless Victim led,  
That wrested Law might strike him doubly dead:  
There with new Shouts the vast Pretorium shake,  
Which soon the frighted Governor awake;  
He calls his Guards, and a Centurion sent,  
Who scarce could learn what the rude Tumult meant:  
Amidst a numerous Crowd with Staves, and Swords,  
And Fury armed, he heard no other words  
But justice, justice! Let th' Impostor die!  
justice! Rebellion! Treason! Blasphemy!  
The judge descends, the loud-mouthed Sergeants call  
Th' as loud Accusers to the judgement Hall;  
They dare not move a Step, religious Fear  

John 18.28.  Had chained 'em there— The Passover was near.  
Wretches, who strain at Gnats, at Murders smile:  
And will not guiltless Blood far more defile!  
Proud Hypocrites! thus fixed at Pilat's Gate,  
You still preserve your ancient Pomp and State;  
Not you on him, but he on you must Wait.  
He did, he saw with Wonder and Surprise,  
The guiltless Hero doomed a Sacrifice;  
Grief, that could never look with better Grace,  
Mild Majesty enthroned in his sad Face.  
— The Roman trembled, tho' unused to Fear,  
His Heart presaged something Divine was near.  
Unmoved, his awful Prisoner could not see,  
But looked far more a Criminal than He:  
Nor did of his Accusers Pride complain,  
Since him he now alone might entertain.  
But while without the furious Rabble stays,  
With their loud Curses; him to th' Hall conveys,  
And asks, more like Petition than Command,  
If he the King of Iury's fertile Land?  
The promised Prince, by each Prophetic Sage  
Doomed to restore the blissful Golden Age?  
For we, he adds, have heard, tho' far removed,  
His future Fame, have heard, admired and loved;  
Of whose high Deeds Cumaean Grottoes ring, *  
And our great Maro's Muse divinely Sing.  
To whom he thus— Nor need the Romans fear,  

John 8.30.  Nor jews suspect, my Kingdom is not here:  
All earthly, worldly Glories I disdain,  
And only over Hearts desire to Reign;  
Truth there to plant, and Error to remove;  
For this I leave my Father's Throne above  
For an ungrateful World— This only I  
Proposed when born, for this content to die.  
Still more surprised, the Roman to the Gate  
Returns, where still the numerous Rabble wait;  
Thirsty of Blood, for Blood they raving call, *  
And press both the great Vulgar, and the Small.  
Unmoved and firm, the Governor remained,  
And asks for what so loudly they complained?  
What Crime so high, the Prisoner could alone,  
By such a Death his mighty Gild atone;  
Since all his Answers yet, discovered none!  
Nor must the guiltless be by Noise oppressed,  
Let one accuse, Be silent all the rest!  
He said, when straight appears from forth the Crowd,  
Vain Caiaphas still Cruel, Haughty, Proud;  
Supplying want of Reason, Truth and Sense,  
With a firm Brow and pompous Eloquence;  
And thus began— We highly are content  
To pled our Cause, illustrious Precedent,  
At your Tribunal; since we cannot fear,  
To find that justice which is always here!  
Nor could small Crimes so great a Concourse draw  
Against this Wretch, who would our sacred Law  
Subvert, our glorious Temple overturn,  
And in unhallowed Fire, our Altars burn.  
Since then the generous Romans ne'er refuse  
To let their Friends, or happy Conquests use  
Their own Religious Rites; and since the jews *  
Unanimous and loud for justice cry,  
And all demand that this Blasphemer die,  
As by our Law he ought, we can't suspect,  
Great Pontius should our joint-desires neglect:  
Let then th' Impostor die, whose cursed Design  
Is by the World to be esteemed Divine:  
Let the Impostor die, we ask it all,  
Nor can our Altars stand, unless he fall.  
He said, th' applauding People gave consent,  
And with loud Shouts the wide Pretorium rent:  
Still Pilat's firm: he knew 'twas envious Rage  
Did them, against the innocent engage;  
For now not first had he remarked his Law  
And spotless Life, nor aught offensive saw;  
Ought that the Roman jealousy could move,  
His Life was Goodness, and his Law was Love.  
Patient and Meek, th' expecting Victim lies,  
As th' innocent Lamb prepared for Sacrifice; 
Isai. 53.7. Matth. 26.63.   
His Voice not heard, no loud Complaints or Cries,  
No murmuring Words, or sounds of Discontent;  

Gen. 22.2.  As guiltless Isaac to the Altar went:  
Nor was the more by this their Fire allayed,  
His silent Meekness did their Rage upbraid;  
With their hoarse Voices still they rend the Sky,  
Let the cursed Galilean Rebel die:  
Through all the Land he wild Sedition sows,  
Whose fatal Crop so plentifully grows  
In his own native distant Fields. Is he,  
Then, Pilate straight replies, of Galilee—  
Gladly the Hint he takes— Your Paschal Feast,  
He adds, has hither brought a Royal Guest.  
Herod himself, we must not interfere,  
To him my Guards the Criminal shall bear;  
You Fathers, follow and accuse him there!  
Away they murmuring melt, can hardly stay  
For Forms of Law, but curse this dull delay:  
Him bound, proud Herod glad receives, for he  
Well hoped to feast his Curiosity;  
Some mighty Work, or glorious Sign to see,  
By the great Prophet wrought; and asks in vain  
His Birth, his Life, his Mission and his Reign;  
How his Authority from Heaven he proved?  
What Crimes the Citizens against him moved?  
He silent stood: Not so the follo'ing Crowd,  
Who still pursue with Clamours fierce and loud;  
Rebellion and Apostasy his Charge,  
His Gild confessed, too open and too large  
For Proof or Plea— Still calm his Looks and Mind,  
To his Almighty Father's Will resigned:  
His Eyes still fixed on a far brighter Throne,  
And in heavens Court he pleads his Cause alone:  
Is this the Man, the Tyrant cries with Scorn,  
This He, our Families proud Rival born? *  
How likely he to overturn a State?  
Below our Vengeance, and below our Hate!  
Send Heaven no greater Foe! Guards! quickly bring  
Our Royal Robes t' adorn this mighty King:  
His wished Commands they readily obeyed,  
And him with speed in Royal Robes arrayed;  

  
Salute with mock Devoir and bended Knee,  
And back to Pilate guard his Majesty:  
The Roman found his Stratagem in vain;  
Th' unwieldy rolling Stone recurs again:  
The People throng the Gates, and threatening ask,  
That he'd once more resume th' ungrateful Task:  
All Arts he tries, persuasion, flattery, fear;  
Now this, now that, now kind, and then severe:  
One Method more remained—  
'Twas usual with the Roman Clemency,  
At this Great Day one Criminal to free,  
And grace their Festal joys— It chanced that then,  
A Wretch, alike by God abhorred and Men;  
A sturdy Rebel he, of noted Fame,  
With Murder marked, 
Mark 15.7.  Barrabas was his name;  
By justice seized, did in close durance wait,  
Trembling his well-deserved approaching Fate:  
Him Pilate offers to the angry jews,  
jesus and him, and asks 'em which they'd choose?  
Since one whose Crimes admitted no Defence,  
Was the best Foil for spotless Innocence:  
One peaceable and just, and mild and good,  
T' other with Faction branded, dipped in Blood.  
Pity and justice here almost prevail,  
The Elders found their Arts began to fail,  
New Crimes, new Fears among the Vulgar threw,  
And ever subtly mingle False with True.  
Ask 'em if those who wickedly contrive  
Their Temple to destroy, they'd save alive?  
If 'twere not height of madness to prefer,  
A black Blasphemer to a Murderer?  
By these inspired and Hell, they louder cry,  
No— Let Barrabas live, and jesus die!  
The Governor again, his Anger moved  
At their wild Rage— What Crimes had yet been proved,  
What Cause of Death demands? While thus they strive,  
They to destroy, he to preserve alive,  
His Lady of an ancient House and Name,  
Unblemished Virtue, and unspotted Fame, *  
To him, with haste on the Tribunal, sent  
If not too late, the Murder to prevent,  
Of one he knew so just and innocent:  

Matt. 27.19.  For in a dreadful Visions mystic Scene,  
(Avert th' Ill-omen, Heaven! what e'er they mean)  
She saw the Angry Skies begin to lowr;  
She saw the Clouds break in a fatal Shower  
Of Fire and Blood, which in whole Rivers pour  
Upon a proud devoted City nigh;  
And heard a Voice, a dreadful Voice on high!  
" Remove from this cursed Place, which to the Sword is given,  
" They Blood for Blood shall pay, their Fate 's enroled in Heaven:  
This trembling Pontius heard, and labours more,  
Thou still in vain, t' acquit him, than before  
The Tide rolls high, and beats th' opposing shore.  
Proud Annas leads 'em on, who Moses' Chair  
Late filled, and did the sacred Ephod wear;  
Who furious thus began—  
— Shall a weak Woman's dreaming Fears prevail;  
Her Sentence stand, and Law and justice fail?  
Is't thus the Romans rule, or can he be  
Their Friend, who saves their greatest Enemy?  
Who spares the Wretch whom we to justice bring,  
Whom factious Crowds so oft have Hailed, their King?  
For this was Caesar's Perfect hither sent;  
Did he for this obtain the Government?  
His Rebels thus to rescue, yet pretend,  
T' adorn his Province, and be Caesar's Friend?  
Well, let false Traitors whom they please enthrone,  
All other Kings, but Cesar, we disown!  
shocked by this last Attack, tho' firm before,  
The wavering Roman now could bear no more:  
He, pressed, gave way to the impetuous Flood,  
A Traitor's name washed off with guiltless Blood.  
Thus when fair jordan does his Banks o'er flow,  
Whether his double Spring overcharged with Snow, *  
From Neighbouring Lebanon, or Lakes below,  
In Subterranean Vaults; thus strives a while  
The painful Husbandman with fruitless Toil:  

  
Does, to his Fury Banks and Dams oppose;  
The angry Stream, thus checked still wilder grows,  
And over all at last resistless flows:  
Whilst he, for Life, to some near Hillock flies,  
And back to th' River sadly turns his Eyes;  
Sees all his Stock destroyed in one short Day,  
Sees all his envied Riches washed away;  
And Beasts and Men and floating stacks of Corn,  
And House and Homested, down the Current headlong born.  
Thus Pilate yields, nor longer could engage  
The stubborn Crowd, yet thus his fruitless Rage  
He vents— You have Conquered— I no more deny  
Your wicked Wish— The Innocent must die—  
But know a speedy Vengeance will pursue,  
And may it light, light heavy all on you!  
For thus I wash my Hands of the foul Gild, 
Matt. 27.24, 25   
Bear you his Blood, by you unjustly spilt:  
Agreed, they answer all, we're all content  
To bear the Blood, the Gild, the Punishment;  
We and our Children both.— Wretches, you shall,  
When your proud towers and boasted Temple fall  
Beneath its Weight, when Nemesis divine,  
Still sure tho' slow, shall perfect heavens design  
On you, and all your cursed devoted Line:  
Blood through your Gates, Blood through your Streets shall flow,  
Faster than Kidron in the Vale below;  
Destruction cross the Stream, triumphant stride,  
And Death sit crowned upon the Crimson Tide.  
Nor Wretches! can your deepest Sufferings pay,  
For half the horrid Crimes of this black Day:  
Whither, O whither, Traitors will you bring  
Your own Liege Lord, your Saviour and your King?  
How many Wounds, how many Deaths provide?  
See where his innocent Hands are rudely tied  
By the rough Soldiers! Where, at what they do,  
The very Marble weeps far more than you?  
What Furrows on his Shoulders deeply ploughed?  
What drops, what rivulets, what streams of Blood?  
How through the Hall repeated strokes resound,  
Kind Stripes, for us they Cure, tho' him they Wound;  
His Blood a strange Balsamic Power has shown,  
It heals our festering Wounds, but not his own;  
Whilst with profoundest Patience all he bears,  
And melts, or tires his Executioners.  
O injured Heir of Heaven! O Master spare  
Thyself, for 'tis too much for God to bear!  
Had we not better suffer endless Pain,  
Than thou all this? O break th' inglorious Chain!  
Like Samson snap those Cords thy Arms disgrace,  
And scatter Vengeance through the faithless Race;  
Keen Rays of Light'ning-Glories round thy Head,  
And armed with Thunder, strike, or frown 'em dead!  
— Ah no! Too well he knew the Price he gave;  
Not thee their Death, but thine the World must save!  
And could our Grief so far thy Pity move?  
How great thy Pity, and how large thy Love!  
Thy stronger Mercy, struggling justice chains,  
Pity thy Power, and Love thy Vengeance reinss:  
All this thou'st done to gain thy Rebel's Grace,  
Yet much much more's behind of thy sad Race:  
Scourged, mocked, and crowned with Thorns, which pierced and tore  
His sacred Head, his Body all o'er Gore;  
In Purple Robes, tho' dressed in that before,  
Adorned, a Reed they for a Sceptre bring,  
Then publicly expose and Hail him King.  
Longer the furious Rabble would not stay,  
But their mock-Soveraign drag to Death away:  
Soon they the fatal Instrument prepare,  
Which on his Wounded Back compelled to bear,  
He sinks and faints beneath th' unequal Load;  
Thou he Gods only Son, himself a God.  
Th' accursed Cross for us he not refused,  
A Death, for Slaves and Villains only used: *  
He sinks and faints, as him they thus convey,  
To greater Pains, through the long dolorous way:  
Washed with his Tears and Blood—  
Thither by chance the Perjured judas strayed,  
The Wretch who basely had his Lord betrayed;  
By Chance, or rather by those Furies sent,  
Which first Mankind delude, and then torment:  

  

  
He saw the People's Madness, heard their Cry,  
He saw his Master bound, and doomed to Die:  
How wild the Thoughts his guilty Soul pursue?  
How gladly would he, what was done, undo?  
Now all too late— What pain Reflection brings?  
What Wounds, what Deaths, what Vultures, Racks and Stings?  
Hurried by these he to the Elders goes,  
And at their Feet the fatal Price he throws;  
The Price of Blood— Here, 
Matt. 27.3.  take he wildly said,  
Take that, for which my Saviour I betrayed;  
(Ah! mine no more) The Innocent and Good!  
For which my guilty Soul, his guiltless Blood,  
His Blood, worth infinitely more than Gold,  
The Merchants you; was basely bought and sold.  
With Smiles this Answer only him th' afford,  
— A worthy Servant, fit for such a Lord!  
Whom, if he thinks he wrongfully betrayed,  
Look he to that, his Price was justly paid.  
— Away the Wretched blindly rushes, where,  
He 's goaded on by Conscience and Despair:  
To Heaven he cannot look, his Gild and Sin  
Had clouded that, and he 's all Hell within:  
His furious Eyes, he ghastly rolls around,  
And when by chance the cheerful Sun he found,  
Guilding the neighbouring Hills, the cheerful Sun,  
Which blushing on him rose, he thus begun:  
" Perish for ever, O thou hated Light,  
" And sink, like me, in long eternal Night!  
" Why dost thou yet thy beauteous Beams afford  
" To that cursed Place? There, there my injured Lord  
" I lately Sold, and now lament in vain;  
" My God, my Conscience sold for sordid Gain:  
" That Conscience, Fame, and God I did esteem;  
" 'Twas there myself I Damned, and Murdered him:  
" O whither shall a Miserable run?  
" In Hell I'd gladly plunge, new Hells to eat;  
" To eat my self, my Plague, my Hell, shall I,  
" To my betrayed, my injured Master fly,  
" Fall at his Feet, and for, and with him die?  
" Perhaps I him to Pity may incline;  
" He must be touched with Miseries like mine;  
" O he 's all Goodness; go without delay,  
" He never yet a Suppliant turned away;  
" Nor will he thou— No faithless Traitor, no!  
" 'Tis now too late, thou canst not, must not go:  
" No, I his cruel Mercy cannot bear,  
" His hottest Vengeance would be lesle severe:  
" I feel, I feel I cannot, must not live,  
" Nor could forgiven be, tho' he'd forgive.  
" Shall I then to far distant Regions go,  
" Endeav'ring to divert or cure my Woe,  
" Through burning Seas of Sand, or Hills of Snow?  
" Visit the Southern, or the frozen Pole,  
" Where Winds can carry, or where Waves can roll; *  
" Where the Ten Tribes, vast Seas and Deserts crossed, *  
" In Climes unknown, and Heathen Lands are lost?  
" Bear me with speed, some courteous Whirlwind bear,  
" If far away, I know nor care not where;  
" Ah! all in vain! my Gild will haunt me there;  
" The Image of my Crimes will still pursue,  
" My Whips, my Racks, my Plague, my Hell renew;  
" Like Cain, 
Gen 4.13, 14.  a mark for every Murderer made;  
" And more than all my injured Master's Shade:  
" That only, that beyond my self I fear;  
" Guard me ye Fiends? For 'tis already here,  
" O Earth! within thy hollow Caverns hide,  
" Within thy deepest Cell, thy darkest Room,  

Numb. 16.32, 33. " A Wretch, that envy's happier Dathan's doom.  
" Wider, ye gentle Furies! wider tear  
" This burning Breast! Let not your Vipers spare  
" A tortured Heart; tho' Thousands gnawing there,  
" I yet want more— (In vain the Wretched call  
" On Heaven or Hell!) they full and glutted crawl;  
" Yet still I live— Here take! O take me all!  
" Take me at once! But why this dull delay?  
" What Hope or Fear yet makes me lingering stay?  
" Die Traitor! Die! Be that resolved— But how?  
— No sooner said, when an unlucky Bough,  
Thrust from a blasted Elder's Trunk he spied, *  
On which with speed the fatal Knot he tied;  
Then clambering to the Top, despairing cried  
" Die Traitor, Die! the worst we then shall know;  
" Thus, thus let's leap into the Shades below— *  
— Then springs away, In Death his Ey-balls roll,  
And laughing Fiends wait round to snatch his Soul.  
The while, the wicked Rout his steps pursue,  
And what his Treason left undone, they do.  
The Lord of Life to cruel Death convey,  
Sunk with his weight, and fainting in the way.  
As chanced a Traveller from Cyrene came,  
Friendless, obscure and mean, Simon his name;  
Him they with cruel Mercy, 
Matt. 27 32  force to bear,  
Of the inglorious Load an equal share;  
" Each faithful Christians Lot, as well as his,  
" Through Grief to joy, through Pain to endless Bliss:  
Bearing his Cross they their loved Lord attend;  
Whom now arrived near his sad Iourny's end;  
Covered with Blood, 
Luke 23.28.  fair Salem's Matrons see,  
As climbing to the top of Calvary:  
His Soul with Grief, with stripes his Body rend;  
They see and sigh, and his hard Fate lament:  
To him not unregarded, nor unknown,  
Who carries all our Sorrows as his own:  
Keep, Matrons, your mistaken Tears he cries,  
For your own Sorrows keep those flowing Eyes:  
Weep for yourselves, and Children yet more dear!  
For see the Day, the dreadful Day is near;  
By heavens just Wrath on your sad Nation brought,  
When barren Wombs a Blessing shall be thought:  
When tender Nature shall aside be thrown;  
Your Infants Lives destroyed to save your own: 
Vid. Lib. 7.   
When through your Gates fierce hostile Troops shall pour,  
And what you leave, the hungry Sword devour.  
He said, and now with Sweat, and Blood, and Pain,  
The top of fatal Golgotha they gain:  
A loathsome Scene of Murder and Despair,  
Fit for the Tragedies were acting there:  
With Sculls, and Bones, and putrid Limbs o'erspred,  
And all the ghastly Ruins of the Dead:  
Here disemboweled Bodies all around,  
With nauseous Gore had drenched the thirsty Ground;  
There half-torn Carcases unburied lay,  
To each ill-omened Bird a Feast by Day,  
By Night, to greedy howling Wolves, a Prey.  
Of his sad Load our Lord disburdened there,  
As late, he That, Him now the Cross must bear;  
His humble Robes from his fresh Wounds they tear,  
And broach 'em all anew— His greatest Pride,  
His careful Mother's Gift they can't divide,  
But did by Lot, 
John 19.24. Psal. 22.18.  whose it should be, decide:  
Which passed, their Fury would no longer stay,  
But the pure Victim on the Altar lay:  
His spotless Hands they on the Wood distend,  
And with huge Spikes unmercifully rend;  
His Hands and Feet, with many a sounding stroke,  
Nailed to th' accursed Tree, deformed and broke:  
So wide the Wounds their tenderest Muscles tore,  
All over one, there was no room for more.  
By these alone aloft i'th' Air he 's stayed, *  
On these the weight of all his Body laid;  
Through these he must be Dying half a Day,  
And bleed, by slow degrees, his spotless Soul away.  
Him thus transfixed at length they raise on high,  
And with insulting Voices rend the Sky:  
Him Priests and People with lewd Scoffs assail,  

Matt. 27 42.  And loud Salute— Great King of Jury Hail!  
(For on the Cross, this Title o'er his Head, *  

Matt. 27.37.  So Pilate pleased, in various Tongues was read:)  
" Hail, wondrous King! Will't thou not leave thy Throne?  
" Descend from thence, thou shalt not reign alone;  
" To all that's past, add but this Wonder more!  
" Now save yourself, who others saved before!  
" So thee our King we gladly will receive  
" So thee the promised Prophet yet believe.  
All this, and more our Saviour mildly bears,  
And prays for Mercy on his Murderers.  
More must thou feel, O boundless suffering Love!  
From the rude Crowd below, and those above;  
Those Thiefs, each mounted on his cursed Tree,  
And groaning there— O how unlike to Thee?  
Yet one some Tracks of Modesty retains, *  
Some Sign of Goodness in his Face remains,  
His Crimes reputes, and grieves amidst his Pains.  
By th' other drawn to Vice, and newly made,  
A short-lived Partner in the cursed Trade;  
A Thief of noted Fame, a Villain he  
Of ancient House, of Standing and Degree:  
For many a Year did Robb'ry profess,  
Deep read in all the Arts of Wickedness:  
Stood on his Honour, and his wellborn Race,  
Nor by Repentance would his Name disgrace,  
Stern gloomy Gild hung lowering on his Face:  
Amidst his Torments cursed both God and Man;  
And grinning, to our Saviour thus began!  
" Hearest thou their Taunts, and canst thou all endure?  
" We tortured here, and they beneath secure?  
" Thy boasted Power now, if thou canst display,  
" And from these Pains thy self and us convey!  
" Or that thou'rt Christ thy Flatterers vainly say;  
" Some Slave like us, or vile Impostor rather,  
" Nor the Messiah thou, nor God thy Father.  
To whom the other, from the distant side,  
With Shame and decent Blushes thus replied:  
" Why namest thou God, whom yet thou dost not fear,  
" Whos's slow-paced Vengeance overtakes thee here!  
Here for our Crimes we justly bleed, but He  
Guiltless and pure, as foul and guilty We.  
Then turning to our Lord his fainting Head,  
With pen'tent Tears accosting, thus he said:  
" O thou who even on the Cross dost Reign!  
" I ask not rescue from my Shame and Pain,  
" Justly endured— All my Petition is,  
" When thou enthroned above in boundless Bliss,  
" Remember me, and my unworthy Prayer!  
" My guilty Soul wide wandering in the Air,  
" To Abraham's Bosom let the Angels bear.  
To whom with Love and Pity in his Eyes,  
Amidst his Pains, our Lord thus mild replies.—  
" Yes, my true Confessor! thou needst not fear!  
" I'll own thee there, since thou hast owned me here;  
" This happy Day thy Soul shall mount the Skies,  
" And with me ever reign in Paradise.  
The while, as chanced, malicious Fame conveyed,  
The cruel Tidings to the sacred Maid;  
That by false judas, to the Priests betrayed,  
Her loved miraculous Son was doomed to die,  
And by the Soldiers dragged to Calvary:  
You tender Mothers who her Story read,  
Guests you, guests what she thought, and what she did!  
Thou she to the Almighty Will resigned,  
Scarce more than her, the most obedient Mind  
That waits above, yet Nature would complain;  
How strong the Struggle, how intense the Pain?  
By this, from Street to Street, she's hurried on,  
Once more t' embrace her lost lamented Son:  
Thus Philomela repeats her mournful Song,  
When robbed, at once, of all her tender Young;  
Does near the Place, where first she lost 'em, wait,  
And fluttering round the Tree lament their Fate,  
Or tho' of their Recovery she despair,  
With loud Complaints pursues the Ravisher.  
Thus the blessed Maid on Love's swift Wings did fly,  
On Loves and Fears, to fatal Calvary;  
Ah! but too soon arrived, the Guards in vain  
Would thrust her off, she presses in again:  
Through Glaives and Swords, and glittering Halberds pressed,  
And Groves of Deaths all pointed at her Breast;  
So deep the Wounds imprinted there before,  
Armed with Despair, she now could fear no more:  
Past the armed Crowd, and near the fatal Tree  
Arrived, with a loud Shriek she cried,— 'Tis He;  
Then dropped to Earth, nor could she longer bear,  
Ah! happy had she still continued there:  
With cruel Pity her the Guards revive,  
She Wakes and Sighs to find her self alive:  
Straight to th' accursed Wood does wildly run,  
On whose tall Top she saw her bleeding Son;  
Then grovelling on the Ground its Root embrace,  
And press it close to her disordered Face;  
His precious Blood mix with her precious Tears;  
His Blood, which rather you'd believe were hers,  
So mortal pale her lovely Face appears:  
Warm trickling from her Heart as well as his,  
Which more than he himself she seemed to miss:  
Even on the Cross her Grief her Son did move,  
Nor could he there unlearn his filial Love;  
His heavy Eyes, with Pain, and dying Head,  
Once more he slowly raised, and thus he said.  
— No more! let each tumult'ous Thought be still,  
Resign me all to my great Father's Will;  
As I my self! 
John 19.26.  He'll still of you take care;  
Behold your Son— His faithful Friend was there,  
Lamenting near his Cross; of all the rest,  
Who late so much of Zeal and Love professed  
He only came— To whom he thus addressed.  
" As e'er thou of my Bosom didst partake,  
" Nor even in this sad Hour thy Friend forsake;  
" E'er I to Heaven my parting Breath resign,  
" Behold thy Mother! think her always thine!  
" Of our true Friendship this dear Pledge receive; 
27.   
" The last that thou canst take or I can give.  
She heard, and still the more resents her Loss;  
Again she knelt, again embraced the Cross:  
Stunned with her Grief awhile she can't lament,  
Till Heaven at last in Pity gave it vent;  
When thus she mourns—" Is this the Kingdom given?  
Is this the Throne for the great Heir of Heaven?  
Thus, Prince! do thee thy Subjects entertain?  
And thus is the Messiah doomed to Reign?  
For this did God's bright Messenger descend,  
For this the hymning heavenly Host attend,  
And hail thy Birth with Miracles? O why  
Was this vain Pomp for one who thus must die?  
Die like the worst of Men, of Death's the worst,  
For Slaves alone designed, abhorred, accursed?  
With joy, my Son! I could thy Hearse attend,  
Hadst thou in Battle made a glorious End;  
At least the Honour had the Grief allayed,  
And o'er thy Tomb glad Israel's Praises paid  
Had made thee live again; hadst thou but broke,  
Like Samson, with thy Death, the Heathen Yoke.  
Too well, alas! too late the Truth I see  
Of aged Simeon's mystic Prophecy;  

Luke 5.  Now through my wounded Soul the Sword does glide,  
And pierce the Mother through the Sons dear Side.  
Why is my Grief so weak, or why so strong?  
Why must I still a hated Life prolong?  
The Strokes of Sorrow are like Lightning found,  
To blast the Soul, but not the Body wound.  
O take a Life your cruel Pity gave,  
Barbarians take, unless my Son's you'd save!  
Or e'er his last swift Sand of Life is run,  
O join my at least in Death to my loved Son!  
Might I once more embrace him, I'd not care,  
Thou on another Cross you raised me there.  
Thus the Great Mother mourned, the Hills around,  
And hollow Vales and distant Plains resound  
Her loud Complaints, the neighbouring Brooks combined,  
And in the melancholy Chorus joined;  
Nay the mad Crowd themselves, tho' now too late,  
Help her to mourn her lamentable Fate:  
Echoed the Rocks, the senseless Marbles moaned,  
And more, the very Guards around her groaned;  
They groaned and wept, but raved and blushed withal,  
And rather thought they Blood than Tears let fall.  
Mean while prodigious Darkness clouds the Day,  
And frighted Nature mourns as much as they:  
The conscious Sun no longer now could bear,  

Luke 23.44.  Shuts his bright Eye, and leaves the widowed Air;  
unnatural Clouds obscure his radiant Face,  
When near the midst of his diurnal Race:  
Th' amazed ginger looks on in vain, *  
Nor can the Sight by all his Art explain:  
He saw the sickly Moon, where wide away,  
She attempted to supply the Place of Day!  
He saw th' Eternal Chain of Causes broke,  
And thus to the amazed Spectators spoke.  
— No more this Knot I'll struggle to untie;  
" Nature it self, or Nature's God must die.  
From baleful Caves removed from joy to Light,  
Out-sallies Primitive-Substantial Night;  
As black as that which once on Egypt fell,  
As full of all th' Inhabitants of Hell: 
Vid. Wisdom of Solomon.   
Thin glaring Ghosts glide by, loose Forms appear,  
Shrill Shricks, deep Groans, and mournful Sounds they hear.  
Bellowss the troubled Earth, in whose dark Womb  
Penned Whirlwinds fight, and from each silent Tomb  
Disturbed in haste the dusty Tenants rise,  
Still all is dark, in vain they seek the Skies,  
Unless when they with twisted Lightnings glow,  
Echoing in Thunder to the Groans below:  
The World no more expects its wont Light,  
" And guilty Nations fear Eternal Night.  
But most, Judea's cursed devoted Land,  
Who now too late their Error understand:  
They knew to them these Prodigies were sent,  
They knew what all these dire Convulsions meant:  
And now as loud to Heaven for Mercy cry,  
As late they did to Pilate, Crucify.  
Matrons and Maids in solemn Order go,  
And trembling Youth, themselves they prostrate throw  
Before the Temple-Gates, high Heaven t' atone,  
T' avert their Country's ruin and their own;  
In vain, for Heaven itself was angry grown:  
The Altar shakes, the Ashes scattered lay,  
The Victim from the Temple breaks away,  
Or drops before the Stroke and bell'wing dies;  
In lowering Curls the Incense from the Skies,  
Rejected there, beats back to Earth again,  
As Clouds of Smoke beneath descending Rain.  
Deep hollow Groans from the Foundations came,  
From the high Roof shot streaks of angry Flame:  
The solid Pillars trembled, and inclined *  
Their lofty Heads as Cedars in the Wind:  
Twice shook the rumbling Earth, and Thunders broke  
From the vast Gulf, and the third dismal Shock,  
With trebled Rage rend even the solid Rock,  
Down to the trembling Centre rend the Veil,  
Discovering wide the sacred Oracle;  
The Holy of Holie's, naked all it lies,  
Exposed profane and bare to vulgar Eyes;  
The Golden Lamps around extinguished quite,  
Or only yield a faint unnatural Light;  
More dreadful by successive Lightnings made;  
The Priests run frighted through the ghastly Shade.  
The while, the Lamb of God expiring see,  
Upon the Top of trembling Calvary:  
A heavier weight than Death his Soul oppressed,  
And worse than mortal Pangs his tortured Breast;  
No more the beauteous Rays of Love Divine,  
No more his Father's Glories on him shine:  
All dark and horrid like the Earth below,  
Where Day forsook its Task and back did go;  
Then raised his Eyes, swimming in Death and Night,  
As dying Tapers e'er they loose their Light;  
He looked for his accustomed winged Train;  
He looked, alas! for them and Heaven in vain;  
No wonder Heaven could now no more be seen,  
The Crimes of Earth were placed too thick between:  
But finding there no Passage with his Eyes,  
To reach it with his fainting Voice he tries,  
And asks, as if himself he had mistaken,  
My God, my God why hast thou me forsaken?  
High Heaven, this heard, it heard the God complain,  
Th' Eternal Father heard, and all his Train;  
The Father heard, unmoved, his suffering Son,  
By whose Eternal Councils all was done.  
So did not all the glittering Host above,  
Aye happy there! for there they sing and Love;  
They stop their Songs, their heavenly Harps thrown by,  
Or tuned to some new louder Harmony:  
At length each from his radiant Throne arose,  
Their heavenly Warmth to ruddy Vengeance glows;  
Like those fair Strangers Let conducted in,  
Who punished guilty Sodom's brutish Sin:  
Amidst the rest a Fire-winged Seraph saw,  
Of those at trembling Sinai gave the Law— *  
He blew the Trumpet there—  
Each stubborn Rebel did his Gild confess;  
It shook the Mount, and shook the Wilderness;  
Nor had he yet forgot the Sound, but flies  
Through World's unknown and undiscovered Skies;  
Where erst the Signal was to Battle given,  
The highest Tower on all the Crystal Walls of Heaven:  
There with his utmost might he blew a Blast,  
Which through interminable Spaces passed;  
Which Chaos moved, its frighted Surges fell,  
Trembled the ghastly Sanhedrim of Hell;  
Whilst heavens winged Watchers at the Signal run,  
And almost leave their dread Commands undone: *  
(Uriel before had left the sickly Sun.) *  
Each wandering Orb stands still, or wildly rolls,  
Forgetting both their Angles and their Poles:  
So vast the Wreck of Heaven, the Storm so high,  
As Chaos had broke in upon the Sky;  
The Spheres untuned forgot their Harmony.  
Arm! Arm! through every bright Battalion went;  
The Adamantine Gates o'th' Firmament  
Wide open thrown, with a stupendous Crack  
More loud than Thunder, more the Poles they shake,  
The Pomp of War discovering deep and wide,  
Each Angel close t' his Brother Angel's side;  
Turms, Cohorts, Legions, glittering dreadful bright,  
Armed Cap-ape in more than Lambent-Light.  
Great Michael then himself was on the Guard,  
The Mount of God his own peculiar Ward;  
Where no Disturbance, Noise, Complaint or Cry;  
But Peace and joy roll on Eternally:  
None since the Angels fell; but when from far,  
He heard the harsh, unwonted Noise of War,  
His Sword he unsheaths, by some wise Angel made,  
Of a portentous Comet's flaming Blade;  
Condensed his noble Form to Bulk and Sight; *  
Is all himself, and gathers in his Might;  
Endues his dreadful Arms and Helmet bright:  
Th' Old Dragon's spoils the Crest, in Battle bold  
Conquered and stripped, how dreadful to behold!  
The Claws all- horrid with Ethereal Gold.  
Thus decked, among the foremost Ranks he flew,  
Who easily their glorious Leader knew;  
As on a Cloud, with Thunder charged, he road  
Above 'em all, and only not a God.  
Thus, might we Mortal match with things Divine;  
Thus looked our Godlike Hero at the Boyne:  
The same fair Ardour for the glorious Prize,  
The same just Anger lightning in his Eyes:  
Thus he appeared, thus those who round him road,  
They all like Heroes fought, he like a God.  
When thus prepared, they only wait the Word  
To sally forth, and aid their injured Lord:  
Th' accursed City into Atoms tear,  
Nay scatter Globe and all in boundless Fields of Air.  
This saw th' Allseeing, did their Hast resent,  
And with an awful Nod shook the wide Firmament;  
One motion of his Will their Rage repressed:  
He looked calm Peace into each warlike Breast:  
Unveiled the Rotls of Fate, and let 'em see,  
The great, unknown, tremendous Mystery:  
Unknown, (or Anger them so much did blind,  
'Twas now forgot by every warlike Mind)  
That 'twas before all Worlds resolved, on high,  
The mighty Maker of the World must die:  
I'th' Council of the Great Three-One decreed,  
A sinless God for sinful Man must bleed;  

See Lib. 6. Init.  His injured Father's Wrath Atone and bear,  
To keep injurious Rebels from despair;  
Complete the Numbers of the heavenly Host,  
And fill those Seats th' Apostate Angels lost.  
Silence profound awhile all Heaven possessed,  
Their Wonder was too big to be expressed:  
Their Arms all dropped, their Harps again they try,  
New Songs are heard, and wont Harmony.  
Sweet Muse return, and hover on the Wing  
Around thy bleeding Love, thy wounded King!  
Go weep, as Magdalen before he died,  
Never such Cause, thy Love is crucified;  
Bath his wide Wounds, as that repenting Fair  
His Sacred Feet, and dry them with thy Hair:  
For all the Follies of thy youthful Days,  

〈◊〉 Crucifixion.   
Misspent in mortal Beauties idle Praise,  
Robbing thy Saviour of his just esteem;  
For all thy broken Vows to Heaven and Him▪  
For all thy Sloth, thy Vanity and Pride:  
See what they cost, thy Love is crucified:  
On the cursed Tree he bends his Sacred Head,  
From his pale Cheeks each lovely Rose is fled,  
His Lips, his heavenly Eyes already dead:  
His swimming Eyes approaching Night did cloud,  
And all his Face deformed with Tears and Blood!  
In numerous little Streams which trickled down  
From those cursed Thorns which his blessed Temples crown;  
Thence to his mangled Hands profusely flow,  
And join those mightier Streams that rise below;  
Which swelling wide make drunk the thirsty ground,  
Till all the guilty Earth is tinged around.  
Thus oft the wandering Swains by chance have spied,  
By Nature's Art in some tall Mountain's side,  
A ragged Rock, bedewed with Water over,  
And sweeting Crystal Drops at every Poor!  
Each steals into the next, and faster flow,  
To meet large subterranean Streams below;  
Whose Channel Pleasure both and Profit yields,  
Scattering Eternal Verdure round the Fields.  
Hail, all you mystic Drops of precious Gore,  
Each of you singly worth a World and more! *  
Could your immortal Fountain want supplies,  
I'd quickly make a Deluge with my Eyes.  
And now with Sweat and Blood exhausted and dried,  
And scorched with Pain, I thirst, he faintly cried:  
For eager Wine the scoffing Soldiers run, 
Matth. 27.34.   
And offer that; he tastes, and cries— 'Tis done.  
'Tis done— His spotless Soul no longer strives;  
The God is dead, and Sinful Man revives: *  
He bowed his Head, receive my Soul, he cried,  
Dear Father! in thy Arms; He bowed his Head and Died.  
The End of the Ninth Book.   

NOTES ON The LIFE of CHRIST. BOOK IX.  
9 O What is Virtue but an empty Name?] I hope I need not tell the Reader that these Lines are only an Objection commonly brought against Providence, which is, I think, afterwards fully answered. As for that Exclamation, What is Virtue etc. 'Tis a common saying among the ancient Heathens, and is ascribed to several Authors, though I think the most fix it upon Hercules, as extorted from him, when Frying and Raving on Mount Oeta, by the extremity of his Pain; which if true, he's far from being as Heroical as he's represented, since 'tis not killing of Bulls and Bears, and Robbers, but inflexible Virtue, Patience, and Magnanimity, under the worst of Evils, that make a true Hero. However, as one of our own Writers pleasantly observes, 'tis most likely to be his Expression, because it looks so much like the Speech of a Madman.  
117. Of whose high Deeds Cumaean Grottoes rung.] That there was really some bottom in those which are called the Sibylline Oracles, relating to our Saviour, I see no room for any modest Man to doubt; though it seems on the other side a clear Case, that vast heaps of Doggerel Greek has been forged in their Imitation, like those bastard Medals, so common in the World. The Christians could not feign that of Tully, which I think he applies to K. Ptolemy, of a King to come out of the Eastern Countries, any more, than several passages of the Sicelides Musae; which seem plain Transcripts of what the Old Prophets have left recorded concerning our Saviour; which, though it should be granted, he might apply to the Son of Pollio; yet there's little doubt but he had 'em from the Sibyls, or some Tradition then current among the Heathens; though he too, as well as Balaam, might be acted beyond himself; for in my judgement, he does here majora canere, as he has promised; and Virgil excels even Virgil, nothing being comparable to it in all his Works, not excepting the Prophecy of Marcellus; or if there's any thing finer in his divine Aeneids.  
130. Cowley's Thought, wherein he has much bettered that of Horace, odi Profanum vulgus & arceo.  
152. Their own Religious Rites.] See josephus against Appion.  
206 This he our Families proud Rival Born.] This Herod was Grandson to Herod the Great. Vid. Lib. 2.  
250. Unblemished Virtue and unspotted Fame.] Ecclesiastical History tells us, she was a noble Roman, her Name Procula; afterwards Converted to the Christian Faith, and either a Saint or a Martyr.  
287. Whether his double Spring, overcharged with Snow.] I believe there are indeed few great Rivers but have more than one Head, though the compliment of the Country generally fixes 'em at one place. Every one has heard of two Heads assigned to the River jordan, jor, and Dan, like our Tame and Isis; whence both their Names. It mayn't be unpleasant to give, once for all, a Description of this noble River, the chief of all Palestine, and it's said, some of the best Water in the World. The Pilgrim gives the best account of its Rise and Progress that I've yet seen, Lib. 2. Cap. 15. Aune heure de Caesarea, & An hours Journey from Caesarea Philippi, at the Foot of Mount Libanus (Fuller tells us, 'tis one particular Mount, more pleasant than all the rest, called Paneas,) arise two Springs of Water, one about half an hours Journey from the other. That to the East is called jor, and the other more Northerly Dan. They soon make two small Rivulets, which running separate about a League and half, meet at the bottom of the forementioned Town, joining at once their Names and Waters; and from thence taking the new Name of jordan. Thence running by several Villages and Countries, and separating the Lands of Trachonitis, Iturea, and Galilee, it falls into a Valley, where it makes a Lake about 2 Leagues in Circuit, called Moron or Mora, (Merom, in Fuller,) by josephus the Semachonite Lake; thence verging towards the East, enters the Sea of Galilee, between Capernaum and Chorazin, and passing thence, is at last engulft in the Dead Sea. He goes on, But the Turks have a Tradition that jordan will not mingle his blessed waters with that stinking Puddle, but at their very fall into the Lake sink down into a Subterranean Abyss, and rise again at Mecca, where Mahomet was buried, in Honour (doubtless) of that great Prophet, where they form themselves into a Lake, whose Waters have the same Taste and Fish with jordan. And this wise story the good Pilgrim thinks 'tis worth the while to confute out of the little Scripture he had, full as gravely as Alexander Ross does the Koran when 'twas translated into English, for fear any of his Countrymen should turn Mussulmen upon the reading it; though for my part, if any of my Readers are inclined to my Turkish Story of jordan, they are very welcome, since I shan't think it worth the while to use any Argument to confute it.  
330. His Sword a strange Balsamic Power, etc.] This is founded on that Notion, that the Blood has of itself a sort of a Balsamic Virtue in't, which will close and heal all slight Green-wounds without other Medicine, if no other accident happens.  
362. A Death for Slaves and Villains only used.] Tacitus calls it Servile supplicium, a Servile sort of a Punishment, not to be inflicted on any Roman Citizen: and therefore we find in History, that S. Paul, who was a Roman, had the Benefit of that Liberty, and was Beheaded, while S. Peter, a jew, was Crucified.  
423. Where Winds can carry, or where Waves can roll.] I think 'tis a Verse of Mr. Waller's.  
424. Where the Ten Tribes, etc.] There's a great Dispute whither the Ten Tribes were carried, which perhaps will never be decided; as the jews say of any great difficulty, till Elias come. Esdras says, they went over Euphrates, which was miraculously dried up for their Passage, and after a fair Walk for an year and an half, arrived at Arsareth, which some suppose to be Tartary; where also many of our Moderns think they have found 'em, there being a City named Tabor in that Country, as several of that Name in Naphthali; whence some of 'em were carried. Others tells us, that there are a sort of People among the Tartars, who run about the Fields, a certain day in the year, making great Lamentation, though they themselves have forgot the reason, and repeating with violent and dismal Ejaculations these Words, jeru! jeru! Salem! jeru! Damas'! though they don't understand 'em; retaining still the Names of those Places, though they have lost the History. Others think the Americans, or at least some part of 'em, are the Posterity of the Ten Tribes, which is rendered not altogether improbable, from several jewish Customs found amongst amongst. And what if those Tartarians, of whom we have discoursed Lib. 3. conducted by Satan, from their own Country over to America, should be some of those very jews, whom the Enemy of Man and Ape of God, might take a pride in leading to his Canaan, almost exactly in the same manner that Moses led their Forefathers out of Egypt. Acosta has a strange Story that looks very much like this, from a Tradition of the Americans; That their God Vitziliputzli commanded their Forefathers to leave the Place where they than lived, promising, if they'd follow him, a much more happy Country, by the Destruction of several Nations which possessed it. Accordingly they departed, carrying this their Idol with 'em in an Ark of Reeds, which was supported by 4 of their Chief Priests, with whom he Discoursed in secret, and revealed to them all along the different Successes of their Journey, giving 'em Orders when to March and Halt, which they were not to do without his Order. Wherever they came, they Erected a Tabernacle for their God in the midst of their Camp, placing the Ark upon an Altar. When they were tired with their Journey, and resolved to proceed no farther, their God destroyed many of 'em in a dreadful manner; continuing to Conduct 'em till he brought 'em to Mexico; thus he. I shall only add, that Manasseh-Ben-Israel, the modern jew, tells us, There were lately found encompassed with several high Mountains in America, a White People, with long Beards, whom he'd fain have the remainders of these Ten Tribes, and all Natural jews.  
449. Thrust from a blasted Elders Trunk he spied.] Some say 'twas a Wild Figtree, but it's no great matter which of the two. Surius says, That the jews have now a Churchyard or Buryingplace, on that very piece of Ground, about the middle whereof, Tradition tells 'em, this Tree formerly stood: and adds, That the jews formerly Built a House there, and all of that Nation desire to be Buried near it: As indeed they'd have reason, were that odd fancy of theirs true, that the General Judgement must be in the Valley of jehosophat, and that all their Bones must tumble thither through the Bowels of the Earth, if they don't provide better Carriage; for which Reason, many of the richest of them, are said to get their Dust carried to jerusalem, to save the trouble of so long a Journey.  
447. Die Traitor die, be that resolved, but how?] This Verse, and that below it, Thus, thus le's leap, etc. any one may see are taken from Virgil's, Sed moriamur ait; and Sic sic juvat ire sub umbras. Concerning the latter of which, I can't help being of a different Judgement from a Person so Great, that it would be immodesty for me to name him, at the same time I own I descent from him. I say, I can't but think, that Hemistich as like Virgil as, even his famous Tutor Marcellus eris, for it seems to me as full and handsome a Pause for a desperate Mind, which had run itself out of Breath with raving, as could possibly be thought on, and that rendered more lively, strong and beautiful, by the Ingemination.  
510. By these alone aloft i'th' Air he's stayed.] I know many are of Opinion, that there was a sort of a Suppedaneum, a Stay or Footstool on the Cross, as a Rest to the Bodies of Malefactors; but others, and I think the most, being of another Mind, I had liberty of choosing which I pleased, especially the former Opinion being grounded on a false Supposition, that without some such support as this, the Body could not hang in the Air, but would tear out the Wounds by which 'twas fastened, and be born down by its own weight: Whereas we are assured of the contrary, both by considering the strength of the Muscles in those Parts, and accidental Examples of such as falling from on high, have been caught by the Hand, Arm, etc. by some Tenter, and remained a considerable time in that Posture; and by the manner of that horrible Punishment, at this time in use among the Turks and Moors, who throw Condemned Persons from an high Tower stuck full of Hooks and Tenters, which catching hold of the Body in its fall, retains it there, where the Wretches must hang till either the Wound kill's 'em, or they are starved to Death. Now if the whole weight of a Man's Body (caught thus at disadvantage, and the fall besides,) can't tear itself off when thus gaunched in the Air, how much lesle would it do so when supported behind, and fastened so evenly and proportionably, by the most strong and musculous Parts thereof?  
531. Yet one some Tracks of Modesty retains.] 'tis thought by many that this was no hardened Villain, but newly entered in his Trade. There's one passage in the History of these Thiefs, which carries some difficulty in't.: 'Tis said in S. Matthew and S. Mark, that the Thiefs, in the Plural Number, reviled our Saviour. But S. Luke gives the History as here related; That one did it, and the other rebuked him. Some say, that both did it at first, but one Repent, which is a probable Solution; but I thing there's a better, that 'tis a common Elliptical way of Speaking, with the Hebrews. Thus Saul to David, 1 Sam. 18.21. Thou shalt this day be my Son-in-Law in one of the two. We tender it undoubtedly according to the True Sense; but 'tis in the Original, by, or in the Two, a plain Instance of two used for one; as in the present Case. So 'tis written in the Prophets, one of the Prophets, and 20 other Instances. The bad Thief than reviled our Saviour, the good Thief prayed to him, and no doubt was immediately happy with him. Thomas I can't think that Thief was good enough to be himself prayed to, and have a Temple Built to his Name and Honour; yet such a Temple, Surius says, was Erected by the Empress Helen in the Holy Land.  
518. For on the Cross this Title.] The piece of Wood whereon the Title was written, was one part of the Cross, called in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, from the Latin Titulus; as on the contrary, the writing itself containing the Persons real or supposed Crimes, the Roman Authors call by a Greek Name Elogium, though as we take the Word now, it seems but an odd sort of an Elegy.  
682. Th' amazed ginger looked on in Vain.] This is a story sufficiently known, and commonly received and believed; and though I've no need of its being really true, yet Valeat quantum valere potest.  
723. The solid Pillars trembled.] See Lib. 7. at the beginning.  
727. Rend even the solid Rock— Down to the trembling Centre.] It's said the Rocks rend in General; therefore, as it should seem more than one, Walker says, That of Mount Calvary, whereon our Lord suffered, cloven asunder some 2 or 3 Foot, at the place where his Cross was fastened, quite from one side of the Hill to the other, to be seen at this day, gaping about an Hands breadth, and the depth of it not to be sounded. But the account the Pilgrim gives on't is very particular, and in these Words, That what he saw of it was 6 Foot and 2 Fingers in length, and about 2 Foot in breadth; adding, that it not only reached down as far as the Chapel of Adam, which is in the hollow of the Rock, where he tells us, Adam's Scull was found; (whence the Mount called Calvary, if you'll believe it, though one would wonder by what Ear-mark they knew his Scull from another.) He goes on, It reaches not only thither, but lower, to the Chapel of Invention of the Cross, and thence, as he thinks, even down to Hell; its depth being unfathomable: thus he. And though there is something of Fable mixed with what he, and other Popish Writers deliver, yet there may be something of Truth, though the mischief is, 'tis discredited by such ill Company. And if this strange vast Rift in the solid Rock, be really true, as it appears to be by the Circumstances, methinks 'tis no contemptible corroborating Circumstance for the Truth of that part of the sacred History, and those dreadful Prodigies which the Evangelists mention.  
767. Of those at trembling Sinai gave the Law.] Which was given by the Disposition of Angels. As S. Steph. Acts 7.  
780. And almost leave their dread Commands undone.] Vida, from whom I took the Hint of this beautiful Digression, goes a great deal farther, and I think too far, saying of the Angels, Opera imperfecta relinquunt. Which I soften by the Word [almost].  
781. Uriel before, forsook the sickly Sun.] I think that's his Name, whom Milton makes the Angel of the Sun; the Name being very proper, signifying, The Light of God: Which he might be, and yet that good Father's Fancy very agreeable, who called the Sun Umbra Dei; the Shadow of God. I say he had before forsaken it, for an obvious (Poetical) Reason, because 't was Eclipsed.  
803. Condensed his noble Form to bulk and sight.] According to the Platonists, Notion of the Condensation of the Angelical Vehicle, so as to make it visible; which seems to have been believed by most of the Fathers, who make Angels have a sort of Bodies, as indeed they must have when ever they appear, and are sensible not only to our Sight, but even to our grosser Touch; as when they laid hold on the Hand of Lot. Now Lucretius' Maxim will still hold, Tangere enim & tangi sine corpore nulla potest res; nothing can touch and be touched but Body: and perhaps this is the very Essence of Body, for Tangibility and Impenetrability seem to be one and the same. But after all, what can the Deist get by this, unless he could prove, these Angels were all Body, or so much as that these Bodies were Permanent; whereas, by all we can discover of 'em from Scripture, they appear rather Ascititious and Airy: and this we are sure, that the Scripture never calls 'em Bodies, though it does Spirits, (which, whatever they are, can't be Bodies, unless black can be white;) and that, for the Comfort of every good Man, Ministering Spirits too, even since our Saviour sent forth to minister unto them who are heirs of Salvation. 1 Heb. 14.  
855. This Love is Crucifi'd.] From that famous Ejaculation of the Father, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  
875. Each of you singly worth a World and more.] The Blood of him who is Infinite, the Blood of God, as 'tis called in the Scripture, (which must get me off for that bold Thought a little lower, The God is Dead.) This Blood, I say, must have infinite Merits, and therefore extend beyond the value of any finite Being. The manner of whose Death see in the next 2 Lines.  
884. He bowed his Head, receive my Soul he cried  
Dear Father in thine Arms, he bowed his Head and died.] Vida has done this incomparably well, and expressed almost as much in one Line as I have done in two; who thus at the end of his 5 th' Book, Supremumque animum, ponens caput, exhalavit.   

THE ARGUMENT OF THE Tenth BOOK.  
AFter a Discourse of the pleasure of seeing Virtue triumphant, aotwith standing all Misfortunes, and an Invocation of the Blessed SPIRITS Assistance, for the happy Conclusion of the Work. Joseph of Arimathaea is introduced going to Pilate and boldly begging the Body of our Saviour, which being granted, he repairs to the Cross and takes it thence, after a Soldier had pierced the Side with a Spear, Blood and Water flowing out of the Wound; then bears it to his Garden, and lays it in his own Sepulchre, accompanied by the Blessed Virgin and other Friends. The Triumphs among the Devils at the Death of our Saviour: Lucifer's Speech on that occasion, ordering all the Devils to repair to Earth again, and repossess their Oracles. While he's in the height of his Exultation, our Saviour enters Hell with a Guard of Angels, and all the Devils flying at his sight, and sinking into the Lake, carries with him to Paradise some of those Persons who were lost in the Universal Deluge. The Third Day, his Soul and Body being now again united, and he rising from the Grave, Marry Magdalen, and other Women, go to the Sepulchre to Embalm him, but find him to be gone; and receive an account of his Resurrection, from a Vision of Angels, directing 'em to go and acquaint his Disciples with the News. Marry Magdalen stays and sees our Saviour himself, who order her on the same Message; on which S. Peter and S. John run to the Sepulchre, and find the Body to be gone; but returning, can not gain lief of the rest, till our Saviour himself appears amongst them; S. Thomas being then absent, and still incredulous. Soon after, two others, to whom our Lord discovered himself at Emmaus come in, and relate the whole Story; which S. Thomas not yet believing, Jesus himself appears, and showing him his Wounds, fully convinces him— Ordering all the Disciples to meet him at Tabor in Galilee, who going thither for that end, he first appears to 'em as they were Fishing on the Sea of Tiberias, where he tries S. Peter's Faith, and foretells his Martyrdom. Thence meeting many of his Followers on Mount Tabor, he order 'em all to Jerusalem, there to take his last Farewell: Where being arrived, he takes them out to Bethany; and after his last Discourse and Promise to be with them to the End of the World, the Heavenly Host appear, and Sing an Anthem, being part of the 24th Psalm, while our Saviour is Ascending; who, just as he disappears from the Disciples, orders two Angels back to Mount-Oliver, to comfort them with the Promise of his Return; who thereupon departed again with joy to Jerusalem.  
THE LIFE OF CHRIST: AN Heroic Poem. BOOK X.  
The RESURRECTION.  
O How refreshing is't, how dear a Sight,  
When Virtue emerges out of Clouds and Night!  
To see her all her grovelling Foes despise,  
To see the Tyrant fall and Hero rise!  
True Worth survives the Grave, rude Winds the Fruit  
May blast, but 'tis immortal in the Root.  
Beaten on Affliction's Billows! 'Tis in vain,  
The Rock will still impregnable remain;  
The Storm tho' fierce, will soon or late blow o'er,  
And we with Shouts shall reach the happy Shore,  
Where our great Captain is arrived before.  
Kind Spirit, who from the dark tumult'ous Wave  
Didst raise a beauteous World, O hear and save!  
Save and direct, direct our feeble Bark,  
As once thou didst the weary wandering Ark!  
Remove the Clouds, be all serene and fair  
Like thee, O gentle Blast of Heavenly Air!  
Let this last Voyage no rough storms molest,  
Then, of our dear, long-wished-for Port possessed,  
We'd gladly Anchor in eternal Rest.  
And now true Night in the disordered Skies,  
Prepares, at her appointed Hours, to rise;  
But wonders that her Task's performed before,  
Nay blacker Veils spread all the Aether over:  
Still high in gloomy Air the Bodies stood  
Exposed, and Tortured on th' unlucky Wood;  
Tortured the Two, but from his spotless Breast,  
The Thirds bright Soul was fled to endless Rest:  
Nor longer could the generous joseph bear,  
To see his Friends sad mangled Relics there;  

Matt. 26.56.  But while far off his scattered Household fled,  
Their Faith and Courage with their Master Dead:  
With Nicodemus, his old prudent Friend,  
Afraid no more, does from the Hill descend,  
Where sad Spectators near the Cross they were,  

Mark 15.43.  Boldly to beg the Body, and Inter,  
With silence, in his own new Sepulchre:  

Vid. Lib. 1. ad fin.  There, if his just Request successful prove,  
To pay the last due Debt of Tears and Love:  
Thus who boast highest, first the Cause forsake,  
Thus Converts oft the best of Christians make.  
With Pious hast they both to Pilate ran,  
To whom, undaunted, joseph thus began.  
Brave Roman, whom our Nations Spite and Rage,  
Now first did in an unjust Act engage:  
As noble Pontius would be still thought free,  
And only Passive in their Cruelty;  
And bear to distant Ages, distant Lands  
His Fame, as clean and spotless as his Hands;  
T' his humble Suppliants let be restored,  
The breathless dear Remains of our loved Lord:  
Nor will the Priests themselves, however they rave,  
Urge on their Hatred, even beyond the Grave;  
He's cold and lifeless now, their Fear is over,  
Nor can he them or Cesar injure more:  
Grant then we for his Body may return,  
Due Honours pay, at his sad Funeral mourn,  
And sprinkle Tears and Flowers around his Urn.  
The Roman thus— Witness each sacred Power,  
Witness the common jove we all adore, 
Vid. Lib. 6.   
Father of Men and Gods; with how much joy  
I'd him restore, how grieved did him destroy;  
Restore you your whole Friend, whom public Spite  
And Rage, have robbed of our etherial Light:  
Take what remains, I gladly that restore,  
And take my Grief that I can give no more.  
Their wished Request obtained, they hast away,  
And but to give the Donor thanks could stay:  
The Hill surmounted soon, abrupt appeared  
No more, nor more the Guards around they feared:  
Armed Troops and glittering Helmets, dreadful bright,  
Projecting far away their dazzling Light:  
" Of Murdered Men the low lamenting Voice,  
" Mixed with the Murderers confsed Noise  
They heard, yet onward went with pious haste,  
Through Crowds unarmed or armed alike they passed:  
Till to the fatal Scene of Death arrived,  
Where new Barbarities were still contrived;  
Still new Effects of popular Rage they found;  
The mangled bleeding Body's on the Ground:  
A single Deaths too little, they'd invent,  
Beyond the Cross itself, a Punishment:  
The Bodies must exposed no longer stay,  
T' unhallow their approaching Paschal Day,  
And damp their festal joys; new Arts they try,  
And with new Torments make 'em more than Dye:  
With ponderous Staves and Sledges crushed their Bones,  
Echoes the Mountain with their Strokes and Groans.  
The halfdead Wretches supplicate in vain  
For some kind Stab to ease their lingering Pain:  
jesus alone had his meek Soul resigned,  

Mark 15.44.  And spared their Cruelty; his Head reclined,  
On his torn Shoulders lay, enraged they cried,  
He had deceived 'em, and too mildly Died:  
Enraged, they such a disappointment found;  
They even the senseless Carcase gore and wound:  
A Soldier, blind with Fury, snatched a Spear,  
Which Death on its sharp Point in vain did wear,  
And darts it at his Side, out springs a flood  

John 19 34.  Of purest Limpid Water, joined with Blood;  
Joined, not confused, as through thin Crystal shine,  
The sparkling Drops of Gaza's noble Vine:  
True Types of those blessed Streams which ever flow  
From God's high Throne, t' enrich the World below;  
Th' inestimable Sanctions of our Bliss,  

1 John 5.6, 8.  Those Streams which glad the Church's Paradise;  
That sacred Laver, and that Banquet high,  
Where those who Bath and Feast shall never Diego  
While this transacting, joseph thither came,  
And straight ascends the Tree— (Love knows no Shame;)  
Himself ascends, and from th' accursed Wood  
Takes his dead Friend, covered with Wounds and Blood,  
And to his own fair Garden sadly bore,  
Where oft his loved Disciples met before;  
Then, near the Tomb lay down their precious Load,  
The wondrous Relics of a suffering God.  
Hither, bright Heavenly Youths, O hither bring, *  
The Glories of your own eternal Spring!  
Of every Flower that in fair Eden grows,  
The dying Hero's funeral Pomp compose,  
Mixed with Engeddi's Spice, and Sharon's Rose; *  
And when you all your Sweets have round him spread,  
Thou ne'er till this sad Hour, a Tear you shed,  
Weep, O Immortals! Weep! your Lord is Dead.  
Or if you still refuse your courteous Aid,  
We'll ask no more, for see the Heavenly Maid;  
The Virgin-Mother can that Office do,  
With as much Grace and Purity as you.  
On the hard Rock behold her seated there!  
Whilst all her sad Companions rend the Air  
With loud Laments, the Hills repeat their Cries,  

  
She only silent, her exhausted Eyes,  
Have not one precious Drop, one single Tear;  
Her Grief so decent, should she but appear  
In Public, all the World would Mourning wear. *  
Silent, and still, as deepest Waters flow,  
What Breast but hers could hold the mighty Woe?  
She saw his Soul from his pale Body fled,  
She saw her Hope, her Life, her Saviour dead;  
Her wondrous Son, no Pangs at his first Breath, *  
But ah! they be more than doubled at his Death:  
In her sad Arms, he all-a-Carcass lies,  
Death's heavy Iron Slumber seals his Eyes;  
His Eyes fast closed, altho' his Wounds gape wide,  
Those Wounds which rend his Feet, his Hands, his Side;  
She Kisses both, while her Companions tear,  
With loud Complaints, their Garments and their Hair;  
Scarce are they by the Men at length restrained,  
Who not their own unruly Tears command:  
To his pale Corpse the last due Honours pay,  
And in the Marble Vault lamenting lay;  
And dewy Night descending, leave the Tomb,  
Conducting safely the great Mourner home.  
Mean while the World a gen'ral Grief expressed,  
All Nature's Family in Mourning dressed:  
Silent and sad, or in soft Sighs complained,  
Nay Heaven itself scarce undisturbed remained:  
In Hell alone was joy and cursed Delight,  
Our Happiness their Woe, our Day their Night:  
Scarce such wild general Revels there were known, 
Gen. 3. Milton's Paradise lost.   
When their black Prince did the first Man dethrone,  
And almost made a second World their own:  
The Pandaemonium fills, the Iron Gate *  
Is thronged with many a Sooty Potentate:  
Blasphemous Moloch, Satan, Belial, Baal,  
And lustful Asmodai, part go, part crawl  
On long Serpentine Folds, as erst they fell; fell  
Now dressed in all the ugly Forms of Hell:  
High in the midst, dire Lucifer ascends  
His glowing Throne, a frightful Guard of Fiends  
Flock round, the boldest Spirits who with him fell,  
And make a Pomp worthy the Prince of Hell:  
Some Signs of what he was he still retained,  
A few weak Rays of gloomy Light remained;  
Which a faint glimmering sort of Twilight made,  
I'th' ugly Horror of th' infernal Shade:  
His Power not lesle, tho' by high Heaven confined,  
And strong eternal Chains the Rebel bind;  
Were he let loose, and no new Thunder hurled,  
He'd quickly into Atoms crush the World;  
As now he is, his haughty Eyes express  
The highest Ill, Majestic Wickedness;  
Great without Good, as Earthly Tyrants are,  
Who Hells black Brand, not heavens bright Image wear;  
Most Servile, yet Imperious, Proud, yet Base,  
A wicked joy glares through his dusky Face;  
Transports he does amidst his Torments feel,  
And shows some mighty mischiefs on the Wheel:  
" Thus the French Lucifer, his dear Ally,  
" Who still maintains his War against the Sky,  
" Thus great appears, in Blood and Murders crowned;  
" As many black Destroyer's wait around  
" His Pestilential Throne, for Orders wait,  
" To scatter Mischief and unerring Fate.  
Thus he, thus Hell's proud King in Flames arrayed,  
Who having all his own sad World surveyed,  
He thus began—  
Dominions, Thrones and Powers!  
Possessors once of half heavens Crystal towers,  
Which had Fate smiled, long since had all been ours:  
And Fate, not Valour crushed us, for we're still  
Unconquered in our own Almighty Will;  
What since against its Tyranny we've done,  
You know it, and we need not Blush to own;  
How we that sordid Piece of dirty Clay,  
Whom our more highborn Minds disdained t' obey;  
For whom the beauteous World above was made,  
A Heaven to our uncomfortable Shade,  
Have, by an easy Stratagem, betrayed:  
Did our hard Foe's wise Workmanship disgrace, 
Rom. 5.14.   
And in one Moment Murdered all their Race:  
'Tis true they Mercy found, tho' we had none,  
Who scorn like Man, to kneel and lick his Throne;  
No— Since so bravely once we took the Field,  
Now, for another Heaven we would not yield;  
Who, more than half his World e'er since possessed,  
He the poor jews, and we had all the rest;  
More Priests, more Oracles; nay even there,  
In his loved Land, ours was the largest share;  
To us his own proud Kings for Counsel come, 
1 Sam. 28.8.   
And Endor speaks when sacred Shilo's dumb.  
'Tis true, his dreaming Prophets did foretell,  
In many a mystic Type and Oracle,  
The ruins of the World again should rise,  
Th' eternal Word descending from the Sky's  
In mortal Form— Ours was too mean and base;  
A Curse on him and all that sordid Race!  
To drive us from our Conquered Kingdoms, where  
We sally out, and taste the lightsome Air,  
From these sad Realms; nay tho' we cannot fear  
A further Blow, pursue and chain us here:  
Revolving deep, I guest that Age was near;  
And when the late great Hebrew Prophet came,  
Whose Birth, whose Life, whose Miracles and Fame  
Have filled the World, from whom our Legions fled  
At his dread Word, his Word which raised the Dead,  
Chased every stubborn Pain, and strong Disease,  
Rebuked the Winds, and stilled the raging Seas;  
When he did thus to th' wondering World appear,  
I for our State almost began to fear;  
To fear our Empire now was doomed to fall;  
Him Saviour, him the jews Messiah call,  
And would have Crowned their King— Him first I tried,  
You know th' Event, with all the Baits of Pride;  
All that the Earth, 
See Lib. ●.  of Wealth or Pleasure, yields,  
Rich Afric's Sands, or Europe's fertile Fields;  
Luxurious Asia's tempting Charms were shown, *  
And all the hidden Sweets of Worlds unknown:  
Whatever Nature made of Fair and Good;  
But all in vain, Impregnable he stood:  
Not so his Friend, 
Judas.  whom Fear or Gold o'erpow'rs  
At first Assault— (Th' High Priest before was ours)  
The Wretch who late came here, like those above;  
We Traitor's hate, tho' we the Treason love—  
How e'er at length we're safe, our Fear is over;  
The mighty Prince will drive us now no more!  
I saw the Heir of Heaven exposed on high,  
The Cross his Throne, I saw th' Immortal Die;  
For such his Flatterers called him— Now they run  
To sheltering Shades, and fly, like us, the Sun;  
Thou little need— He fled himself from them  
And angry Heaven on our jerusalem  
Looked Frowning down; even let it now Frown on,  
What's past is Fate, the mighty Work is done;  
Our Conqu'rer now may mourn his Conquered Son:  
On all the tottering World may Vengeance take,  
At which we'll smile, but can't what's past unmake;  
That only is beyond his boasted Power,  
Too feeble to recall one fleeting Hour:  
Losers may speak— Let the Creation lower;  
Let Thunder rend the Poles, the Centre shake,  
And sink us deeper in our dreadful Lake;  
Yet still we'll Revel here; let Envy stay  
Her eating Cares, and know no Grief to day!  
Even She shall smile, her greatest Foe is Dead;  
Let bashful Error raise her Hydra-head,  
She and my own dear Discord, lately fled  
From the great Prophet's Words and Heavenly Air!  
Let 'em with all their snakey Train prepare  
For Earth again, and our new Conquests tell  
To every holy Fane and Oracle;  
To all the Daemons that in Aether rove,  
From Delphos sacred Rock to wise Dodona's Grove. *  
Tell 'em— But there his Speech abruptly ends;  
Confused, he from his Iron Throne descends:  
For wide away through his own darksome Cell,  
He saw strange Light, he saw an Heaven in Hell;  
The Walls, the Gates are down, and Death and Sin, *  
Through the new horrid Breach, came tumbling in;  
Their conqueror after who the Blow had given;  
'Twas he himself, th' Illustrious Heir of Heaven,  
jesus the God—  
'Twas he— A Guard of warlike Angels stands  
Around with kindled Thunders in their Hands:  
Thou more his Sight the Rebels did surprise,  
He wears far fiercer Thunders in his Eyes:  
Too well his Eyes, too well his Arm they knew,  
They oft before had seen and felt 'em too:  
First did their trembling King the Firm forsake,  
And headlong he plunges in the broad Lake; *  
Innumerable Regions after run,  
New Hells they seek, the Lamb's fierce Wrath to eat;  
At once they fall, and from the Rivage steep,  
Strike through the Bosom of th' unbounded Deep;  
I'th' rolling liquid Flame wide Circles make,  
Soft murmurs the black boiling Brimstone Lake.  
So when from the fair Banks of Silver Poe,  
Far off, a Flight of trembling Mallards' know,  
The Royal Eagle their unequal Foe;  
Darting like his own Thunder through the Air,  
They, carried on the swifter Wings of Fear,  
Strike headlong through the Stream, and disappear.  
The Fiends on Earth too felt the fatal Blow,  
And quickly sympathise with those below;  
And, as of old from heavens high Wall they fall,  
Now drop from each forsaken Oracle;  
Thick as Autumnal Leaves the Valleys spread,  
E'er shivering Winter shows its palsyed Head:  
Lamenting Sounds are heard, they take their flight,  
Wide-wandring in their own Eternal Night:  
Thus does at last the Woman's Offspring tread,  
Triumphant, o'er the hissing Serpent's Head: 
Gen. 3.15.   
And thus Captivity he Captive led.  
The guilty trembling jailors puts to flight,  
Exposing their dark Cells to hated Light; *  
From the old greedy Lion wrists his Prey,  
Which long condemned in those sad Mansions lay;  
And with him back reduced to cheerful Day.  
How welcome their Deliverer appears,  
To the old Prisoners of Two thousand Years, *  
Who in the Universal Deluge fell,  
Through gaping Earth's wide Ruins swept to Hell:  
The Graves first Fruits, a joyful Troop they rise,  
Regain the now almost forgotten Skies,  
And wait their Saviour into Paradise.  
With him again, Sweet Muse, to Earth return,  
Where his sad Death his Friends, mistaken, mourn;  
His Death who cannot die, or if before,  
He his Clay-house forsook, can die no more:  
His Body now Spiritual and refined,  
A fit Companion for so pure a Mind;  
Active and agile, pressed and ready 't stands,  
As swift as Thought t' obey the Soul's commands;  
Like that it moves, and in a moment flies,  
From East to West, from Earth to Paradise. *  
This knew not they, who yet lamenting were,  
And lost in stupid Sorrow and Despair;  
Forgot the Promise of his sure return,  
And, without either Faith or Hope they mourn;  
Sad was the Feast to them, no cheerful Ray  
It wore, as sad the Night that closed the Day:  
With kinder Omens the third Morn appears,  
The happy Morning doomed to dry their Tears.  
" Kind Phosphor bring the Day, why this Delay,  
" jesus is rising— Phosphor bring the Day!  
Hast his dull Steeds, for if he longer stay,  
Another Sun will rise, a Sun so bright,  
The World no more will need his weaker Light.  
Earlier than he fair Magdalena rose,  
And to the Tomb with Spice and Unguents goes,  
Him to embalm who no Corruption knew;  
The same officious kindness thither drew  
Her weeping Friends, who tho' their Fear was strong,  
Their Love was more; sad Tales the Way prolong,  
As cheerful shorten, tho' at last they come  
To th' steep Ascent, the Garden and the Tomb,  
Not far removed before, but a new Fear,  
And crowding anxious Thoughts surprised 'em here:  
Not yet secure the doubtful jews they heard,  
As Gild is still suspicious, placed a Guard  
Around the Sepulchre, a Seal secured  
The ponderous Stone their mighty Foe immured;  
Nor think yet safe or deep enough he lies,  
For they too heard, he the third Day would rise,  
Whose powerful Word had others raised; nor yet,  
Can they the wondrous Lazarus forget,  
Or Naim's twice-born Youth.— Their Fear not vain.  
Nor longer Hades could his Soul retain:  
A conqueror thence he rose, where late he fell,  
And drags in Triumph after Death and Hell:  
He did, he came— All Nature must obey  
It's Sovereign Lord; he willed the Stone away: *  
Thou all around officious Angels stayed,  
For Pomp, not Service there, nor needs their A●d.  
jesus is risen, Triumphal Anthems sing:  
Thus from dead Winter mounts the sprightly Spring;  
Thus does the Sun from Night's black Shades return,  
And thus the single Bird wings from th' Arabian Urn: *  
Jesus is risen; he'll the World restore,  
Awake ye Dead! dull Sinners sleep no more!  
In Pleasure's soft Enchantments slumbering deep,  
Or Sleep no more, or else for ever sleep!  
But tho' himself he's gone, his tender care  
Still left two bright Attendant Angels there;  
Those early pious Pilgrims to console,  
Who with mistaken Tears his Loss condole:  
Their trembling Feet no sooner had they set  
I'th' Garden Walks, but they new Wonders met;  
The Earth too trembled where so late he lay, 
Mat. 28.1.   
And Nature's self seemed more afraid than they:  
And lo! the beauteous bashful Clouds divide,  
And reverently stand off on either side;  
As at th' approach of Earthly Majesty,  
A living Lane is made till all the Pomp go by:  
And lo! a heavenly Youth does downward move,  
The loveliest Form in all the Realms of Love;  
From the Caves' mouth he rolls the mighty Stone,  
From whence before our conquering Lord was gone,  
He rolls it, and triumphant sits thereon:  
The Roman Guards, 
Mat. 28.4.  nor were they used to fear,  
Their Stations held, till the bright Form was near;  
Fain, impious would resistance make, and fain  
They would have drawn their Swords, but strove in vain  
Against th' unequal Foe, in vain they rear  
Their useless Piles, suspended in the Air; *  
Their Hands, their Souls disarmed they quickly found,  
They fall, their Armour clanks against the Ground: *  
To the soft Sex more calmly did appear,  

Matth. 28.5, 6, 7, 8. Mark 16.5, 6, 7. Luke 24.5.6, 7.  Dressed in a milder and lesle warlike Air,  
The heavenly Youth— You have no need to fear:  
We in your Cause engage with all our Powers;  
I know you seek your suffering Lord and ours;  
Too late; alas! You seek him here, he said,  
Him who for ever lives, among the Dead.  
Dry your vain Tears, nor longer him deplore,  
Your mighty Saviour lives to die no more!  
'Tis the third Day, he promised then to rise,  
Nor could deceive— Look in and trust your Eyes!  
See where he by yourselves was laid, see there  
The Linen, and the empty Sepulchre:  
Be you the first Apostles, quickly go,  
And to th' Eleven the happy Tidings show.  
With joy and mingled Fear they hast away,  
All but fair Magdalen, resolved to stay,  
If possible her much loved Lord to find,  
And with his: presence ease her anxious Mind;  
Her Mind, which struggling Thoughts like Earthquakes move,  
Tortured at once with Hope▪ and Doubt, and Love;  
An Angel's witness she could scarce receive,  
'Twas too good News she thought, nor dared believe:  
Musing she fixed her Eyes upon the Ground,  
Till waked by ' sudden Noise, and turning round,  
She saw, or thought she saw, the Gardener near,  
And thus abrupt with many a Sigh and Tear  
Accosts him— Sir, if you have born him hence,  

John 10.15.  The poor Remains of murdered Innocence;  
My last just Tears and Sighs are yet unpaid,  
O tell▪ of Pity tell me where he's laid;  
Where I— The God himself no more could bear,  
'Twas He himself; bright shone th' enlightened Air  
Around his Sacred Head, the God she knew,  

  

The Resurrection.   
And at his Feet herself in Transports threw;  
The crowding Joy too vast to be expressed:  
Master— She cries, and spoke in Looks the rest:  
He mild repels her with his radiant Eyes,  
And adds— There's yet no time for Ecstasies.  
To his dear Brethren, still he held 'em dear,  
Thou poorly sunk in Unbelief and Fear;  
He bids her straight the happy Tidings bear,  
Then glides unseen away in trackless Air.  
She came and told, th' Apostles ne'er the more  
Believe, incredulous as she before;  
Day-dreams, by sickly female Fancies made  
They thought it all, or some delusive Shade;  
And yet alarmed with the repeated News,  
Their Wonder pay where they their Faith refuse.  
The loved Disciple did attention lend,  
The most concerned as he was most his Friend.  
Cephas with him, who raised from his late fall,  
In Faith and Courage now outstrips them all:  
Thus broken Bones, by skilful Artists dressed  
And set again, grow stronger than the rest:  
This his warm Zeal, and that his Friendship bear  
In a few Moment's to the Sepulchre;  
Entering surprised, they nothing there could find,  
Nothing, besides the Linen left behind,  
The Spice with which the jews embalm their dead, 
John 19.49.25, 5.   
And bloodstained Napkin from his Sacred Head  
In decent Folds laid by, asunder placed,  
A work confessing, neither Fear nor Hast:  
They saw believing, now no longer mourn  
His Death, but joyful to the rest return;  
Return with speed, but gain no credit there,  
For all was filled with Terror and Despair;  
Black sullen Grief hung o'er 'em, all was Night,  
Without one smiling Gleam of Hope or Light:  
Their Sun was set, can they too much deplore?  
Was set in Death's dark Shades to rise no more. *  
The Doors were shut, lest the malicious jews,  
Should them, as late they did their Lord, accuse  
Of Crimes unknown, all still and silent were,  
No Sounds but Sighs, which gently moved the Air;  
No Light, but one weak Tapers glimmering Ray,  
And that too hid, lest that should them betray.  
When Lo! the God himself, (miraculous Sight!)  
The God himself, in his own Lambent light  
Adorned, ' i'th' midst appears, his Shape, his Dress,  
His more than mortal Mien, the God confess;  
Divinely did he look, divinely move,  
His Voice divine, 'twas only Peace and Love;  
His wondrous Voice, which Light and Life conveyed,  
Like that first Word by which the World he made:  
Through their secret Soul 'twas swiftly sent,  
And struck new Beams of joy where e'er it went;  
Then mildly chides their Unbelief and Fear,  
Such kind Reproofs who would not gladly hear?  
Shows 'em those glorious Wounds, the Nails and Spear  
Had lately made, and further to complete  
Their Faith, of their poor Fare he deigns to eat:  

Luk. 24.43.  Thus banished all their Sorrows, all their Tears;  
Once more salutes with Peace, and disappears.  
Thomas as chanced was absent, whether Fear,  
Or only Business, 'twas detained him there;  
How great his Loss the while, (" scarce lesle they loose  
" Who kindly bid, ungratefully refuse  
" To meet their Saviour at the Church's Feast)  
In vain he is assured by all the rest  
Of the glad Tidings; him they entertain,  
With the late Visions wondrous Scenes in vain,  
Him doubting Cephas chides, and does declare,  
With Warmth and Zeal, what all could witness there:  
No more, he cries, he did, he did appear,  
I saw him, with these Eyes I saw him here,  
Here in this Place, where if my Sense is true,  
He as distinctly spoke, as I to you:  
We saw, we heard him all— You must forgive,  
If what's incredible I can't believe,  
Says the weak Saint; but whilst he thus replies,  
In rushes Cleophas, a glad surprise  
Which sealed his Lips, spoke loudly in his Eyes:  
His Feet awhile his Breath and Voice outran,  
When both recovered were, he thus began.  
He lives, he lives— Grief vanish! Cares away!  
Our much loved Master lives— This happy Day,  
We saw him both— He can confirm the same!  
And his Companion shows who with him came;  
Who did with Vows the Sacred Truths attest:  
And thus, by all desired, relates the rest.  
As tossed 'twixt lessening Hope and faithful Fear,  
And weary grown with those sad Objects here,  
Which but revived our loss; we did forsake  
This guilty Town, and a short journey make  
To neighbouring Emmaus— You know it all, 
Luke 24.13.   
Seated beneath an easy Mountains fall;  
When we almost had reached the Goal designed,  
Scarce half our little Journey now behind;  
To Ba'al-Perazim come we thence descry,  
To th' left the House of aged Zachary,  
The Baptists happy Sire; no sooner seen,  
But new tormenting Thoughts came stealing in:  
What attestation this great Prophet gave  
Our greater Lord by Iordans Sacred Wave;  
How neither could their shining Virtues save:  
Both just and good, and Innocent in vain;  
By Herod this, and that by Pilate slain.  
With various Talk we thus beguiled th' Ascent,  
measuring each step with Tears— As on we went  
An unknown traveler joined us, whom we guest,  
Some Proselyte returning from the Feast;  
At whose approach in vain we dried our Eyes,  
Since faster still new stubborn Streams arise;  
He saw, and thus began— If 'twere not rude,  
A Stranger, in your private Thoughts t' intrude;  
I'd ask from whence this Tide of Passion flows,  
Which does, against your Will it self disclose,  
Since Sorrow when divided, weaker grows?  
Stranger indeed! my Sighing Friend replies,  
Who have not heard the Cause, from all our Eyes  
Was this just Tribute drawn— And can it be?  
Know you not yet our Elders Cruelty,  
And our great Master's Fate? such Wonders shown,  
To what dark Corner is his Name unknown,  
In our jerusalem? such none before  
No Man could e'er perform— We thought him more;  
Thought him the wondrous promised Prince foretold,  
So oft in holy Oracles of old:  
The great Messiah he, the Christ of God,  
To bruise the Nations with his Iron Rod;  
And if not He, sure Israel ne'er will find,  
A Prince more just, to nobler Deeds inclined;  
More mild and good, and merciful and kind.  
But Ah! by our false flattering hopes misled,  
Too late we're undeceived, and mourn him dead.  
Judge if we've Reason!— He'd no longer bear  
Our Blasphemies, but thus reproved, severe:  
Mistaken Men! your Minds immersed in Night, *  
Without one cheerful Beam of heavenly Light!  
And was not this by the Divine foresight  
Known, and disposed for many Ages since;  
Was not Messiah still a suffering Prince  
Described? Did not this Truth the Prophets tell,  
In many a mystic Type and Oracle?  
That the Eternal Father did ordain,  
His Son to suffer-first, and then to Reign;  
Why else from faithful Abraham's Bosom, why  
Was his loved only Isaac drawn to die?  
Why was he offered too on Calvary? *  
What meant the Paschal Lamb, and wherefore dies  
Th' innocent Herd, a daily Sacrifice?  

Num. 21.8.  The Brazen Serpent Moses did prepare,  
Nailed to the Pole, and lifted high ' i'th' Air;  
Which ease to every wounded Wretch did give,  
They turn their half-closed Eyes, and look and live.  
What that? What many a mighty Shadow more,  
What all the Wounds the Royal Prophet bore;  

Psal. 22.16.  What Truths dark folded in the Psalms and Law;  

Isai. 53.  What wondrous Visions lofty Esay saw,  
Th' Evangelizing Prophet, full and clear;  
Scarce Prophecies, but Histories you hear,  
When he is read; now Iesse's noble Stem,  
And then the Prince of Peace's Diadem;  
And Purple Royal Robes deciph'ring plain,  
Not bought from Tyre, but died in nobler Grain,  
His own pure Blood, abused, contemned, betrayed,  
For all Mankind a sinless Victim made;  
Thus see him there triumphing! see him come  
From Bozra's lofty Rock a bleeding Conqueror home!  
While thus he spoke, 
Isai. 63.1.  Truth's warm and cheerful Ray  
Glides through our ravished Souls, our Grief or Way  
We now no longer mind, nor stooping Day,  
Which e'er it does to th' under-World descend,  
Conducts us to our little Iourny's end:  
He would have further gone, we both entreat,  
He'd not disdain our humble Country Seat  
That Night to grace, and our poor Fare to eat:  
He mildly grants, we entered and refreshed  
Our weary Limbs with grateful Food and Rest:  
Such Cates as our small Village did afford,  
Were spread upon the Hospitable Board;  
We seated too, he blest and broke the Bread,  
When lo, the envious Cloud o'th' sudden fled,  
Discovering well-known Glories round his Head:  
jesus! 'twas He— Our lost lamented Lord:  
Thrown at his Feet, we trembled and adored:  
For our officious Kindness he'd not stay,  
But glides unseen in secret Shades away.  
You happy Souls! who feed on Angels Fare,  
No wonder if you meet your Master there:  
Let Prodigals and Swine on Husks be fed,  
jesus will still be known in breaking Bread.  
But all in vain they these new Wonders tell,  
The Didymaean still's an Infidel:  
Argues and asks— Why yet he never stayed,  
But always vanished like a fleeting Shade?  
No, he's resolved— Nothing shall him persuade,  
But Demonstration evident and clear:  
Unless, says he, my self I saw him here;  
Saw with these Eyes those Wounds of which he died,  
And with these Hands touched even his Hand and Side;  
I still shall think you but your selves deceive  
Or me, and neither can nor will believe:  
He said,— They wondering, once again behold  
The Room all deluged with Etherial Gold:  
Clear Waves of Glory g●ld th' illumined Air,  
A Flood of Lambent Light, and jesus there:  
His Sacred Wounds the Source from whence it flowed,  
Prodigal now of Light, as once of Blood.  
All kneeled, adoring,— Thomas only stands,  

John. 20.27  Till forth he gently reached his wounded Hands,  
And shows the Nails rude Prints, which yet abide  
In glorious Scars; shows him his mangled Side:  
Le's him even all his own bold wish receive,  
And mildly asks him, if he'll yet believe?  
Low at his Feet himself he throws t' adore—  
My Lord! My God nor had he room for more,  
He ravished, cries,— him gently jesus raised,  
And blest, tho' more their nobler Faith he praised.  
Who to the Church's witness credit give,  
Without their Senses grosser Aid believe,  
Nor shall that want: he bids 'em all repair  
With speed to Galilee, and meet him there.  
On Tabor's holy Mount, where once before, 
Matth. 28.7.   
The blessed above did their blessed Lord adore:  
Gives him his Sacred Word again t' appear,  
Strengthen their Faith, and show new Wonders here.  
In Peace and joy they from the Feast return  
To meet their Lord, whom now no more they mourn,  
Nor idly wait, no more by Wonders fed;  
With honest Pain they earn their welcome Bread. *  
As chanced upon a dark and silent Night,  
Good Peter his Companions did invite  
The heedless Fish in Flaxen-Toils to take,  
Royal Tiberias! on thy neighbouring Lake:  

John 21.3.  They go, to fruitless Pain themselves expose,  
Till the next melancholy Morn arose;  
Whose Light did on the ●ounding Shore disclose  
A Person of a Stature, Face and Dress  
Unknown— He hales, and asks 'em what success  
The Night had brought? They Sighing, None replied;  
Be ruled by me then, Mates, for once, he cried,  
And try the Right, for that's the luckier Side!  
Where, if I not mistake, a Shoal remain,  
Which soon will richly recompense your Pain:  
His kind Advice they follow straight, and caught,  
As once before, a vast, a wondrous Draught;  
Not their united Strength could lift it over,  
Compelled to drag their numerous Prey ashore;  
When now their Net with much ado, they'd towed,  
Their little Bark half sunk beneath the Load,  
Nearer the Land; the loved Disciple cries  
'Tis He, 'tis He— So sharp are Friendships' Eyes:  
'Tis our loved Lord— Th' Alarm good Peter takes,  
And cross the Waves a wondrous Voyage makes;  
The liquid Marble solid Footsteps gave,  
He runs, nor dips his Feet beneath the Wave. *  
He first arrives upon the Oozy shore,  
And humbly does his well-known Lord adore:  
He first, the other Ten not far behind,  
Who ready on the Sand a Banquet find;  
By some officious Angel there 'twas laid,  
To show their Master did not need their Aid;  
Stretched on the Beach they here themselves refresh,  
With joy they eat, and the kind Giver bless.  
And now when their miraculous Feast was over,  
Refreshed by that, but by their Master more,  
They gazed, for Fear their Eyes should them deceive,  
And joy would hardly let 'em yet believe.  
Chiefly good Cephas, who so oft denied  
That Lord, for whom we would have oftener died:  
Whose honest Zeal so far his Faith outran;  
To whom, severely mild, the God began;  
The God yet veiled ' i'th' humble Form of Man:  
Thou whose warm Zeal could Deaths worst shape outbrave,  
And without sinking tread the slipp'ry Wave;  
Say as thou wouldst thy Heart to Heaven approve,  
If more than these thou dost thy Master love? 
John 21.15.   
To whom he thus—  
Nor dare I, who so little Love have shown,  
Or question theirs, or once commend my own;  
But how I love, let me no Witness be,  
For Lord! thou knowst, and I appeal to Thee!  
Then Feed my Lambs! our Saviour straight replied,  
In Pastures green by some still Water's side:  
The selfsame Question was repeated over,  
And had the selfsame Answer as before;  
Nor must these two without a Third suffice,  
For thrice he must be tried, who thrice denies:  
Who tortured with ingenuous Grief and Pain  
Thus to be questioned, thus returns again.  
O why, thou who so well dost all things know,  
Must I a Task so cruel undergo?  
How much I love, let me no Witness be,  
For, Lord, thou knowst, and I appeal to Thee!  
Then feed my Lambs! our Saviour straight replied,  
In Pastures green, by some still Water's side:  
Now, while thou may'st, defend the sacred Fold,  
For Time apace rolls on, and thou growest old:  
Some Lustres since thy Youth was firm and strong,  
And thou thy self all Vigorous and Young;  
Then free as Air, thyself alone couldst bind,  
And Men as soon might tract the wandering Wind:  
But when old Age with palsyed steps draws near,  
And warns thee thou must stay no longer here;  
Then the rude Soldier shall with churlish Bands,  
Secure thy withered Arms and trembling Hands,  
And thee unto that fatal Place convey,  
Whence struggling Nature fain would shrink away:  
I warn thee well, nor unprovided be,  
But when I call, prepare to follow me!  
He said, nor longer on the Shore would stay,  
But to fair Tabor's Mountain leads the way: *  
There to a numerous Troop of Friends appears,  
Confirms their Faith, and dissipates their Fears:  
Instructs in his blessed Law each wavering Mind,  
And warns of all the Dangers yet behind;  
Assures of constant Aid against their Foes,  
Assures once more, e'er he t' his Father goes,  
He'll visit them; e'er him high Heaven receive,  
Till the last Day, then take his final Leave.  
With Peace dismissed, their steps they backward bend,  
And at fair Solyma their Lord attend;  
For his approach their pious Minds prepare,  
With ardent Wishes, holy Hymns and Prayer:  
While this blessed Work the Infant Church employs,  
He comes, and with him all his Train of joys;  
Then, with his little Troop of happy Friends,  
Forsakes the Town, the neighbouring Hill ascends,  
The lovely Bethany! for ever leaves  
Thee, sweet Gethsemane! from both receives  
Still new supplies to fill his humble Train;  
Till from the Top they saw the distant Plain,  
O'er whose smooth Bosom murmuring Kidron ran;  
When thus the Saviour of the World began.  
My Father calls, and I must shortly go,—  
Farewell, you dear Companions of my Woe!  
Me Heaven must till the last Great Day receive,  
Peace is the Legacy I with you leave:  
— Be that the Mark of mine! by that alone  
My little Flock shall from the World be known:  
Galless as Doves, but wise as Serpents too;  
As my great Father me, so send I you:  
All Power in Heaven and Earth his Word secures  
To his loved suffering Son— The same be yours: 
Matth. 1.18.   
To Censure those who my soft Yoke refuse,  
And both in Earth and Heaven to bind and lose!  
Go then to what e'er distant Corners hurled,  
Go in my Name and Proselyte the World! 
Mark 16.15.   
Mine and my Father's Name, for we are One,  
And that blessed Spirit's from him and from the Son  
Eternally proceeding; boldly go,  
As far as Land is fixed, or Waters flow;  
Till utmost East your Lord their Saviour style,  
Till utmost West," even Albion's stubborn Isle; 
See Lib. 7.   
Where still new World's shall wait you yet concealed,  
In Times revolving Race to be revealed:  
Those who your Words believe, and mine obey,  
Let Sacred Water wash their Sins away; 
Matth. 28.19.   
Those happy Souls who thus for Heaven prepare,  
Shall, when I come Triumphing, enter there;  
While those who Mercy scorn, ah hapless Race!  
For whom I died in vain, and purchased Grace  
From my forgiving Father; those must go,  
The choice their own, to endless World's of Woe:  
Nor will I you without Credentials send,  
Angels shall guard, and Miracles attend;  
Which shall the stubborn World so far surprise,  
They must believe, if they'll believe their Eyes:  
For when the blessed Paraclete shall fall, *  
And with high Power from Heaven inspire you all;  
(Nor, if at famed jerusalem you stay  
And wait his Pleasure, will he long delay:)  
What Signs, what mighty Wonders shall you do?  
How much shall you your selves be changed from you?  
All Tongues, and more than all, at Babel, known, 
Acts 3.4, 9, 10, etc.   
Shall then be yours, familiar as your own:  
You shall the Thoughts of many Hearts reveal?  
Your Touch, your Word, your very Shade shall heal?  

Mark 16.18. Acts 5.15.  Those Fiends late driven from some false Oracle,  
Yet here, shall envy those who lower fell,  
And from your Words seek shelter even in Hell.  
Nor only They themselves shall conquered find,  
But every Ill with which they plague Mankind:  
Th' auxiliary Mischiefs they employ,  
To make even Nature Nature's self destroy:  
Blue Poisons harmless through your Veins shall flow,  
Vipers and Asps innoxious Worms shall grow;  
In Teeth or Sting, no dreadful Venom found,  
Even he whose Eyes shoot Death so proudly crowned; *  
Tamed by your Touch, disarmed, shall brush the Ground,  
Nor of your Safety when I'm gone, despair,  
I'll still be with you, for I'm every where:  
Be with you to protect, sustain, defend,  
Till this frail World, but not my kindness end;  
Till each reviving Dust forsakes its Urn,  
And in the Clouds you see your Lord return.  
He said, when lo! a trembling Purple Light,  
The Olive-bearing Mountains proudest height  
Began to gilled, and as it farther spread,  
Each lofty Cedar bends his leafy Head;  
Each humble Palm below too seemed to fear,  
And all confessed something Divine was near:  

  

The 〈…〉 to Aloft. 〈◊〉 to his Father 〈…〉 And Triumph in his 〈◊〉   
Soft Music's heard from a far distant Cloud  
Descending slow, still more distinct and loud,  
As by Degrees it still approached more nigh;  
Then warlike Trumpets echo round the Sky,  
Triumphal Notes and Sounds of Victory;  
Mixed with the melting Harp, and these among  
Was plainly heard some Noble Festal Song:  
Alternatively thus they sung and played,  
The Words a King, the Tune an Angel made.  


The Angels below.  
PRepare! 
Psalm 24.7, 8, 10. Lift up your Heads, O ye Gates, and be ye lift up, ye Everlasting Doors, and the King of Glory shall come in.  Prepare you glittering Orbs above!  
At decent distance roll away!  
Let only purest Ether stay!  
Let envious Clouds remove!  
All the bright Guards his Way prepare!  
Sweep with your Purple Wings the Air!  
The King of Glory's entering there!   

The Angels above.  
SAY you! 
Who is this King of Glory?  for surely you must know,  
Say you who keep perpetual Guard below,  
What God, what Hero is't you bring;  
What wondrous King?   

The Angels below.  
'TIS He who lately Triumphed o'er the Grave; 
It is the Lord, strong and mighty, even the Lord mighty in Battle.   
Who drags the King of Pride along,  
With ease the stronger binds the Strong,  
And Death and Hell his Slave!  
Whom all the heavenly Warriors sing,  
Their Trophies to his Footstool bring; 
The Lord of Hosts, he is the King of Glory.   
The Conquering God, the wondrous King!    
While thus they Hymning wait, he mounts alone, *  
Nor needs their Power, he 's greater of his own;  
All impious Doubts for ever to prevent,  
Ascending slow, and stopping as he went;  
Till, when he our dull Earth's attraction leaves,  
Him there, for State, a radiant Cloud receives:  
Swifter than Thought did his bright Chariot move,  
And bore him to th' expecting Crowd above:  
Innumerable Hosts their Leader wait,  
Drawn out before heavens Adamantine Gate;  
From East to West their glittering Squadrons shine,  
And cross the Gulf composed a glorious Line:  
He comes— At his approach a Shout is given,  
A Shout which shook th' Eternal Walls of Heaven:  
Not all the Pomp of this Triumphal Show,  
How much, much more than we poor Mortals know,  
Made him forget those Friends he left below;  
With joy and Wonder rapt he left 'em there,  
They kneel, and after gaze in trackless Air:  
But e'er the Everlasting Gates divide,  
And Him from them, not them from Him denied;  
In Glory placed by his great Father's Side,  
One Look he gave, which wont Love expressed,  
And sends two Angels down to tell the rest:  
Tell 'em their Lord who did to Heaven ascend,  

Acts. 1.11.  Commands they should their fruitless gazing end;  
Nor gaze in vain, nor Him as vainly mourn,  
Whom in the Clouds they'd see again return  
To judge the trembling World, nor judge alone,  
They all th' Assessors on his mighty Throne:  
When the last Fire to Atoms should disperse,  
This beauteous Poem of the Universe;  
Which heavenly Art far lovelier will restore, *  
When Death and Time itself shall be no more.  
THE END.   

NOTES ON The LIFE of CHRIST. BOOK X.  
133. Should she but appear— In Public, all the World would Mourning wear.] Something like that Thought of Mr. Cowley's: 
Ah charming Maid! let not ill Fortune see  
The Livery that thy Sorrow wears,  
Or know the Beauty of thy tears,  
Last she should come and Dress herself as thee.   
139. No Pangs at his miraculous Birth.] So 'twas generally conceived and believed, by most of the Ancients, which is enough to vindicate the Propriety of the Expression.  
163. The Pandaemonium fills.] Every one that has read Milton may remember 'tis his Word.  
167. In long Serpentine Folds.] See Milton's admirable Description of the Devils turning into Serpents, in his Paradise Lost: This, and much that follows, supposing his Notions there.  
247. Luxurious Asia 's tempting Charms have shown.] The Liberty of Concubinage; the Pleasantness, and Riches, and Manners of those Countries, sufficiently warrant the Epither I here give the Asiatics.  
283. From Delphos 's sacred Rock to Wise Dodona 's Grove.] Delphos, says the Scholiast upon Homer, was first called the Parnassian Grove, than Python, afterwards Delphis. Strabo says, the City was called Delphos, the Temple Pytho, and the Priest Pythia; though Ptolemy and Erasmus, make Pythia and Delphos two Cities distinct from each other: Dionysius seems to make Delphos the proper Name of the Serpent Python, whom Apollo killed in the neighbouring Country. V. 442. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. Where is the Spire, or Train of the Dragon Delphis? Homer calls this City 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Stony or Rocky Pytho; and accordingly, 'tis here styled Delphos sacred Rock. For Dodona's Grove, as famous for Oracles of Old, as a Book since writ by that Name, has been thought for Prophecies, it was so called from the Country wherein it was seated. It's Name, learned Men generally agree, to be derived from Dodanim, the Fourth Son of javan; (whence the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉;) as he of japhet, the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Here was the City of Dodone, and the Temple of jupiter Dodonaeus, placed, its probable, in that famous Grove of the same Name; though some lessen this Grove into a single Oak: So the Poet, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. to require an answer from the Oak of jupiter. In this Tree, or Trees, where it seems hung a parcel of Brazen Vessels, or sort of Bells, which made a noise when moved by the Wind; and perhaps this was all the Vocality of that famous Oracle; though we are not to question, but the Attendants on the Temple, very well understood that Language.  
300. And headlong he plunges in the broad Lake.] I know not whether I had need inform my Reader, that I choose to make the Cadency of this Verse thus abrupt, to express my Sense the more lively; as I've done Lib 3. in that, On Surges tumultuous again we rise. In imitation of many such in Virgil; and that of Cowley among others, in which he himself instances; 
Down a steep Precipice, deep, adown he casts 'em all.   
330. To the old Prisoners of 2000 Years— Who in the Universal Deluge fell, etc.] This is according to the Notion of many of the Ancients, that the dark Place in 1 S. Peter 3.20. Concerning the Spirits in Prison who were disobedient in the days of Noah, etc. relates to those who were lost in the Universal Deluge; and that some of these our Saviour brought back with him, after an actual Descent into Hell; having there spoiled Principalities and Powers. Many of our own Divines have been thus far of this Opinion, that they thought Christ did actually Descend into Hell, though now I think most are of another mind, and believe, with great probability, that only a Descent into the Grave, or the State of the Dead, which the famous controverted Hades signifies, was thereby intended. However since our Church leaves this undecided in her Article de Descensu, I am, I think, at liberty to take that Sense which I look on as most Poetical. But however, 'tis easy to show, that even that Notion of those, Lost in the Deluge, etc. is far enough from Popery. The Papists place all good Men here before our Saviour's Death, which afterwards they changed into a Purgatory. I only place bad Men there formerly. They require a Divine Faith; whereas I'll be content with a Poetical. Nor can I think I am any more obliged to make good the actual Reality and Truth of that Notion, than for what follows in the next Verse; Through gaping Earth's wide Ruins sweeped to Hell. Which alludes to the Hypothesis asserted in Mr. Burnet's ingenious Theory.  
382. He willed the Stone away.] I'm sure, the Papists can never prove he came through it, though he might remove it for a moment, and let it return to its place, as soon as he had quitted the Sepulchre. He raised himself; Surrexit, non suscitatus est, as one of the Fathers; and this by his own power. Destroy this Temple, say he, and I will raise it again: Therefore he must be God, or else, as one of the greatest Men in the World observes, He had not been so much as a modest Man; because he would have arrogated to himself what did not really belong to him: or had expressed himself in such a manner, as he knew would be, and was, taken in such a Sense by those who heard him, as that they must conclude him God. As for the Angels rolling away the Stone, 'twas for the sake of the Women, not for him, who could not want Power to remove that, when he had before, by his own Power, been raised from the Dead.  
388. And thus the single Bird wings from th' Arabian Urn.] This is Vida's Simile of the Phoenix, which he thus prosecutes very beautifully in his sixth Book.  
Talis ubi turpe irrepsit senium, unicus ales  
Congessitque sibi ramis felicibus altum  
Summo in colle rogum, posuitque in morte senectam;  
Continuò novus exoritur, nitidusque juventâ  
Effulget cristis, & versicoloribus alis:  
Innumerae circum Volucres mirantur euntem;  
Ille suos adit Aethiopas, Indosque revisit.  
415. Their useless Piles suspended in the Air.] Piles were a sort of heavy Darts, or javelins, used by the Romans.  
417. They fall, their Armour clanks against the Ground.] I think 'tis Cowley's Verse, in the Fall of Nabash when killed by jonathan.  
488. Was set in Death's dark shades to rise no more.] So it seems they all thought, for 'twas a long time ere they believed the Resurrection, though they had repeated and credible Testimonies of it from Eye-witnesses; much lesle can we suppose they did so when it depended on Faith only.  
586. Mistaken Men, your minds immersed in Night.] O Fools and slow of Heart, etc. Our Saviour calls 'em.  
597. Why was he offered too, near Calvary.] Old Tradition says, as has been already observed, that Adam's Scull or Head, was found about this Mountain, whence some derive its Hebrew Name Golgotha; and in Latin Calvary: Nay Surius is so certain of it, that he gives it as at least highly probable, that our Saviour's Blood, when upon the Cross, descending by the Cleft which the Earthquake caused, did run down and wash this very Scull of Adam, as it lay below, near the bottom of the Mountain. A little more probable it is, that it derives its Name from its shape, being a round bare Rock, at distance appearing like a Scull; or at least, from the many unburied Sculls and Bones, there found; this being the place of Public Execution. Now 'tis certain, Isaac was Offered near Calvary, for that itself is one of the Mountains in the Land of Moriah; and 'twas upon one of these where he was Offered: and perhaps our Saviour was promised of Old, to come, or appear, in that very place. For whereas we tender the jehova jireh, in Gen. 22.14. In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. It will bear another Sense; In the mount shall the Lord be seen. This Mount, either Mount Moriah itself, on which, part of the City and Temple was Built, (Vid. joseph.) and where our Lord, the true jehova, so frequently appeared; or perhaps on Mount Calvary itself, where this great Antitype of Isaac was offered.  
679. With honest Pains they earn their welcome Bread.] The Apostles were not yet sent abroad to Convert the World, as they were after the Descent of the Holy Ghost; and so kept to their old Employs: But when they left those, to undertake more eminently the Cure of Souls, heavy enough of itself without any additional weight, than we don't find S. Peter a Fishing any more, unless, as our Saviour said, to catch men: And S. Paul tells the Corinthians, That the Lord himself had ordained, that those who preached the Gospel, should live of the Gospel. By which Lord, I suppose, is meant our Saviour, in those Words of his, The workman is worthy of his hire.  
705. He runs, nor dips his Feet beneath the Wave.] The meaning of this place I think is not clear in History, whether S. Peter walked upon the Waves, as once before, or only waded to Land; the former Sense was more noble, for that reason I chose it. As for his walking without dipping his Feet, I'm safer in my History than Virgil in his Hyperbole, that I mean of Camilla.  
Illa vel intactae segetis, etc.  
Vel mare per medium fluctu suspensa tumenti  
Ferret iter, celeres nec tingeret aequore Plantas.  
761. But to fair Tabo● 's Mountain leads the way.] Vid. S. Matt. 28.16. where 'tis said, The Apostles went to a mountain which he had appointed; and this probably was either Tabor, or that of the Beatitudes, because somewhere in Galilee, and near the Lake.  
793. The same be yours.] So says our Saviour; All power is given to me in Heaven and Earth. And again, As the Father hath sent me, so send I you. Not the same Power in Degree, but the same sort of Spiritual Power, that of binding and losing; Whatsoever ye shall bind on Earth, shall be bound in Heaven, etc. That is, God himself ratifies those Censures and Absolutions, which his Church rightfully disposes; this Power not being given so much as to the Seventy, much lesle to all Christians, but to the Eleven only. 28 S. Matt. 16. The Eleven Disciples went away into Galilee, and jesus spoke unto them saying, All power is given me, etc.  
797. Go in my Name, and proselyte the World.] I think the Word proselyte comes nearer the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Original, than that by which we translate it. Now the Custom of making Proselytes among the Jews, all know, was to admit whole Families together, not make the Father an Israelite, and leave the Child an Heathen.  
803. Even Albion 's stubborn Isle.] Mr Cowley's Thought and Words, at the End of David's Vision.  
818. For when the Holy Paraclete shall fall.] The sense of the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, is disputed among the Learned. Some think it means an Advocate, others a Counsellor, etc. And it may very well mean both: However what e'er is intended by it, the Word I use will reach it.  
824. All Tongues, and more than all at Babel known.] The Philologists have with good success, proved the gradual Degeneracy of one Language into another, from the Phenician, down to Latin, Greek, and all, or most of the present European Languages.  
838. Even he whose Eyes shot Death, so proudly Crowned.] The Basilisk, which, as some of the Naturalists, moves erect, and has something not unlike a Crown on its Head; which I take from that of St. Mark 16.18. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. You shall take up, touch, or handle Serpents; as was actually performed in the Case of St. Paul at Malta, Acts 28.5.  
879. While thus they Hymning wait, he mounts alone.] The Readers must not expect I should take any more Notice of our Saviour's Footsteps, which the Papists say he left in the solid Rock at his Ascension, than they find in the Evangelists themselves; in none of whom the least Track of 'em is to be discovered: But those who have put out another Edition of the Gospel, with many Additions, and as they think, Amendments, will tell you, That there's a Chapel built over the very place of the Ascension, whose top is open to Heaven, since, as much as they build at Days is thrown down at Nights, on purpose that all the pious Pilgrims who see this opening may think of our Lord's Ascent: And that within the Gate of this Church on the right hand, where our Saviour's sacred Footsteps are to be seen imprinted in the living Rock, as 't had been in soft Wax: That one of these Footsteps the Turks had taken up, and carried away to their chief Mosque, where 'tis to this day at the foot of their Musty's Chair, honoured with their Lamps, sprinkled every day with sweet Waters, and adorned with pretty Flowers. Thus Surius as he pretends from unfailing Catholic Tradition; of all which the Reader is at liberty to believe if he pleases as little as I do.  
911. Which Heavenly Art far lovelier will restore.] Whether or no this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, redintegration or renovation of the World, shall be really performed in that sense wherein I suppose it, as I've said in other Cases, does not much affect me in relation to my Poem, since 'tis at lest probable: For all know that this, and the Doctrines depending upon it, had the consent of most of the ancient Fathers; and I believe 'twill be difficult to find any who opposed it before Dionysius, who was not of the best Antiquity; this being the Judgement not only of old Papias, who might be as Wise as he was Good for all Eusebius, but indeed of Irenaeus, justin Martyr, Tertullian, and I believe all others for the two or three first Centuries: Nay it appears from S. jerom himself, that 'twas in his time generally and almost universally received, because he acknowledges he should bring a great Clamour on himself by speaking against it. That there may be such a renovation, is also the avowed Judgement of two very ingenious Men at present in our Church; One the famous Theorist, the other Mr. Norris, on the Sermon upon the Mount, and that Beatitude, Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth: Which he takes, as Mr. Walker also does, for that new Heaven, and new Earth, spoke of in 21 st. of the Apocal. Now this they do, and Print in Prose, as the Learned Mr. Mede has done at large before 'em; much more than may I in Verse assume the same liberty. Nor can I pass the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Restitution of all things, mentioned by St. Peter, Acts 3.21. Which, says he, God has promised by all his holy Prophets since the World began; which seems not to refer to the Times of Christianity only, in the state wherein it now is, since this Restitution or Renovation is not to be until Jesus Christ was sent again from Heaven, who before had been preached unto 'em. When the Times of Refreshing should come, which are all spoken of as Future, and which 'twould sound very harsh to restrain to the Destruction of the jewish Temple, City, Policy and Nation, which seems but an odd sort of a Refreshment. Besides, this is not only to be a Renovation of good Men, but of all the World, all things: Behold I make all things new, says our Saviour, and a new Heaven and new Earth is promised, which in the Hebrew Phrase, is equivalent to a new system of all Visibles, and 'tis said, Rom. 8. Not only we ourselves the Christians and good Men, But the whole Creation groaneth for this happy Change, where the expectation of the Creature is sufficiently distinguished from the manifestation of the Son of God. Further, it seems to me, that by the new Heaven and new Earth so often mentioned in all the holy Prophets, can't be meant the state of the Church triumphant in Glory; for 'tis not said Men shall be taken up to God, but the Tabernacle of God shall be with Men; not the jerusalem shall be carried up to Heaven, but jerusalem shall descend down from Heaven. Nor seems it to relate to the Church Militant here upon Earth, in any past, or the present Age, since the Church has scarce ever yet come up to that Glory there described, tho' we should take it in a metaphorical Sense; granting but any manner of Proportion between that and what's signified by it. Nor can I imagine that Satan can ever yet, with any Propriety, be said to have been bound a Thousand Years, or One either; since, after Heathen Idolatry ceased, he was still as hard at Work, and perhaps more perniciously, to the Church I mean, in hammering out Schisms and Heresies, and Popery, and Mahometanism than ever he was before. Besides, this is described, as not to come to pass till after Babylon is fallen, who seems now to sit as a Queen and rejoices that her deadly Wound is healed: From all which, I see not well how the conclusion can be avoided; That this happy State is yet to come: This dear desirable State of Piety, Friendship, and Spiritual, Heavenly Pleasures, even on this Earth, whereon Virtue has so long been miserable. However thus far we are certain, that Christ shall reign till he has put all his Enemies under his Feet, tho' in what manner does not I think so much concern us; nor is that any fundamental Article of Faith, etc. Yet in general, I'm sure every good Christian will join with me in our Saviour's own Words," Thy Kingdom come! Nor will refuse to use those of our Church; That the Kingdom of God's dear Son may come quickly, and that all his Enemies being made his Footstool, he, who is Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, may reign to all the Ends of the Earth!  Make haste my Beloved! and be thou like to a Roe or a young Hart upon the Mountains of Spices! 
Veni cito, Domine Jesus. Amen.  
FINIS.   

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