"This is my Son beloved, in him am pleased.'
His mother then is mortal; but his Sire
He who obtains the monarchy of Heaven;
And what will he not do to advance his Son?
His first-begot we know, and sore have felt,
When his fierce thunder drove us to the deep;
Who this is we must learn, for man he seems
In all his lineaments; though in his face
The glimpses of his Father's glory shine.
Ye see our danger, on the utmost edge
Of hazard, which admits no long debate,
But must with something sudden be opposed;
Not force, but well-couch'd fraud, well woven
Ere in the head of nations he appear, [snares,
Their king, their leader, and supreme on earth.
I, when no other durst, sole undertook
The dismal expedition, to find out
And ruin Adam, and the exploit perform'd
Successfully: a calmer voyage now

Will waft me; & the way, found prosperous once, Induces best to hope of like success."

He ended; and his wo ds impression left Of much amazement to th infernal crew, Distracted and surprised with deep dismay, At these sad tidings; but no time was then For long indulgence to their fears or grief: Unanimous, they all commit the care And management of this main enterprise To him, their great dictator, whose attempt, At first, against mankind so well had thrived, In Adam's overthrow; and led their march From Hell's deep-vaulted den, to dwell in light, Regents, and potentates, and king's, yea gods, Of many a pleasant realm, and province wide. So to the coast of Jordan he directs His easy steps, girded with snaky wiles, Where he might likeliest find this new declar'd, This man of men, attested Son of God, Temptation and all guile on him to try; So to subvert whom he suspected raised To end his reign on earth, so long enjoy'd; But, contrary, unweeting he fulfill'd The purposed counsel, pre-ordain'd and fix'd Of the Most High, who in full frequence bright Of angels, thus to Gabriel smiling spake.

Gabriel, this day by proof thou shalt behold, Thou, and all angels conversant on earth

With man or men's affairs, how I begin
To verify that solemn message, late
On which I sent thee, to the Virgin pure
In Galilee, that she should bear a son,
Great in renown, and call'd the son of God;
Then told'st her, doubting, how these things could
To her a virgin; that on her should come [be,
The Holy Ghost, and the power of the Highest
O'ershadow her: this Man, born & now upgrown,
To show him worthy of his birth divine,
And high prediction, henceforth I expose
To Satan let him tempt, and now essay
His utmost subtlety, because he boasts
And vaunts of his great cunning, to the throng
Of his apostacy: he might have learn'd
Less overweening, since he fail'd in Job,
Whose constant perseverance overcame
What'er his cruel malice could invent,
He now shall know I can produce a man,
Of female seed, far abler to resist
All his solicitations, and at length
All his vast force, and drive him back to Hell;
Winning by conquest, what the first man lost,
By fallacy surprised. But first I mean
To exercise him in the wilderness;
There, he shall first lay down the rudiments
Of his great warfare, ere I send him forth
To conquer Sin & Death, the two grand foes,
By humiliation and strong sufferance:
His weakness shall o'ercome Satanic strength,
And all the world, and mass of sinful flesh;
That all the angels and ethereal powers,
They now, and men hereafter, may discern
From what consummate virtue I have chose
This perfect man, by merit call'd my Son,
To earn salvation for the sons of men."

So spake the eternal Father; & all Heaven
Admiring stood a space; then into hymns
Burst forth, and in celestial measures moved,
Circling the throne, & singing, while the hand
Sung with the voice, and this the argument.

Victory and triumph to the Son of God! Now entering his great duel; not of arms, But to vanquish, by wisdom, hellish wiles. The Father knows the Son; therefore secure Ventures his filial virtue, though untried, Against what'er may tempt, what'er seduce,

Allure, or terrify, or undermine.
Be frustrate all ye stratagems of Hell,
And devilish machinations, come to nought!"

So they in Heaven their odes & vigils tuned. Meanwhile the Son of God, who yet some days Lodged in Bethabara, where John baptized, Musing, and much revolving in his breast, How best the mighty work he might begin Of Saviour to mankind, and which way first Publish his Godlike office, now mature, One day forth walk'd alone, the Spirit leading, And his deep thoughts, the better to converse With solitude, till far from track of men, [on, Thought following thought, & step by step led He enter'd now the bordering desert wild, And, with dark shades & rocks environ'd round, His holy meditations thus pursued.

"O what a multitude of thoughts at once Awaken'd in me swarm, while I consider What from within I feel myself, and hear What from without comes often to my ears, Ill sorting, with my present state compared! When I was yet a child, no childish play To me was pleasing; all my mind was set Serious to learn and know, and thence to do, What might be public good; myself I thought Born to that end, born to promote all truth, All righteous things: therefore, above my years, The law of God I read, and found it sweet, Made it my whole delight, and in it grew To such perfection that, ere yet my age Had measured twice six years, at our great I went into the temple, there to hear [feast, The teachers of our law, & to propose [own; What might improve my knowledge, or their And was admired by all; yet this not all To which my spirit aspired; victorious deeds Flamed in my heart, heroic acts, one while To rescue Israel from the Roman yoke, Then to subdue and quell, o'er all the earth, Brute violence, and proud tyrannic power, Till truth were freed, and equity restored: Yet held it more humane, more heavenly, first By winning words to conquer willing hearts, And make persuasion do the work of fear, At least to try, and teach the erring soul, Not wifully misdoing, but unaware

6

Misled; the stubborn only to subdue. [ceiving,
These growing thoughts my mother soon per-
By words at times cast forth, inly rejoiced,
And said to me apart, High are thy thoughts,
O Son; but nourish them, and let them soar
To what highth sacred virtue and true worth
Can raise them, though above example high;
By matchless deeds express thy matchless Sire.
For know, thou art no son of mortal man;
Though men esteem thee low of parentage,
Thy father is the Eternal King, who rules
All Heaven & Earth, angels and sons of men;
A messenger from God foretold thy birth
Conceived in me a virgin; he foretold [throne,
Thou shouldst be great, and sit on David's
And of thy kingdom there shall be no end.
At thy nativity a glorious quire

Of angels, in the fields of Bethlehem, sung
To shepherds watching at their folds by night
And told them, the Messiah now was born,
Where they might see him ; & to thee they came,
Directed to the manger where thou laidst,
For in the inn was left no better room:
A star, not seen before, in Heaven appearing,
Guided the wise men thither from the east,
To honour thee with incense, myrrh, and gold;
By whose bright course led on, they found the place;
Affirming it thy star, new graven in Heaven,
By which they knew the king of Israel born.
Just Simeon, and prophetic Anna, warn'd
By vision, found thee in the temple, and spake
Before the altar and the vested priest,
Like things of thee, to all that present stood.'
This having heard, straight I again revolved
The law and prophets, searching what was writ
Concerning the Messiah, to our scribes
Known partly, & soon found of whom they spake
I am; this chiefly, that my way must lie
Through many a hard essay, even to the death,
Ere I the promised kingdom can attain,
Or work redemption for mankind, whose sins,
Full weight, must be transferred upon my head.
Yet, neither thus dishearten'd nor dismay'd
The time prefix'd I waited; when behold
The Baptist, of whose birth I oft had heard,
Not knew by sight, now come, who was to come
Before Messiah, and his way prepare.

I, as all others, to his baptism came,
Which I believed was from above; but he
Straight knew me, & with loudest voice proclaim'd
Me him, for it was shewn him so from Heaven,
Me him, whose harbinger he was; and first
Refused on me his baptism to confer,
As much his greater, and was hardly won :
But, as I rose out of the laving stream,
Heaven open'd her eternal doors, from whence
The Spirit descended on me like a dove;
And last, the sum of all, my Father's voice,
Audibly heard from Heaven, pronounc'd me his,
Me his beloved Son, in whom alone
He was well pleased; by which I knew the time
Now full, that I no more should live obscure,
But openly begin, as best becomes
The authority which I derived from Heaven.
And now, by some strong motion, I am led
Into this wilderness, to what intent
I learn not yet; perhaps I need not know;
For what concerns my knowledge God reveals."
So spake our Morning-star, then in his rise;
And looking round, on every side, beheld
A pathless desert, dusk with horrid shades;
The way
he came not having mark'd, return
Was difficult, by human steps untrod;
And he still on was led, but with such thoughts
Accompanied, of things past and to come,
Lodged in his breast, as well might recommend
Such solitude, before choicest society.
Full forty days he pass'd, whether on hill
Sometimes, anon on shady vale, each night
Under the covert of some ancient oak,
Or cedar, to defend him from the dew,
Or harbour'd in one cave, is not reveal'd;
Nor tasted human food, nor hunger felt,
Till those days ended, hungered then at last,
Among wild beasts: they at his sight grew mild,
Nor sleeping, him, nor waking, harm'd; his walk
The fiery serpent fled, and noxious worm;
The lion and fierce tiger glared aloof.
But now an aged man, in rural weeds,
Following, as seem'd, the quest of some stray ewe
Or wither'd sticks to gather, which might serve
Against a winter's day, when winds blow keen
To warm him, wet return'd from field at eve,
He saw approach; who first with curious eye