I can at will, doubt not, as foon as thou,
Command a table in this wilderness,
And call swift flights of Angels ministrant
Array'd in glory on my cup to' attend :
Why shouldft thou then obtrude this diligence,
In vain, where no acceptance it can find?
And with my hunger what hast thou to do?
Thy pompous delicacies I contemn,
And count thy fpecious gifts no gifts but guiles.
To whom thus anfwer'd Satan malecontent.
That I have alfo pow'r to give thou feeft;
If of that pow'r I bring thee voluntary
What I might have bestow'd on whom I pleas'd, 395
And rather opportunely in this place
Chofe to impart to thy apparent need,
Why shouldst thou not accept it? but I see
What I can do or offer is fufpect;
Of these things others quickly will difpofe, 400
Whose pains have earn'd the far fet spoil. With that
Both table and provision vanish'd quite
With found of harpies wings, and talons heard;
Only th' importune Tempter ftill remain'd,
And with these words his temptation pursu'd. 405
By hunger, that each other creature tames, Thou art not to be harm'd, therefore not mov'd; Thy temperance invincible besides,
For no allurement yields to appetite,
And all thy heart is set on high designs,
High actions; but wherewith to be achiev'd?
Great acts require great means of enterprise ;
Thou art unknown, unfriended, low of birth,
A carpenter thy father known, thyself
Bred up in poverty and straits at home,
Loft in a defert here and hunger-bit :
Which way or from what hope doft thou aspire
To greatness? whence authority deriv'st?
What followers, what retinue canft thou gain,
Or at thy heels the dizzy multitude,
Longer than thou canst feed them on thy cost? · Money brings honor, friends, conqueft, and realms: What rais'd Antipater the Edomite,
And his fon Herod plac'd on Juda's throne,
(Thy throne) but gold that got him puissant friends?
Therefore, if at great things thou would'st arrive,
Get riches firft, get wealth, and treasure heap,
Not difficult, if thou hearken to me;
Riches are mine, fortune is in my hand;
They whom I favor thrive in wealth amain,
While virtue, valor, wisdom fit in want.
To whom thus Jefus patiently reply'd. Yet wealth without these three is impotent To gain dominion, or to keep it gain'd. Witness those ancient empires of the earth, In highth of all their flowing wealth diffolv'd: But men indued with these have oft attain'd In lowest poverty to highest deeds;
Gideon, and Japhtha, and the shepherd lad,
Whose ofspring on the throne of Judah fat
So many ages, and fhall yet regain
That feat, and reign in Ifrael without end.
Among the Heathen, (for throughout the world
To me is not unknown what hath been done
Worthy' of memorial) canft thou not remember 445
Quintius, Fabricius, Curius, Regulus?
For I esteem those names of men fo poor
Who could do mighty things, and could contemn
Riches though offer'd from the hand of kings.
And what in me seems wanting, but that I 450
May also in this poverty as foon
Accomplish what they did, perhaps and more?
Extol not riches then, the toil of fools,
The wife man's cumbrance if not fnare, more apt
To flacken virtue, and abate her edge,
Than prompt her to do ought may merit praise.
What if with like aversion I reject
Riches and realms; yet not for that a crown, Golden in show, is but a wreath of thorns, Brings dangers, troubles, cares, and fleepless nights To him who wears the regal diadem,
When on his fhoulders each man's burden lies; For therein stands the office of a king,
His honor, virtue, merit and chief praise,
That for the public all this weight he bears. 465 Yet he who reigns within himself, and rules
Paffions, defires, and fears, is more a king;
Which every wise and virtuous man attains :
And who attains not, ill afpires to rule
Cities of men, or head-strong multitudes,
Subject himself to anarchy within,
Or lawless paffions in him which he serves.
But to guide nations in the way of truth
By faving doctrin, and from error lead
To know, and knowing worship God aright, 475
Is yet more kingly; this attracts the foul,
Governs the inner man, the nobler part;
That other o'er the body only reigns,
And oft by force, which to a generous mind
So reigning can be no fincere delight.
Besides to give a kingdom hath been thought
Greater and nobler done, and to lay down
Far more magnanimous, than to assume.
Riches are needless then, both for themselves,
And for thy reason why they should be fought, 485
To gain a scepter, oftest better miss'd.
The end of the Second Book.
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