THE ARGUMENT. SATAN, in a speech of much flattering commendation, endeavours to awaken in Jesus a passion for glory, by particularizing various instances of conquests achieved, and great actions performed, by persons at an early period of life. Our Lord replies, by shewing the vanity of worldly fame, and the improper means by which it is generally attained; and contrasts with it the true glory of religious patience and virtuous wisdom, as exemplified in the character of Job. Satan justifies the love of glory from the example of God himself, who requires it from all his creatures. Jesus detects the fallacy of this argument, by shewing that, as goodness is the true ground on which glory is due to the great Creator of all things, sinful man can have no right to it.—Satan then urges our Lord respecting his claim to the throne of David; tells him that the kingdom of Judæa, being at that time a province of Rome, cannot be attained without much personal exertion on his part, and presses him to lose no time in beginning to reign. Jesus refers him to the time allotted for this, as for all other things; and, after intimating somewhat respecting his own previous sufferings, asks Satan, why he was so solicitous for the exaltation of one, whose rising was destined to be his fall. Satan replies that his desperate state, excluding hope, leaves little room for fear; and that, as his own punishment was equally doomed, he is not interested in preventing the reign of one, from whose apparent benevolence he might rather hope for some interference in his favour.-Satan still pursues his former incitements; and, supposing that the seeming reluctance of Jesus to reign might arise from ignorance of the world and its glories, conveys him to the summit of a high mountain, and from thence shews him most of the kingdoms of Asia, particularly pointing out to his notice some extraordinary military preparations of the Parthians to resist the incursions of the Scythians. He then informs our Lord that he shews him this purposely that he might see how necessary military exertions are to retain the possession of kingdoms, as well as to subdue them at first, and advises him to consider how impossible it was to maintain Judæa against two such powerful neighbours as the Romans and Parthians, and how necessary it would be to form an alliance with one or other of them. He recommends, and engages to secure to him, that of the Parthians; and tells him that his power will thus be defended against any attempt of Rome, that he will be able to extend his glory wide, and even accomplish, what alone would make his throne the throne of David, the restoration of the ten tribes, still in captivity. Jesus, having noticed the vanity of military efforts or of the arm of flesh, says, that at the appointed time for ascending his allotted throne he shall not be slack; remarks on Satan's zeal for the deliverance of the Israelites, whose constant enemy he had been; declares their servitude to be the reward of their idolatry; but adds, that at a future time it may perhaps please God to restore them to liberty and their country. Dunster. PARADISE REGAINED. BOOK III. SO spake the Son of God, and Satan stood 10 Contains of good, wise, just, the perfect shape. Should kings and nations from thy mouth consult, Thy counsel would be as the oracle of this sort I take the word idea to be. Tully renders it by the word species with as little success in my opinion as Milton has done here by his English shape. Thyer. Of good, wise, just, the perfect shape. I should rather think it expressed from the perfecta forma honestatis, and the forma ipsa honesti of Cicero. De Fin. ii. 15. Habes undique expletam et perfectam, Torquate, formam honestatis, &c. De Off. i. 5. Formam quidem ipsam, Marce fili, et tanquam faciem honesti vides; quæ si oculis cerneretur &c. And the more, because he renders forma by shape in the Paradise Lost, iv. 848. Virtue in her shape how lovely. 13. culous gems On Aaron's breast; &c.] Aaron's breast-plate was a piece of cloth doubled, of a span square, in which were set in sockets of gold twelve precious stones bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel engraven on them, which being fixed to the ephod, or upper vestment of the highpriest's robes, was worn by him on his breast on all solemn occasions. In this breast-plate the Urim and Thummim, say the Scriptures, were put. And the learned Prideaux, after giving some account of the various opinions concerning Urim and Thummim, says it will be safest to hold, that the words Urim and Thummim meant only the divine virtue and power, given to the breast-plate in its consecration, of obtaining an oraculous answer from God, whenever counsel was asked of him by the high-priest with it on, in such manner as his word did direct; and that the names of Urim and Thummim were given hereto only to denote the clearness and perfection, which these oracular answers always carried with them. For Urim signifieth light, and Thummim perfection. But Milton by adding -those oraculous gems On Aaron's breast seems to have been of the common received opinion among the Jews, that the answer was given by the precious stones, that it was by the shining and protuberating of the letters in the names of the twelve tribes graven on the twelve stones in the breastplate of the high-priest, and that in them he did read the answer. But, as Dr. Prideaux says, it appears plain from Scripture, that when the high-priest appeared before the veil to ask counsel of God, the answer was given him by an audible voice from the mercy-seat, which was within behind the veil. -or tongue of seers old Infallible: The poet by mentioning this after Urim and Thummim seems to allude to another opinion of the Jews, that the Holy Spirit spake |