------Si proprius stes,
Te capiet magis------
IN pious times, ere priestcraft did begin,
Before polygamy was made a sin,
When man on many multiply'd his kind,
Ere one to one was cursedly confin'd,
When Nature prompted and no law deny'd,
Promiscuous use of concubine and bride;
Then Israel's monarch, after Heav'n's own heart,
His vig'rous warmth did variously impart
To wives and slaves; and, wide as his command,
Scatter'd his Maker's image thro' the land.
Michal of royal blood, the crown did wear,
A soil ungrateful to the tiller's care:
Nat so the rest! for several mothers bore
To god-like David sev'ral sons before:
But since like slaves his bed they did ascend,
No true succession could their seed attend,
Of all the num'rous progeny was none
So beautiful, so brave, as Absalom:
Whether inspir'd by some diviner lust,
His father got him with a greater gust,
Or that his conscious destiny made way,
By manly beauty, to imperial sway;
Early in foreign fields he won renown,
With kings and states ally'd to Is'rel's crown:
In peace the thoughts of war he could remove,
And seem'd as he were only born for love,
Whate'er he did was done with so much ease,
In him alone 'twas natural to please:
His motions all accompany'd with grace,
And paradise was open'd in his face.
With secret joy indulgent David view'd
His youthful image in his son renew'd;
To all his wishes nothing he deny'd,
And made the charming Annabel his bride.
What faults he had (for who from faults is free?)
His father could not, or he would not see.
Some warm excesses, which the law forbore,
Were constru'd youth that purg’d by boiling o'er;
And Amnon's murder, by a specious name,
Was call'da just revenge for injur'd fame.
Thus prais'd, and lov'd, the noble youth remain'd,
While David undisturb'd in Sion reign'd.
But life can never be sincerely blest,
Heav'n punishes the bad, and proves the best.
The Jews, a headstrong, moody, murm'ring race,
As ever try'd th' extent and stretch of grace;
God's pamper'd people, whom debauch'd with ease,
No king could govern, nor no god could please;
(Gods they had try'd of ev'ry shape and size
That god-smiths could produce, or priests devise:)
These Adam-wits, too fortunately free,
Began to dream they wanted liberty;
And when no rule, no precedent, was found,
Of men by laws less circumscrib'd and bound,
They led their wild desires to woods and caves,
And thought that all but savages were slaves.
They who, when Saul was dead, without a blow
Made foolish Ishbosheth the crown forego;
Who banish'd David did from Hebron bring,
And, with a gen'ral shout, proclaim'd him king: 60
Those very Jews, who, at their very best,
Their humour more than loyalty express'd,
Now wonder'd why so long they had obey'd
An idle monarch which their hands had made;
Thought they might ruin him they could create,
Or melt him to that golden calf, a state.
But these were random bolts; no form'd design,
Nor int'rest, made the factious crowd to join:
The sober part of Is'rael free from stain,
Well knew the value of a peaceful reign:
And looking backward, with a wise affright,
Saw seams of wounds, dishonest to the sight;
In contemplation of whose ugly scars,
They curs'd the memory of Civil wars.
The mod'rate sort of men thus qualify'd,
Inclin'd the balance to the better side:
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