His brother, though oppress'd with vulgar spite,
Yet dauntless, and secure of native right,
Of every royal virtue stands possest,

Still dear to all the bravest and the best:

His courage foes, his friends the truth proclaim,
His loyalty the King, the world his fame :
His mercy e'en th' offending crowd will find,
For sure he comes of a forgiving kind.
Why then should I repine at Heav'n's decree,
Which gives me no pretence to royalty?
Yet, oh that Fate, propitiously inclin'd,
Had rais'd my birth, or had debas'd my mind;
To my large soul not all her treasure lent,
And then betray'd it to a mean descent!
I find, I find my mounting spirits bold,
And David's part disdains my mother's mold.
Why am I scanted by a niggard birth?
My soul disclaims the kindred of her earth,
And, made for empire, whispers me within,
Desire of greatness is a godlike sin.

360

370

Him stagg'ring so when Hell's dire agent found, While fainting Virtue scarce maintain'd her ground, He pours fresh forces in, and thus replies: Th' eternal God, supremely good and wise, Imparts not these prodigious gifts in vain; What wonders are reserv'd to bless your reign? Against your will your arguments have shown Such virtue's only given to guide a throne.

380

Not that your father's mildness I contemn,
But manly force becomes the diadem.

'Tis true he grants the people all they crave,
And more, perhaps, than subjects ought to have;
For lavish grants suppose a monarch tame,

390

And more his goodness than his wit proclaim;
But when should people strive their bonds to break,
If not when kings are negligent or weak?
Let him give on till he can give no more,
The thrifty sanhedrim shall keep him poor;
And ev'ry sheckle which he can receive,
Shall cost a limb of his prerogative.
To ply him with new plots shall be my care,
Or plunge him deep in some expensive war;
Which when his treasure can no more supply,
He must, with the remains of kingship, buy
His faithful friends, our jealousies and fears,
Call Jebusites and Pharaoh's pensioners,
Whom when our fury from his aid has torn,
He shall be naked left to public scorn,
The next successor whom I fear and hate,
My arts have made obnoxious to the state,
Turn'd all his virtues to his overthrow,
And gain'd our elders to pronounce a foe.
His right, for sums of necessary gold,
Shall first be pawn'd, and afterwards be sold,
Till time shall ever-wanting David draw,
To pass your doubtful title into law;

If not the people have a right supreme,

To make their kings; for kings are made for them.
All empire is no more than pow'r in trust,
Which, when resum'd, can be no longer just.
Succession, for the genʼral good design'd,
In its own wrong a nation cannot bind:
If alt'ring that the people can relieve,

Better one suffer than a nation grieve.

The Jews well know their pow'r; ere Saul they chose,
God was their king, and God they durst depose.
Urge now your piety, your filial name,

A father's right, and fear of future fame;
The public good, that universal call,

To which e'en Heav'n submitted, answers all.
Nor let his love enchant your gen'rous mind;
'Tis Nature's trick to propagate her kind.
Our fond begetters, who would never die,
Love but themselves in their posterity.
Or let his kindness by th' effects be try'd,
Or let him lay his vain pretence aside,
God said he lov'd your father; could he bring
A better proof than to anoint him King?
It surely shew'd that he lov'd the shepherd well,
Who gave so fair a flock as Israel.
Would David have you thought his darling son ?
What means he then to alienate the crown?
The name of godly he may blush to bear;
I's't after God's own heart to cheat his heir?

420

430

He to his brother gives supreme command,

To you a legacy of barren land;

440

450

Perhaps the old harp on which he thrums his lays,
Or some dull Hebrew ballad in your praise.
Then the next heir a prince severe and wise,
Already looks on you with jealous eyes;
Sees through the thin disguises of your arts,
And marks your progress in the people's hearts;
Though now his mighty soul its grief contains,
He meditates revenge who least complains;
And like a lion slumb'ring in the way,
Or sleep dissembling while he waits his prey,
His fearless foes within his distance draws,
Constrains his roaring, and contracts his paws;
Till, at the last, his time for fury found,
He shoots with sudden vengeance from the ground,
The prostrate vulgar passes o'er, and spares,
But with a lordly rage his hunters tears.
Your case no tame expedients will afford;
Resolve on death, or conquest by the sword,
Which for no less a stake than life you draw,
And self defence is nature's eldest law.
Leave the warm people no consid'ring time,
For then rebellion may be thought a crime.
Avail yourself of what occasion gives,
But try your title while your father lives;
And that your arms may have a fair pretence,
Proclaim you take them in the King's defence,
Volume 11.

C

460

Whose sacred life each minute would expose
To plots, from seeming friends and secret foes,
And who can sound the depth of David's soul?
Perhaps his fear his kindness may control.

He fears his brother though he loves his son,
For plighted vows too late to be undone.
If so, by force he wishes to be gain'd,

Like woman's leachery to seem constrain'd.
Doubt not; but, when he most effects the frown,
Commit a pleasing rape upon the Crown.

Secure his person to secure your cause;

They who possess the prince possess the laws.
He said, and this advice, above the rest,
With Absalom's mild nature suited best;
Unblam'd of life, ambition set a side,

470

Not stain'd with cruelty, nor puff'd with pride. 480
How happy had he been if Destiny

Had higher plac'd his birth, or not so high?
His kingly virtues might have claim'd a throne,
And blest all other countries but his own.
But charming greatness since so few refuse,
'Tis juster to lament him than accuse,
Strong were his hopes a rival to remove,
With blandishments to gain the public love;
To head the faction while their zeal was hot,
And popularly prosecute the plot.
To further this Achithophel unites
The malecontents of all the Israelites,

490