258
��PARADISE REGAINED
��For God hath justly given the nations up To thy delusions; justly, since they fell Idolatrous. But, when his purpose is Among them to declare his providence, To thee not known, whence hast thou then
thy truth,
But from him, or his Angels president In every province, who, themselves disdain- ing
To approach thy temples, give thee in com- mand 449 What, to the smallest tittle, thou shalt say To thy adorers ? Thou, with trembling
fear,
Or like a fawning parasite, obey'st; Then to thyself ascrib'st the truth foretold. But this thy glory shall be soon retrenched ; No more shalt thou by oracling abuse The Gentiles ; henceforth oracles are ceased, And thou no more with pomp and sacrifice Shalt be enquired at Delphos or else- where At least in vain, for they shall find thee
mute.
God hath now sent his living Oracle 460 Into the world to teach his final will, And sends his Spirit of Truth henceforth to
dwell
In pious hearts, an inward oracle To all truth requisite for men to know." So spake our Saviour; but the subtle
Fiend,
Though inly stung with anger and disdain, Dissembled, and this answer smooth re- turned :
" Sharply thou hast insisted on rebuke, And urged me hard with doings which not will, 469
But misery, hath wrested from me. Where Easily canst thou find one miserable, And not inforced oft-times to part from truth,
��If it may stand him more in stead to lie, Say and unsay, feign, flatter, or abjure ? But thou art placed above me; thou art
Lord;
From thee I can, and must, submiss, endure Check or reproof , and glad to scape so quit. Hard are the ways of truth, and rough to
walk, Smooth on the tongue discoursed, pleasing
to the ear,
And tunable as sylvan pipe or song; 4 8o What wonder, then, if I delight to hear Her dictates from thy mouth ? most men
admire
Virtue who follow not her lore. Permit me To hear thee when I come (since no man
comes), And talk at least, though I despair to
attain.
Thy Father, who is holy, wise, and pure, Suffers the hypocrite or atheous priest To tread his sacred courts, and minister About his altar, handling holy things, Praying or vowing, and voutsafed his
voice 490
To Balaam reprobate, a prophet yet Inspired: disdain not such access to me." To whom our Saviour, with unaltered
brow : "Thy coming hither, though I know thy
scope,
I bid not, or forbid. Do as thou find'st Permission from above; thou canst not
more."
He added not; and Satan, bowing low His gray dissimulation, disappeared, Into thin air diffused : for now began 499 Night with her sullen wing to double-shade The desert ; fowls in their clay nests were
couched ; And now wild beasts came forth the woods
to roam.
��THE SECOND BOOK
MEANWHILE the new-baptized, who yet
remained
At Jordan with the Baptist, and had seen Him whom they heard so late expressly
called
Jesus Messiah, Son of God, declared, And on that high authority had believed, And with him talked, and with him lodged
I mean
��Andrew and Simon, famous after known, With others, though in Holy Writ not
named
Now missing him, their joy so lately found, So lately found and so abruptly gone, 10 Began to doubt, and doubted many days, And, as the days increased, increased their
doubt. Sometimes they thought he might be only
shewn, And for a time caught up to God, as once
�� �
