Virtue,  that  angels  boast  not,  he  must  have,
Else  had  my  snares  enclos'd  him,  else  the  world,
Which  then  was  mine  to  give,  had  been  a  bribe
Too  glorious  not  to  dazzle  every  eye  116

But  his,  who  made  those  glories  what  they  are.
Still  I  must  doubt  the  Father's  love  sincere,
Tho'  loudly  vouch'd  by  his  own  voice  from  hear' n  ;
Is  this  a  father's  love,  is  this  his  care,  120

Here  to  expose  him  to  this  desert  wild
Forty  long  sleepless  nights  and  fasting  days,
No  Angel  guard  about  him,  lost,  forlorn,
Abandon'd  to  the  elements,  to  beasts
More  fierce  than  this  loud  storm ;  nay,  fiercer  still,
To  me  than  all  more  terrible,  to  me,  126

Foe


12  CALVARY.
Foe  of  his  life  inveterate  and  avow'd  ?
Rare  sample  of  God's  love  !  If  here  his  Christ
Encounter'd  aught  of  danger ;  and  if  none,
What  else  could  prompt  him  to  this  vain  display
Of  voluntary  penance,  but  the  love  131

Of  flattery  and  a  despicable  wish
To  hear  himself  applauded  ?     In  this  spot,
Beneath  the  jutting  roof  of  this  rude  cliff,
I  first  surpriz'd  this  wand'ring  Son  of  God,        135
This  Savior  of  the  world  :  Fainting  he  seem'd
With  thirst  and  hunger,  pale  as  death  his  cheek.
His  hollow  eyes  deep  sunk,  and  from  his  brow
Big  drops  of  sweat  distill'd,  as  one  o'erspent
And  sinking  to  the  earth  there  to  expire  :  140

A  ready  tale  he  had  for  pity's  ear,
A  melancholy  list  of  wants  and  woes ;
He  had  not  tasted  food,  and  fairly  own'd
That  nature's  cravings  were  intense ;   when  I,
Glad  at  the  heart  to  find  him  thus  besieg'd        145

With


BOOK  I.  13

With  appetite  so  eager,  stooping  down.
