And, weaponless himself,
Made arms ridiculous, useless the forgery
Of brazen shield and spear, the hammer'd cuirass, Chalybean temper'd steel, and frock of mail Adamantéan proof?
But safest he who stood aloof,
When insupportably his foot advanc'd,
In scorn of their proud arms and warlike tools, Spurn'd them to death by troops. The bold Ascalonite
Fled from his lion ramp; old warriors turn'd Their plated backs under his heel;
Or, groveling, soil'd their crested helmets in the dust. Then with what trivial weapon came to hand, The jaw of a dead ass, his sword of bone,
A thousand fore-skins fell, the flower of Palestine, In Ramath-lechi, famous to this day.
Then by main force pull'd up, and on his shoulders The gates of Azza, post, and massy bar, Up to the hill by Hebron, seat of giants old, No journey of a sabbath-day, and loaded so;
Like whom the Gentiles feign to bear up Heaven. Which shall I first bewail,
Thy bondage or lost sight,
Prison within prison
Inseparably dark?
Thou art become (O worst imprisonment!) The dungeon of thyself; thy soul,
(Which men enjoying sight oft without cause comImprison'd now indeed,
In real darkness of the body dwells,
Shut up from outward light
To incorporate with gloomy night;
For inward light, alas!
Puts forth no visual beam.
O mirror of our fickle state, Since man on Earth unparallel'd! The rarer thy example stands,
By how much from the top of wondrous glory, Strongest of mortal men,
To lowest pitch of abject fortune thou art fallen. For him I reckon not in high estate Whom long descent of birth,
Sams. I hear the sound of words; their sense the Dissolves unjointed ere it reach my ear.
Chor. He speaks, let us draw nigh.-Matchless in might,
The glory late of Israel, now the grief;
We come, thy friends and neighbors not unknown, From Eshtaol and Zora's fruitful vale,
To visit or bewail thee; or, if better, Counsel or consolation we may bring,
Salve to thy sores; apt words have power to swage The tumors of a troubled mind,
And are as balm to fester'd wounds.
Sams. Your coming, friends, revives me; for I Now of my own experience, not by talk, How counterfeit a coin they are who friends Bear in their superscription, (of the most
I would be understood;) in prosperous days They swarm, but in adverse withdraw their head, Not to be found, though sought. Ye see, O friends, How many evils have inclos'd me round: Yet that which was the worst now least afflicts me, Blindness; for had I sight, confus'd with shame, How could I once look up or heave the head, Who, like a foolish pilot, have shipwreck'd My vessel trusted to me from above, Gloriously rigg'd; and for a word, a tear, Fool! have divulg'd the secret gift of God To a deceitful woman? tell me, friends, Am I not sung and proverb'd for a fool In every street? do they not say, how well Are come upon him his deserts? yet why? Immeasurable strength they might behold In me, of wisdom nothing more than mean; This with the other should, at least, have pair'd, These two, proportion'd ill, drove me transverse.
Chor. Tax not divine disposal; wisest men Have err'd, and by bad women been deceiv'd; And shall again, pretend they ne'er so wise. Deject not then so overmuch thyself, Who hast of sorrow thy full load besides: Yet truth to say, I oft have heard men wonder Why thou shouldst wed Philistian women rather Than of thine own tribe fairer, or as fair, At least of thy own nation, and as noble.
Sams. The first I saw at Timna, and she pleas'd Me, not my parents, that I sought to wed The daughter of an infidel: they knew not That what I motion'd was of God; I knew From intimate impúlse, and therefore urg'd The marriage on; that by occasion hence I might begin Israel's deliverance, The work to which I was divinely call'd. She proving false, the next I took to wife (O that I never had! fond wish too late,) Was in the vale of Sorec, Dalila, That specious monster, my accomplish'd snare. I thought it lawful from my former act, And the same end; still watching to oppress Israel's oppressors: of what now I suffer She was not the prime cause, but I myself, Who, vanquish'd with a peal of words, (O weakness!) Gave up my fort of silence to a woman.
Chor. In seeking just occasion to provoke The Philistine, thy country's enemy, Thou never wast amiss, I bear thee witness; Yet Israël still serves with all his sons.
Sams. That fault I take not on me, but transfer On Israel's governors and heads of tribes,
Who, seeing those great acts which God had done Singly by me against their conquerors Acknowledg'd not, or not at all consider'd, Deliverance offered: I on the other side Us'd no ambition to commend my deeds:
And hath full right to exempt
Whom so it pleases him by choice
From national obstriction, without taint Of sin, or legal debt;
For with his own laws he can best dispense.
He would not else, who never wanted means, Nor, in respect of the enemy, just cause,
The deeds themselves, though mute, spoke loud the To set his people free,
But they persisted deaf, and would not seem
To count them things worth notice, till at length Their lords, the Philistines, with gather'd powers Enter'd Judea seeking me, who then Safe to the rock of Ethan was retir'd; Not flying but forecasting in what place To set upon them, what advantag'd best; Meanwhile the men of Judah, to prevent The harass of their land, beset me round; I willingly on some conditions came Into their hands, and they as gladly yield me To the uncircumcis'd a welcome prey, Bound with two cords; but cords to me were threads Touch'd with the flame: on their whole host I flew Unarm'd, and with a trivial weapon fell'd Their choicest youth; they only liv'd who fled. Had Judah that day join'd, or one whole tribe, They had by this possess'd the towers of Gath, And lorded over them whom they now serve: But what more oft, in nations grown corrupt, And by their vices brought to servitude, Than to love bondage more than liberty, Bondage with ease than strenuous liberty; And to despise, or envy, or suspect Whom God hath of his special favor rais'd As their deliverer? if he aught begin, How frequent to desert him, and at last fo heap ingratitude on worthiest deeds!
Chor. Thy words to my remembrance bring How Succoth and the fort of Penuel Their great deliverer contemn'd, The matchless Gideon, in pursuit Of Madian and her vanquish'd kings: And how ingrateful Ephraim
Had dealt with Jephtha, who by argument, Not worse than by his shield and spear, Defended Israel from the Ammonite, Had not his prowess quell'd their pride In that sore battle, when so many died Without reprieve, adjudg'd to death, For want of well pronouncing Shibboleth. Sams. Of such examples add me to the roll; Me easily indeed mine may neglect. But God's propos'd deliverance not so.
Chor. Just are the ways of God, And justifiable to men;
Unless there be, who think not God at all: if any be, they walk obscure;
For of such doctrine never was there school, But the heart of the fool,
And no man therein doctor but himself.
Have prompted this heroic Nazarite, Against his vow of strictest purity,
To seek in marriage that fallacious bride, Unclean, unchaste.
Down, reason, then; at least vain reasonings down⚫ Though reason here aver,
That moral verdict quits her of unclean: Unchaste was subsequent, her stain not his.
But see, here comes thy reverend sire With careful step, locks white as down, Old Manoah: advise
Forthwith how thou ought'st to receive him.
Sams. Ay me! another inward grief, awak'd With mention of that name, renews the assault.
Man. Brethren and men of Dan, for such ye seom Though in this uncouth place; if old respect, As I suppose, towards your once gloried friend, My son, now captive, hither hath inform'd Your younger feet, while mine cast back with age Came lagging after; say if he be here.
Chor. As signal now in low dejected state, As erst in highest, behold him where he lies. Man. O miserable change! is this the man, That invincible Samson, far renown'd, The dread of Israel's foes, who with a strength Equivalent to angels walk'd their streets, None offering fight; who single combatant Duell'd their armies rank'd in proud array, Himself an army, now unequal match To save himself against a coward arm'd At one spear's length? O ever-failing trust In mortal strength! and oh! what not in man Deceivable and vain? Nay, what thing good Pray'd for, but often proves our bane?
I pray'd for children, and thought barrenness In wedlock a reproach; I gain'd a son, And such a son as all men hail'd me happy;- Who would be now a father in my stead? O wherefore did God grant me my request, And as a blessing with such pomp adorn'd? Why are his gifts desirable, to tempt Our earnest prayers, then, given with solemn hand As graces, draw a scorpion's tail behind? For this did the angel twice descend? for this Ordain'd thy nurture holy, as of a plant Select, and sacred, glorious for a while, The miracle of men; then in an hour Ensnar'd, assaulted, overcome, led bound, Thy foes' derision, captive, poor, and blind, Into a dungeon thrust, to work with slaves?
Yet more there be, who doubt his ways not just, Alas! methinks whom God hath chosen once
As to his own edícts found contradicting,
Then give the reins to wandering thought, Regardless of his glory's diminution; Till, by their own perplexities involv'd, They ravel more, still less resolv'd, But never find self-satisfying solution.
As if they would confine the Interminable, And tie him to his own prescript
Who made our laws to bind us, not himself,
To worthiest deeds if he through frailty err, He should not so o'erwhelm, and as a thrall Subject him to so foul indignities,
Be it but for honor's sake of former deeds. Sams. Appoint not heavenly disposition, father, Nothing of all these evils hath befall'n me But justly: I myself have brought them on, Sole author I, sole cause: if aught seem vile, As vile hath been my folly, who have profan'd
The mystery of God given me under pledge Of vow, and have betray'd it to a woman, A Canaanite, my faithless enemy. This well I knew, nor was at all surpris'd, But warn'd by oft experience: did not she Of Timna first betray me, and reveal The secret wrested from me in her height Of nuptial love profess'd, carrying it straight To them who had corrupted her, my spies, And rivals? In this other was there found More faith, who also in her prime of love, Spousal embraces, vitiated with gold, Though offer'd only, by the scent conceiv'd Her spurious first-born, treason against me?
Sam. Father, I do acknowledge and confess That I this honor, I this pomp, have brought To Dagon, and advanc'd his praises high Among the heathen round: to God have brought Dishonor, obloquy, and op'd the mouths Of idolists, and atheists: have brought scandal To Israel, diffidence of God, and doubt In feeble hearts, propense enough before To waver, or fall off and join with idols; Which is my chief affliction, shame and sorrow, The anguish of my soul, that suffers not Mine eye to harbor sleep, or thoughts to rest. This only hope relieves me, that the strife With me hath end: all the contest is now
Thrice she assay'd with flattering prayers and sighs, "Twixt God and Dagon; Dagon hath presum'd,
And amorous reproaches, to win from me My capital secret, in what part my strength
Lay stor'd, in what part summ'd, that she might know; Thrice I deluded her, and turn'd to sport Her importunity, each time perceiving How openly, and with what impudence
She purpos'd to betray me, and (which was worse Than undissembled hate) with what contempt She sought to make me traitor to myself; Yet the fourth time, when, mustering all her wiles, With blandish'd parleys, feminine assaults, Tongue-batteries, she surceas'd not, day nor night, To storm me over-watch'd, and wearied out. At times when men seek most repose and rest, I yielded, and unlock'd her all my heart, Who, with a grain of manhood well resolv'd, Might easily have shook off all her snares: But foul effeminacy held me yok'd Her bond-slave; O indignity, O blot To honor and religion! servile mind Rewarded well with servile punishment! The base degree to which I now am fall'n, These rags, this grinding, is not yet so base As was my former servitude, ignoble, Unmanly, ignominious, infamous,
True slavery, and that blindness worse than this That saw not how degenerately I serv'd.
Man. I cannot praise thy marriage-choices, son. Rather approv'd them not; but thou didst plead Divine impulsion prompting how thou might'st Find some occasion to infest our foes.
I state not that; this I am sure, our foes Found soon occasion thereby to make thee Their captive, and their triumph; thou the sooner Temptation found'st, or over-potent charms, To violate the sacred trust of silence Deposited within thee; which to have kept Tacit was in thy power: true; and thou bear'st Enough, and more the burthen of that fault; Bitterly hast thou paid, and still art paying, That rigid score. A worse thing yet remains; This day the Philistines a popular feast Here celebrate in Gaza; and proclaim Great pomp, and sacrifices, and praises loud, To Dagon, as their god who hath deliver'd Thee, Samson, bound and blind into their hands, Them out of thine, who slew'st them many a slain. So Dagon shall be magnified, and God, Besides whom is no God, compar'd with idols, Disglorified, blasphem'd, and had in scorn By the idolatrous rout amidst their wine; Which to have come to pass by means of thee, Samson, of all thy sufferings think the heaviest, Of all reproach the most with shame that ever Could have befall'n thee and thy father's house.
Me overthrown, to enter lists with God, His deity comparing and preferring Before the God of Abraham. He, be sure, Will not connive, or linger, thus provok'd, But will arise, and his great name assert: Dagon must stoop, and shall ere long receive Such a discomfit, as shall quite despoil him Of all these boasted trophies won on me, And with confusion blank his worshippers. Man. With cause this hope relieves thee and these words
I as a prophecy receive; for God, Nothing more certain, will not long defer To vindicate the glory of his name Against all competition, nor will long Endure it doubtful, whether God be Lord, Or Dagon. But for thee what shall be done? Thou must not, in the meanwhile here forgot, Lie in this miserable lothesome plight, Neglected. I already have made way
To some Philistian lords, with whom to treat. About thy ransom: well they may by this Have satisfied their utmost of revenge
By pains and slaveries, worse than death, inflicted On thee, who now no more canst do them harm. Sams. Spare that proposal, father; spare the trouble
Of that solicitation; let me here, As I deserve, pay on my punishment; And expiate, if possible, my crime, Shameful garrulity. To have reveal'd Secrets of men, the secrets of a friend, How heinous had the fact been, how deserving Contempt and scorn of all, to be excluded All friendship, and avoided as a blab, The mark of fool set on his front? But I God's counsel have not kept, his holy secret Presumptuously have publish'd, impiously Weakly at least, and shamefully; a sin That Gentiles in their parables condemn To their abyss and horrid pains confin'd. Man. Be penitent, and for thy fault contrite; But act not in thy own affliction, son; Repent the sin; but, if the punishment Thou canst avoid, self-preservation bids; Or the execution leave to high disposal, And let another hand, not thine, exact Thy penal forfeit from thyself: perhaps God will relent, and quit thee all his debt; Who evermore approves, and more accepts, (Best pleas'd with humble and filial submission, Him, who, imploring mercy, sues for life, Than who, self-rigorous, chooses death as due; Which argues over-just, and self-displeased For self-offence, more than for God offended.
Reject not then what offer'd means; who knows But God hath set before us, to return thee Home to thy country and his sacred house, Where thou may'st bring thy offerings, to avert His further ire, with prayers and vows renew'd? Sams. His pardon I implore; but as for life, To what end should I seek it? when in strength All mortals I excell'd, and great in hopes With youthful courage, and magnanimous thoughts, Of birth from Heaven foretold, and high exploits, Full of divine instinct, after some proof Of acts indeed heroic, far beyond
The sons of Anak, famous now and blaz'd, Fearless of danger, like a petty god
I walk'd about admir'd of all, and dreaded On hostile ground, none daring my affront. Then swoll'n with pride into the snare I fell Of fair fallacious looks, venereal trains, Soften'd with pleasure and voluptuous life. At length to lay my head and hallow'd pledge Of all my strength in the lascivious lap Of a deceitful concubine, who shore me Like a tame wether, all my precious fleece, Then turn'd me out ridiculous, despoil'd, Shaven, and disarm'd among mine enemies.
Chor. Desire of wine and all delicious drinks, Which many a famous warrior overturns, Thou couldst repress; nor did the dancing ruby Sparkling, out-pour'd, the flavor, or the smell, Or taste that cheers the heart of gods or men, Allure thee from the cool crystalline stream. Sams. Wherever fountain or fresh current flow'd Against the eastern ray, translucent, pure With touch ethereal of Heaven's fiery rod, I drank, from the clear milky juice allaying Thirst, and refresh'd: nor envied them the grape Whose heads that turbulent liquor fills with fumes. Chor. O madness, to think use of strongest wines And strongest drinks our chief support of health, When God with these forbidd'n made choice to
His mighty champion, strong above compare, Whose drink was only from the liquid brook.
Sams. But what avail'd this temperance, not com- plete
Against another object more enticing? What boots it at one gate to make defence, And at another to let in the foe, Effeminately vanquish'd? by which means, Now blind, dishearten'd, sham'd, dishonor'd, quell'd, To what can I be useful, wherein serve My nation, and the work from Heaven impos'd, But to sit idle on the household hearth, A burdenous drone; to visitants a gaze, Or pitied object, these redundant locks Robustious to no purpose clustering down, Vain monument of strength; till length of years And sedentary numbness craze my limbs To a contemptible old age obscure? Here rather let me drudge, and earn my bread; Till vermin, or the draff of servile food, Consume me, and oft-invocated death
Hasten the welcome end of all my pains.
After the brunt of battle, can as easy Cause light again within thy eyes to spring, Wherewith to serve him better than thou hast : And I persuade me so; why else this strength Miraculous yet remaining in those locks? His might continues in thee not for nought, Nor shall his wondrous gifts be frustrate thus.
Sams. All otherwise to me my thoughts portend, That these dark orbs no more shall treat with light Nor the other light of life continue long, But yield to double darkness nigh at hand: So much I feel my genial spirits droop, My hopes all flat, Nature within me seems In all her functions weary of herself; My race of glory run, and race of shame, And I shall shortly be with them that rest. Man. Believe not these suggestions, which proceed From anguish of the mind and humors black, That mingle with thy fancy. I however Must not omit a father's timely care To prosecute the means of thy deliverance By ransom, or how else: meanwhile be calm, And healing words from these thy friends admit. [Exit.
Sams. O that torment should not be confin'd To the body's wounds and sores, With maladies innumerable
In heart, head, breast, and reins; But must secret passage find To the inmost mind,
There exercise all his fierce accidents, And on her purest spirits prey, As on entrails, joints, and limbs, With answerable pains, but more intense, Though void of corporal sense.
My griefs not only pain me As a lingering disease,
But, finding no redress, ferment and rage; Nor less than wounds immedicable Rankle, and fester, and gangrene, To black mortification.
Thoughts, my tormentors, arm'd with deadly stings Mangle my apprehensive tenderest parts, Exasperate, exulcerate, and raise
Dire inflammation, which no cooling herb Or med'cinal liquor can assuage,
Nor breath of vernal air from snowy Alp. Sleep hath forsook and given me o'er To death's benumbing opium as my only cure: Thence faintings, swoonings of despair, And sense of Heaven's desertion.
I was his nurseling once, and choice delight, His destin'd from the womb,
Promis'd by heavenly message twice descending. Under his special eye
Abstemious I grew up, and thriv'd amain; He led me on to mightiest deeds, Above the nerve of mortal arm,
Against the uncircumcis'd, our enemies:
But now hath cast me off as never known, And to those cruel enemies,
Whom I by his appointment had provok'd, Left me all helpless, with the irreparable loss
Man. Wilt thou then serve the Philistines with Of sight, reserv'd alive to be repeated
Which was expressly given thee to annoy them? Better at home lie bed-rid, not only idle, Inglorious, unemploy'd, with age outworn. But God, who caus'd a fountain at thy prayer From the dry ground to spring, thy thirst to allay
The subject of their cruelty or scorn. Nor am I in the list of them that hope; Hopeless are all my evils, all remediless : This one prayer yet remains, might I be heard No long petition, speedy death,
The close of all my miseries, and the balm.
Chor. Many are the sayings of the wise, In ancient and in modern books enroll'd, Extolling patience as the truest fortitude; And to the bearing well of all calamities, All chances incident to man's frail life, Consolatories writ
With studied argument, and much persuasion sought, Lenient of grief and anxious thought:
But with the afflicted in his pangs their sound Little prevails, or rather seems a tune
Harsh, and of dissonant mood from his complaint; Unless he feel within
Some source of consolation from above, Secret refreshings, that repair his strength, And fainting spirits uphold.
God of our fathers, what is man!
That thou towards him with hand so various, Or might I say contrarious,
Temper'st thy providence through his short course, Not evenly, as thou rul'st
The angelic orders, and inferior creatures mute, Irrational and brute.
Nor do I name of men the common rout, That, wandering loose about,
Grow up and perish, as the summer-fly, Heads without name no more remember'd; But such as thou hast solemnly elected, With gifts and graces eminently adorn'd, To some great work, thy glory,
And people's safety, which in part they effect: Yet toward these thus dignified, thou oft, Amidst their height of noon,
An amber scent of odorous perfume Her harbinger, a damsel train behind; Some rich Philistian matron she may seem; And now at nearer view, no other certain Than Dalila thy wife.
[near me. Sams. My wife! my traitress: let her not come Chor. Yet on she moves, now stands and eyes thee fix'd,
About to have spoke; but now, with head declin'd. Like a fair flower surcharg'd with dew, she weeps, And words address'd seem into tears dissolv'd, Wetting the borders of her silken veil :
But now again she makes address to speak.
Dal. With doubtful feet and wavering resolution I came, still dreading thy displeasure, Samson, Which to have merited, without excuse,
I cannot but acknowledge; yet, if tears May expiate, (though, the fact more evil drew In the perverse event than I foresaw,)
My penance hath not slacken'd, though my pardon No way assur'd. But conjugal affection, Prevailing over fear and timorous doubt, Hath led me on, desirous to behold Once more thy face, and know of thy estate, If aught in my ability may serve
To lighten what thou suffer'st, and appease Thy mind with what amends is in my power, Though late, yet in some part to recompense My rash, but more unfortunate, misdeed.
Sams. Out, out, hyena! these are thy wonted arts
Changest thy countenance, and thy hand, with no And arts of every woman false like thee,
From thee on them, or them to thee of service. Nor only dost degrade them, or remit
To life obscur'd, which were a fair dismission, But throw'st them lower than thou didst exalt them high,
Unseemly falls in human eye,
Too grievous for the trespass or omission; Oft leav'st them to the hostile sword
Of heathen and profane, their carcasses
To dogs and fowls a prey, or else captiv'd;
Or to the unjust tribunals, under change of times, And condemnation of the ingrateful multitude. If these they 'scape, perhaps in poverty
To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray, Then as repentant to submit, beseech, And reconcilement move with feign'd remorse, Confess, and promise wonders in her change; Not truly penitent, but chief to try
Her husband, how far urg'd his patience bears, His virtue or weakness which way to assail : Then with more cautious and instructed skill Again transgresses, and again submits; That wisest and best men, full oft beguil'd, With goodness principled not to reject The penitent, but ever to forgive, Are drawn to wear out miserable days, Entangled with a poisonous bosom snake, If not by quick destruction soon cut off,
With sickness and disease thou bow'st them down, As I by thee, to ages an example. Painful diseases and deform'd
Though not disordinate, yet causeless suffering The punishment of dissolute days: in fine, Just, or unjust, alike seem miserable, For oft alike both come to evil end.
So deal not with this once thy glorious champion, The image of thy strength, and mighty minister. What do I beg? how hast thou dealt already? Behold him in this state calamitous, and turn His labors, for thou canst, to peaceful end.- But who is this, what thing of sea or land? Female of sex it seems,
That so bedeck'd, ornate, and gay, Comes this way sailing
Like a stately ship
Of Tarsus, bound for the isles
Of Javan or Gadire
With all her bravery on, and tackle trim, Sails fill'd, and streamers waving,
Courted by all the winds that hold them play,
Dal. Yet hear me, Samson; not that I endeavor To lessen or extenuate my offence,
But that on the other side, if it be weigh'd By itself, with aggravations not surcharg'd, Or else with just allowance counterpois'd, I may, if possible, thy pardon find The easier towards me, or thy hatred less. First, granting, as I do, it was a weakness In me, but incident to all our sex, Curiosity, inquisitive, impórtune, Of secrets, then, with like infirmity To publish them, both common female faults: Was it not weakness also to make known For importunity, that is, for nought, Wherein consisted all thy strength and safety? To what I did thou show'dst me first the way. But I to enemies reveal'd, and should not:
Nor shouldst thou have trusted that to woman's
Ere I to thee, thou to thyself wast cruel.
Let weakness then with weakness come to parle,
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