bbis in the temple. Ever since
that time he has longed to rescue his people from the Roman yoke, to
end brutality, to further all that is good, and to win all hearts to
God. He recalls the stories his mother told him in regard to the
annunciation, to his virgin birth, and to the Star of Bethlehem, and
comments upon the fact that the precursor immediately recognized him
and that a voice from heaven hailed him as the Son of God!

Although Christ realizes he has been sent into the wilderness by
divine power, and that his future way lies "through many a hard assay"
and may lead even to death, he does not repine. Instead he spends the
forty days in the wilderness fasting, preparing himself for the great
work which he is called upon to accomplish, and paying no heed to the
wild beasts which prowl around him without doing him any harm.

It is only when weakness has reached its highest point and when Christ
begins to hunger, that Satan approaches him in the guise of an old
peasant, pathetically describing the difficulty of maintaining life in
the wilderness. Then he adds that, having seen Jesus baptized in the
Jordan he begs him to turn the stones around him into food, thereby
relieving himself and his wretched fellow-sufferer from the pangs of
hunger.

"But, if thou be the Son of God, command
That out of these hard stones be made thee bread;
So shalt thou save thyself and us relieve
With food, whereof we wretched seldom taste."

Jesus, however, merely reproaches the tempter, rejoining, "Man shall
not live by bread alone, but from the words which proceed out of the
mouth of God," and explaining that he knows who Satan is and for what
purpose he has been sent hither. Unable to conceal his identity any
longer, the evil spirit admits he has come straight from hell, but
adds that God gave him power to test Job and to punish Ahab. He argues
that the Almighty, who fed the Israelites with manna and supplied
Elijah with miraculous food, does not intend to starve his only Son.
Then, expressing admiration for Jesus' intellect, Satan explains he is
not the foe of man, since through him he has gained everything, and
whom he prides himself upon having often helped by oracles and omen.
In spite of these arguments, Jesus refuses to listen to him, declares
his oracles have lost all power, and adds that he is sent to execute
his Father's will.

"God hath now sent his living oracle
Into the world to teach his final will,
An