UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES \l^ y / 3 P f^ 7 5 ^^Qdjclcpimt , ■%. irari FEm^if HUDIBRAS. »i SAMUEL BUTLER. NOTES AND A LITERARY MEMOIR BY THE REV. TREADWAY RUSSEL NASH, D. D. ILLUSTRATED WITH PORTRAITS, AND CONTAINING A NEW AND COMPLETE INDEX. " Noil deeruiit fortasse vililitig-atores, qui calumnientur, parcim leviores esse nugas, quam ut theolog-um deceant, partiin mordaciores, quam ut Cliristiana conveiiiant modesiiae." Erasm. Morim. Encom. Prafat. J * o o .j 1> NEW YORK: D. APPLETON &- CO., 200 BROADWAY 1852. 46120 c « • « « , < • cat • ■ • •• • < L « •• • • » • • . • .• 51 £ H © ^. N ) ADVERTISEMENT * Little or- no apology need be offered to the Public for presenting it with a new edition of Hudibras ; the poem ranks too high in English literature not to be wel- comed if it appear in a correct text, legible type, and on good paper : ever since its first appearance it has been as a mirror in which an Englishman miglit have Seen his face without becoming, Narcissus-like, enamored of it ; such an honest looking-glass must ever be valuable, if there be worth in the aphorism of nosce ieipsi/m. May it not in the present times be as useful as in any that are past ? Perhaps even in tliis enlightened age a little self-examination may be wholesome ; a man will take a glance of recognition of himself if there be a glass in the room, and it may happen that some indica- tion of the nascent symptoms of the wrinkles of treason, of the crows-feet of fanaticism, of the drawn-down mouth of hypocrisy, or of the superfluous hairs of self- conceit, may startle the till then unconscious possessor of such germs of vice, and afford to his honester quali- ties an opportunity of stifling them ere they start forth in their native hideousness, and so, perchance, help to avert the repetition of tiie evil times the poet satirizes, which, in whatever point they are viewed, stand a blot in the annals of Britain. The edition in three quarto volumes of Hudibras, ed- ited by Dr. Nasht in 1793, has become a book of high * Prefixed to the Edition in 2 vols. 8vo. 1835. t '• January 26, loll.— At his seat at Bevere, near Worcester, " in his Slith year. Treadway Russel Nash, D. D., F. S. A., Rec- " tor of Leifjh. He was of Worcester College in Oxford ; M. A. " 174(5 ; B. and D. D. 17.')8. He was the venerable Father of the " Magistracy of the County of Worcester ; of which he was an " uiiright and judicious member nearly tifty years ; and a gentle- " man of profound erudition and critical knowledge in the seve- ' ral branches of literature : particularly the History of his na- " tive county, which he illustrated with indefatigable labor and " expense to himself In exemplary prudence, moderation, affa- ' bility, and unostentatious manner of living, he has left no su- b ADVERTISEMENT. price and uucominou occurrence. It may justly b« called a scholar's edition, altliough the Editor thus mod- estly speaks of his annotations : " The principal, if not " the sole view, of the annotations now offered to the " public, hath been to remove these difficulties, (fluctua- " tions of language, disuse of customs, &c.,) and point " out some of the passages in the Greek and Roman " authors to which the poet alludes, in order to render " Hudibras more intelligible to persons of the coinmenta- " tor's level, men of middling capacity, and limited in- " formation. To such, if his remarks shall be found " useful and acceptable, he will be content, though they " should appear trifling in the estimation of the more " learned." Dr. Nash added plates* from designs by Hogarth and La Guerre to his edition, but it may be thought without increasing its intrinsic value. The Pencil has never successfully illustrated Hudibras ; perhaps the wit, the humor, and the satire of Butler have naturally, from ' perior ; of the Initli of which reinork the writer of this article 'could pnuluce iibuiidant proof from a personal intercourse of ' long continuance ; anil which he sincerely laments has now ' an end. — R." — GentlemaiCs jMan-aiine. * Dr. Nash thus mentions them: "The engravings in this 'edition are chiefly taken from Hogarth's designs, an artist ' whose genius, in some respects, was congenial to that of our ' poet, though here he cannot plead the merit of originality, so ' much as in some other of his works, having borrowed a great ' deal from the small prints in the duodecimo edition of ITIU.f " Some plates are added from origijial designs, and some from ' drawings by La Guerre, now in my possession, and one print ' representing Oliver Cromwell's guard-room, from an excellent ' picture by Dobson, very obligingly communicated by my wor- ' thy friend, Robert Bromley, Esq., of Abberley-lodge, in VVor- ' ccstershire ; the picture being seven feet long, and four high, ' it is difficult to give the likenesses upon so reduced a scale, ' but the artists have done themselves credit by preserving the 'characters of e.-ich figure, and the features of each face more ' exactly than could be expected: the i)icture belonged to Mr. ' Walsh, the poet, and has always been called Oliver Crom- ' well's guard-room : the figures are certainly portraits ; but I ' leave it to the critics in that line to find out the originals. "When I first undertook this work, it was designed that the ' whole should be comprised in tw'o volumes : the fir cun publislieu 1726." ADVERTISEMENT. 7 their general application, not sufficient of a local habita- tion and a name to be embodied by the painter's art. To some few of the notes explanatory of phrases and words, the printer has ventured to make trifling additions, which he has placed within brackets that they may not be supposed to be Dr. Nash's, though had the excellent dictionary of the truly venerable Archdeacon Todd, and the Glossary of the late Archdeacon Nares, from which they are principally taken, been in existence in 1793, tiiere can be little doubt but Dr. Nash would have availed himself of tli&m. W N en SAMUEL BUTLER, ESQ.. AUTHOR OF HUDIBRAS. . The life of a retired scholar can furnish but little matter to the biographer: such was the character of Mr. Samuel Butler, author of Hudibras. His father, whose name likewise was Samuel, had an estate of his own of about ten pounds yearly, which still goes by the name of Butler's tenement : he held, likewise, an estate of three hundred pounds a year, under Sir William Russel, lord of the manor of Strensham, in Worcester- shire* He was not an ignorant farmer, but wrote a very clerk-like hand, kept the register, and managed all the business of the parish under the direction of his landlord, near whose house he lived, and from whom, very probably, he and his family received instruction and assistance. From his landlord they imbibed their principles of loyalty, as Sir William was a most zealous royalist, and spent great part of his fortune in the cause, being the only person exempted from the benefit of the treaty, when Worcester surrendered to the parliament in the year 1646. Our poet's father was churchwarden of the parish the year before his son Samuel was born, and has entered his baptism, dated February 8, 1612, with his own hand, in the parish register. He had four sons and three daughters, born at Strensham ; the three daughters, and one son older than our poet, and two * This information came from Mr. Gresley, rector of Strens- ham, from the year 1706 to the year 1773, when he died, aged 100 : so that he was born seven years before the poet died. 10 ON SAMUEL BUTLER, ESQ., sons younger : none of his descendants remain in the parish, though some of them are said to be in the neigh- boring villages. Our author received liis first rudiments of learning at home ; he was afterwards «!ent to the college school at Worcester, then taught by Mr. Henry Briglit,* pre- bendary of that cathedral, a celebrated scliolar, and many years the famous master of the King's school there ; one who made his business his delight ; and, though in very easy circumstances, continued to teach for the sake of doing good, by benefiting the families of the neighboring gentlemen, who thought themselves happy in having their sons instructed by him. How long Mr. Butler continued under his care is not known, but, probably, till he was fourteen years old. * Mr. Bright is buried in the cathedral church of Worcester, near the north pillar, at the tout of the steps which lead to the choir. He was liorn 15G2, appointed schoolmaster laSli, made prebendary 1G19, died 1626. The inscription in capitals, on a' mural stone, now placed in what is called the Bishop's Chapel, is as follows : Mane liospes et lege, Magister HENRICUS BRIGHT, Celeberriiims gyninasiarcha, Qui scholiE regioe istic fundatse per totos 40 annos sumnia cum laude praji'uit, Q,uo non alter magis sedulus '"uit, scitusve, ac dexter, in Lalinis Gr;pcis llebraicis litleris, feliciter edocendis: Teste utraque academia quani iiistruxit afiatira numerosa plebe literaria: Sed et totidem annis eoque ani|)lius theologiam professus Et hujus ecclesi;e per septennium canonicus major, Saepissimo hie et alibi sacrum dei pra-coneni magno cum zelo et fructu egil. Vir plus, doctus, integer, IVugi, de republica deque ecclesia optime meritus. A laboribus per din noctuque ab anno 1,562 ad 1026 streriue usque exantlutis 4° iMartii suaviler requievit in OoMiiiio. See this npitajih, written by Dr. Joseph Hall, dean of Worces- ter, in Tuller's Worthies, p. 177. I have endeavored to revive the memory of this great and good teacher, wishing to e.xcite a laudable emulation in our proymcial schoolmasters ; a race of n)eii, who, if tbey execute their trust with abilities, industry, and in a proper manner, de- serve the highest honor and patronage their country can bestow as they have an opportunity of lonununicating learnin-' at a moderate expense, to the middle rank of gentry, witho"ut the danger of ruining their fortunes, and corrupting their morals or their health: this, though foreign to my present purpose, the respect and affection I bear to my neighbors extorted from me. AUTHOR OF HUDIBRAS. 11 Whether he was ever entered at any university is lui- certain. His biographer says he went to Cambridge, but was never matriculated : Wood, on tlie authority of Butler's brotiier, says, the poet spent six or seven years there ;* but as other things are quoted from the same authority, which I believe to be false, I should very much suspect the truth of this article. Some expres- sions, in his works, look as if he were acquainted with the customs of Oxford. Coursing was a term peculiar to that university ; see Part iii. c. ii. v. 1244. Returning to his native country, he entered into the service of Thomas JefFeries, Esq., of Earls Croombe, who, being a very active justice of the peace, and a leading man in the business of the province, his clerk was in no mean office, but one that reqaiied a know- ledge of the law and constitution of his country, and a proper behavior to men of every rank and occupation : besides, in those times, before tlie roads were made good, and short visits so much in fashion, every large family was a community within itself: the upper ser- vants, or retainers, being often the younger sons of gentlemen, were treated as friends, and the whole family dined in one common hall, and had a lecturer or clerk, who, during meal times, read to them some useful or entertaining book. Mr. JefTeries's family was of this sort, situated in a retired part of the country, surrounded by bad roads, the master of it residing constantly in Worcestersiiire. Here Mr. Butler had the advantage of living some time in the neighborhood of his own family and friends : and having leisure for indulging his inclinations for learning, he probably improved himself very much, not only in the abstruser branches of it, but in the polite arts : here he studied painting, in the practice of which indeed his proficiency was but moderate ; for I recollect seeing at Earls Croombe, in my youth, some portraits said to be painted by iiim, which did him no great honor as an artist.t 1 have heard, lately, of a portrait of Oliver Cromwell, said to be painted by our author. * His residing in the neighborhood might, perhaps, occasion the idea of his having been at Cambridge. t In his MS. Cominon-place book is the following observation : it is more difficult, and requires a greater mastery of art in painting, to foreshorten a figure exactly, than' to draw three at their just length; so it is, in writing, to express any thing natu rally and briefly, than to enlarge and dilate : 12 ON SAMUEL BUTLER, ESQ., After continuing some time in this service, he was recommended to Elizabeth Countess of Kent, who lived at Wrest, in Bedfordshire. Here he enjoyed a literary retreat during great part of the civil wars, and here probably laid the groundwork of his Hudibras, as he had the benefit of a good collection of books, and the society of that living library, the learned Selden. His biographers say, he lived also in the service of Sir Samuel Luke, of Cople Hoo Farm, or Wood End, in that county, and that from him he drew the character of Hudibras :* but such a prototype was not rare in those times. We hear little more of Mr. Butler till after the Restoration: perhaps, as Mr. Selden was left executor to the Countess, his employment in her affairs might not cease at her death, though one might suspect by Butler's MSS. and Remains, that his friendship with that great man was not without interruption, for his satirical wit could not be restrained from displaying itself on some particularities in the character of that eminent scholar. Lord Dorset is said to have first introduced Hudibras to court. November 11, 1662, the author obtained an imprimatur, signed J. Berkenhead, for printing his poem ; accordingly in the following year he published the first part, containing 125 pages. Sir Roger L'Estrange grant- ed an imprimatur for the second part of Hudibras, by And therefore a judicious author's blots Are more ingenious than his first free thoughts. This, and many other passages from Butler's MSS. are inserted, not so much for their intrinsic merit, as to please those who are unwilling to lose one drop of that immortal man; as Garrick says of ShaKspeare : It is my pride, my joy, my only plan, To lose no drop of that immortal man. * The Lukes were an ancient family at Cople, three miles south of Bedford: in the church are many monuments to the family an old one to the memory of Sir Walter Luke knight, one of the justices nf the pleas, liolden before the most excellent prince King Henry the Eighth, and dame Anna his wife : anoth- er in remembrance of Nicholas Luke, and his wife, with five sons and four daughters. On a flat stone in the chancel is written. Here lieth the Imdy of George Luke, Es(|.; he departed this life Feb. 10, 173iJ, aged 74 years, the last Luke of Wood End. Sir Samuel Luke was a rigid Presbyterian, and not an eminent commander under Oliver Cromwell ; probably did not approvo of the king's trial and execution, and therefore, with other Pres byterians, both he and his futlier Sir Oliver were among the se- cluded members. See Rushworlh's collections AUTHOR OF HUDIBRAS. 13 the author of the first, November 5, 1663, and it was printed by T. R. for John Martin, 1664. In the Mereuriiis Auliciis, a ministerial newspaper, from January 1, to January 8, 1662, quarto, is an ad- vertisement saying, that " there is stolen abroad a most " false and imperfect copy of a poem called Hudibras, " without name either of printer or bookseller ; the true " and perfect edition, printed by the autiior's original, is " sold by Richard Marriott, near St. Dunstan's Church, " in Fleet-street ; that other nameless impression is a " cheat, and will but abuse the buyer, as well as the " author, whose poem deserves to have fallen into better " hands." Probably man)' other editions were soon af- ter printed : but the fir.st and second parts, with notes to both parts, were printed for J. Martin and H. Herring- ham, octavo, 1674. Tiie last edition of the third part, before the author's death, was printed by the same per- sons in 1678 : this I take to be the last copy corrected by himself, and is tliat from which this edition is in general printed : the third part had no notes put to it during the author's life, and who furnished them after his death is not known. In the British Museum is the original injunction by authority, signed John Bcrkenhead, forbidding any print- er, or other person whatsoever to print Hudibras, or any part thereof, without the consent or approbation of Sam- uel Butler, (or Boteler,) Esq.,* or his assignees, given at Whitehall, 10th September, 1677; copy of this injunc- tion may be seen in the note.t It was natural to suppose, that after the restoration, and the publication of his Hudibras, our poet should have * Induced by this injunction, and by the office he held as sec- retary to Richard earl of Carbury. lord president of Wales, I have ventured to call our poet Samuel Butler, Esq. t CHARLES R. Our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby strictly charge and conuuand, that no printer, bookseller, stationer, or other person what-oever within our kingdom of England or Ireland, do print, re- print, u Iter or sell, or cause to be printed, reprinted, uttered or sold, a book or poem called Hudibras, or any part thereof, without the consent and approbation of Samuel Botclcr, Esq., or his as- signees, as they and every of them will answer the contrary at their perils. Given at our Court at Whitehall, the tenth day of Septem!)er, in the year of our Lord God J077, and in the 29th year of our reign. By his Majesty's command, Jo. BERKENHEAD. Miscel. Papers, Mus. Bibl. Birch. No. 4293. Pint. 11. J. original. 14 ON SAMUEL BUTLER, ESQ,., appeared in public life, and have been rewarded for the eminent service his poem did the royal cause ; but {His innate modesty, and studious turn of mind, prevented so- licitations : never having tasted the idle luxuries of life, he did not make to himself needless wants, or pine after imaginary pleasures : his fortune, indeed, was small, and so was his ambition ; his integrity of life, and modest temper, rendered him contented. . However, there is good authority for believing that at one time he was grat- ified with an order on the treasury for 300Z., which is said to have passed all the offices without payment of fees, and this gave him an opportunity of displaying his disinterested integrity, by conveying the entire sum im- mediately to a friend, in trust for the use of his creditors. Dr. Zaciiary Pearse,* on the authority of Mr. Lowndes of the Treasury, asserts, that Mr. Butler received from Charles the Second an annual pension of 100/.; add to this, he was appointed secretary to the lord president of the principality of Wales, and, about the year 1GG7, steward of Ludlow castle. With all this, the court was thought to have been guilty of a glaring neglect in his case, and the public were scandalized at the ingratitude. The indigent poets, who have always claimed a prescrip- tive right to live on the munificence of their cotempora- ries, were the loudest in their remonstrances. Dryden, Oldham, and Otway, while in appearance they com- plained of the unrewarded merits of our author, oblique- ly lamented their private and particular grievances ; ndrpoKXov TTp6(painv, a(f>iov 5' avrHv Ki/Se fxas-of ;t or, as Sal- lust says, nuUi mortalium injurife suee pai-vse videntur. Mr. Butler's own sense of the disappointment, and the impression it made on his spirits, are sufficiently marked by the circumstance of his having twice transcribed the following distich with some variation in his ]\IS. com- mon-place book : To think how Spenser died, liow Cowley nioiirn'd, How Buller's faith and service were return'd.J * See Granger's Biographical History of England, octavo, vol. iv. )). 40. t Homer— Iliad, 19, .103. i I am aware of a ditTiculty that maybe started, that the Tra geriy of CoMstantine tlie Great, to which Otway wrote the pro- logue, according to Ciles Jacol) in his poetical Kcgistcr, was not acted at the 'i'heatre Royal till 1081, four years after our poet's death, but probably he had seen the MS. or heard the thought, as both his MSS. difl'er somewhat from the printed copy. AUTHOR OF HUDIBRAS. 15 In the same MS. he says, " wit is very chargeable, " and not to be maintained in its necessary expenses at " an ordinary rate : it is the worst trade in the world to " live upon, and a commodity that no man thinks he " has need of, for those who have least believe they have « most." Ingenuity and wit Do only make the owners fit For nothing, but to be undone Much easier than if th' had none. Mr. Butler spent some time in France, probably when Lewis XIV. was in the height of his glory and vanity : however, neither the language nor manners of Paris were pleasing to our modest poet ; some of his observa- tions may be amusing, I shall therefore insert them in a note.* He married Mrs. Herbert : whether she was a * "The French use so many words, upon all occasions, that if they did not cut them short in pronunciation, they would grow tedious and insufferable. "They infinitely affect rhyme, though it becomes their lan- guage the worst in the world, and spoils the little sense they have to make room for it, and make the same syllable rhyme to itself, which is worse than metal upon metal in heraldry : they find it much easier to write plays in verse than in prose, for it is much harder to imitate nature, than any deviation from her ; and prose requires a more proper and natural sense and expres- sion than verse, that has something in the stamp and coin to an- swer for the alloy and want of intrinsic value. I never came among them, but the following line was in my mind: Raucaque garrulitas, studiumque inane loquendi; for thev talk so much, they have not time to think; and if they had allthe wit in the world, their tongues would run before it. "The present king of France is building a most stately tri umphal arch in memory of his victories, and the great actions which he has performed : but, if I am not mistaken, those edili- ces which bear that name at Rome, were not raised by the em- perors whose names they bear, (such as Trajan, Titus, &c.,) but were decreed by the Senate, and built at the expense of the jmb- lic ; for that glory is lost, which any man designs to consecrate to himself. "The king takes a very good course to weaken the city of Pa- ris by adorning of it, and to render it less, by making it appear greater and more glorioiis ; for he pulls down whole streets to make room for his palaces and public structures. " There is nothing great or magnifiL-ent in all the couiitry, that I have seen, hut the buildings and furniture of the king's houses and the churches; all the rest is mean and paltry. "The king is necessitated to lay heavy taxes upon his subjects in his own defence, and to keep them poor, in order to keep then, quiet ; for if they are suffered to enjoy any plenty, they are natu- rally so insolent, thiU they would become ungovernable, and use him as they have done his predecessors : but he has rendered himself so strong, that they have no thoughts of attempting any thing in his time. 16 ON SAMUEL BUTLER, ESQ., widow, or not, is uncertain ; with her he expected a con- siderable fortune, but, through various losses, and kna- very, he found himself disappointed : to this some have attributed his severe strictures upon the professors of the law ; but if his censures be properly considered, they will be found to bear hard only upon the disgraceful part of each profession, and upon false learning in general : this was a favorite subject with him, but no man had a great- er regard for,orwas a better judge of the worthy part of the three learned professions, or learning in general, tiian Mr. Butler. How long he continued in office, as steward of Lud- low Castle, is not known ; but he lived the latter part of his life in Rose-street, Covent Garden, in a studious retired manner, and died there in the year 1680. — Ho is said to have been buried at the expense of Mr. Wil- liam Longueville, though he did not die in debt. Some of his friends wished to have interred him in Westminster Abbey with proper solemnity ; but not finding others willing to contribute to the expense, his corpse was deposited privately in the yard belonging to the church of Saint Paul's, Covent Garden, at the west end of the said yard, on tlie north side, under the wall of the said church, and under that wall which parts the yard from the common highway.* I have been thus particular, because, in the year 1786, when the cliurch was repaired, a marble monument was placed on the south side of tiie church on the inside, by some of the parishioners, which might tend to mislead posterity as to the place of his interment : their zeal for the memory of the learned poet does them honor ; but the writer of the verses seems to have mistaken the character of Mr. Butler. The inscription runs thus: " This little monument was erected in the year 1786, " by some of the parishioners of Covent Garden, in "The churchmen overlook all other people as haughtily as the tnurches anil steeples do private; houses. "The French ilo nothin<; without ostentation, and the king himself is not behind vvithliis triumphal arches consecrated to himself, and his impress of the sun, noc pliirilius impar. "The French kine having copies of the best pictures from Rome, is as a groat prince wearing clothes at second hand : the king in his prodigious charge of buildings and furniture docs the same thing to himself that lie means to do by I'aris, renders him- self weaker, by endeavoring to appear the more magnificent: lets go the substance for shadow." * See Butler's Life, printed before the small edition of Hudi- bras in 1710, and reprinted by Dr. Grey. AUTHOR OF HUDIBRAS. 17 " memory of the celebrated Samuel Butler, who was " buried in this church, A. D. 1680. " A few plain men, to pomp and state unknown, "O'er a poor bard have raised this humble stone, " Whose wants alone his genius could surpass, " Victim of zeal ! the matchless Hudibras ! " What though foir freedom sufierM in his page, " Reader, forgive the author for the age ! " How few, alas ! disdain to cringe and cant, " When 'tis the mode to play the sycophant. " But, oh ! let all be taught, from Butler's fate, " Who hope to make their fortunes by the great, " That wit and pride are always dangerous things, " And little faith is due to courts and kmgs." In the year 1721, John Barber, an eminent printer, and alderman of London, erected a monument to our poet in Westminster Abbey ; the inscription is as fol- lows : M.S. Samuelis Butler Qui Strenshamia; in agro Vigorn. natus 1612, Obiit Lond. 1680. Vir doctus imprimis, acer, integer, Operibus ingenii non item prsmiis felix. Satyrici ainul nos carminis artile.x egregius, Qui simulata' religionis larvam detra.xit Et perduellium scelera liberrime exagitavit, Scriptorum in suo genere primus et postremus. Ne cui vivo deerant fere onmia Deesset etiam mortuo tumulus Hoc tandem posito marmore curavit Johannes Barber civis Londinensis 17SSI. On the latter part of this epitaph the ingenious Mr Samuel Wesley wrote the following lin«s : While Butler, needy wretch, was yet alive. No generous patron would a dinner give ; See him, when starved to death, and turn'd to dust, Presented with a monumental bust. The poet's fate is here in emblem shown. He ask'd for bread, and he received a stone. Soon after this monument was erected in Westminster Abbey, some persons proposed to erect one in Covent Garden church, for which Mr. Dennis wrote the follow- ing inscription : Near this place lies interr'd The body of Mr. Samuel Butler, Author of Hudibras. He was a whole species of poets in one : Admirable in a manner In which no one else has been tolerable: A manner which began and ended in him, 2 18 ON SAMUEL BUTLER, ESQ., In which he knew no guide, And has found no followers. Nat. 1(512. Ob. 1680. Hudibras is Mr. Butler's capital work, and though the characters, poems, thoughts, &c., published by Mr. Thyer, in two volumes octavo, are certainly written by the same masterly hand, though they abound in lively sallies of wit, and display a copious variety of erudition, j'et the nature of the subjects, their not having received tiie author's last corrections, and many other reasons which might be given, render them less acceptable to tiie present taste of the public, which no longer relishes the antiquated mode of writing characters, cultivated when Butler was young, by men of genius, such as Bisliop Earle and Mr. Cleveland ; the volumes, how- ever, are very useful, as they tend to illustrate many passages in Hudibras. Tiie three small ones entitled, Postliumous Works, in Prose and Verse, by Mr. Samuel BLitier, author of Hudibras, printed 1715, 1716, 1717, aie all spurious, except the Pindaric ode on Duval the highwayman, and perhaps one or two of the prose pieces. As to the MSS. wliich after Mr. Butler's death came into the hands of Mr. Longueville, and from vviience Mr. Thyer published his genuine Remains in ti.e year 1759 ; what remain of them, still unpublished, arc either in the hands of the ingenious Doctor Farmer, of Cambridge, or myself: for Mr. Butler's Common-place Book, mentioned by Mr. Tliyer, I am indebted to the lib- eral and public-spirited James Massey, Esq., of Rosthern, near Knotsford, Cheshire. The poet's frequent and correct use of law-terms* is a sutficient proof that he was well versed in that science ; but if further evidence were wanting, I can produce a MS. purchased of some of our poet's relations, at the Hay, in Brecknockshire : it ap])eur.s to bo a collection of legal cases and principles, regularly related from Lord Coke's Commentary on Littleton's Tenures : the language is Norman, or law French, and, in general, an abridgment of the above- mentioned celebrated work : for the authorities in the margin of the MS. correspond e.vactly with those given on the same positions in the first institute ; and the sub- ject matter contained in each particular section of But- jer's legal tract, is to be found in the same numbered * Butler is said to have been a member of Gray's-inn, and of a club with Cleveland and otbi'i- wUs nulined to llie royal cause. AUTHOR OF HUDIBRAS. 19 section of Coke upon Littleton : the first book of the MS. likewise ends with the 84th section, which same number of sections also terminates the first institute ; and the second book of the MS. is entitled by Butler, Le second livre del primer part del institutes de ley d'Engleterre. The titles of the respective chapters of the MS. also precisely agree with the titles of each chapter in Coke upon Littleton ; it may, therefore, rea- sonably be presumed to have been compiled by Butler solely from Coke upon Littleton, with no other object than to impress strongly on his mind the sense of that author; and written in Norman, to familiarize himself with the barbarous language in which the learning of the common law of England was at that period almost imiformly expressed. The MS. is imperfect, no title existing, some leaves being torn, and is continued only to the ]93d section, which is about the middle of Coke's second book of the first institute. As another instance of the poet's great industry, I have a French dictionary, compiled and transcribed by him : thus did our ancestors, with great labor, draw truth and learning out of deep wells, whereas our mod- ern scholars only skim the surface, and pilfer a super- ficial knowledge from encyclopaedias and reviews. It doth not appear that he ever wrote for the stage, though I have, in his MS. Common-place book, part of an un- finished tragedy, entitled Nero. Concerning Hudibras there is but one sentiment — it is universally allowed to be the first and last poem of its kind ; the learning, wit, and humor, certainly stand un- rivalled ; various have been the attempts to define or describe the two last ; the greatest English writers have tried in vain ; Cowley,* Barrow,t Dryden,! Locke,§ Addison, II Pope,^ and Congreve, all failed in their at- tempts ; perhaps they are more to be felt than explain- ed, and to be understood rather from example than pre- cept ; if any one wishes to know what wit and humor are, let him read Hudibras with attention, he will there see them displayed ui the brightest colors : there is lus- tre resulting from the quick elucidation of an object, by * In his Ode on Wit,— t in his Sermon against Foolish Talk Ing and Jesting, — J in his Preface to an Opera called the State of Innocence,— § Essay on Human Understanding, b. ii. c. 2. — II Spectator, Nos. 35 and 32.— U Essay concerning humor ia Comedy, and Corbyn Morris's Essay on Wit, Humor, and Rail- lery. 20 ON SAMUEL BUTLER, ESQ., a just and unexpected an-anj^ement of it with anothei subject ; propriety of words, and thoughts elegantly adapted to tlie occasion : objects which possess an af- finity and congruity, or sometimes a contrast to each other, assembled witlu quickness and variety ; in short, every ingredient of wit, or of humor, which critics have discovered on dissecting them, may be found in this poem. The reader may congratulate himself, that he is not destitute of taste to relish both, if he can read it with delight ; nor would it be presumption to transfer to this capital author, Quinctilian's enthusiastic jiraise of a great Ancient : hunc igitur spectemus, hoc propositum sit nobis exemplum, ille se profecisse sciat cui Cicero valde placebit. Hudibras is to an epic poem, what a good farce is to a tragedy : persons advanced in years generally prefer the former, having met with tragedies enough in real life ; whereas the comedy, or interlude, is a relief from anxious and disgusting reflections, and suggests such playful ideas, as wanton round the heart and enliven the very features. The hero marches out in search of adventures, to suppress those sports, and punish those trivial offences, which the vulgar among the royalists were fond of, but which the Presbyterians and Independents abhorred ; and which our hero, as a magistrate of the former per- suasion, thought it his duty officially to suppress. The diction is that of burlesque poetry, painting low and mean persons and things in pompous language, and a mag- nificent manner, or sometimes levelling sublime and pompous passages to the standard of low imagery. The principal actions of the poem are four : Hudibras's vic- tory over Crowdero — Trulla's victory over Hudibras — Hudibras's victory over Sidrophel — and flie Widow's anti-masquerade : the rest is made up of the adventures of the Bear, of the Skimmington, Hudibras's conversa- tions with the Lawyer and Sidrophel, and his long dis- putations with Ralpho and the Widow. The verse con- sists of eight syllables, or four feet, a measure which, in unskilful hands, soon becomes tiresome, and will ever be a dangerous snare to meaner and less masterly imi- tators. The Scotch, the Irish, the American Hudibras, are not worth mentioning : the translation into French, by an Englishman, is curious ; it preserves the sense, but cannot keep up the humor. Prior seems to have come AUTHOR OF HUDIBRAS. 21 nearest the original, though he is sensible of his own in- feriority, and says, But, like poor Andrew, I advance, False mimic of my mfister's dance ; Around the cord awhile I sprawl, And thence, tho' low, in earnest fall. = His Alma is neat and elegant, and his versification superior to Butler's ; but his learning, knowledge, and wit, by no means equal. Prior, as Dr. Johnson says, had not Butler's exuberance of matter and variety of illustration. The spangles of wit which he could afford, he knew how to polish, but he wanted the bullion of his master. Hudibras, then, may truly be said to be the first and last satire of the kind ; for if we examine Lu- cian's l^ragopodagra, and other dialogues, the Caesars of Julian, Seneca's Apocolocyntosis,* and some frag- ments of Varro, they will be found very different : the battle of the frogs and mice, commonly ascribed to Ho- mer, and the Margites, generally allowed to be his, prove this species of poetry to be of great antiquity. The inventor of the modern mock heroic was Ales- sandro Tassoni, born at Modena, 1565. His Secchia rapita, or Rape of the Bucket, is founded on the popu- lar account of the cau-se of the civil war between the inhabitants of Modena and Bologna, in the time of Frederic II. Tliis bucket was long preserved, as a trophy, in the cathedral of Modena, suspended by the chain which fastened the gate of Bologna, through which the Modenese forced tiieir passage, aiiJ seized the prize. It is written in the ottava Rima, the solemn measure of the Italian heroic poets, has gone through many editions, and been twice translated into French : it has, indeed, considerable merit, though the reader will scarcely see Elena trasfornrasi in una secchia. Tassoni travelled into Spain as first secretary to Cardi- nal Colonna, and died, in an advanced age, in the court of Francis the First, duke of Modena : he was highly esteemed for his abilities and extensive learning ; but, like Mr. Butler's, liis wit was applauded, and unre- * Or the mock deification of Claudius ; a burlesque of Apothe- osis or Anathanatosis. Rciniarus renders it, non inter deos sed inter tV.tuos rclatio, and quotes a proverb from Apuleius, Colo- cyntuj caput, for a fool. Colocynta is metaphorically put for any thing unusually large. Aij/iaj Ko\oKvvraii, in the Clouds of Aristophanes, is to have tho eye swelled by an obstruction ai big as a gourd. 22 ON SAMUEL BUTLER, ESQ., warded, as appears from a portrait of him, with a fig ii: his hand, under which is written the following distich : Dextera cur ficum qiia;ris mea gestat iniiiiem, Long; operis ineices ha;c fiiit, Aula dedit. The next successful imitators of the mock-heroic, have been Boileau, Garth, and Pope, whose res])ective works are too generally known, and too justly :idmired, to require, at this time, description or encomium. The Pucelle d'Orleans of Voltaire may be deemed an imita- tion of Hudibras, and is written in somewliat the same metre ; but the latter, upon the whole, must be con- sidered as an original species of poetry, a composilion sui generis. Unde nil majus gcneiatur ipsn ; Nee viget quidquain simile aut secundum. Hudibras has been compared to the Satyre Menippee de la vertu du Catholicon d'Espagne, first published in France in the year 1593 ; the subject indeed is some- what similar, a violent civil war e.xcited by religious •zeal, and many good men made the dupes of state poli- ticians. After the death of Henry IH. of France, the Duke de Mayence called together the states of the kingdom, to elect a successor, there being many pre- tenders to the crown ; tiiese intrigues were the founda- tion of the Satire of Menippee, so called from Menippus a cynic philosopbe-r, and rough satirist, introducer of the burlesque species of dialogue. In this work are unveiled the diti'crent views and interests of the several actors in those busy scenes, who, under the pretence of publi", good, consulted only their private advantage, passions, and prejudices. The book, which aims particularly at the Spanish party,* went through various editions from its first pub- * It is sometimes called Iliguero del infierno, or the fig-tree ot floll, alluding tci the violent part the Spaniards took in the civil wars of France, and in allusion to the title of Seneca's Apocolo- cyntosis. By this tig-tree the author perhaps means the won- derful hir or banian described by Milton. The fig-tree, not that kind for fruit renown'd, But such as at this day to Indians known In Malabar or Decan, spreads his arms, Branching so broad and long, that in the ground The bended twigs tak<; root, and daughters grow About the mother tree; a pillar'd shade High over-arch'd, and echoing walks between. AUTHOR OF HUDIBRAS. 23 lication to 1726, when it was printed at Ratisbone in three voUimes, with copious notes and index: it is still studied by antiquaries with delight, and iu its day was as much admired as Hudibras. D'Aubigne says of it, il passe pour un chef d'ceuvre en son gendre, et fiit lue avec una egale aviditc, et avec un plaisir mci-veilieux par les royaiistes, par les politiques, par les Huguenots et par les ligueurs de toutes les especes.* M. de Thou's character of it is equally to its advan- tage. The principal author is said to be Monsieur le Roy, sometime chaplain to the Cardinal de Bourbon, whom Thuanus calls vir bonus, et a factione summo alienus. This satire differs widely from our author's : like those of Varro, Seneca, and Julian, it is a mixture of verse and prose, and though it contains much wit, and Mr. Butler had certainly read it with attention, yet he cannot be said to imitate it : the reader will perceive that our poet had in view Don Quixote, Spenser, the Italian poets, together with the Greek and Roman classics : but very rarely, if ever, alludes to Milton, though Paradise Lost was published ten years before the third part of Hu- dibras. Other sorts of burlesque have been publisiied, such as the Carmiua Macaronica, the Epistolce Obscurorum Virorum, Cotton's Travesty, &c., but these are efforts Mr. Ives, in his Journey from Persia, thus speaks of this won- derful vegetable: "This is the Indian sacred tree; it grows to a "prodigious height, and its branches spread a great way. The "limbs drop down fibrous, which take root, and become another "tree, united by its branches to the first, and so continue to do, "until the tree cover a great extent of ground ; the arches which " those different stocks make are Gothic, like those we see in " Westminster Abbey, the stocks not being single, but appearing "as if composed of many stocks, are of a great circumference. "There is a certain solemnity accompanying these trees, nor do "I remember that I was ever under the cover of any of them, " but that my mind was at the time impressed with a reverential ■' awe." From hence it seems, that both these authors thought Gothic architecture similar to embowered rows of trees. The Indian fig-tree is described as of an immense size, capable of shading 800 or 1,000 men, and some of them 3,000 persons. In Mr. Marsden's History of Sumatra, the following is an account of the dimensions of a remarkable banyan-tree near Banjer, twenty miles west of Patna, in Bengal. Diameter 363 to 375 feet, circumference of its shadow at noon 1,116 feet, circumfer- ence of the several stems, (in number 50 or 60,) 911 feet. * Henault says of this work, Peut-6tre que la satire Menipp6e ne fut gueres moins utile iv Henri IV. que la bataille d'lvri: Ic ridicule a plus de force qu'on ne croit 24 ON SAMUEL BUTLER, ESCi-, of genius of no great importance. Many burleisque and satirical poems, and prose compositions, were published in France between the years 1593 and 16G0, the au- thors of which were Rabelais,* Scarron, and others; the Cardinal is said to have severely felt the Maza- renade. A popular song or poem has alw ays had a wonderful effect; the following is an excellent one from iEschylus, sung at the battle of Salarnis, at which he was present, and engaged in the Athenian squadron. -""fl TTOiScs 'EX^>5i'uv ire, iXtvdcpovTC -KaTpii', iXcvOspotiTC ii ira^iag, yvfalKixs, Ozioi' tc Trarpi'tijiv iSrj, d/JKai TE TTpoydi'Wv' vvv VTip -KavTwv aywv. ^^c^l. Pers;r, 1. 400. The ode of Callistratus is supposed to have done em- inent service, by commemorating the delivery, and pre- venting the return of that tyranny in Athens, which was happily terminated by the death of Hipparchus, and expulsion of the Pisistratida'! ; I mean a song vvhich was sung at their feasts beginning, Ev fivpTov nXail to ^i(pos (poprjau), [iancp ApfioSiOi k Api^oysiTOjv, bre Tov Tvpai'i'ov KTaviTTjv, hov6p.ovs t' Adijvas inoiriadTriv. And ending, A« (r05i' K^eoi eaazrai Kar aJav, (piXraO^ AppdSts k' Api^oyetrov, 6ti tov Tvpavvov ktuvctov laovdnov; r' AOf/vas titoifiaaTOV. Of this song the learned Lowth says, Si post idus illas Martias e Tyrannoctonis quispiam tale aliquod carmen plebi tradidisset, inque suburram, et fori circujos, et in era vulgi intulisset, actum profecto fuisset de partibus deque dominatione CiPsarum : plus mehercule valuisset unum ApiioSiov fiiXo; quaiii (^iceronis Philippica? omnes ; and again, Num verenduni erat ne quis tyrannidem Pisistratidarum Athenis instaurare auderet, ubi cantita- retur ^K6Xtov illud Callistrati. — See also Israelitarum Ettii'iVioi', Isaiah, chapter xiv. Of this kind was the famous Irish song called Lilli- * [Probably a misprint. Rabelais died in 1553, and his work was first published at Lyons in 1533.1 AUTHOR OF HUDIBRAS. 25 burlero, whicli just before the Revolution in 1688, had such an eifect, that Burnet says, " a foolish ballad was " made at that time, treating the papists, and chiefly " the Irish, in a very ridiculous manner, which had a " burthen said to be Irish words, Loro joro lilliburloro, " that made an impression on the (king's) army that " cannot be imagined by those that saw it not. The " whole army, and at last the people, both in city and "country, were singing it perpetually: and perhaps " never had so slight a thing so good an effect." Of this kind in modern days was the song of God save great George our king, and the Ca ira of Paris. Thus wonderfully did Hudibras operate in beating down the hypocrisy, and false patriotism of his tirne. Mr. Hay- iey gives a character of him in four lines with great propriety : "Unrivall'd Butler ! blest with happy skill "To heal by comic verse each serious ill, " By wit's strong flashes reason's light dispense, " And laugh a frantic nation into sense.'' For one great object of our poet's satire is to unmsisk the hypocrite, and to exhibit, in a light at once odious and ridiculous, the Presbyterians and Independents, and all other sects, which in our poet's days amounted to near two hundred, and were enemies to the King ; but his further view was to banter all the false, and even all the suspicious pretences to learnmg that prevailed in his time, such as astrology, sympathetic medicine, alchymy, transfusion of blood, trifling experimental philosophy, fortune-telling, incredible relations of travellers, false wit, and injudicious affectation of ornament to be found in the poets, romance writers, &c. ; thus he frequently alludes to Purchas's Pilgrim, Sir Kenelm Digby's books, Bulwer's Artificial Changeling, Brown's Vulgar Errors, Burton's Melancholy, the early transactions of the Royal Society, the various pamphlets and poems of his time, &c., &c. These books, though now little known, were much read and admired in our author's days. The ad- venture with the widow is introduced in conformity with other poets, both heroic and dramatic, who hold that no poem can be perfect which hath not at least one Epi- sode of Love. It is not worth while to inquire, if the characters painted under the fictitious names of Hudibras, Crow- dero, Orsin, Talgol, Trulla, &c , were drawn from real life, or whether Sir Roger L'Estrange's key to Hudi- 26 ON SAMUEL BUTLER, ESQ., bras bo a true one ; it matters not whetlier the hero were designed as the picture of Sir Samuel Luke, Col. Rolls, or Sir Henry Rosevveli, he is, in the language of Dryden, knight of the Shire, and represents them all, that is, the whole body of the Presbyterians, as Rajplio does that of tiie Independents: it would be degrading the liberal spirit and universal genius of Mr. Butler, to narrow his gcueral satire to a particular libel on any characters, however marked and prominent. To a single rogue, or blockhead, he disdained to stoop ; the vices and follies of the age in which he lived, (et quando uberior vitiorum copia,) were the quarry at which he fled ; these he cou- ceutrated, and embodied in the persons of Hudibras, Ralpho, Sidrophel, &c., so that each character in this admirable poem should be considered, not as an individ- ual, but as a species. It is not generally known, that meanings still more remote and cliimerical than mere personal allusions, have been discovered in Hudibras ; and the poem would have wanted one of those marks wliich distinguish works of superior merit, if it had not been supposed to be a perpetual allegory : writers of eminence. Homer, Plato, and even the Holy Scriptures themselves, have been most wretchedly misrepresented by commentators of this cast ; and it is astonishing to observe to what a de- gree Heraclides* and Proclus,t Philot and Origen, have lost sight of their usual good sense, when they have * The Allegnria; Honiericoe, Gr. Lat., published by Dean Gale, Ainst. 1G88, Ihnugh usually ascribed to Heraclides Ponlicus, the riatonist, must be the work of a more recent author, as the Dean has proved : his real name seems to have been Heraclitns, (not the philosopher,) and notbiui; more is known ol' him, but that Eustathius often cites him in his comment on Homer: the tract, however, is elegant and agreeable, and may be read with im- provement and pleasure. t I'roclus, the most learned philosopher of the fifth century, left among other writings numerous comments on Plato's works still subsisting, so stuti'ed with allegorical absurdities, that few who have perused two periods, will have patience to venture on a third. In this, he only tiillows the e.\ample of Atticus, and many others, whose interpretations, as wild as his own, lie care- fully e.xaniincs. He sneers at the famous Longinus with nuich Contempt, for adhering too servilely to the literal meaning of riato. t riiilo the Jew discovered many mystical senses in the Pen- Uilcuch, and from him, perhaps, Origen learned his unhajjpy knack of alle;zorizinu liotli Old and New Testament. This, in justice, however, is duo to Origon, that while he is hunting after abstruse senses, he doth not neglect the literal, but is sometimes hajijiy in his criticisms. AUTHOR OF HUDIBRAS. 27 allowed tliemselves to depart from the obvious and literal meaning of the text, which they pretend to explain. Thns some have thought that the hero of the piece was intended to represent tiie parliament, especially that part of it which favored the Presbyterian discipline ; when in the stocks, he personates the Presbyterians after they had lost their power; his first exploit is against the bear, whom he routs, which represents the parliament getting the better of the king : after this great victory, he courts a widow for her jointure, that is, the riches and power of the kingdom ; being scorned by her, he retires, but the revival of hope to the royalists draws forth both him and his squire, a little before Sir George Bootii's insurrection. Magnano, Cerdon, Talgol, «&lc., though described as butchers, coblers, tinkers, were designed as officers in the parliament army, whose original profes- sions, perhaps, were not much more noble : some have imagined Magnano to be the duke of Albemarle, and his getting thistles from a barren land, to allude to his power in Scotland, especially after the defeat of Booth. Trulla his wife, Crowdero Sir George Booth, whose bringing in of Bruin alludes to his endeavors to restore the king: his oaken leg, called the better one, is the king's cause, his other leg the Presbyterian discipline ; his fiddle-case, which in sport they hung as a trophy on the whipping-post, the directory. Ralpho, they say, represents the parliament of Independents, called Bare- bones Parliament ; Bruin is sometimes the royal person, sometimes the king's adherents; Orsin represents the royal party — Talgol the city of London — Colon the bulk of the people : all these joining together against the knight, represent Sir George Booth's conspiracy, with Presbyterians and royalists, against the parliament : their overthrow, through the assistance of Ralph, means the defeat of Booth by the assistance of the Independ- ents and other fanatics. These ideas are, perhaps, only the phrensy of a wild imagination, though there may be sojne lines that seem to favor the conceit. Dryden and Addison have censured Butler for his double rhymes ; the latter nowhere argues worse than upon this subject : " If," says he, " the thouglit in the " couplet be good, the rhymes add little to it ; and if " bad, it will not be in the power of rhyme to recom- " mend it. I am afraid that great numbers of those "who admire the incomparable Iludibras, do it more on " account of these doggerel rhymes, tiian th.e parts that 28,-' ON SAMUEL BUTLER, ESQ., " really deserve admiration."* This reflection affects equally all sorts of rhyme, which certainly can add nothing to the sense ; but double rhymes are like the whimsical dress of Harlequin, which does not. add to his wit, but sometimes increases the humor and drollery of it: they are not sought for, but, when they come easily, are always diverting : they are so seldom found in Hudibras, as hardly to be an object of censure, espe- cially as the diction and the rhyme both suit well with the character of the hero. It must be allowed that our poet doth not exhibit his hero witli the dignity of Cervantes ; but the principal fault of the poem is, that the parts are unconnected, and the story not interesting : the reader may leave off without being anxious for the fate of his hero ; he sees only disjecta membra poetEe ; but we should remember, that the parts were published at long intervals,! and that several of the different cantos were designed as satires on different subjects or extravagancies. What the judicious Ahh6 du Bos has said respecting Ariosto, may be true of Butler, that, in comparison with him, Homer is a geometrician : the poem is seldom read a second time, often not a first in regular order; tliat is, by passing from the first canto to the second, and so ou in succession. Spenser, Ariosto, and Butler, did not live ■in an age of planning ; the last imitated the former poets — " his poetry is the careless exuberance of a witty " imagination and great learning." / Fault has likewise been found,' and perhaps justly, with the too frequent elisions, the harshness of the num- bers, and the leaving out the signs of our substantives ; his inattention to grammar and syntax, which, in some passages, may have contributed to obscure his meaning, as the perplexity of others arises from the amazing fruit- fulness of his imagination., and extent of his reading. Most writers have more words than ideas, and the reader wastes much pains with them, and gets little informa- tioiv or amusement. Butler, on the contrary, has more ideas than words, his wit and learning crowd so fast upon him, that ho cannot find room or time to arrange them : iience liis periods become sometimes embarrassed and obscure, and his dialogues are too long. Our poet has been charged with obscenity, evil-speaking, and * Spectator, No. 00. t The Epistle to Sidrophel, not till many years after the canto lo which it is annexed. AUTHOR OF HUDIBRAS. 29 profanQiiess ; but satirists will take liberties. Juvenal, and that elegant poet Horace, must plead his cause, so far as the accusation is well Ibvuided. Some apology may be necessary, or expected, when a person advanced in years, and without the proper qualifications, shall undertake to publish, and comment upon, one of the most learned and ingenious writers in our language ; and, if the editor's true and obvious mo- tives will not avail to excuse him, he must plead guilty. The frequent pleasure and amusement he had received from the perusal of the poem, naturally bred a respect for the memory and character of the author, which is further endeared to him by a local relation to the coun- ty, and to the parish, so highly honored by the birth of Mr. Butler. These considerations induced him to at- tempt an edition, more pompous perhaps, and expensive, than was necessary, but not too splendid for the merit of the work. While Shakspeare, Milton, Waller, Pope, and the rest of our English classics, appear with every advantage that either printing or criticism can supply, why should not Hudibras share those ornaments at least with them which may be derived from the present im- proved state of typography and paper ? Some of the dark allusions, in Hudibras, to history, voyages, and the abstruser parts of what was then called learning, the author himself was careful to explain in a series of notes to the first two parts ; for the annotations to the third part, as has been before obseiTcd, do not seem to come from the same hand. In most other respects, the poem may be presumed to have been tolerably clear to the or- dinary class of readers at its first publication : but, in a course of years, the unavoidable fluctuations of language, the disuse of customs then familiar, and the oblivion which hath stolen on facts and characters then com- monly known, have superinduced an obscurity on seve- ral passages of the work, which did not originally be- long to it. The principal, if not the solo view, of the annotations now offered to the public, hath been to re- move these difficulties, and point out some of the passa- ges in the Greek and Roman authors to which the poet alludes, in order to render Hudibras more intelligible to persons of the commentator's level, men of middling capacity, and limited information. To such, if his re- marks shall be found useful and acceptable, he will be content, though they should appear trifling in the esti- mation of the more learned. 30 ON SAMUEL BUTLER, ESQ., It is extraordinary, that for above a hundred and twenty years, only one commentator hath furnished notes of any considerable length. Doctor Grey had va- rious friends, particularly Bishop Warburton, Mr. Byron, and several gentlemen of Cambridge, who communica- led to him learned and ingenious obseiTations : these have been occasionally adopted without scruple, have been abridged, or enlarged, or altered, as best consisted with a plan, somewhat different from the doctor's ; but in such a manner as to preclude any other than a gene- ral acknowledgment from the infinite perplexity that a minute and particular reference to them at every turn, would occasion ; nor has the editor been virithout the as- sistance of his friends. It is well known in Worcestershire, that long before the appearance of Doctor Grey's edition, a learned and worthy clergyman of that county, after reading Hudi- bras with attention, had compiled a set of observations, with design to reprint the poem, and to subjoin his own remarks. By the friendship of his descendants, tiie present publisher hath been favored with a sight of those papers, and though, in commenting on the same work, the annotator must unavoidably have coincided with, and been anticipated by Dr. Grey in numerous instan- ces, yet much original information remained, of which a free and unreserved use hath been made in the fol- lowing sheets ; but he is forbid any further acknowledg- ment. He is likewise much obliged to Dr. Loveday, of Wil- liamscot, near Banbury, the worthy son of a worthy father ; the abilities and correctness of the former can be equalled only by the learning and critical acumen of the latter. He begs leave likewise to take this opportu- nity of returning his thanks to his learned and worthy neighbor Mr. Ingraham, from whose conversation nuich information and entertainment has been received on many subjects. Mr. Samuel Westley, brother to the celebrated John Wcstley, had a design of publishing an edition of Hudi- bras with notes. He applied to Lord Oxford for the use of his books in his library, and his Lordship wrote him the following obliging answer from Dover-street, August 7, 17.34 — "I am very glad you was reduced to read " over Hudibras three times with care: I find you are ■' perfectly of my mind, tliat it much wants notes, and " that it will be a great work ; certainly it will be, to do AUTHOR OF HUDIBRAS. 3i " it as it should be. I do not know one so capable of " doing it as yourself. I speak this very sincerely. " Lilly's life I have, and any books that I have you " shall see, and have the perusal of them, and any other " part that I can assist. I own I am very fond of the " work, and it would be of excellent use and entertain- " ment. '■ The news you read in the papers of a match with ■' my daughter and the Duke of Portland was completed " at Mary-le-bonne chapel," &c.* What progress he made in the work, or what became of his notes, I could never learn. * Extract of a letter from Lord Oxford, taken from original let- ters by the Reverend John Westley and his friends, illustrative of his early history, published by Josech Priestlev. LL. D., Brinted at Birmingham 1791 HUDIBRAS. CANTO r. When civil fury first grew high,* And men fell out, they knew not why ;t When hard words, jealousies, and fears,! Set folks together by the ears. * In the first edition of the first part of this poem, printed spparMtely, we read dudgeon. Baton the publication of the sec- ond part, when the first was reprinted with several additions and alterations, the word dudgeon was chaneed to fury; as aji- pears in a copy corrected hy the author's own hand. The piili- lisher in 1704, and the subsequent ones, have taken the lilierty of correcting the author's copy, restored the word dudgeon, and many other readings: changing them, I think I may say, for the worse, in several passages. Indeed, while the Editor of 1704 replaces this word, and contends for it, he seems to show its im- propriety. "To take in dudgeon," says he, " is inwardly to re- " sent, a sort of grumbling in the gizzard, and what was previous " to actual fury." Yet in the next hnes we have men filling out, set together by the ears, and fighting. 1 doubt not but the inconsistency of these expressions occurred to the author, and induced him to change the word, that his sense might be clear, and the a;ra of his poem certain and uniforjn. — Dudgeon, in its primitive sense, signifies a dagger ; and figuratively, such hatred and suUenness as occasion men to employ short concealed weapons. Some readers may be fond of tlie word dudgeon, as a burlesque term, and suitable, as they think, to the nature of y i\ the poem: liut the judicious critic will observe, that the poet is not aUyays in a drolling linnior, and might not think fit to fall into it in the first line : he chooses liis words not by the oddness or unrouihness of llie sound, l)ut by the propriety of tlieir sig- nification. Besides, the word dudgeon, in the figurative sense, though not in its primitive one, is generally taken for a monoptote in the ablative case, to take in dudgeon, which might be another reason why the poet changed it into fury. See line 379. t Dr. Perrinchcif's Life of Charles I. says, " Thtrc will never " he wanting, in any country, some discontented spirits, and " some designing craftsmen : but when these confusions began, " the more part knew not wherefore they were come together." X Hard (/)»r(/i-— Probtibly tlie jargon and cant-words used l)y the I'resbyterians, anriollier sectaries. They called themselves tlic elect, the saints, the predestinated : and their opponents they called Papists, Pielatists, ill-designing, reprobate, profligate, &c. &.C. i^ -\ PART I. CANTO I. THE ARGUMENT., j . Sir Hudibras* his passing worth, The manner how he sally'd forth ; His arms and equipage are shown ; His horse's virtues aud his own. Th' adventure of the bear and fiddle Is sung, but breaks otFin the middle.t * Butler probably took this name from Spenser's Fairy Queen. B. ii. C. ii. St. 17. He that made love unto the eldest dame Was liight Sir Hudibras, an hardy man : Yet not so good of deeds, as great of name. Which he by many rash adventures wan, Since errant arms to sew he first began. Geoffry of Monmouth mentions a British king of this name, though some have supposed it derived from the French, Hugo, Hu de Bras, signifying Hugh the powerful, or with the strong arm : thus Fortinbras, Firebras. In the Grub-street Journal, Col. Rolls, a Devonshire gentle- man, is said to be satirized under the character of Hudibras; and it is asserted, that Hugh de Bras was the name of the old tutelar saint of that county : but it is idle to look for personal reflections in a poem designed for a general satire on hypocrisy, enthusiasm, and false learning. t Bishop Warburton observes ver^' justly, that this is a ridi- cule on Ronsard's Franciade, and Sir William Davenant's Gon- dibert. 34 IIUDIBRAS. [Part i. And made tlieiii tight, like mad or drunk, 5 For dame Religion as for Punk ;* "In the body politic, when the spiritual and windy power " moveth the members of a commonwealth, and by strange and " hard words siUibcates their understandin<:, it must needs there- " by distract the people, and either overwlielm the common- wealth with oppression, or cast it into the fire of a civil war." HOBBES. Jealousies — Bishop Burnet, in the house of lords, on the first article of the impeachment of Sacheverel, says, " The true oc- " casion of the war was a jealousy, that a conduct of fifteen "years had given too much ground for; and that was still kept " tip by a fatal train of errors in every step." See also the king's speech, Dec. '2. 1641. ^71(1 fears — Of superstition and Popery in the church, and of arbitrary power and tyranny in the state : ;in(l so prepossessed were many persons with thi^se fears, that, like tlie hern of this poem, they would imagine a bear-baiting to be a deep di^sign iigainst the religion and liberty of the country. Lord ( 'larendoi! tells us, that the English were the hap]iiest people under the sun, while the king w.as undisturbed in the administration of justice; but a too much felicity had made them unman:ig( able by moderate government ; a long peace having softened almost all the noblesse into court pleasures, and made the commoners insolent by great plenty. King Cbarles, in the fourth year of his reign, tells tlie !ord>, "We have been willing so far to descend to the desires of our "good subjects, as fully to satistie all moderate minds, and free " them from all just fears and jealousies." The words jeabiusies and fears, were bandied between the king and the parlianjont in all their papers, before the absolute breaking out of the war They were used by the parliament to the king, in their petition for the militia, I\Iarch ], lG41-'2; and by the king in his answer: "You speak of janlousies and fears, lay your hands to your "hearts and ask yourselves, whether I may not be disturbed " with jealousies and fears." .\nd the parliament, in their de- claration to the king at Newmarket, Mtirch 9, say, ' Those fetirs " and jealousies of ours which your majesty thinks to be cause- " less, and without just ground,' do necessarily and clearly arise " from those dttngers and distempers into which your evil coun- " cils have brought us : but those other fears and jealousies of " yours, have no found.alion or subsistence in any action, inten- tion, or miscarriage of ours, but are merely grounded on false- ' hood and tnalice." The terms had been used before by the Earl of Carlisle to James I., 14 Tcb. ](\2'.i. "Nothing will more dishearten the en- " vious maligners of your majesty's felicity, and encourage your " true-hearted friends and servants, than the removing those " false fears and jealousies, which are mere imaginary phan- " tasms, and bodies of air easily dissipated, whensoever it sliall " please the sun of your majesty to shew itself clearly in its " native brightness, lustre, anil goodness." * Pmh/.— From the Anglo-Saxon pung ; it signifies a bawd, Anus instar corii ad ignem sicca ti. (Skinner.) Sometimes scor turn, scortillum. Sir John Suckling says, Religion now is a young mistress here For which each man will tight and die at least: Let it alone awhile, aiul 'twill become Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. 35 Wiiose honesty they all durst swear for, The' not a man of them knew wherefore : When Gospel-Trumpeter, surrounded Witli long-eard rout, to battle sounded,* 10 And pulpit, drum ecclesiastick. Was beat with fist, instead of a stick ;t Then did Sir Knight abandon dwelling. And out he rode a colonelliug.t A Wight he was,§ whose very sight wou'd 15 Entitle him Mirror of Knight-hood ;1| A kind of married wife ; people will be Content to live with it in quietness. * Mr Butler told Thomas Veal, esquire, of Simons-hall, Gloucestershire, that the Puritans had a custom of puttmg their hands behind their ears, at sermons, and bending them f/rward, under pretence of hearing the better. He had seen hve hundred or a thousand large ears pricked up as soon as the text was named. Besides, they wore their hair very short, which showed their ears the more. See Godwin's notes in Bodley library. Dr Bulvver in his Anthropometainorphosis, or Artihcial Chan-'eiin", tells us wonderful stories of the size of men's ears in soine countries.-Pliny, lib. 7, o. 2, speaks of a people on the borders of India, who covered themselves with their ears. And Purchas, in his Pilgrim, saith, that in the island Arucetto there are men and women bavins ears of such bigness, that they lie upon one as a bed, and cover themselves with the other. I here mention the idle tales of these authors, because their works, together with Brown's Vulgar Errors, are the frequent obiect of our poet's satire. „ , ,. .t, . t It is sufficiently known from the history of those times, that the seeds of rebellion were first sown, and afterwards cu.uvated bv the factious preachers in conventicles, and the seditious and es- schismatical lecturers, who had crept into many churches, pecially about London. "These men," says Lord Clarendon, " liad fnini the beginning of the parliament, infused seditions "inclinations into the hearts of all men, against the government " in church and state : but after the raising an army, and reject- " ill" the kind's overtures for peace, they contained themselves " wilhin no bounds, but filled all the pulpits with alarms ..I nun " and destruction, if a peace were ofiered or accepted. 1 hese preachers used violent action, and made the pulpit an instru- ment of sedition, as the drum was of war. Dr. South, in one of his sermons, savs, " The pulpit supplied the field with sword- " men, and the parliament-house with incendiaries. + Some have imagineJd from hence, that by Hudibras was in- teililcd Sir Samuel Luke of Bedfordshire. Sir Samuel was an active justice of the peace, chairman of the quarter sessions, colonel of a regiment of foot in the parliament army, and a littee-man of that county ; but the poet's satire is general coiiinn (5, Wight is orininally a Sa.xon word, and signifies a person or being. It is often used by Chaucer, and tlie old poets. Some- limes it means a witch or conjuror. I A favorite title ia romances. 3f IIUDIBRAS. [Parti. That never bent his stubborn knee* To any thiajr but chivalry ; Nor put up blow, but that which laid Right vi'orshipl'ul on shoulder-blade :t, 20 Chief of domestic knights, and errant, Either for charteU or for warrant : Great on the bench, great in the saddle, That could as well bind o'er, as swaddle :§ Mighty he was at both of these, 25 And styl'd of War as well as Peace. So some rats of amphibious nature, Are either for tiie land or water. But here our authors make a doubt. Whether he were more wise, or stout. || 30 Some hold the one, and some the other ; But howsoe'er they make a pother, The dift''rence was so small, his brain Outvveigh'd his rage but half a grain ; Which made some take him for a tool 35 That knaves do work with, call'd a Fool ; And ofFer'd to lay wagers, that As Montaigne, playing with his cat, * AUudinK to the Presbyterians, who refused to kneel at the Sacnunent of the Lord's Supper, and insisted upon receiving it in a sittiim or standing posture. See Baxter's Life, &c. &,c. In some i)f the kirl. 171. " (Jtrebius, in a tract de " Vita. Morte.et Resuirectione, would persuade us, that doubtless "the Kosicriicians are in paradise, which place he seatetli near "unto the region of the moon." Olaus Rudbeckius, a Swede, in a very scarce book, entitled Allantici sive Miuihcun., i \a\. fol., <\n of zeal for liie honor of his country, has endeavoreil tc pre, e that Sweden was the real paradise. The learned Huet, Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. 43 And, as he was dispos'd, could prove it, 175 Below the moon, or else above it : What Adam dreamt of when his bride Came from her closet in his side : Whether the devil tempted her By an High-Dutch interpreter:* 180 If either of them liad a navel ;t bishop of Avranches, wrote an express treatise De Situ Parndisi rerrestris, bm not published till after our poet's death, (1(J91.) He gives a map of Paradise, and says, it is situated upon the canal formed by the Tigris and Euphrates, after tliey h ive joined near Apaniea, between the phice \^•here tliey join and that where they separate, in order to fall into the Persian gulf, on the eastern side of the souili branch of the great circuit which this river makes towards the west, marked in the maps of Ptolemy, near Aracca, about 3-2 degrees 311 minutes north lalilude, and 80 degrees 10 minutes cast longitude. Thus wilil and various have been the conjectures concerning tlie seat of Paradise; but we nuist leave this point undetermined, till we are better ac- quainted with the antediluvian world, and know what altera- tions the flood made upon the face of the earth. Mahomet is said to have assured his followers, that paradise was seated in heaven, and that Adam was cast down from thence when he transgressed : on the contrary, a learned prelate of our own time, supposes that our first parents were placed in paradise as a reward : for he says, "God (as we must needs conclude) having tried Adam in the "slate of nature, and ai)proved of the good use he had mude of "his free will under the direction of that light, advanced him to "a superior station in p-iradise. How long before this remove, "man had continued subject to natural religion alone, we can "only guess. But of this we may be assured, that it was some "considerable time beti)re the garden of Eiien could naturally be "made fit fir his reception." — See Warljuruni's Worki: Divine Legation, vol. iii. p. 034. And again: "This n:'.tural state "of man, antecedent to the paradisaical, can never be too care- "fully kept in mind, nor too precisely explained; since it is the "very key or clue (as we shall find in the progress of this work) '■ which is open to us, to lead us through aFl the recesses and " intimacies of the last and completed dispensation of Rod to "man; a dispensation long become intricate and perplexi d, by "men's neglecting to distinguish thc'se two states or conditions; "which, as we say, if not constantly kept in mind, the Gospel "can neither be well under^tood, nor reasonably supported." — Div. Leg. vol. iii. p. (J-iO, 4to. * Johannes Goropius Becanus, a man very learned, and pliy- sician to Mary Ciueeii of Hungary, sister to the Emperor Charles v., maintained the Teut/mic to be the tirst, and most ancient Utnguage in the world. Verstegan thinks the Teutonic not older than the tower of Babel. IJecayed Intelliuence, cli. 7. t "Over one of llie doors of tlie King's antechamber at St. "James's, is a picture of Adam and Eve, which formerly hung "in the gallery at Whiudiall, thence called the Adam and Eve "Gallery. Evelyn, in the prefice to his Idea of the Perfection "of Painting, mentions tliis picture, painted by .Malvagius, as he "calls him, (John M;ibuse, of a little town of the same name in "Hainault,) and objects to the absurdity of representing Adam 44 HUDIBRAS. [Part i Whc first made music malleable :* Wlicther the serpent, at the fail, Had cloven feet, or none at all.t All this without a gloss, or comment, 185 He could unriddle in a moment. In proper terms, such as men smatter, When they tiirow out and miss the^ matter. For liis Reliirion, it was fit To match his learning and his wit: I9fl 'Twas Presbyterian, true blue,t /For he was of that stubborn crew ( Of errant§ saints, whom all men grant To be the true church militant :|| Such as do build their faith upon 195 I The holy text of pike and gun ;ir { Decide all controversy by Infallible artillery ; And prove their doctrine orthodox By apostolic blows, and knocks ; 20O Call fire, and sword, and desolation, A godly-tliorough-Reformation,** "and Eve with navels, and a fountain of carved imagery in "Paradise. Tlie latter remark is just ; the former is only wor- "thy of a critical man midwife." Waipole's Anecdotes of Painting'. Henry VII. vol. i. p. .")0. Dr. Brown has the fifth cliajner of tlie tifih l)ook of his Vulgar Errors, expressly on tliis suliject, " Of the Picture of Ailam and Eve with Navels." ' * This relates to the idea that music was first invented by Py thagoras, on hearing a hlackstnill' strike his anvil with a ham- mer — a story which has been iVetiucntly riiiiculed. t That curse upon the serpent " on thy belly shalt thou go," seems to imply a deprivation of what he enjoyed before; it has been thought that the serpent had feet at lirst. So Basil says, he went erect like a man, and had the use of speech before the fall. \ Alluding to the proverb — " true blue will never stain :" representing the stubbornness of the party, which made them deaf to reason, and incapable of conviction. % The poet uses the word errant with a double meaning; without doul)t in allusion to knights errant in romances: and likewise to the bad sense in which tlie word is used, as, an errant knave, an errant villain. II Tlie church on earth is called militant, as struggling with temptations, and suljject to persecutions : but the Presbyterians of those days were literally the church militant, lighting witli the establishment, and all that opposed them. ir Cornet .loyce, when lie carried away the king from Iloldcn- by, being desirc^d by his majesty to show his instructions, drew up his troop in tlie inward court, and said, "These, sir, are my instructions." ** How far the character here given of the Presbyterians is a true one, I leave others to guess. When they have not had the upper hand, they certainly have been friends to mildness and Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. 45 Which always must be carry'd on, , And still be doin^, never done : ' As if Religion were intended For nothing else biit to be mended. A sect, wiiose chief devotion lies In odd per\'erse antipathies :* In fulling out with that or this, And finding somewhat still amiss :t. More peevish, cross, and splenetic, ^ Than dog distract, or monkey sick. That with more care keep holy-day The wrong, than others the right way :t Compound for sins they are inclin'd to. By damning those they have no mind to : Still so perverse and opposite, As if they worshipp'd God for spite. The self-same thing they will abhor One way, and long another for. Free-will they one way disavow, Another, Jiothiiig else allow. § All piety consists therein In them, in other men all sin.|| Rather than fail, they will defy That which they love most tenderly ; Quarrel with minc'd pies, IT and disparage 205 310 215 220 225 moderation : but Dr. Grey produces passages from soaie of their violent and absurd writers, which made him think that they had a strong spirit of persecution at the bottom. Some of our brave ancestors said of the Romans, " Ubi soli- "tudinem faciuni, paeem appellant." Tacitus, V'ita .'\gricol. 30. * In all great quarrels, the parties are apt to take pleasure in contradicting each other, even in the most trifling matters. The Presbyterians reckoned it sinful to eat plum-porridge, or minced pies, at Christmas. The cavaliers observing the formal carriage of their adversaries, fell into the opposite extreme, and ate and drank plentifully every day, especially after the restoration. t Queen Elizabeth v.'as often heard to say, that she knew very well what would content the Catholics, but that she never could learn what would content the Puritans. X In the year 1645, Christmas day was ordered to be observed as a fiist: a'nd Oliver, when protector, was feasted by the lord mayor on ,\sh-\Vednesday. When James the First desireil the magistrates of Edinburgh to feast the French ambassadors before - their return to France, the ministers proclaimed a fast to be kept the same day. % .'\s maintaining absolute predestination, and denying the liberty of man's will : at the same time contending for absolute freedom in rites and ceremonies, and the discipline of the church. ji They themselves being the elect, and so incapable of sin- ning, and all others being reprobates, and therefore not capable of performing any good action. IT "A sort of inquisition was set up, against the food whicn 46 IIUDIHRAS. [Part I. Their best and dearest friend— pium-porridg-e ; Fat pig and goose itself oj)po.-;o, And biaspheme custard throngh the nose. 230 Th' apostles of this fierce religion, Like Mahomet's, were ass and widgeon,* To whom our kniglit, by fast instinct Of wit and temper, was so linkt. As if hypocrisy and nonsense 235 Had got th' advowson of his conscience. Thus was he gifted and accouter'd, We mean on th' inside, not the outward: That next of all we shall discuss ; Tlien listen, Sirs, it follovveth thus : 240 His tawny beard was th' equal grace Both of liis wisdom and his face ; In cut and dye so like a tile, A sudden view it would beguile : The upper part thereof was whey, 245 The nether orange, mixt with grey. This hairy metej)r_dkl denounce The fall of sceptres aiuTof crowns ;t had " been custoni;irUy in use at this season." Blackall's Ser- mon on Christmas-day. * Mahomet tells us, in the Koran, that the Angel Galiriel brought to him a milk-white beast, called ATliorach, something like an ass, but bigiier, tn carry him to the presence (if God. Alborach refused to let him get up, unless he Wduld promise to procure him an entrance into paradise: which Mahomet pro- mising, he got up. Mahomet is also said to have had a tamo l)ig('()ti, which lie fiucht secretly tii eat nut of his ear, to make his fdlUnvcrs lieliove, that liy means of this bird there were im- parted to him some divine communications. Our poet calls it a widgeon, for the sake of equivoiiuc ; widgeon in the figurative sense, signifying a foolish silly fellow. It is usual to say of such a person, that he is as wise as a widgeon : and a drinking song has these lines. — Mahomet was no divine, but a senseless widgeon, To forbid the use of wine to those of his religion. Widgeon and weaver, says Mr. Ray, in his rhiloso|ihical Let- ters, arc male and fem:ile sex. •"I'hciT are still a multitude of doves abotit Mecca preserved "and fed there with great care and superstition, being thnnnht " to bo of th<^ breed of that dove which spake in the ear if Ma- " homrt." t^Miidvs' 'I'r:ivels. t Alluding to the vulgir opinion, that comets are always predictive of some public calamity. Et nunquam ctclo spectatuni inipune cometen. I'lii'.y calls a comi't crinita. Mr. Butler in his Genuine Remains, vol. i. p. 54. says, Which way the dreadful ctnnet went In sixty-four, and what it meant? Canto i.j HUDIBRAS 47 With grisly type did represent Declining age of government, 250 And tell, with hieroglyphic spade. Its own grave and the state's were made. Like Sampson's heart-breakers, it grew In time to make a nation rne ;* Tho' it contributed its own fall, 255 To wait upon the public downfall :t It was canonic, I and did grow In holy orders by strict vow :§ What Nations yet are to bewail The operations of its tail : Or whether France or Holland yet, Or Germany, be in its delitl What wars and plagues in Christendom Have happen'd since, and what to come ? What kinfis are dead, hnw many queens And princesses are poison'd since ! And who shall next of all by turn, Wake courts wear black, and tradesmen mourn ■? And when again shall lay embargo Upon the admiral, the good ship Argo. Homer, as translated by Pope, Iliad Iv. 434, says. While dreadful comets glaring from afir, Forewarn' d the horrors of the Theban war. * Heart-hreakers were particular curls worn hy the ladies, and sometimes hymen. Sampson's strength consisteil in his hair; when that was cut olf, he was taken prisoner; when it grew again, he was al)Ie to pull down the house, and destroy his ene- mies. See .Judges, cap. xvi. t Many of the Presbyterians and Independents swore not to cut their beards, not, like Mephibosheth, till the king was re- stored, hut till monarchy and episcopacy were ruined. Such vows were common among the barbarous nations, especially the Germans. Civilis, as we learn from Tacitus, having destroyed the Roman legions, cut his hair, which he had vowed to let grow from his first taking up arms. And it became at length a na- tional custom among some of the Germans, never to trim their liair, or their beards, till tliey had kill(;d an enemy. 1 The latter editions, for canonic, read monastic. ^ This line would make one think, that in the preceding one we ought to read monastic; though the vow of nut shaving the beard till some particular event happened, was not unconnnon in those times. In a hun)orous poem, falsely ascribed to Mr. Butler, entitled. The Cobler and Vicar of Bray, we read, This worthy knight was one that swore lie would not cut his beard. Till this ungodly nation was From kings and bishops clear'd. Which Iioly vow he firndy kept, And most lievoutly wore A grisly meteor on his lace. Till they were both no more. 48 HUDIBRAS. [Part i Of rule as sullen and severe As tliat of rigid Cordeliere:* 2G0 "Twas bound to suffer persecution And niartyrdoni with resolution ; T' oppose itself against the hate And vengeance of th' incensed state: In whose defiance it was worn, 265 Still ready to be pnll'd and torn, With red-hot irons to be tortur'd, IJevil'd, and spit upon, and niartyr'd : Mangre all wliich, 'twas to stand fast, As long as monarchy should last ; 270 But wiien the state should hap to reel, 'Twas to submit to fatal steel. And fall, as it was consecrate, A sacrifice to fall of state ; Whose thread of life the fatal sisters 275 Did twist together with its whiskers. And twine so close, that Time should never, In life or death, their fortunes sever ; But with his rusty sickle mow Both down together at a blow. 280 So learned Taliacotius, from The brawny part of porter's bum, Cut supplemental noses, which Would last as long as parent breech :t * An order so called in France, from the knotted cord which they wore about their noddles. In England they were named Grey Friars, and were the strictest branch of the Franciscans. t Taliacotius was professor of physic and surjiery at Bologna, where he was born, 1553. His treatise is well known. He says, the operation has been practised by others before him with suc- cess. See a very liunidrous account of him. Taller, No. 200. The (lesii;n of Taliacdtiiis has l.iecn improved into a method of holding correspondence at a great distance, by the sympathy of flesh transferred from one body to another. If two persons e.\- change a piece of flesh from the bicepital muscle of the arm, and circumscribe it with an alphabet; when the one pricks him- self in A, the other is to have a sensation tliereof in the same part, and by inspecting his ami, perceive what letter the other points to. Our author likewise intended to ridicule Sir Kenelm Digby, who, in his Treatise on the sympathetic powder, mentiiins, but with caution, this method of engrafting noses. It has been ob- served, that the ingenuity of the ancients seems to have failed them on a similar occasion, since they were obliged to piece ouf the mutilated slioulder of I'elops with ivory. In latter days it has been a common practice with dentists, tj draw the teeth of young cbinmey-sweepers, and fi.\ them in tlie heads of other ix'rsons. Tlure was a lady wliose mouth was supplied in this manner. .'Vfter some time the boy claimed the Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. 49 But when the date of Nock was out,* 285 Off dropt tlie sympathetic snout. His back, or rather burthen, show'd As if it stoop'd with its own load. For as ^neas bore his sire Upon his shoulders thro' the fire, 290 Our knight did bear no less a pack Of his own buttocks on his back : Which now bad almost got the upper- Hand of his head, for want of crupper. To poise this equally, he bore 295 A paunch of the same bulk before : Which still he had a special care To keep well-cramm'd with thrifty fare: As white-pot, butter-milk, and curds, Such as a country-house affords ; 300 With other victual, which anon We farther siiall dilate upon. When of his hose we come to treat, The cup-board where he kept his meat. His doublet was of sturdy buff', 305 And though not sword, yet cudgel-proof, Whereby 'twas fitter for his use. Who feard no blows but such as bruise.t His breeches were of rugged woollen, And had been at the siege of BuUeu ;% 310 tooth, and went to a justice of peace for a warrant against the lady, who, he alleged, had stolen it. The case would have puzzled Sir Hudibras. Dr. Hunter mentions some ill effects of the practice. A per- son who gains a tooth, n)ay soon after want a nose. The simile has been translated into Latin thus : Sic adscititios nasos de clune torosi Vectoris docta sccuit Taliacotius arle: Qui potuere parem durando square parentem ; At postquiim falo clunis coinputruit, ipsum Una syniphaticuni ccepit tabescere rostrum * Nock is a British word, sisnifying a slit or crack. And hence figuratively, nates, la fesse, the fundament. Nock, Nockys, IS used by Gawin Douglas in his version tif the JEne\i\, for the bottom, or extremity of any thing ; Glossarists say, the word hath that sense both in Italian and Dutch: others think it a British word. t A man of nice honor suffers more from a kick, or slap in the face, than from a wound. Sir Walter Raleigh says, to be strucken with a sword is like a man, but to be strucken with a stick is like a slave. i Henry VIIl. besieged Boulogne in person, July 14, 1544. He was very fat, and consequently his breeches very large. See the paintings at Cowdry in Sussex, and the engravings published 3 50 HUDIBRAS. [Part i. To old King Harry so well known, Some writers held they were his own, Tiiro' they were lin'd with many a piece or ammunition-bread and cheese, And fat black-puddings, proper food 315 For warriors that delight in blood: For, as we said, he always chose To carry vittle in liis hose, Tliat often tempted rats and mice, Tiie ammunition to surprise: d2f And wlien he put a hand but in The one or tli' other magazine. They stoutly in defence on't stood. And from the wounded foe drew blood ^ And till th" were storm'd and beaten out, 325 Ne'er left the fortifi'd redoubt ; And tlio' knights errant, as some think. Of old did neither eat nor diink,'* Because when thorough desarts vast. And regions desolate they past, 330 Where belly-timber above ground, Or under, was not to be found. Unless they graz'd, there's not one word Of their provision on record : Which made some contidently write, 335 They had no stomachs but to fight. 'Tis false : for Arthur wore in hallt Round, table like a farthingal,t by the Society of Antiquaries. Their breeches and hose were ihe same, Port-hose, Triini<-hose, Pantaloons, were ail like our sailors' trowsers. See Pedules in C'owel, and the 74th canon ad fineni. * "Though I think, says Don Quixote, that I have read as •' many hisiories of chivalry in my time as any other man, I " never could find that knie would kneel: ami perhaps Mr. Butler's memory deceived liim. Of Hucephalus, the favored steed of ."Alexander, it is said — ''ille "nee in dorso insidero suo patiebatur alium; et regem, (piiun " vellet ascender<,' sponte sua genua submittens, excipiebat ; cre- "debaturque scnlire quem veheret." See also IJiodor. Sicul. el Caxto I.] HUDIBRAS. 55 So Hudibras his, 'tis well known, Would often do, to set him down. We siiall not need to say what lack Of leather was upon his back : For that was hidden under pad, And breech of Knight gall'd full as bad. His strutting ribs on both sides show'd Like furrows he himself had plovv'd : For underneath the skirt of pannel, 'Twixt every two there was a channel. His draggling tail hung in the dirt,^ Which on his rider he would flirt ; iStill as his tender side he prickt, With arm'd heel, or with unarm'd, kickt ; For Hndibras wore but one spur, As wisely knowing, could he stir To active trot one side of 's horse, Tiie other would not hang an arse. A Squire he had, whose name was Ralph,* 440 445 4a0 455 Plut;irch. de solert. animal. Mr. Butler, in his MS. CommoQ- pUice Book, applies the sailille to the right horse ; for he says, Like Bucephalus's briUish hnnor. Would have none mount but the right owner. Iliidibras's horse is described very much in the same manner with that of Don Quixote's lean, stiff", jaded, foundered, with a sharp ridge of bones. Rozinante, however, could boast of " mas '•quartos que un real" — an equivoque entirely lost in most translations. Quirto signifies a crack, or chop, in a horse's hoof or heel : it also signifies a small piece of money, several of whi(-h go lo make a real. * As the knight was of the Presbyterian party, so the squire was an Anabaptist or Independent. This gives our author an opportunity of characterizing both these sects, and of shewing their joint concurrence against the king and church. The Presbyterians and Independents had each a separate form of church discipline. The Presbyterian system appointed, for everv parish, a minister, one or more deacons, and two ruling elders, who were laymen chosen by the parishioners. Each parish was subject to a classis, or union of several parishes. A deputation of two ministers and four ruling elders, from every classis in the county, constituted a provincial synod, ."^nd su- perior to the provincial was the national synod, consisting of deputies from the former, in the proportion of two ruling elders to one minister. .Appeals were allowed throughout these several jurisdictions, and ultimately to the parliament. On the attachment of the Presbyterians to their lay elders, ilr. Seldon ob-ervcs in his Table-talk, p. 118, that " there nuist be some lay- " men in tiie synod to overlook the clergy, lest they spoil the " civil work: just as when the uood woman puts a cat into the " milk-house, she sends her maid to look after the cat, lest the "cat should eat up the cream." The Independints mainliined, that every congreg.ition was a complete church within itself, and had no dependence on clas- 56 HUDIBRAS. [Paut 1. That in th' adventure went !iis half. Though writers, for more stately tou!".. ,{ Do call him Ralpiio, 'tis all one : 460 / f And when we can, with metre safe, We'll call him so, if not, plain Raph ;* For rhyme the rudder is of verses, With which, like ships, they steer their courses. An equal stock of wit and valor 465 He had lain in, by birth a tailor. The mighty Tyrian queen that gain'd, With subtle shreds, a tract of land,t Did leave it, with a castle fair, To his great ancestor, her heir ; 470 From liim descended cross-legg'd knights,! Fam'd for their faith and warlike fights Against the bloody Cannibal, § sical, provincial, or national synods or assemblies. They chose their own ministers, and required no ordination or laying on of hands, as the Presl)yterians di' ^^^^s A lib'ral art that costs no pauis - ^ '"•' Of study, industry, or brains. ^ i-^ His wits were sent liim for a token, '485 "' But in the carriage crack'd and broken.l Like commendation ninepence crookt, With — to and from my love — it lookt.§ for their faith, the former frequently trusting much in the way of their trade. The words, blocxly cannibal, are not altogether applied to the Saracens, who, on many occasions, behaved with great generosity ; but they denote a more insignificant creature, to whom tlie tailor is said to be an avowed enemy. * In allusion to .^neas's descent into hell, and tlie tailor's re- pairing to the place under the board on which he sat to work, called hell likewi.se, being a receptacle for all the stolen scraps of cloth, lace, &c. t Mr. Montagn-e Bacon says, it should seem, by these lines, that the poet thought Virgil meant a counterfeited bough; Dr. Plot, in his History of Statiordshire, says, that gold in the mines often grows in the shape of boughs, and branches, and leaves; theret'ore Virgil, who understood nature well, though he gave it a poetical turn, means no more than a sign of ^neas's going under ground where mines are. t That is, that he was crack-brained. ij From this passage, and from the proverb used, (Post. Works, V. ii. Xo. 114.) viz., ''he has brought his noble to a ninepence," one would be led to conclude that some coins had actually been strucken of this denomination and value. And, indeed, two in- stances of this are recorded by Mr. Folkes, both during the civil wars, the one at Dublin, and the other at Newark. Table of English coins, ed. 176:5. p. 'J-2. plates 27, 4, and 28. But long be- fore this period, by royal proclamation of .luly 9. 1.55I, the base testoons or shillings of Henry VIH. and Edward VI. were rated at ninepence, (Folkes, ibid. p. 37.) and of these there were great n'imliers. It miy he conjectured also, that the dipt shillings of Edward and Elizabeth, and, perhaps, some foreign silver coins, might pass by common allowance and tacit agreen)ent for nine- pence, and be .-o called. In William Prynne's answer to John Audland the Uuaker, in Butler's Genuine Remains, vol. i. p. 383, we read, a light piece of gold is good and lawful English coin, current with allowance, thouah it be dipt, tiled, washed, or worn; even so are my ears legal, warrantable, and sutfident ears, however they have been dipt, par'd, cropt, circumcis'd. In aneen Elizabeth's time, as Holinshed, Stow, and Camden affirm, a proclamation was issued, declaring that the testoona coined for twelve-pence, should be current for four-pence half penny ; an inferior sort, marked with a greyhound, for two-pence 3* 58 HUDIBRAS. [Part i. He ne'er consider'd it, as loth* To look a gift horse in the mouth ; 490 And very wisely wonld lay forth No more upon it than 'twas worth,t But as he got it freely"", so He spent it frank and freely too. ■' For saints themselves will sometimes he, 493 Of gifts that cost them nothing, free. By means of this, with hem and cough, Prolongers to enlighten'd snnff,t He cjuld deep mysteries unriddle, r.irlhinsi; and a third and worst sort not to be current at all: stamping and milling money look iilace about the year 168-J. All or any of these pieces might serve for pocket-pieces among the vulgar, and be given to their sweethearts or comrade^ as tokens of remembrance and affection. At this day an Eliza- beth's shilling is notunfrequently ai)|)lied to such purpose. Tlie country people say commonly, I will use your commendations, that is, make your compliments. George Philips, before his execution, bended a si.\pcnce, and presented it to a friend of his, Mr. Stroud. He gave a bended shilling to one Mr. Clark. See a brief narrative of the .stupendous tragedy intended by the satan- ical saints, 16G2, p. .TO. * That is, he did not consider it was crackt and broken, or per- haps it may moan, he did not overvalue, and hoard it up. it being given him by inspiration, according to the doctrine ofihe Independents. t When the barber came to shave Sir Thomas More the morning of his execution, the i)risoner told him, " that there " was a contest betwixt the Iviiig and him for his head, and he " would not willingly lay out more upon it than it was worth." t Prolongers to enlighten'd snuff. — This reading seems con- firmed by Butler's Genuine Remains, vol. i. p. 5d, and I prefer it to "enlightened stuff." Enlightened snutT is a good allusion. As a lamp just expiring with a faint light for want of oil, emits flashes at intervals ; so the tailor's shallow discourse, like the extempore preaching of his brethren, was lengthened out with hems and coughs, with stops and pauses, for «ant of matter. The preachers of those days considered hems, nasal tones, and coughs, as graces of oratory. Some of Iheirdiscoursesare printed with breaks and marginal notes, which shew where the preacher introduced his endicllishmcnls. 'I'he expiring state of the lamp has furnished .Mr. .-Vddison with ;i beautiful simile in his Cato : Thus o'er the dying lamp th' unsteady flame Hangs quivering on a point, leaps off by fits. And falls again, as loath to quit its hold. And Mr. Butler, Partiii. Cant. ii. I. 349, says, Prolons the snuff of life in pain. And from the grave recover — gain. See also Genuine Remains, vol. i. p. 374. " And this serves "thee to the s;ime purpose that hem's and hah's do thy gifted " ghostly fathers, that is, to lose lime, and put olfthy comjnodity." Butler seems fond of this expression : " tlie sn Jlf of the moon *' te full as harsh as the snuff of a sermon." Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. As easily as thread a needle ; For as of vagabonds we say, That tliey are ne'er beside their way : Wiiate'er men speak by this new light, \ Still they are sure to be i' th' riglit, 1 'Tis a dark-lanthorn of the sph'it, Which none see by but tliose that bear it ; A light that falls down from on high,* For spiritual trades to cozen by : \n ignis fatuus, that bewitches. And leads men into pools and ditches, t To make them dip themselves, and sound For Christendom in dirty pond ; ~ --, To dive, like wild-fowl, for salvation, I And fish to catch regeneration. This light inspires, and plays upon The nose of saint, like bagpipe drone. And speaks through hollow empty soul, As through a trunk, or whisp'ring hole. Such language as no mortal ear But spiritual eaves-droppers can hear. So Pha3bus, or some friendly muse, Into small poets song infuse ; Which they at second-hand rehearse, - Thro' reed or bagpipe, verse for verse. - Thus Ralph became infallible. As three or four legg'd oracle, ' The ancient cup or modern chair ;t Spoke truth point blank, though unaware^^ For mystic learning wondrous abte In magic talisman, and cabal, § 59 500 505 510 515 520 525 530 * A burlesque parallel between the spirUual gifts, and the sky-lights which traiksinpii sometimes have in their shops tc shew their gomls to advuntage. t An hiuuorous parallel between the vapory exhalation which misleads the traveller, and the re-baptizing practised by the Anabaptists. j "Is nut this the cup, sal th Joseph's steward, whereby in- deed my lord divined 1" The Pope's dictates are said to be infallible, when he delivers them ex cathedra. The i)riestess of Apollo at Delphos used a three-legged stool when she gave ' out her oracles. From Joseph's cup, perhaps, came the idea of telling fortunes by cotlee grounds. Four-legged oracle, means telling fortunes from quadrupeds. The word oracle occurs in like latitude, p. 2, c. ill. v. .)r)9. $ Talisman was a magical inscription or figure, engraven
    nd copious. Cabal, or cabbala, is a sort of divination by letters or numbers : it signities likewise the secret or mysterious doctrines of any religion or sect. The .lews pretend to have received their cab- bala from INIoses, or even from .\dam. ".Viunt se conservasse a teniporibus Mosis, vel etiam ipsius .Adami. doctrinam quandam arcanam dictam cabalajn." Burnet's Archeol. Philosoph. * The author of the Magia Adamica endeavors to prove, that the learning of the ancient Magi was derived from the l;now- ledge which God hijusclf communicated to Adam in paradise. The second line was probably intended to burlesque the Gene- va translation of the Uible, published with notes. 1599, which in the third of Genesis, says of Adam and Eve, "they sewed tig-leaves together, and made themselves breeches." In Mr. Butler's character of an hermetic philosopher, (Genuine Re- mains, vol. ii. p. 2i!T,) we read ; " he derives the pedigree of ma- "gic from Adam's first green breeches ; because tig-leaves being " the first cloaths that mankind wore, were only used for cover- "ing, and therefore are the most anlient monuments of con- "cealed mysteries." t " hieas, according to my philosophy, are not in the soul, "but in a superior intelligililc nature, 'wherein the soul only " behalds and contemplates them. And so they are only ob- "jectively in the soul, or tani|nam in cognoscente, hut really " elsewhere, even in the intelligible world, that Koe/joi loriris " which Plato speaks of to which the soul is united, and where "she beholds them." See Mr. Norris's Letter to Mr. Dodwell, concerning the immortality of the soul of man, p. 114. I See the ancient and modern customs of the Irish, in Cam- den's Britannia, and Speed's Theatre. Here the poet may use his favorite tignre. the anticlimax. Yet I am not eerlain whether Mr. Butler did not mean, in earnest, to call the Irish learned: for in the ago of .-^t. Patrick, the Saxons flocked to Ireland as to the great mart of learning. We find it ofien mentioned in our writers, that such an one was sent into [reland to be educated Sulgenus, who flourished about six hundred years ago — Exemplo patrnm conimotus amore Icgendi Ivit ad Hibernos, sophia mirabile claros. Canto I.] HUDIBRAS. 61 Or Sir Agrippa, for profound And solid lying inucli renown'd :* 540 He Anthroposopiuis, and Floud, And Jacob Behmeu understood ;t Knew many an anuilet and cliarm, That would do neither good nor harm ; 111 Mr. Biilier's MS. Coninion-place bonk he says, " When Uie Saxiinsiiiviided the Britons, it is very prob:ihle thut iiiiiny fit-d " into foreign countries, to ;ivoid the fury of their anus, (as tht, " Veneti did into the islands of the Adriatic sea, when Allila ■'invaded Italy,) and some, if not most into Ireland, who car- '• ried with them that learning whicli tlie Kcimaas h,;d planted " liere, which, when the Saxuns hail nearly extinguished it ia "this island, fbmrishcd at so high a r.iie tlicre, that most of " those nations, among wluim the northern people had inlio- " duced barliarisin, beginning to recover a little civility, were '■ glad tu send their children to be instructed in religion ;anl " learning, into Ireland." * Sir Agrippa wa.s born at (,'ologn, ann. 148(5, and knighted for his military services nailer the Emi'eror Maximilian. When very young, he piiblishn! a book De Occulta I'hilosophia, wli.ch conta"ins almost all the stories that ever nigucry invented, or credulity swallowed concerning the operations of magic. But Agrippa was a man of great worth and honor, as well as ol' great learning ; and in his riper years was thoroughly ashamed of this book ; nor is it to be found in the folio edition of his works.— In his preface he says, " Si alicubi erratum sit, sive "quid lilierius dictum, ignoscite adolescentia; nostr;e, qui minor "quam adolescens hoc opus composui : ut possim me excu-are. " ac dicere, dum eram parvulus, loquebar ut |iarvnlus, factus " autem vir, evacuavi qua; erant parvuli ; ac in libro de vanitale "scicntiarum hunc libruin magna ex parte retractavi." — i'aiilus Jovius in his " Elogia doctorum Virornm," says of ^ir Agrippa, " a Ctesare ernditionis ergo equestris ordinis digniiate lione-ta- " tus." p. 237. Bayle, in his Dictionary v. Agrippa, note O, says that the fourth book was untruly ascribed to Afifippa.. t Antbroposophus was a nickname given to one Thomas Vaitgh- an, Kector of Saint Bridge's, in Brdfortlshire, and author of a discourse on the nature of man in the state after death, eiililh-d, Anlhroposophia Theomagica.— ".4. treatise," says Dean ^uift, "written about fifty years ago, liy a Welch gentleman of (am- " bridge: his name, as I remember, was Vaughan, as ajipears " by the answer to it written by the learned Dr. Henry Moor: "ills a piece of the most unintelligible fustian that perlnips "was ever published in aiiv binguige." Robert Fbmd, a native of Kent, and son of Sir Thomas Floud, Treasurer ol War Ui Queen Elizabeth, was Doctor of Physic of St. .lobn's College, Oxford, and much given to occuil philosophy. De wrote an apology for the Kosycrucians, also a. system of physics, called the Mosaic Pbilosophy, and many other .ibscure and mystical tra.cts. Monsieur Rapin says, that Eloud was the Paracelsus of philosophers, as l'aracel>us was the Floud of phy- sicians. His oiiinions were thoiialit worthy of a serious confu- tation by f4assendi. .I.icob Belimen was an impostor and en- thusiast, of somewhat an ca.rlier date, by trade, I lielieve, a colt- bler. iMr. Law, wlio revived some of his notions, calls him a Theosopher. He wrote uninteligibly in dark mystical terms. 62 HUDIBRAS. [Part i. In Rosycrucian lore as learned,* 5io As lie that vere adeptiis earned : He understood the speech of birdst _ * The Rosycrucians were a sect of herinetical philo-iopliers. The name appcHrs to lie derived from los, dew, and crux, a cross. Dew was sup|)osed to lie ihe most j)iiwerrul solvent i)tf;old ; and a cross + contains the letters wiiich compose the word luy. light, called, in the jargon of the sect, the seed or inenstriuiin ot the red drayon ; or, in other words, that gross and corporeal light, which, properly mijdi lied, produces gold. They owed their origin to a German gentleman, called Christian Rosencruz ; and from him likewise, perhaps, their name of Rosycrncians, though they frequently went by other nanjes, such as the Illuminaii, the Inmiortales, the Invisihle Brothers. This gentleman had travelled to the Holy Land in the fourteenth century, and formed an acqnaintance with some eastern philosophers. They were noticed in England before the beginning of the last century. Their learning liad a great nfi.\tnre of enthusiasm ; and as Lemery, the famous chymist, says, ■' it was an art without an "art, whose beginning was lying, whose middle was labor, and " whose end was beggary." Mr. Hales, of Eton, concerning the weapon salve, p. -it^i, says, "a merry gullory put upon the "world; a guild of men, who .■^tyle thenjselves the brethren of " the Rosycross ; a fraternity, who, what, or v/here they are, no " man yet, no not they who believe, admire, and devote them- '' selves unto them, could ever discover." — ti'ee Chaufepic's Diet. v. Jungius, note D ; and Brucker. Hi it. Critic. Phil. iv. i. p. 73(i. Nauda;us and Mosheim. Inst. Hist. Christ, recent, sec. 17. I. 4, 28.— Lore, i. e. science, knowledge, frmu Anglo-Saxon, learn, laeran, to teach. t The senate and people of Ahdera, in their letter to Hii)po- crates, give it as an instance of the madness of Democritus, that he pretended to understand the language of birds. I'orphyry, de abstinentia, lib. iii. cap. 3, contends that aniirials have a lan- guage, and that men may understand it. He instamces in Me- lampus and Tiresias otold, and ApoUonius of Tyana, who heard one swallow proclaim to the rest, that by the fall of an ass a quantity of wheat lay scattered upon the road. I believe swal- lows do not eat wheat. [Certainly not.] I'hilostratus tells us the same tale, with more propriety, of a sparrow. Porphyry iidds, — " a friend assured me that a youth, who was his jiage, " understood all the articulations of birds, and that they were "all iirophetic. But the boy was unhappily deprived of the " faculty ; for his mother, fearing he should be sent as a present •' to the emperor, took an oi)portunity. when he was asleep, to " piss into his ear." The author of the Targuni on Esther says, that Solomon understood the speech of birds. The reader will be amused by comparing the above lines with Mr. Butler's character of an Hermetic philosopher, in the second volume of his Genuine Remains, published by Mr. Thycr, p. 21.'), a character which contains much wit. Mr. IJruce in his Trav- els, vol. ii. p. 213, says, There was brought into .\byssinia a bird called Para, about the bigness of a hen, and spoke all languages, Indian, Portuguese, and .Vrabic. It named the king's name ; although its voice was that of a man, it could neigh like a horse, and mew like .a cat, but did not sing likea bird — from an Histori- an of that country. — In the year U')'>r>, a book was printed in London, by John Stalford, entitled, Ornithologie, or the Speech of Birds, to which probably Mr. Btttler nfight allude. Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. , 63 As well as they themselves do words ; Could tell what subtlest parrots mean, That speak and think contrary clean ; 5o'' What member 'tis of whom they talk, When they cry Rope — and Walk, Knave, walk.* He'd extract numbers out of matter,t And keep them in a glass, like water. Of sov'reign povv'r to make men wise :| 555 For, dropt in blear, thick-sighted eyes, They'd make them see in darkest night. Like owls, the' purblind in the light. By help of these, as he profest, He had first matter seen undrest : 5(jO He took her naked, all alone. Before one rag of form was on.§ The chaos too he had descry'd. And seen quite thro', or else he ly'd : Not that of pasteboard, which men shew 565 For groats, at fair of Barthol'mew ;|| But its great grandsire, first o' th' name, Whence that and Reformation came, Both cousin-germans, and right able T' inveigle and draw in the rabble : 570 But Reformation was, some say, * This probably alludes to some parrot, that was taught to cry rogue, knave, a rope, after persons as they went along the street. The same is often practised nuw, to the greatotienceof many an honest countryman, who when he complains to the owner of the abuse, is told by him. Take care, sir, my parrot prophesies — this might allude to more members tlian one of the house of commons. t Every absurd notion, that could be picked tip from the an- cients, was adopted by the wild enthusiasts of our author's days. Plato, as Aristotle informs us, Mutaph. lib. i. c. (i, conceived ntunliers to exist by themselves, besides the sensibles, like acci- dents without a substance. I^ylhagoras maintained that sensi- ble things consisted of numbers, lb. lib. xi. c. 0. And set I'lato in his Cratylus. t The Pythagorean philosophy held that there were certain mystical charms in certain numbers. Plato held whatsoe'er encumbers. Or strengthens empire, comes from numbers. Butler's MS. ij Thus Cleveland, page 110. "The next ingredient of a diur- nal is plots, horrible plots, which with wonderful sagacity it hunts dry foot, while they arc yet in their causes, before materia prima can put on lier smock." II The puppet-shews, sometimes called Moralities, exhibited the chaos, the creation, the llood, &c. y ^- fil HUDIBRAS. [Part i. O' th, younger house to puppet-play.* IJf<''couId foretel vvhats'ever was, /'By consequence, to come to pass : As death of great men, alterations, 575 Diseases, battles, inundations : All this without tlf eclipse of th' sun, Or dreadful comet, ho hath done BJy^w^^R^J UGHT, a way as good, And easy to be understood : 580 I But with more lucky hit than those Tiiat use to make the stars depose, Like knights o' th' post,t and falsely charge Upon themselves what others forge ; As if they were consenting to 585 All mischief in the world men do: Or, like the devil, did tempt and sway 'cm To rogueries, and then betray 'em. They'll search a planet's house, to know Who broke and robb'd a house below ; 590 Examine Venus and the Moon, Wiio stole a thimble and a spoon ; And tho' they nothing will confess, Yet by their very looks can guess. And tell what guilty aspect bodes,t 595 * It lias not been usual to compare hypdcritcs to puppets, as not being what they seemed and pretended, nnr having any true meaning or real con-sciou^ness in what they :;aid or did. I re- niendier two passajies. written about our author's time, I'roni one of which he niijiht po.s-ibiy tiike ihe hint. "Even as statues "and puppets do move their eyes, tlieir hands, their feet, like "unlD living men; ami yet are not living actors, because their '•'■ aciiDns come not from an inward .soul, the fountain of lif(\ but " from the artificial poise of weights when set by the workmen ; " even so hypocrites." Mr. iMede. Bishop Laud said, " that some hypocrites, and seeming niorti- " fiod men that hold down their heads, were like little images " that they place in the bowing of the vaults of churches, that " look as if they held up the church, and yet are but pii[)pels." 'J'lio lirst pl.iys acted in England were called Mysteries ; their subjects were generally scripture stories, such as the Creilion, the Deluge, the Birth of Christ, the Resurrection, »kc. &c. ; this sort of puppet-shew induced many to read the Old and A'ew 'J'estamcnt ; and is therefore called the Elder Brother of the Ueformation. t Knights of the post were infamous persons, who attended the courts of justice, to swear for hire to things which they knew nothing about. In the 14th and 1.5th centuries the common people were so |)r(iHigale, that not a lew of tbcni lived by swear- ing for hire in courts of justice. See Henry's History of Eng- land, and Wilkin. Coiicil. p. 534. % This, and the following lines, are a very ingenious bur- lesque upon astrology to which many in those days gave credit. \-v Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. c:, Wlio stole, and wlio receiv'd the jroods: They'll question Mars, and, by his look, Detect who 'twas that nitnin'd a cloke ; Make Mercury coiilcss, and 'peach Those tliieves which he hiniself did teach * ROD They'll find i' th' pliysiognoiiiics O' th' planets, all men's destinies ; Like him tliat took the doctor's bill, And swallow'd it instead o' th' pill,t Cast tiie nativity o' th' question, t fi05 And from positions to be guest on, As sure as if they knew the moment i Of Native's birth, tell what will come oiJ't They'll feel the pulses of the stars. To find out agues, coughs, catarrhs ; 610 And tell what crisis does divine The rot in sheep, or mange in swine : In men, what gives or cures the itch, What made them cuckolds, poor, or rich ; What gains, or loses, hangs, or saves, 615 What makes men great, what fools, or knaves ; But not what wise, for only of those The stars, they say, cannot dispose,§ No more than can the astrologians : There they say right, and like true Jrojans. 620 * Mercury was supposed by the poets to be the patron, or god of thieves. t This Mlludes to a well-known story told in Henry Slrplien's apulofiy Cor lierodolus. A phy-icin iMvint' |)re;crilied for a countryiiiun, eavc hiiii the pitper on which lie liiul wriiton, and told hiiii, he niud \ And so is, secondly, the thing : A vile assembly 'tis, that can ■ No more be proved by Scripture, than Provincial, classic, national :* • Mere human creature-cobwebs all. Thirdly, It is idolatrous ; For when men run a-whoring thus With their inventions,! whatsoe'er The thing be, whether dog or bear, It is idolatrous and pagan. No less than worshipping of Dagon. > Quoth Hudibras, I smell a rat; Ralpho thou dost prevaricate ; For though the thesis which thou lay'st Be true, ad amussim,t as thou say'st ; For the bear-baiting should appear. Jure divino, lawfuller Than synods are, thou dost deny, Totidem verbis — so do I ; Yet there's a fallacy in this ; For if by sly hom(Eosis,§ Thou wouldst sophistically imply Both are unlawful^ — I deny. And I, quoth Ralpho, do not doubt But bear-baiting may be made out, In gospel -times, as lawful as is Provincial, or parochial classis ; And that both are so near of kin, [Part i. 810 815 820 835 830 835 Anne's church? he being a cavalier, said, Anne was a Saint before he was born, and would be after he was hanged, and gave him no information. * Ralplio here shows his independent principles, and his aver- sioL to the Presbyterian forms of church government. If the squire had adopted the liniaht's sentiments, this curious dispute could not have been introduced. The vile assembly here means the bear-baitin:;, but alludes typically to the assembly of divines. t A Scripture phrase used. Psalm cvi. ver. 38. t Exactly true, and according to rule. §That is, an e.xplnnatiun of a thing by something resembling it. At this place two lines are omitted in several editions, particu- larly in those corrected by the author. They run thus : Tussis pro crepitu, an art Under a cough to slur a f— rt. The edition of 1T04 has replaced them : they were omitted in the poet's corrected cope; probably he thought them Indelicate: the i>lir:ise is translated tVoni the Greek. IJi)5 '''ri TTopirjs. fTTi Tuii; iv anopiq ■trpoa-noiayLivutv eripov T( TTprirretv. Tap baov o'l niphovTcq XavQdviiv TTCipiificvot, Trpuairoi- uvvTai firjrTiiv. Suidas in Voc. Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. 75 And like in all, as well as sin, That, put 'em in a bagand shake 'em, Yourself o' th' sudden would mistake 'em, 840 And not know which is which, unless You measure by their wickedness ; For 'tis not hard t' imagine whether O' th' two is worst, tho' I name neither. Quoth Hudibras, Thou ofFer'st much, 845 But art not able to keep touch. Mira de lente,* as 'tis i' the adage, Id est, to make a leek a cabbage ; Thou canst at best but overstrain i v/ A paradox, and th' own hot brain ; 850 For what can synods have at all With bear that's analogical? Or what relation has debating Of church-affairs with bear-baiting? A just comparison still is 855 Of things ejusdem generis ; And then what genus rightly doth Include and comprehend them both? If animal, both of us may As justly pass for bears as they ; 860 For we are animals no less, Although of difF'rent specieses.t But, Ralpho, this is no fit place. Nor time, to argue out the case : For now the field is not far off, 865 Where we must give the world a proof Of deeds, juit words, and such as suit Another'manner of dispute : A controversy that affords Actions for arguments, not words ; 870 Wiiich we must manage at a rate Of prowess, and conduct adequate To what our place and fame doth promise, And all the godly expect from us. Nor shall they be deceiv'd, unless 875 * A£ii'a -Ktfii (paKqs : A great stir aliout nothing. Great cry Hiid iiule wiiol, as they say when any one talks much, and proves nothirj;. The following lines stand thus, in some editions, viz. : Thou wilt at best hut suck a bull. Or sheer swine, all cry, and no wool. f Why should we not read. Although of different species 1 So also in Part ii. Canto iii. v. 317. v 76 HUDIBRAS. [Part i W are slurred and outed by success ; Success, the mark no mortal wit, Or surest liand can always hit : For whatsoe'er we perpetrate, / We do but row, w' are .steer jij}y_iate,* ' 880 Which in success oft disinherits, For spurious causes, noblest merits. Great actions are not always true sons Ol great and iniglity resolutions ; Nor do the boid'st attempts bring forth 885 Events still equal to their worth ; But sometimes fail, and in their stead Fortune and cowardice succeed. Yet we have no great cause to doubt. Our actions still have borne us out ; 890 Which, tlio' tliey're known to be so ample. We need not copy from example ; We're not the only persons durst Attempt this province, nor the first. In northern clime a val'rous knightt 895 Did whilom kill his bear in fight, And wound a fiddler : we have both Of these the objects of our wroth. And equal fame and glory from Til' attempt, or victory to come. 900 'Tis sung, there is a valiant Mamaluke In foreign land, yclep'd :t„, - * The Preshyterians were stronir fatalists, and great advocates for predestination. Virgil says, ^Eii. i.v. 1. 95: O genelrix 1 quo fata vocas ? aut quid petis istis ? Mortaline iiianu factiE inimortale carinas Fas ha lean f? t Hndibras encourages himself by two precedents; first, that of a gentleman who i)ti (TtivrpX'i/-'!:!'' £if sV uirnvTa, "AXXort 5' ai iix iKaara ipopiiytzva vdKtOi sx^^'- See more in Mer. Casaiihon's note on the passage. The great anachronism increases the humour. Empedocles, the philosopher here alluded to, lived about 2100 years before Alexander Ross. " -AgrigeDtinum quidem, dnctum quend^m virum, cirniinlbus " gra-cis vaticinatum fernnt: qua- in rerum naturi, toto(iMP niun- '■ do constarent, quicqiie nioverentur, ea contrahere aniicitiam, " dissipare discordiani." Cicero de Amicitia. The Spectator, No. CO, says, he has heard these lines of Hudi- bras more frequently quoted than the finest pieces of wit in the whole poem : — the jingle of the double rhime has something in it that tickles the e;ir. Alexander Ross was a very voluminous writer, .ind chaplain to Charles the First; but most of his books were written in the reign of James the First. He answered Sir Thomas Urown's Pseudo.xia and Religio Medici, under the title of Medicus iMeditatus. t Mr. Butler, in his MS. Common-place Book, says, Love and fighting is the sum Of all romances, from Tom Thumb To Arthur, Gondibert, and Hudibras. Of lovers, the poet in his MS. .says, Lovers, like wrestlers, when they do not lay Their hold below the girdle, use f lir play. He adds in prose — Altliongh Love is said to overcome all things, yet at long-run, there is nothing almost that does not overcome Love ; whereby it seems, Love does not know how to use its victory. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 81 O' th' firfst of these w' have no great matter To treat of, but a world o' th' latter, In which to do the injur'd right, We mean in what concerns just fight. ]0 Certes, our Authors are to blame, For to make some well-sounding name* A pattern fit for modern knights To copy out in frays and fights, Like those that do a whole street raze,t 15 To build another in the place ; They never care how many others They kill, without regard of mothers,1: Or wives, or children, so they can Make up some fierce, dead-doing mau,§ 20 Compos'd of many ingredient valours, Just like the manhood of nine tailors : So a wild Tartar.ll when he spies A man that's handsome, valiant, wise, If he can kill him, thinks t' inherit 25 Hisvwit, his beauty, and his spirit;- As if just so much he enjoy'd, As in another is destroy 'd: For when a giant's slain in fight. And mow'd o'erthwart, or cleft dowm-ight, 30 It is a heavy case, no doubt, A man should have his brains beat out. Because he's tall, and has large bones, As men kill beavers for their stones.TT * r'XavKdv T£, MiiovTu tc, Qcpai\ox6v t£.— Homer. 17. 216. Copied exactly by Virgil. JE.n. vi. 483. GlHueiimque, Medontaque, Thersiloclmiiuiue. This is imitated in all tlie romances of our author's time, t Alluding to the Protector Somerset, who, in the reign of Ed- ward VI., pulled down two churches, part of St. Paul's, and three bishop's houses, to build Somerset House in the Strand. \ bellaque niatribus Detestata Hor. b. i. od. i. , Thus Beaumont and Fletcher—" Stay thy dead-doing hand." In Carazan, a province to the north-east of Tartary, Dr. Heylin says, " they have an use, when any stranger comes into "their houses of an handsome shape, to kill him in the night; " not out of desire of spoil, or to cat his body ; but that the soul " of such a comely person might remain among them." IT That beavers bite ofl' their testicles is a vulgar error: but what is here implied is true enough, namely, that the testes, or their capsula;, furnish a medicinal drug of value. imitatus castora qui se Eunuchuin ipse tacit, cupiens evadere damno Testiculoruni ; adeo nicdicatum intelligit inguen. Juvenal. Sat. xii. I. 34 4* 82 HUDIBRAS. [Part i. But, as for our part, we shall tell 35 The naked truth of what befell, And as an equal friend to both The Kuight and Bear, but more to troth ;* With neither faction shall take part, But give to each a due desert, 40 And never coin a formal lie on't. To make the Knight o'ercome the giant This b'ing profest, we've hopes enough, And now go on where wo left off. Thty rode, but authors having not 45 Deterniin'd whether pace or trot. That is to say, whether tollutation, ' As they do term't, or succussation,t We leave it, and go on, as now Suppose they did, no matter how ; 50 Yet some, from subtle hints, have got Mysterious light it was a trot : But let that pass ; they now begun To spur their living engines on: For as whipp'd tops and bandy'd balls, 35 The learned hold, are animals jt So horses they affirm to be Mere engines made by geometry, And were invented first from engines, As Indian Britaius were from Peuguins.§ GO * " Amicus Socrates, amicus Pinto, sed magis arnica Veritas." t Tollntation is pacing, or auiblin:;, iiiovinfr per latera. as Sir Thomas Brown says, that is, lit'linf; both legs of one siile togeth- er — Succussatjon, or trotting, that is, lifting one foot before, and the cross foot liehinii. } The atomic philosophers, Democritus, Epicurus, &c., and some of the moderns likewise, as Des Cartes, [lobbes, and oth- ers, will not allow animals to have a spontaneous and living ])rinciple in them, but maintain that life and sensation are gen- erate d out of matter, from the contexture of atoms, or some pe- culiar composition of magnitudes, figures, sites, and motions, and consequently that they are nothing but local motion and mechanism. By which argument top!* and balls, whilst they are in motion, seem to be as nuich animated as dogs and horses. Mr. Boyle, in his Experiments, printed in IG.W, observes how like animals (men excepted) are to mechanical instruments. § This is meant to burlesque the idea of Mr. Selden, and oth- ers, that America had formerly been discovered by the Britons or Welsh ; which they had inferred from the similarity of some words in the two languages ; Penguin, the name of a bird, with a white head in America, in British signifies a white rock. Mr. Selden, in his note on Drayton's Polyolbion, says, that Madoc, brother to David ap Owen, prince of Wales, made a sea voyage to Florida, about the year 1170. David Powell, in his history of Wales, reporteth that one Ma- y Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 83 So let them be, and, as I was saying. They their live engines ply'd,* not staying Until they reach'd the fatal champaign Which th' enemy did then encamp on ; The dire Piiarsalian plain,t where battle 6S Was to be wag'd 'twixt puissant cattle, And fierce auxiliary men. That came to aid their brethren ;t Who now began to take the field. As knight from ridge of steed beheld. 70 For, as our modern wits behold, Mounted a pick-back on the old,§ Much farther off, much farther he Rais'd on his aged beast, could see ; Yet not sufficient to descry 75 All postures of the enemy : Wherefore he bids the squire ride further, T' observe their numbers, and their order ; That when their motions they had known. He might know how to fit his own. 80 Meanwhile he stopp'd his willing steed, To fit himself for martial deed : Both kinds of metal he prepar'd Either to give blows, or to ward ; doc, son of Owen Gwinedsh, prince of Wales, some hundred years before Colunihiis discovered the West Indies, sailed into those parts and planted a colony. The simile runs thus; horses are said to be invented from engines, and things without sense and reason, as Welshmen are said to have sailed to the Indies ; both upon the like grounds, and with as much probability. My worthy and ingenious friend Mr. Pennant, though zealous for the honor of his native country, yet cannot allow his coun- trymen the merit of having sailed to America before the time of Columbus : the proper name of these binls, saith he, (Philosoph. Transactions, vol. Iviii. p. 90,) is I'inguin, propter pinguedinern, on account of their fatness : it has been corrupteil to Penguen so that some have imagined it a Welsh word, signifying a white head : besides, the two species of birds that frequent America under that name, have black heads, not white ones. Our poet rejoices in an opportunity of laughing at his old friend Selden, and ridiculing some of his eccentric n(>tions. * That is, Hiidibras and his Squire spurred their horses. t Alluding to Pharsalia, where Julius Caesar gained his signa. victory. X The last word is lengthened into bretheren, for metre sake. 5i Ridiculing the disputes formerly subsisting between the ad- vocates for ancient and modern learning. Sir William Temple observes : that as to knowledge, the moderns must have more than the ancients, because they have the advantage both of theirs and their own : which is commonly illustrated by a dwarf standing upon a giant's shoulders, and therefore seeing more and further than the giant. 84 HUDIBRAS. [Part i. Couracre and steel, both of great force, 85 Prepar'd for better, or for worse. His death-cliarg'd pi&tols be did fit well, Drawn out i'rom life-prcsei-ving vittle ;* These being prim'd with force he labor'd To free's blade from retentive scabbard ; 90 And after many a painful pluck. From rusty durance be bail'd tuck : Then shook himself, to see what prowess In scabbard of bis arms sat loose ; And, rais'd upon his desp'rate foot, 95 On stirrup-sido he gaz'd about,t Portending blood, like blazing star. The beacon of approacliing war4 The Squire advanc'd with greater speed Than could b' expected from his steed ;§ 10.0 But far more in returning made ; For now the foe he had survey'd, Rang'd, as to him they did appear, With van, main battle, wings, and rear. I' th' head of all this warlike rabble, 105 - Crowdero niarch'd expert and able.|| Instead of trumpet, and of drum. That makes the warrior's stomach come. Whose noise whets valor sharp, like beer By thunder turn'd to vinegar ; 110 For if a trumpet sound, or drum beat. Who has not a month's mind to combat ? * The reader will remember how the holsters were furnisheil. The .intilhesis between death-charged pistols, and life-preserv- ing vittle is a kind of fisiire much used by Shakspenre, and the poets before Mr. Butler's time ; very frequently by Butler him self. t It appears from c. i. v. 407, that he had but one stirrup. % Diri conieta?, quidnl ? quia crudelia atque immania, famem bella, clades, la'dus, morbos, evcrsiones urbium, rcgionum vastl tates, hominum interitus portcndere creduntur. 5 In some editions we read, Ralpho rode on with no less speed, Than Hugo in the forest did. Huiio was aid-dc-camp to Gondibert. B. I. c. ii. St. CG. II This is stiid, by Sir Rofter L'Estrange, to be designed for one Jackson, a milliner, who lived in the New Exchange in the Strand. He had lost a lep in the Parliament's service, and went about ficbllinir from one ale-house to another: but Butler does not point Ills siitire at «uch biw fiiinic. His nickname is taken from the instrument he used: Crovvdc, fiddle, crv%th, fidicula, in the British language. Canto ii.j HUDIBRAS. 85 A squeaking engine lie apply'd Unto his neck, on north-east side,* Just where tlie hangman does dispose, 115 To special friends, the fatal noose : For 'tis great grace, when statesmen straight Dispatch a friend, let others wait. His warped ear hung o'er the strings. Which was but souse to chitterlings :t 120 For guts, some write, ere they are sodden. Are tit for music, or for pudden ; From whence men borrow ev'ry kind Of minstrelsy, by string or wind. His grisly beard was long and thick, 125 With which he strung his fiddle-stick ; For he to horse-tail scorn'd to owe For what on his own chin did grow. Chiron, the four-legg'd bard, had both A beard and tail of his own growth ; 130 And yet by authors 'tis averr'd. He made use only of his beard. In Staffordshire, where virtuous worth! Does raise the minstrelsy, not birth : * It is difficult to say why Butler calls the left the north-east side. A friend of Dr. Gray's supposes it to allude to the manner (if liurying ; the ftfet being put to the east, the left side would be to tiie north, or north-east, t'onie authors have asserted, and Euseb. Nuremberg, a learned Jesuit, in particular, that the body of man is magnetical ; and being placed in a bo^t, a very small one we nuist suppose, of cork or leather, will nei'er rest till the head respecteth the north. Paracelsus had also a microcosmic:il conceit about the body of a man, dividing and diti'erencing it ac- cording tarison. Roger Bacon is said to have invented gunpowder. It has been observed, that gunpowder was invented by a priest, and printing by a soldier. $ Tinkers are said to mend one liole, and make two. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 97 A lance lie bore with iron pike, Th' one half wou"d thrust, the other strike ; And when their forces he had join'd, He scorn'd to turn his parts behind. He Tndla lov'd,* 'I'ruiia more bright 3G5 Than burnish'd armor of her knight ; A bold virago, stout, and tall. As Joan of France, or English Mail ;t Thro' perils both of wind and limb. Thro' thick and thin she foUow'd him 370 In ev'ry adventure h' undertook, And never him or it forsook : At breach of wall, or hedge surprise, She shar'd i' th' hazard, and the prize ; At beating quarters up, or forage, 375 Behav'd herself with matchless courage, And laid about in fight more busily Than th' Amazonian Dame Penthesile ;t And tho' some critics here cry Shame, And say our authors are to blame, 380 'I'hat, spite of all philosophers, Who hold no females stout but bears, And heretofore did so abhor That women should pretend to war. They would not suffer the stout'st dame 385 To swear by Hercules his name ;§ * Trull is a profligate woman, that follows the camp. Trnlla signifies the same in Italian. Casaubon derives it Croin the Greek IxarpvXXrj. — The character is said to have been intended tor the daughter of one James Spencer. t .loan d'.'Src, commonly called the Maid of Orleans, has been sufficiently celebrated in the English histories of the reign of Henry VI. about the years 1428 and 1429. English Moli was no less famous about the year 1070. Her real name was Mary Carlton ; but she was more commonly dis- tinguished by the title of Kentish Moll, or the German princess. — A renowned cheat and pickpocket, who was transported to Jamaica in 1671 ; and, being soon after discovered at large, was hauL'cd at Tyburn, January 22, 1072-3. Memoirs of Mary Carl- ton were published 1073. Granger, in his Biographical History, calls her Mary Firth. See vol. ii. p. 408. ed. 8vn. She was com- nmnly called English Mall. Thus Cleveland, p. 07, " certainly " it is under the same notion, as one whose pockets are picked " goes to .Mai Cutpurse." i In the first editions it is printed with more humor Pen- thesile. See Virgil, yEneid. 1. 4U0. Ducit Aiiiazonidum lunatis agmina peltis Penthesilea furens, niediisque in millibus ardet, Aurea sulincclfns exserta; clngula inammiE Bellatrix, au(l('t(iuc viris concnrrere viruo. $ The men and women, among the Romans, did not use the 38 HUDIBRAS. [Part t. Make feeble ladies in their works, . To fight like termagants and Turks •* To lay their native arms aside, Their modesty, and ride astride ;t 390 To run a tilt at men and wield Their naked tools in open field ; As stout Arniida, bold Thalestris, And she that would have been the mistress Of Gundibert, but he had grace, 395 And rather took a country lass :t s;iine oath, or swear by the same deity; Atilus Gellius, Noctes AttiCtE, lib. xi. cap. 6; but commonly the oath of women was Castor ; of men Edepol, or Mehercule. According to Macrobius, the men did not swear by Castor, nor the women by Hercules ; but Eilepol, or swearing by Pollux, was common to both. * The word termagant now signifies a noisy and troublesome person, especially of the female sex. How it came by this sig- nification 1 know not. Some derive it from the Latin ter magnus, felixteret amplius; but Junius thinks it compounded of the AnL'lo Saxon Cyp, the superlative or third degree of comparison, and" maja potens: thus the Saxon word eabej happy, fcyp eabej most happy. — In Chaucer's rime of sire Thopas, termagant appears to be the name of a deity. The giant sire Oliphaunt, swears by Termagaunt, line 13741. Bale, describing the threats used by some papist magistrates to his wife, speaks of them as "grennying upon her lyke termagaunts in a playe." And Ham- let in Shakspeare, (Act iii. sc. 2.) "I would have such a fellow wliipp'd for o'erdoing Termagant, it out-herods Herod." The French romances corrupted the word into tervagaunt, and from them La Fontaine took it up, and has used it more than once in his Tales. Mr. Tyrwhitt informs us that this Saracen deity, in an old MS. romance in the Bodleian Library, is constantly called Tervagan. Bishop Warburton very justly observes, that this passage is a fine satire on the Italian epic poets, Ariosto, Tasso, and others ; who have introduced their female warriors, and are followed in this alisurdily by Spenser and Davenant.— Bishop Hurd, likewise, in his ingenious and elegant Letters on Chivalry, p. 1'2, says, "One of the stranyest circumstances (in old romance) is that of "the women warriors. Butler, who saw it in this light, ridi- "cules it, as a most unn.itural idea, with great spirit. Yet, in " these representations they did but copy from the manners of "the times. Anna Comnena tells us, that the wife of Rober' "the Norman fought, side by side, with her husband in his "battles." t Camden, in his account of Richmond, (Article ^urrey, vol. i. col. 188, ed. 1722,) says, that .Vnne, wife of Richard II., daugh- ter of the emperor Charles IV., taught the English women the present mode of riding, about the year 1388. Before which time they rode astride.— .1. Govver, wlio dates his poem 16 Richaril II., 139 1, describing a company of ladies on horseback, says, " everich " '.me ride on side," p. 70, a. 2. i The princess Rhodalind harbored a secret afifection for Gon- diberl; but he was more struck with the charms of the humble Birtha, daughter to the sage Astragon. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. They say 'tis false, without all sense, But of pernicious consequence To government, which they suppose Can never be upheld in prose :* Strip nature naked to the skin, You'll find about her no such thing. It may be so, yet what we tell Of Trulla, that's improbable, Shall be depos'd by those have seen't, Or, what's as good, produc'd in print ■,i And if they will not take our word, We'll prove it true upon record. The upright Cerdon next advanc't,t Of all his race the valiant'st ; Cerdon the Great, renown'd in song, Like Herc'les, for repair of wrong : He rais'd the low, and fortify'd The weak against the strongest side :§ 111 has he read, that never hit On him in muses' deathless writ-H 99 400 4G5 410 415 Courts she ne'er saw ; yet courts could have outdone, With unUiught looks, and an unpractis'd heart. * Butler loses no opportunity of rallying Sir William Dave- nant, and burlesquing his poem entitled Gondibert. Sir William, like many professional men, was much attiiched to his own line of science; and in his preface to Gondibert, endeavors to show, that neither divines, leaders of armies, statesmen, nor ministers of the law, could uphold the government without the aid of poetry. , , , t The vulgar imagine that every thing which they see in print must be true. An instance of this is related by our coun- tryman, Mr. Martin, who was thrown into the inquisition for neglecting to pay due respect to a religious procession at Malaga. One of the father-inquisitors took much pains to convert him; and among other abuses which he cast on the reformed religion and its professors, affirmed that king William was an atheist, and never reteived the sacrament. Mr. Martin assured him this was false to his own knowledge : when the reverend lather re- plied, " Isaac, Isaac, never tell me so.— I have read it in a French book." . , t An equivoque on the word upright. Perhaps our poet might here mean to satirize Colonel Hewson, who was a cobbler, jrreat preacher, and a commander of some note : " renown'd in song," for there are many ballads and poems which celebrate the cob- bler and his stall. § Repaired the heels, and mended the worn-out parts of the shoe. II A parody upon these lines in Gondibert : Recorded Rhodalind, whose name in versa Who hath not hit, not luckily hath read. * 11- Or thus : Recorded Rhodalind, whose high renown Who miss in books, not luckily have read. 100 HUDIBRAS. [Part i. He had a weapon keen and fierce, That thro' a bull-hide shield would pierce,* And cut it in a thousand pieces, Tho' tougher than the Knight of Greece his,t 420 With wliom his black-tlmmb'd ancestor! Was comrade in the ten years' war : For when the restless Greeks sat down So many years before Troy town, And were renown'd, as Homer writes, 425 For well-sol'd boots no less than fights,§ They ow'd that glory only to His ancestor, that made them so. Fast friend he was to reformation, Until 'twas worn quite out of fashion ; 430 Next rectifier of wry law, And would make three to cure one flaw. Learned he was, and could take note. Transcribe, collect, translate, and quote : But preaching was his chiefest talent, 435 Or argument, in which being valiant. He us'd to lay about, and stickle, Like ram or bull at conventicle : For disputants, like rams and bulls, Do fight with arms that spring from sculls. 440 V/ Last Colon came,|| bold man of war, Destin'd to blows by fatal star ; Right expert in command of horse, But cruel, and without remorse. That which of Centaur long ago 445 Was said, and has been wrested to Some other knights, was true of this : He and his horse were of a piece : One spirit did inforni them both. The self-same vigour, fury, wroth ; 450 * Meaning his sharp knife, with which he cut the leather t The shield of Ajax. Aiaf 6' tyyiOtv ^X0£, (pipojv aaxoi Titre Trvpyov, XuXkcov, CTTTaSieiov, '6 o'l Tv^iof Kane Ttvx^v- Iliad, vii. 219. % According to the old verses : The bigh*:r the plumb-tree, the riper the plumb ; The richer the cobbler, the blaclver his thumb. $ V.vKvfiyiiii.i 'A^aioi — Kvriiili, was an armor for the legs, from Kvnjir], tibia, crus, which Butler ludicrously calls boots. II Colon is said, by Sir Robert L'Estrange, to be one Ned Perry, an ostler ; possibly he had risen to some command in a regiment of horse Canto n.] HUDIBRAS. 101 J Yet he was much tlie rougher part, And always had the harder heart, Altho' his horse had been of those That fed on man's flesh, as fame goes :* Strange food for horse ! and yet, alas ! 455 It inay be true, for flesh is grass.t Sturdy he was, and no less able ' Than Hercules to cleanse a stable ;t As great a drover, and as great A critic too, in hog or neat. 460 He ripp'd the womb up of his mother. Dame Tellus,§ 'cause she wanted fother. And provender, wherewith to feed Himself, and his less cruel steed. It was a question whether he, 465 Or's horse, were of a family More worshipful ; 'till antiquaries. After th'ad almost por'd out their eyes, Did very learnedly decide The bus'ness on the horse's side, 470 And prov'd not only horse, but cows, Nay pigs, were of the elder house : * The horses of Diomedes were said to have been fed with human flesh. Non libi succurrit crudi Diomedis imago, Efferus liuniana qui dape pavit equas. Ovid. Epist. Deiaiiira Hercnli. The moral, perhaps, might lie, that Diomede was ruined by keepint; his horses, as Ac.leon was said to be devoured by his dogs, because he was ruined by keeping them : a good hint to young men, qui gaudent equis, canibusque ; tiie French say, of a man who has ruined himself by extravagance, il a mang6 ses biens. See the account of Duncan's horses in Shakspeare, (Macbeth, Ac. ii. sc. 4.) t Our poet takes a particular pleasure in bantering Sir Thomas Browne, author of the Vulgar Errors, and Religio Medici. In the latter of these tracts he had said, " All flesh is grass, not " only uietaphcjrically, but literally : for all those creatures we "behold, are but the herbs of the field digested into flesh in " them, or more remotely carnified in ourselves. Nay, farther, " we are, what we all abhor, anthropophagi and cannibals ; de- " voarers not only of men but of ourselves, and that not in alle- "gory but positive truth ; for all this mass of flesh which we " behold c;ime in at our mouth ; this frame we look upon hath " been upon our trenchers." X Alluding to the fabulous stor> of Hercules, who cleansed the stables of Augcus, king of Elis, by turning the river Alpheus throuch them. § This means no more than his ploughing the ground. The mock epic delights in exaggerating the most trifling circumstan ces. This whole character is full of wit and happy allusions. / 102 HUDIBRAS. [Part l For beasts, when man was but a piece Of earth himself, did th' earth possess. These worthies were tlie chief that led 475 The combatants,* each in the head •Of his command, with arms and rage, Ready and longing to engage. The numerous rabble was drawn out Of sev'ral countries round about, 480 From villages remote, and siiires, Of east and western hemispheres. From foreign parishes and regions. Of different manners, speeeii, religions,+ Came men and mastiffs ; some to fight 485 For fame and honor, some for sight. And now tiie field of death, the lists, Were enter'd by antagonists, And blood was ready to be broach'd, When Hudibras in haste approach'd, 496 With Squire and weapons to attack 'em ; But first thus from his horse bespake 'em: AVhat rage, O citizens It what fury Doth you to these dire actions hurry ? What oestrum, what phrenetic mood§ 495 * All Bntler's heroes are round-heads : the cavaliers are sel- dom mentioned in his poem. The reason may be, that his satire on the two predominant seels would not have had the same force from the mouth of a royalist. It is now founded on the aclinowledgments and mutual recriminations of the parties ex- posed. t In a thanksgiving sermon preached before the parliament on the taking of Chester, the preacher said, there were in London no less than one hundred and fifty different sects. % Butler certainly had these lines of Lucan in view, Phar- sal. 1-8 : Quis furor, O cives, quas tanta licentia ferri, Genlibus invisus Latiuin prsliere cruoruni? Cumque superha foret Baliylon spolianda trophseis Ausoniis, umbraque erraret Crassus inulta, Bella geri placuit nullos habitura triuinphos'? Heu, quantum potuit terr^ pelagiquc parari Hoc, queni civiles hauserunt, sanguine, dextrae. And Virgil, JEn. ii. 42: O miseri, qua3 tanta insania, cives? Perhaps, too, he recollected the seventh epode of Horace: Q.UO, quo scelesti, ruitis 1 aut cur dexteris Aptaiitur enses conditi 7 5 OZs'pof is not only a Greek word for madness, but signifies also a pud-bee. or horse-fly, that torments cattle in the summer and makes them run about as if they were mad Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 103 Makes you thus lavish of your blood, While the proud Vies your trophies boast, And, unreveng'd, walks ghost?* What towns, what garrisons might you, With hazard of this blood, subdue. Which now y' are bent to throw away In vain, untriumphable fray?t Shall saints in civil bloodshed wallow Of saints, and let the cause lie fallow ?t The cause, for which we fought and swore So boldly, shall we now give o'er ? Then, because quarrels still are seen With oaths and swearings to begin, Tlie solemn league and covenant^ Will seem a mere God-damn-me rant. And we that took it, and have fought. As lewd as drunkards that fall out : For as we make war for the king Against himself,|| the self-same thing Some will not stick to swear we do For God, and for religion too ; 500 505 510 515 * Vies, or Devizes, in Wiltshire. This passage alludes to the defeat given by Wilmot to the forces under Sir William Waller, near that place, July 13, 1643. After the battle Sir William was entirely neglected by his party. Clarendon calls it the battle of Itoundway-down. See vol. ii. p. 224. Some in joke call it Run- away down. Others suppose the hiatus, in the second line, ought to be supplied by the name Hampden, who was killed in rhalgrove-fleld in Oxfordshire, about the time of Waller's de- feat in the neighborhood of the Devizes.— The heathen poets have feigned, that the ghosts of the slain could not enter Ely- sium till their deaths were revenged. t The Romans never granted a triumph to the conqueror in a r.iciil war. ~- I The support of the discipline, or ecclesiastical regimen by presbyters, was called the Cause, as if no other cause were com- parable to it. See Hooker's Eccles. Pol., preface. § Mr. Robert Gordon, in his history of the illustrious family of Gordon, vol. ii. p. 197, compares the solemn league and cove- nant with the holy league in France : he says, they were as like as one egg to another ; the one was nursed by the Jesuits, the other by the Scots Presbyterians. II '• To secure the king's person from danger," says Lord Clar- endon, " was an expression they were not ashamed always to "use, when there was no danger that threatened, but what '• themselves contrived and designed against him. They not " only declared that they fought for the king, but that the raising "and maintaining soldiers for their own army, would be an ac- "ceptable service for the king, parliament, and kingdom." One Blake, in the king's army, gave intelligence to the enemy in what part of the army the king fought, that they might direoi their bullets accordingly. 104 HUDIBRAS. [Part t " For if bear-baiting we allow, What good can reformation do ?* The blood and treasure that's laid out ^^ Is thrown away, and goes for nought. 520 Are these the fruits o' th' protestation,! The prototype of reformatioujt Which all the saints, and some, since martyrs,§ Wore in their hats like wedding-garters,|| When 'twas resolved by their house, 525 Six members' quarrels to espouse 711 ^ Did they for this draw down the rabble, With zeal, and noises formidable ;** And make all cries about the town Join throats to cry the bishops down? 530 Who having round begirt the palace, As once a month they do the gallows,tt As members gave the sign about. Set up their throats with hideous shout. * Hewson is said, by Mr. Hume, to have gone, in the fervor of his zeal against bear-baiting, and killed all the bears which he could find in the city. But we are told by the author of the Mystery of the good old Cause, a pamphlet published soon after these animals were destroyed, that they were killed by Colonel Pride. Granger's Biographical History, vol. iii. p. 75. t The protestation was framed, and taken in the house of commons, May 3, KHl ; and immediately printed and dispersed over the nation. The design of it was to alarm the people with fears and apprehensions both for their civil and religious liber- ties ; as if the Protestant religion were in danger, and the privi- leges of parliament trampled upon. The king was deemed to have acted unconstitutionally the day before, by taking notice of the bill of attainder against the earl of Strafford, then depend- ing in tlie house of lords. X The protestation was the first attempt towards a national combination against the establishment, and was harbinger to the covenant. See Nalson's Collections, vol. i. p. ult., and Walker's Sufferings of the Clergy, vol. i. 22-6. oio. II. 1. 2i>5. t Unhealthy pigs are subject to an eruption, like the measles, which breeds maggots, or vermin. ) Meaning his sword and pistols. , Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. Ill No prize between those combatants 705 O' th' times, the land and water saints ;* Where thou might'st stickle without hazard Of outrage, to thy liide and mazzard,t And, not for want of bus'ness, come To lis to be thus troublesome, 710 To interrupt our better sort Of disputants, and spoil our sport ? Was there no felony, no bawd. Cut-purse, t nor burglary abroad? No stolen pig, nor plunder'd goose, 715 To tie thee up from breaking loose? No ale nnlicens'd, broken hedge. For which thou statute might'st alledge, To keep thee busy from foul evil, And shame due to thee from the devil ? 720 Did no committee sit,§ where he Might cut out journey-work for thee ; And set th' a task with subornation, To stitch up sale and sequestration ; * That is, tlie Presbyterians and Anabaptists. t Face, perhajjs from the Latin, maxilla ; and the French, machoire. [More probably from mazer, a cup, from the Dutch, maeser, a knot of maple : A mazer ywrought of the maple ware. Spenser, Shep. Cal. Aug. v. 26. That the name of the cup should be transferred to the toper, seems not at all inconsistent with the etymology of burlesque words ; the northern custom of drinking out of the skull of an enemy, and the southern fashion of adorning cups with grotesque heads, lend a probability to this derivation, which is somewhat helped by the words of Minshew, sub voce mazer ;—" enim " pocula plerunque sunt acerna, facta e,\ tornatis hujus ligni ra- " dicibus, qua; propter multiculores venas, maculasque variegatas "aspectu jucunda sunt, et mensis gratissima." Mazer is used for a head, seriously, by Sylvester ; and ludicrously in two old plays. Mazer became mazzard, as vizor became vizard. Archdeacon Nares very justly observes, that the derivation from machoire, a jaw, is contradicted by Shakspeare ; — Ham. T\i\s (siu//) might be my lord such-a-one Why, e'en so : and now my lady Worm's ; chapless, and knock'd about the mazzard with a se.xton's spade.] X Men formerly hung their purses, by a silken or leathern strap, to their belts, on the outside of their garments, as ladies now wear watches. See the figures on old monuments. Hence the miscreant, whom we now denominate a pickpocket, was then properly a cutpurse. § In many counties, certain persons appointed by the parlia- ment to promote their interest, had power to raise money for their use, and to punish their opponents by fine and imprison- ment: these persons so associated were called a committee Walker's Sufferings of the Episcopal Clergy, part i. 112 HUDIBRAS. [Parti. To cheat, with hoUness and zeal, 725 All parties, and the common-weal ? Much better had it been for thee, H' had kept thee where th' art us'd to be ; Or sent th' on business any whither,* So he had never brought thee hitiier. 730 But if til' hast brain enough in skull To keep within his lodging whole, And not provoke the rage of stones, And cudgels, to thy hide and bones ; Tremble, and vanish while tliou may'st, 733 Which I'll not promise if thou stay'st. At this the Knight grew high in wroth, And lifting hands and eyes up both, Three times he smote on stomach stout. From whence, at lengtli, these words broke out 740 Was I for this entit'led Sir, And girt with trusty sword and spur, F'or fame and honour to wage battle, Thus to be brav'd by foe to cattle ? Not all the pride that makes thee swellt 745 As big as thou dost blown -up veal ; Nor all thy tricks and slights to cheat, I And sell thy carrion for good meat ; Not all thy magic to repair Decay'd old age, in tough lean ware, 750 Make natural death appear thy work, And stop the gangrene in stale pork ; Not all that force that makes thee proud, Because by bullock ne'er withstood : Tho' arm'd with all thy cleavers, knives, 755 And axes made to hew down lives, * Sir Sanuicl I>iike was scnut-master in the parliament-army, hence the poet sujijioses Hiidibras might be sent on errands by the devil. t OvK civ Toi ■xpai(7iiri Kldapii, rd Tc iwp' 'A(ppoiiTrig, 'H TC Kd/jiri, t6, tc ciioi, ot' iv Kovif] ture phrases. 118 HUDIBRAS. [Parti Upon his legs with sprained crup, Looking about beheld the bard 935 To charge the Knight entranc'd prepar'd, He snatch'd his whiniard up, that fled When he was falling ofl:' his steed, As rats do from a falling house, To hide itself from rage of blows ; 940 And wing'd with speed and fury llew To rescue Knight from black and blue. Which ere he could atchieve, his sconce The leg encounter'd twice and once ;* And now 'twas raised, to smite agen, 945 When Ralpho thrust himself between ; He took the blow upon his arm, To shield the Knight from further harm ; And joining wrath with force, bestow'd O' th' wooden member such a load, 950 That down it fell, and with it bore Crowdero, whom it propp'd before. To him the Squire right nimbly run. And setting his bold foot upon His trunk, thus spoke : What desp'rate frenzy 955 Made thee, thou whelp of sin, to fancy Thyself, and all that coward rabble, T' encounter us in battle able? How durst th', I say, oppose thy curship 'Gainst arms, authority, and worship, 960 And Hudibras, or me provoke. Though all thy limbs were heart of oak,t And th' other half of thee as good To bear out blows as that of wood ? Could not the whipping-post prevail 965 With all its rhet'ric, nor the jail. To keep from flaying scourge thy skin, And ankle free from iron gin? Which now thou shalt — but first our care Must see how Hudibras doth fare.t 970 This said, he gently rais'd the Knight, * Thu^i Justice Silence, in Henry TV. Act v. " Who 1 1 I have '' been merry twice and once ere now." And the witch in JUic- beth. Act V. "Twice and once the hedge pig whin'd." t Thus Hector braves Achilles. ToS 6' eyi) avrio; cl^i, Kai el nvp] xtipaj ^oixtv, Ei T*f)i xci'puf 'ioiKC, fitvos (5' (i'lSwK aiififiif. Hoin. Iliad, lib. .\.x. 371. { Imitating Virgil's Quos ego — sed motes, &c. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 119 And set him on his bum upright : To rouze him from lethargic dump,* He tvveak'd his nose, with gentle thump Knock'd on his breast, as if't had been 975 To raise the spirits lodg'd within. They waken'd with the noise, did fly From inward room, to window eye, And gently op'ning lid, the casement, Look'd out, but yet with some amazement. 980 This gladded Raipho much to see, Who thus bespoke the Knight: quoth he, Tweaking his nose, you are, great Sir, A self-denying conqueror ;t As high, victorious, and great, B85 As e'er fought for the Churches yet. If you will give yourself but leave To make out what y' already have ; That's victory. The foe, for dread Of your nine-worthiness, t is fled, 990 All, save Crowdero, for whose sake You did th' espous'd cause undertake ; And he lies pris'ner at yoiu' feet, To be dispos'd as you think meet, Either for life, or death, or sale, 995 The gallows, or perpetual jail ; For one wink of your pow'rful eye Must sentence him to live or die. His fiddle is your proper purchase, Won in the service of the Churches ; 1000 And by your doom must be allow'd To be, or be no more, a Crowd : For tho' success did not confer Just title on the conqueror ;§ Tho' dispensations were not strong 1005 Conclusions, whether right or wrong ; * Compare this with the situation of Hector, who was stunned by a severe blow received from Ajax, and comforted by Apollo. — IliH.l. XV. V. 240. t Ridiciiling the self-denying ordinance, by which the mem- bers of both houses were obliged to (Hiit theiremployments, both civil and military; notwithstanding which Sir Samuel Luke was continued governor of Newport I'agnel for some time. % Thrice worthy is a common ;ippellation in romances; but, in the opinion of the squire, would have been a title not equiva- lent to the knighfs de?ert. See the History of the Nine Worthies of the World ; and Fresnoy on Romances. $ Success was pleaded by the Presbyterians as an evident proof of the justice of their cause. 120 HUDIBRAS. [Part i Altho' out-goings did confirm * And owning were but a mere term ; Yet as the wicked have no right To th' creature,! tho' usurped by might, lOlO The property is in the saint, From whom th' injuriously detain't ; Of him they hold their luxuries. Their dogs, their horses, whores, and dice, Their riots, revels, masks, delights, ioi5 Pimps, bufFoons, fiddlers, parasites ; All which the saints have title to. And ought t' enjoy, if th' had their due. What we take from them is no more Than what was ours by right before ; lO'JO For we are their true landlords still, And they our tenants but at will. At this the Knight began to rouse, And by degrees grow valorous : He star'd about, and seeing none i025 Of all his foes remain but one, He snatch'd his weapon that lay near him. And from the ground began to rear him. Vowing to make Crowdero pay For all the rest that ran away. 1030 But Ralpho now in colder blood. His fury mildly thus withstood : ^ Great iSir, quoth he, your mighty spirit Is rais'd too high ; this slave does merit To be the hangman's bus'ness, sooner 1035 Than from your hand to have the honour Of his destruction ; I that am So much below in deed and name. Did scorn to hurt his forfeit carcase, Or ill entreat his fiddle or case : 1040 Will you, great Sir, that glory blot In cold blood, which you gain'd in hot ? Will you employ your conquering sword To break a fiddle, and your word? For tho' I fought and overcame, 1045 And quarter gave, 'twas in your name : For great commanders always own What's prosp'rous by the soldier done. * In some editions we read, — did not confirm. t It was a principle maintained by the Independents of those days, that dominion was lininded in grace ; and, therefore, if a man were not a saint, or a godly man, he cculd have no right to any lacds or chattels. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 121 To save, where you have pow'r to kill, Argues your pow'r above your will ; 1050 And that your will and pow'r have less Than both might have of selfishness, This pow'r which now alive, with dread He trembles at, if he were dead, Would no more keep the slave in awe, 1055 Thau if you were a knight of straw ; For death would then be his conqueror, Not you, and free him from that terror. If danger from his life accrue, Or honour from his death to you, 1060 'Twere policy, and honour too, To do as you resolv'd to do: But, Sir, 'twou'd wrong your valour much. To say it needs, or fears a crutch. Great conqu'rors greater glory gain lOfiS By foes in triumph led, than slain : The laurels that adorn their brows Are puH'd from living, not dead boughs. And living foes ; the greatest fame Of cripple slain can be but lame : 1070 One half of him's already slain,* The other is not worth your pain ; Th' honour can but on one side light, As worship did, when y'wera dubb'd Knight.t Wherefore I think it better far 1075 To keep him prisoner of war ; And let him fast in bonds abide, At court of justice to be try'd : Where, if h' appear so bold or crafty, There may be danger in his safety ;t 1080 * This reminds me of the supplication of a lame musician in the Antiiology, p. 5, ed. H. Stepli. Utjiav fiu TiQvriKe, to S'^niav Xifxii tXryx") Xioadi/ ixn j3aat\cv, ixncriKdv {}fiiTovov. t The honor of knighthood is conferred by the king's laying his sword upon the person's shoulder, and saying, " Arise, Sir ." t Cromwell's speech in the case of Lord Capel may serve to explain this line : he began with high encomiums of his merit, capacity, and honor ; but when every one expected that he would have voted to save his life, he told them that the question before them was, whether they would preserve the greatest and most dangerous enemy that the cause had 1 that he knew my Lord Capel well, and knew him so firmly attached to the royal interest, that he would never desert it, or acquiesce under any establishment contrary to it.— Clarendon. 6 122 HUDIBRAS. [Part l If any member there dislike His face, or to his beard have pike ;* Or if his death will save, or yield Revenge or fright, it is reveal'd : Tho' he has quarter, ne'ertheless ]085 Y' have pow'r to hang him when you please ; This has been often done by some Of our great conqu'rors, you know whom ; And has by most of us been held Wise justice, and to some reveal'd : ]09i) For words and promises, that yoke The conqueror, are quickly broke ; Like Sampson's cuffs, tho' by his own Direction and advice put on. For if we should fight for the cause i095 By rules of military laws. And only do what they call just, The cause would quickly fall to dust. This we among ourselves may speak ; But to the wicked or the weak llOO We must be cautious to declare Perfection-truths, such as these are.t * Doubtless, particular instances are here alluded to. It is notorious that the lords and others were condemned or pardnned, as their personal interests [frevailed more or less in the house. A whimsical instance of mercy was the pardon indiilj;ed to Sir John Owen, a Welsh centleman, who being tried, together with the lords Capel, Holland, Loughborough, and others ; Ireton, rather to insult the nobility than from any principle of compas- sion, observed that much endeavor had been used to preserve each of the lords, but here was a poor commoner, whom no one had spoke for; he therefore moved that he might be pardoned by the mere grace of the house. Sir John was a man of humor- ous intrepidity ; when he, with the lords, was condemned to be beheaded, he made his judges a low bow, and gave his humble thanks ; at which a by-stander, surprised, asked him what he meant ? To which the knight, with a broad oath, replied, that, " It was a great honor to a poor gentleman of Wales to lose '' his head with such noble lords, for, In truth, he was afraid they '' would have hanged him." See Clarendon, Rushworth, White- locke, and Pennant's Tour to Wales, in 1773, page 21)4. The parliament was charged with setting aside the articles of capitu- lation agreed to by its generals, and killing prisoners after qunrter had been granted them, on pretence of a revelation that such a one ought to die. See also the case of the surrender of Pen- dennis castle. t Truths revealed only to the perfect, or the initiated into the higher mysteries. i'diy^oiiai, Off (pffiii iaipUTai tvxV- To Trji TVxv; "^oi \ktTa^o\ai iruAAuj ?X" ili TTOiKiXov TTQayii' is-i Kal ttAu'cov TVXI Brunck. Gnom. Poet. p. 242. Fortuna ssevo la;ta negotio, et Ludum insolenteiii ludere pertinax, Transmutat incertos honores, JS'unc mihi, nunc alii beniana. Hor. Carm. lib. iii. 29, 1. 49 % An old ballad, which begins ; What if a day, or a month, or a year Crown thy delights. With a thousand wish't contentings ! Cannot the chance of a night or an hotjr, Cross thy delights. With as many sad tormentings t 128 HUDIBRAS. [Part i. And having routed the whole troop, ^^ith victory was cock-a-hoop ;* Thinking he 'ad done enough to purchase 15 Thanksgiving-day among the churches, Wherein his mettle and brave worth Might be explain'd by holder-forth. And register'd by fame eternal, \In deathless pages of diurnal ;t 20 Found in few minutes, to his cost. He did but count without his host ; And that a turn-stile is more certain Than, in events of war, Dame Fortune. For now the late faint-hearted rout, 25 ' O'erthrown and scatter'd round about, Chas'd by the horror of their fear, From bloody fray of Knight and Bear, All but the dogs, who, in pursuit Of the Knight's victory, stood to't, 30 And most ignobly sought to get The honour of his blood and sweat,t Seeing the coast was free and clear O' the conquer'd and the conqueror. Took heart again, and fac'd about, 35 As if they meant to stand it out : For now the half defeated bear, Attack'd by th' enemy i' th' rear, Finding their number grew too great For him to make a safe retreat, 40 Like a bold chieftain fac'd about ; But wisely doubting to hold out, Gave way to fortune and with haste Fac'd the proud foe, and fled, and fac'd. Retiring still, until he found 45 H' ad got the advantage of the ground ; And then as valiantly made head To check the foe, and forthwith fled. * This crowing or rejoicing. Coclj-on-hoop signifies extrava- gance: the cock drawn out of a barrel, and laid upon the hoop, while the liquor runs to waste, is a proper emblem of inconsid- erate conduct. t The gazettes or newspapers, on the side of the parliament, were published daily, and called Diurnals. See Cleveland's character of a diurnal-riiaker. t An allusion to the complaint of the Presbyterian comman- ders against the Independents, when the self-denying ordinance had brought in these and excluded the otliers. Botli Butler and Milton complain of not receiving satisfaction and reward for their labor and expenses. This looks as if our poet had an alle- gorical view in some of his characters and passages. Canto hi.] HUDIBRAS. 129 Leaving no art untiy'd, nor trick Of warrior stout and politic, 50 Until, in spite of hot pursuit, He gain'd a pass, to hold dispute On better terms, and stop the course Of the proud foe. With all his force He bravely charg'd, and for a while 55 Forc'd their whole body to recoil ; But still their numbers so increas'd, He found himself at length oppress'd, And all evasions so uncertain To save himself for better fortune, 60 That he resolv'd, rather than yield, To die with honour in the field, And sell his hide and carcase at A price as high and desperate As e'er he could. This resolution 65 He forthwith put in execution, And bravely threw himself among Th' enemy i' th' greatest throng ; But what could single valour do Against so numerous a foe ? 70 Yet much he did, indeed too much To be believ'd, where th' odds were such ; But one against a multitude, Is more than mortal can make good : For while one party he oppos'd 75 His rear was suddenly enclos'd, And no room left him for retreat, Or fight against a foe so great. For now the mastives, charging home, To blows and handy-gripes were come ; 80 While manfully himself ho bore, And, setting his right foot before, He rais'd himself to show how tall His person was above them all. This equal shame and envy stirr'd 85 In th' enemy, that one should beard So many warriors, and so stout, As he had done, and stav'd it out, Disdaining to lay down his arms, And yield on honourable terms. 90 Enraged thus some in the rear Attack'd him, and some every where,* * Thus Spenser in his Fairy Queen : Like dastcird curs, that having at a bay The savage beast, eniboss'd in weary chase, 6* 130 HUDIBRAS. [Part u Till down he fell ; yet falling fought, And, being down still laid about ; As Widdrington, in doleful dumps, 95 Is said to fight upon his stumps.* But all, alas ! had been in vain, And he inevitably slain. If TruUa and Cerdon, in the nick, To rescue him had not been quick : 100 For TruUa, who was light of foot. As shafts which long-field Parthians shoot,t But not so light as to be borne Upon the ears of standing corn,t Dare not adventure on the stubborn prey, Ne bite before, but ronie from place to place To get a snatch, when turned Is his face. * In the famous song of Chevy-chase : For Witherington needs must I wail. As one in doleful dumps. For when his legs were smitten of He fought upon his stumps. The battle of Chevy-chase, or Otterbourne, on the borders of Scotland, was fought on St. Oswald's day, August 5, 1388, be- tween the families of Percy and Douglas — the song was proba- bly wrote much after that time, though long before 1588, as Hearne supposes. — The sense of the stanza is, I, as one in dole- ful dumps (deep concern) must lament Witherington. In the old copy of the ballad, the lines run thus : For Wetharryngton my harte was wo That ever he sUiyne shulde be For when both his leggis weare hewyne in to He knyled and fought upon his kne. t Bishop Warburton offers an amendment here, which im- proves the sense, viz. longfiled, or drawn up in long ranks. But as all the editions read long-field, I was luiwilling to alter it. Perhaps the poet may be justified in the use of this epithet, from the account which Trogus gives of the Parthians. He says, "they were banished, and vagabond Scythians; their name, in " the Scythian language, signifying banished. They settled in " the deserts near Hyrcania; and spread themselves over vast "open fields and wide champaigns — 'inuiiensaac profunda cam- " ' l)iirurii.' They are continually on horseback: They fight, " consult, and transact all their business on horseback." Justin, lib. xli. [Bishop Warburton and Mr. Nash are wide afield of their mark here. Lonir-field is a term of archery, and a long-fielder is still a hero at a cricket match.] X Alluding to Camilla, whose speed is hyperbolically described by Virgil, at the end of the seventh ^Eneid: Ilia vel intactae segetis per summa volaret Gramina, ncc teneras cursu laisisset aristas : Vel mare per medium fluctu suspensa tumenti, Ferret iter, celeres nee tingeret tequore plantas. Canto in.] HUDIBRAS. 131 Or trip it o'er the water quicker 105 Thau witches, when th.eir staves they liquor,* As some report, was got among The foremost of the martial throng ; Where pitying the vanquish'd bear. She called to Cerdon, who stood near, 110 Viewing the bloody fight ; to whom, Shall we, quoth she, stand still hum-drum, And see stout bruin, all alone. By numbers basely overthrown ? Such feats already he'as atchiev'd, 1'5 In story not to be believ'd. And 'twould to us be shame enough, Not to attempt to fetch liim off. I would, quoth he, venture a limb To second thee, and rescue him : 120 Bat then we must about it straight, Or else our aid will come too late: Quarter he scorns, he is so stout, And therefore cannot long hold out. This said, they wav'd their weapons round 125 About their heads, to clear the ground ; And joining forces, laid about So fiercely, that th' amazed rout Turn'd tail again, and straight begun. As if the devil drove, to run. 130 Meanwhile th' approached th' place where bruin Was now engag'd to mortal ruin : The conqu'ring foe they soon assail'd ; First Trulla stav'd and Cerdon tail'djt Until their mastives loos'd their hold : 135 And yet, alas ! do what they could, Tiie worsted bear came off with store Of bloody wounds, but all before : For as Achilles, dipt in pond. Was anabaptiz'd free from wound, 140 Made proof against dead-doing steel All over, but the pagan heel ;t So did our champion's arms defend All of him but the other end, * Witches are said to ride upon broomsticks, and to liquor, or grease them, that thev may go faster. t Trulla put her staff between the dogs and the bear, in order to part them ; and Cerdon drew the dogs away by their tails. X This is the true spirit of t)urlesque; as the analiaptists, by their dipping, were made free from sin. so was Achilles by the same operation performed by his mother Thetis, rendered free from wounds. 132 HUDIBRAS. [P*RT i His head and cars, whicli in the martial 145 EncoLinter lost a leathern parcel ; For as an Austrian archduke once Had one ear, which in ducatoons Is half the coin, in battle par'd Close to his head,* so bruin far'd ; 150 But tugg'd and pull'd on th' other side, Like scriv.'ner newly crucify'd :t Or like the late-corrected leathern Ears of the circumcised brethren.^ But gentle Trulla into th' ring 155 He wore in's nose convey'd a string, With which she march'd before, and 1-ed The warrior to a grassy bed, As authors write, in a cool shade, * Allien, archduke of Austria, brother to the emperor Rodolph the Second, had one of his ears grazed by a spear, when he had taitea olT his heUnet, and was endeavoring to riilly his soldiers, in an enati^eineiU with Prince Maurice of Nassau, ann. 1598. We read, in an ancient song, of a difierent duke of that family : Richard Coeur de Lion erst king of this land, He the lion gored with his naked hand ; The false duke of Austria nolhing did he fear. But his son he kill'd with a box on the ear Besides his famous acts done in the holy land. A ducatoon is the half of a ducat. Before the invention of milling, coins were frequently cut into parts : thus, there were quarter-ducats, and two-thirds of a ducat. t In those days lawyers or scriveners, if guilty of dishonest practices, were sentenced to lose their ears. In modern times they seldom are so punished. t Prynne, Bastwick, and Burton, stood in the pillory, and had their ears cut off, by order of the Star-Chamber, in 1637, for writing seditions libels. They were banished into remote parts of the kingdom; but recalled by the parliament in 1640. At their return the i)opulace sliowed them every respect. They were met, near London, by ten thousand persons, who carried boughs and tiowers. The members of the Star-cha oilier, con- cerned in punishing them, were lined in tire sum of 4UU0/. for each. Prynne was a noted lawyer. He had been once pilloried be- fore ; and now lost the remainder of his ears : tliough, in Lord Strafford's Letters, it is said they were sewed on again, and grew as well as ever. His publication was a pamphlet entitled, News from Ipswich. See Epistle of Hudibras toSidrophel, 1. 13. Bastwick was a physician. He wrote a pamphlet, in elegant Latin, called Flagellum Episcoporum. He was the author, too, of a silly litany, full of abuse. Burton, minister of St. Matthew's, in Friday-street, London, preached a sermon, Nov. 5, entitled, God and the king. This he printed ; and, being questioned about it, he defended it, enlarged, and dedicated it to the king himself. After his discharge, he preached and printed another sermon, entitled. The Protestation protested. Canto hi.] HUDIBRAS 133 Whicli eglantine and roses made : 160 Close by a softly inurm'ring stream, Where lovers used to loll and dream :* There leaving him to his repose, Secured from pursuit of foes, And wanting nothing but a song.t 165 And a well-tiui'd theorbo hung Upon a bough, to ease the pain His tngg'd ears sutfer'd, witii a strain.! They both drew up, to march in quest Of his great leader, and the rest. 170 For Orsin, who was more renown'd For stout maintaining of iiis ground In standing fights, than for pursuit, As being not so quick of foot,§ Was not long able to keep pace .75 With others that pursu'd the chase. But found himself left far behind, Both out of heart and out of wind ; Griev'd to behold his bear pursu'd So basely by a multitude, 180 And like to fall, not by the prowess, But numbers, of his cov/ard foes. He rag'd, and kept as heavy a coil as Stout Hercules for loss of Hylas ; Forcing the vallies to repeat 185 The accents of his sad regret :|1 * Et fotiuii preiiiio Dca tollit in altos Idalitu lucos, iibi iiiulli:? aiiiaraciis ilium Floribu.s, et duici uspiraiis aiiiplectiuir umbra. Virgil, .^neid i. 692. And Johannes Secundus, Eleg. Cum Venus Ascanium. Mr. Isutler frequently gives us specimens of poetical imagery, which lead us lo believe that he might have ranked with the tirst class of elegant writers. t This is a banter upon some of the romance writers of those days. ' i In Grey's edition it is thus pointed: Ftis tugg'd ears sufter'd; with a strain They botli drew up — Cut I should rather suppose the poet meant a well-tuned theorbo, to ease the pain with a strain, that is, with music and a song. ^ Thus Ajax is described by Homer : dvi' uv 'A;^iXA7)( prj^/jvopi xwp/Jcfitv, "^p Y aiiTu^'ahiri' iroal 6' ourruj iarlv ipi^eiv. II. xiii. 324. II Hercules, when he bewails the loss of Hylas : Volat ordine nullo Cuncta petens ; nunc ad ripas, dejectaque saxis 134 HUDIBRAS [Part i Ho beat his breast, and tore his hair, For loss of his dear croiij' bear ; Fliunina ; nunc notas nemorum procurrit ad umbras ; Rursus Ilykui, et rursus Hylan per longa reclaiiiat Avia : responsant silvu;, et vaga ceitat iina^o. Val. Flac. Argon, iii. 593. TpU litv YXav aiasv oaov BaOv; ijpvyc Xai/iuf, Tpii fS ap' b TTuli vixdKovijti'' dpaiu 6' ikcto (pmvu 'E^ v6aTos. Tiieocrilu-s, l(iyl. xiii. ."JS. Echoes have frequently been employed by the poets. Mr. Biulcr ridicules this lal-e kind of wit, uiul (irudiices answers which are sufficiently wliinisical. 'J'he learned Enisnius com- posed a dialogue upon this subject: his Echo seems to have been an extraordinary linguist; for she answers ihe person, with whom she converse^, in Litin, Greek, and Hebrew. "The conceit of making Echo talk sensibly," says Mr. .-Vddison, Spectator, A'o. 5i), "and give rational answers, if it could be •'excusable In any writer, would be so In Uviil, where he inlro- "duces Echo as a nymph, before she was worn away into " nothing but a voice. The |)assagc relating her conversation " with Narcissus is very ingenious : Forte puer, comitum seductus ab agmine fido, Dlxerat, Ecquis adest? et Adest, responderat Echo. Hie stupet; utquc aciem partes divisit in omnes ; Voce, Veni, claurdt magna. V'ocat ilia vocanteni. Respicit : et nnllo rursus veniente, Cinid, iniiuil, Me fugis ? et totidem, quot dixit, verba recepit Perstat; et alternte deceptus imagine vocis Hue coeanuis, ail; nullique libenlius unquam Responsura sono, Coeamus, retulit Echo. Metamorph. iii. 3T9. A friend of ufiiie, who boasted much of his i)ark and gardens in Ireland, among other curiosities mentioned an extraordinary Echo, that would return answers to any thing which w;ts said. Ofwbdtkind! — incpiired a gentleman present. Why, says he, if I call out loud, How do you do, Cuaner ! the Echo immediately answers, Very well, thank you, sir. Hloiit Hercules for loss uf Hijlas ; — Euripides, in his An- dromeda, a tr.igedy now lost, had a scene of this kind, which Aristophanes makes sport with in his l-'east of Ceres. In the Anthologia, lib. iii. (i, is au epigram of Ijeonidas, and in the 4th book are six lines by Guaradas. See Brunck's Ana- locta, vol. ii. a A;:^(j (pi\a ptoi triiy/carauEo'iii' ri. — ji ri ; a Epu Kooi'a/cnf a Of'//' oil ipiXu. — /j ipiXu. a npufui h Katpbi Katpov uv (pipit — fi 290 And forthwith put themselves, in search Of Hudibras, upon their march : Where leave we them awhile, to tell What the victorious knight befell ; 2d Citizen. Then )iappy man be his fortune. Ist Citizeii. And so am I and forty more good fellows, that will ndlg-ive their beads for the washing. * This common sayin;; is a sneer at the Pope's infallibility. t [In secrecy or concealment. and we have done but greenly In hvgger-mugger to inter him. Hamlet, iv. 5.] X A proverbial expression used for any bold or daring enter- prise : so we say, To lake a lion by the l)eard. The Spaniards deemed it an unpardonable aftVont to be pulled by the beard. 138 HUDIBRAS. [Parti. For such, Crowdero being fast 295 In dungeon shut, we left liini last. Triurnpliant laurels seem'd to grow Nowhere so green as on his brow ; Laden with which, as well as tir'd With conqn'ring toil, he now retir'd 300 Unto a neiglib'ring castle by. To rest his body, and apply Fit nied'cines to each glorious bruise He'd got in fight, reds, blacks, and blues ; To mollify th' uneasy pang 305 Of cv'ry honourable bang. Which b'ing by skilful midwife drest, He laid him down to take his rest. But all in vain : he 'ad got a hurt O' th' inside, of a deadlier sort, 310 By Cupid made, wlio took his stand Upon a widow's jointure-land,* For he, in all his am'rous battles, No 'dvantage finds like goods and chattels. Drew home his bow, and aiming right, 315 Let fly an arrow at the Knight ; The shaft against a rib did glance, And gall'd him in the purtenance ;t But time had somewhat 'swag'd his pain, After he had found his suit in vain : 320 For that proud dame, for whom his soul Was burnt iu's belly like a coal, That belly that so oft' did ake, And suffer griping for her sake. Till purging comfits, and ant's eggst 325 Had almost brought him off his legs, — * Stable-stand is a term of the forest laws, and sifrnifies a place under some convenient cover, where a deer-steuler fixes himself, and keeps watch for the purpose of killini; deer as they pass by. From the place it came also to lie applied to the per- son ; and any man taken in the forest in that situation, with a gun or bow, was presumed to be an offender, and had the name of a Stable-stand. From a note by Hanmer on Shakspeare's Winter's Tale, Act ii. sc. 1. The widow is supposed to have been Mrs. Tonison, who had a jointure of 200/. a year. t .\ ludicrous name for the knight's heart: taken, probably, from a calf's or lamb's head and purtenance, as it is vulgarly called, instead of appurtenance, which, among other entrails, contains the lieart. + Ants' e^'-is were supposed, by some, to be great antidotes to love passions.* 1 cannot divine what are the medical qualities * V.irum eqiiitlcm miror formicnrum hac in parte potentiam, quiim qiiamor '.allium in pulu sumplas, uiniiem Veneris, ac cui^uiidl puietitiam aulerre traiiit Bruiii'cl&ius. Canto iii.l HUDIBRAS. 139 ' Us'd him so like a base rascallion, i That old Pyg — what d' y' call him — malion, ' That cut his mistress out of stone,* Had not so hard a hearted one. 330 She had a thousand jadish tricks, Worse than a mule that flings and kicks ; 'Mong which one cross-grain'd freak she had, As insolent as strange and mad ; She could love none but only such 335 As scorn'd and hated her as much.t 'Twas a strange riddle of a lady ; Not love, if any lov'd her : ha-day \t of them. Palladius, de re rustica. 29. 2, directs ants' efr^s to be given to young pheasants. — Plutarch, ii. 928, and ii. 974, says that bears, when they are sick, cure themselves by swallowing ants. Frosted caraway seeds (common sugar plums) are not unlike ants' eggs. * Pymnalion, as the inylhcjlogists say, fell in love with a statue of his own carving ; and Venus, to gratify him, turned it into a living woman. The truth of the story is supposed to be, that he had a very beautiful wife, whose skin far surpassed the whiteness of ivory. Or it may mean, to show the painter's or statuary's vanity, and extreme fondness of his own performance. See Fr. Junius, in Catalog. Architect. Pictor. Staluarior. &c., pp. 188, 1()3. Stone, instead of ivory, that the widow's hard heart, v. 330, might be the nearer resembled: so brazen, for stone, iu Pope's description of Gibber's brothers in the Dunciad, i. 32, that the resemblance between him and them might be the stronger. So in our poet a goose, instead of some more considerable fowl, is described with talons, only because Iludibras was to be compared to a fowl with such : but niajdng a goose have talons, ai.d Iludibras like a goose, to which wise animal he had before compared a jus- tice, P. i. c. i. V. 75, heightens the ridicule. See P. i. c. iii. v. 525. If the reader loves a punning epitaph, let him peruse the fol- lowing, on a youth who died for love of Molly Stone ; (, Molle fuit saxum, saxum, O ! si JMolle fuisset,\ QtJ».''t^^' • ' Non foret hie subter, sed super esset ei. J / t Such a capricious kind of love is described by Horace : Satires, book i. ii. 105. Ijeporem venator ut alta In nive secfcttur, positum sic tan^ere nolit : Cantat et apponit : nieit-; est amor huic siniilis ; nam Transvolat in medio posita, et fugientia capiat. Nearly a translation of the eleventh epigram of CallimacUus, which ends, j(bifioi tpu; ToidsSf ra fih' (pc'vyovra SidKetv otic, TO. i' IV ixiacij) Kt.ifxs.va Tra^viraTat. i In the editi(m of lt)78 it is Hey-day, but either may stand, as they both signify a mark of admiration. See Skinner and Junius. 140 HUDIBRAS. [Part i So cowards never use their might, But against such as will uot fight. 340 So some diseases have been foimd Only to seize upon the sound.* He that gets her by heart, must say her The back-way, like a witch's prayer. Meanwhile the Knight had no small task 345 To compass what he dur.st not ask : He loves, but dares not make the motion ; \/ Her ignorance is his devotion :t Like caitiff vile, that for misdeed Rides with his face to rump of steed ;t 350 Or rowing scull he's fain to love, Look one way, and another move ; Or like a tumbler that does play , His game, and looks another way,§ Until he seize upon the coney ; 355 Just so does he by matrimony, But all in vain : her subtle snout Did quickly wind his meaning out ; Which she return'd with too much scorn To be by man of honour born ; 360 * It is common for horses, as well as men, to be afflicted '• with sciatica, or rheumatism, to a great decree for weeks to- " gether, and when they once get clear of the tit," as we term it, " have perliaps never heard any more of it while they lived: " for these distempers, with some others, called salutary distem- " pers, seldom or never seize upon an unsound body." See Bracken's I'^irriery Improved, ii. 4G. Tiie meaning, then, from V. 338, is this: As the widow loved none that were disposed to love her, so cowards fight witli none that are disposed to fight with them : so some diseases seize upon none that are already distempered, and in appearance proper subjects for them, but upon thv (pdayavuv &^v. Homer 144 HUDIBRAS. [Part i. This said, his courage to inflame, He calTd upon his mistress' name,* His pistol next he cock'd anew, And out his nut-brown whinyard drew ;t 480 And placinfr Raipho in tlie front,}: Reserv'd liimself to bear the brunt, As expert warriors use ; then ply'd, • With iron heel, his courser's side, ('onveying sympathetic speed 485 From heel of knight to heel of steed. Meanwhile the foe, with equal rage And speed, advancing to engage, Botli parties now were drawn so close. Almost to come to handy-blows: 490 When Orsin first let fly a stone At Raipho ; not so huge a one As that which Diorned did maul J3neas on the bum withal ;§ Yet big enough, if rightly hurl'd, 495 T' have sent him to another world, Whether above ground, or below, Which saints, twice dipt, are destin'd to.|| * Cervnnies, upon almost everv occasion, makes Quixote in- voke his Duloinea. Mr. Jarvis, in his life of Cervantes, ob- serves, from the old collectinn of Spanish huvs, that they hold it ■A nol)le IhinR tocpjl upon the name of their mistresses, that their hearts may swell with an increase of courage, and their sliame be the greater if they fail in their attempt. t This word whinyard signifies a sword. Skinner derives it from the Saxnn winnan, to win or acquire honor; luit, as it is chiefly used in CDntempt, Johnson derives it from whin, furze; so whmniard, the short scythe or instrument with which coun try people cut whins. t Like Thraso in Terence. Eunuchns, iv. 7, who savs, " Ego ero post principia." , ^ b ie ^(epudiiov \d8c x^'P' Tvitiiris. fifya epyov, S ov ivo y avhpc (pipoisv, O7oi vvv fiporoi da' h 6( ijiv "pea ru'AAt Kal o7of. Toi fia'Atj/ Aivdao Kar' laxiov, evSa re /jieuos Iliad. V. 302. And Juvenal : nee hunc lapidcm, quali se Tumus, et Ajax ; Vel quo Tydides percussit pondcre co.tani JEneiE; sed quern valeant emittere dextrae lUis dissiniiles, ct nostro tempore natte. Sat. XV. 65. II The anabaptists thought they obtained a higher degree of saintship by being rebaptized. Canto in.] HUDIBRAS. 145 The danger startled the bold Squire, And made him some few steps retire ; 500 But Hiidibras advanc'd to's aid, And rous'd his spirits half dismay'd ; He wisely doubting lest the shot O' th' euemy, now growing hot, Might at a distance gall, press'd close, 505 *To come, pell-mell, to handy blows. And that he might their aim decline, Advanc'd still in an oblique line ; But prudently forbore to fire, Till breast to breast he had got nigher ;* 51 J As expert warriors use to do. When hand to hand they charge their foe. This order the advent'rous Knight, Most soldier-like, observed in fight, When Fortune, as she's wont, turn'd fickle, 515 And for the foe began to stickle. The more shame for her Goodyship To give sPnear a friend the slip. For Colon, choosing out a stone, Levell'd so right, it thump'd upon 520 His manly paunch, with such a force, As almost beat him off liis horse, He loos'd his Vv'hinyard, and the rein, But laying fast hold on the mane. Preserved his seat : and, as a goose 525 In death contracts his talons close. So did the knight, and with one claw The trigger of his pistol draw. The gun went oft": and as it was Still fatal to stout Hudibras, 530 In all his feats of arms, when least He dreamt of it, to prosper best. So now he far'd : the shot let fly, At random, 'mong the enemy, Pierc'd Talgol's gaberdine,! and grazing 535 Upon his shoulder, in the passing Lodg'd in Magnaiio's brass habergeon, t * Oliver Cromwell ordered his soldiers to reserve their fire till they were near enough the enemy to be sure of doing exe- cution. t An old French word for a smock frock, or coarse coat. i Habergeon, a diminutive of the French word hauberg, a breastplate : and derived from [the German] hals, collum, and bergen seu pergen, tegere. See Chaucer. Here it signifies the tinker's budget. 7 146 HUDIBRAS. [Part.. Who straight, A surgeon cry'd — a surgeon ! He tumbled down, and, as he fell, Did murder ! murder ! murder ! yell.* 540 This startled tiieir whole body so, That if the Knight had not let go His arms, but been iu warlike plight, H' had won, the second time, the fight ; . As, if the Squire had but fall'n on, 545 He had inevitably done : But lie, diverted with the care Of Hudibras his wound, forbare To press th' advantage of his fortune. While danger did the rest disiiearten. 550 For he witli Cerdon b'ing engag'd In close encounter, they botli wag'd Tiie fight so well, 'twas hard to say Which side was like to got the day. And now the busy work of death 555 Had tir'd them so they 'greed to breathe. Preparing to renew the tight, • W^hen th' hard disaster of the knight, And th' other party, did divert And force tiieir sullen rage to part. 560 Ralpho press'd up to Hudibras, And Cerdon where Maguano was. Each striving to confirm his party With stout encouragements and hearty. Quoth Ralpho, Courage, valiant Sir, 565 And let revenge and honour stir Your spirits up ; once more fall on. The shatter'd foe begins to run : For if but half so well you knew To use your vict'ry as subdue,t 570 They durst not, after such a blow As you have giv'n them, face us now ; * To howl or use a lamentable cry, from the Greek, IdXtfio;, or (5XoAii5(o. ejiilo, a mournful son? used at funer;ils, nnd prac- tiseil to this (lay in some parts of Ireland, and the highlands of Scotland. t This perhaps has some reference to Prince Rupert, who was generally successful at his first onset, but lost his advantage by too long a pursuit. Echard, vol. ii. p. 480. The same is said of Hannibal, FInriis, lib. ii. en p. G. Dubium deinde non erat, quin ultimmii ilium diem habituni fuerit Roma quintumque intra diem epulari Annibal in ciipitolio [lotuerit, si (quodPcennm ilium dixisse Adherbalem Bomilcaris ferunt) Annibal quemadmodum sciret vincere, sic uti victoria scisset. Caesar said the same ol Pompey. Sueton. in Vita. Canto hi.] HUDIBRAS. 147 But froiii so formidable a soldier. Had fled like crows when they smell powder. Thrice have they seen your sword aloft 575 Wav'd o'er their heads, and fled as oft : But if you let them recollect Their spirits, now dismay'd and check'd, -You'll have a harder game to play Than yet y' have had, to get the day. 380 Thus spoke the stout Squire ; but was heard By Hudibras with small regard. His thoughts were fuller of the bang He lately took, than Ralph's harangue ; To which he answer'd. Cruel fate 585 Tells me thy counsel comes too late, The clotted blood within my hose,* That from my wounded body flows, With mortal crisis doth portend My days to appropinquet an end. 590 I am for action now unfit. Either of fortitude or wit ; Fortune, my foe, begins to frown, Resolv'd to pull my stomach down. I am not apt, upon a wound, 595 Or trivial basting, to dispond ; Yet I'd be loath my days to curtail ; For if I thought my wounds not mortal, Or that w' had time enough as yet To make an honourable retreat, 600 'Twere the best course ; but if they find We fly, and leave our arms behind For them to seize on, the dishonour. And danger too, is such, I'll sooner Stand to it boldly, and take quarter, 605 To let them see I am no starter. In all the trade of war no feat Is nobler than a brave retreat : For those that run away, and fly. Take place at least o' th' enemy. 610 This said, the Squire, with active speed. Dismounted from his bonyt steed To seize the arms, which by mischance Fell from the bold Knight in a trance. * In some editions — the kvotted blood. t One of the knight's hard words, signifying to approach, or draw near to. i In some editions it is bonny, but I prefer the reading of 1678. 148 HUDIBRAS. [Part i. These being found out, and restof'd 61 5 To Hudibras, their natural lord, The active Squire, with might and main, Prepar'd in haste to mount again. Thrice he assayed to mount aloft ; But by his weighty bum, as oft 620 He was puU'd back ; 'till having found Th' advantage of the rising ground, Thither he led his warlike steed, And having plac'd him right, with speed Prepar'd again to scale the beast, 625 When Orsin, who had nowly drest The bloody scar upon the shoulder Of Talgol, with Promethean powder,* And now was searching for the shot That laid Magnano on the spot, 630 Behind the sturdy Squire aforesaid Preparing to climb up his horse-side ; He left his cure, and laying hold Upon his arms, with courage bold Cry'd out, 'Tis now no time to dally, 635 The enemy begin to rally : Let us that are unluu't and whole Fall on, and happy man he's dole.t Tills said, like to a thunderbolt, He flew with fury to th' assault, 640 Striving the enemy to attack Before he reach'd his horse's back. Ralpho was mounted now, and gotten O'erthwart his beast with active vaidting, Wriggling his body to recover 645 His seat, and cast his right leg over ; When Orsin, rushing in, bestov.''d On horse and man so heavy a load, The beast was startled, and begun * See canto ii. v. 225. — In a long enumeration of his several beneficent inventions, Prometheus, in .^Eschylus, boasts espe- cially of his communicating to mankind the knowledge of medi- cines. eici^a Kpdoct; fnriwv aKt/rnaTtov als TuS aviicas i^afivvoivrai vdang. JEsch. Prometh. vinct. v. 491, ed. Blomf. t See Shakspeare, Taming the Shrew, Act i. sc. 1, and Win- ter's Tale, Act i. sc. 2. Dole, from duelan, to distribute, signifies the shares formerly given at funerals and other occasions. May happiness be his share or lot. May the lot of the happy man be his. As we say of a person at the point of death, God rest his soul. Canto iir.] HUDIBRAS. 149 To kick and fling like mad, aud run, 650 Bearing the toii^li Squire, like a sack, Or stout king Richard, on his back ;* 'Till stumbling, he threw him down,! Sore bruis'd, and cast into a swoon. Meanwiiiie the Knight began to rouse 655 The sparkles of his wonted prowess ; He thrust his hand into his hose, And found, botli by his eyes and nose, 'Twas only choler, and not blood, That from liis wounded body flow'd.l 660 This, with the hazard of the Squire, Enflam'd him with despightful ire ; Courageously he fac'd about, And drew his other pistol out, And now had half-way bent the cock, 665 When Cerdon gave so fierce a siiock, With sturdy truncheon, 'thwart liis arm, That down it fell, and did no harm : Then stoutly pressing on with speed, Assay'd to pull him off his steed, 670 The knight his sword had only left. With which he Cerdon's head had cleft, Or at the least cropt off a limb, But Orsin came and rescued him. He with his lance attack'd the Knight 675 Upon his quarters opposite. But as a bark, that in foul weather, Toss'd by two adverse winds together. Is bruis"d and beaten to and fro, And knows not which to turn him to : 680 So far'd the Knight between two foes, And knew not which of them t' oppose ; 'Till Orsin charging with his lance At Hudibras, by spightful chance Hit Cerdon such a bang, as stunn'd 685 And laid him flat upon the ground. At this the Knight began to cheer up, * After the battle of Bosworth-field, the body nf Richard III. W.1S stripped, and in an ifinoinininus manner laid across a horse's back like a slaughtered deer; his head and arms hang- ing on one side, and his legs on the other, besmeared with blood and dirt. t We must here read sinmlilcing, to make three syllables, as in verse 770 lightfjiirit', so in 873 read sarcasmes ; or, perhaps, we may read stunibeling, sarcasems, &c. i The delicate reader will easily gness what is here intended by the word choler. 150 HUDIBRAS. [Part i. And raising np himself on stirrup, Cry'd out, Victoria I lie thou tiiere,* And I shall straight dispatch another, 690 To bear thee company in death :t But first I'll halt awhile, and breathe. As well he might : for Orsin griev'd At th' wound that Cerdon had receiv'd, Ran to relieve him with his lore, 695 And cure the hurt he made before. Meanwhile tlie Knight had wlieel'd about, To breathe him.self, and next find out Th' advantage of the ground, where best lie might the ruffled foe infest. 700 This being resolv'd, he spurr'd his steed, To run at Orsin with full speed, While he was busy in the care Of Cerdou's wound, and unaware : But he was quick, and had already 705 Unto the part apply'd remedy ; And seeing th' enemy prepar'd, Drew up, and stood upon his guard : Then, like a warrior, right expert And skilful iu the martial art, 710 The subtle Knight straight made a halt, And judg'd it best to stay th' assaidt, Until he had reliev'd the Squire, And then, in order, to retire ; Or, as occasion should invite, 715 With forces join'd renew the fight Ralpho, by this time disentranc'd. Upon his bum himself advanced. Though sorely bruis'd ; his limbs all o'er, ^Vilh ruthless bangs were stiff' and sore ; 720 Right fain he would have got upon His feet again, to get him gone ; When Hudibras to aid him came. Quolh he, and call'd him by his name, Courage, the day at length is ours, 725 And we once more as conquerors. Have both the field and honour won, The foe is profligate, and run ; * Thus Virgil and Homer : Hesperiani inetire jacens. ^n. xii. 360. Istic nunc, metuende, jace. JEn. x. 557. 'Kvravdut vVv Kuao. II. $. 1-2-2. t This is a banter upon some of tlie speeches in Homer. Canto hi.] HIIDIBIIAS. 151 I mean all such as can, for some This hand hath sent to their long home ; 730 And some lie sprawling on the ground, With many a gash and bloody wound. CjEsar himself could never say, He got two vict'ries in a day. As I have done, that can say, twice I, ) 735 In one day, veni, vidi, vici.* The foe's so numerous, that we Cannot so often viucere,t And they perire, and yet enow Be left to strike an after-blow. 740 Then, lest they rally, and once more Put us to fight the bus'ness o'er, Get up and mount thy steed ; dispatch, And let us both their motions watch. Quoth Ralph, I should not, if I were 745 In case for action, now be here ; Nor have I turn'd my back, or hang'd An arse, for fear of being bang'd. It was for you I got these harms, Advent'ring to fetch off your arms. 750 The blows and drubs I have receiv'd Have bruised my body, and bereav'd My limbs of strength : unless you stoop, And reach your hand to pull me up, I shall lie here, and be a prey 755 To those who now are run away. That thou shalt not, quoth Hudibras : We read, the ancients held it was More honourable far servare Civem, than slay an adversary ; 760 The one we oft' to-day have done, The other shall dispatch anon : And tho' th'art of a dift''rent church, I will not leave thee in the lurch. t This said, he jogg'd his good steed nigher, 765 * The favorite terms hy which OiBsar described his victory over Pharnaces. In his cunsequcnt triumph at Rome, these words, (translated thus into English, I came, I saw, I overcame,) were painted on a tablet and carried before him. See Plutarch's Life of Julius C'EEsar. t A irreat jieneral, beinff informed that his enemies were very- numerous, replied, then there are enough to be killed, enough to be taken prisoners, and enouuh to run away. t This is a sneer at the Independents, who, when they had gotten possession of the o juveni non sutiicit orbis: .iEstuat infelix angusto liinile niunili Juven. Sat. .\. 168. t Delia niidi Non ardent Cynici: si fregrris, altera fiet Cras domus, aut eadem plumbo commissa manebit. Sensit Alexander, testa cum vidit in ilia Magnum habitatoreni, quanto t'elicioi hie, qui Nil cuperet, quam qui totum sibi posceret, orbem, Passurus gestis aquanda pericula rebus. Juven. Sat. xiv. 308, $ From suggillo, to beat black and blue. Canto m.] HUDIBRAS. 161 He that is valiant, and dares fight, Though dnihb'd, can lose no honour by't. Honour's a lease for Hves to come, And cannot be extended from Tlie legal tenant :* 'tis a chattel 1045 Not to be forfeited in battel.t If he that in the field is slaip, Be in the bed of honour Iain,1: He that is beaten may be said To lie in honour's truckle-bed.6 1050 For as we see th' eclipsed sun By mortals is more gaz'd upon Than when, adorn'd with all his light. He shines in serene sky most bright ; So valour, in a low estate, 1053 Is most admir'd and wonder'd at. Quoth Ralph, How gieat I do not know We may, by being beaten, grow ; But none that see how here we sit, Will judge us overgrown with wit. 106O As gifted brethren, preaching by A carnal hour-glass, || do imply Illumination, can convey Into them what they have to say. But not how much ; so well enough • 1065 Know you to charge, but not draw oft' For who, without a cap and bauble, IT Having subdii'd a bear and rabble. And might with honour have come off, Would put it to a second proof: 1070 A politic exploit, right fit For Presbyterian zeal and wit.** * Vivit post fnnera virtus. t A man cannot be deprived of his honor, or forfeit it to the conqueror, as he does his arms and accoutrements. t ■■ The bed of honor," says Farquhar. " is a niiglity large " bed. Ten tbousand people may lie in it together, and never " feel one another." § The truckle-bed is a small bed upon wheels, which goes under the iar{;er one, II This preachmg by the hour gave room for many jokes. A punning preacher, having talked a full hour, turned his hour- glass, and said: Come, my friends, let us take the other glass. The frames for these hour-glasses remained in many churches til! very lately. IT Who but a fool or child, one who deserves a fool's cap, or a child's play-thing. ** Ralpho, being chagrined by his situation, not only blames the misconduct of the knight, which had brought them into the scrape, but sneers at him for his religious principles. The Inde- 162 HUDIBRAS. [Parti Quoth Hudibras, That cuckoo's tonej Ralpho thou always harp'st upon ; When thou at any thing would'st rail, 1075 Thou mak"st presbytery thy scale To take the heigiit on't, and explain To what degree it is profane. What s'ever will not with thy — what d'ye call Thy light — ^jump right, thou call'st synodical. 1080 As if presbytery were a standard To size what s'ever's to be slander'd. Dost not remember hov\r this day Thou to my beard wast bold to say. That thou could'st prove bear-baiting equal 1085 With synods, orthodox and legal? Do, if thou canst, for I deny't, And dare thee to't, with all thy light.* Quoth Ralpho, Truly that is no Hard matter for a man to do, 1090 That has but any guts iu's brains.t And could believe it worth his pains ; But since you dare and urge me to it, You'll find I've light enough to do it. Synods are mystical bear-gardens, 1095 Where elders, deputies, church-wardens. And other members of the court. Manage the Babylonish sport. For prolocutor, scribe, and bearward, Do differ only in a mere word. 1100 Both are but sev'ral synagogues Of carnal men, and bears, and dogs : Both antichristian assemblies. To mischief bent, as far's in them lies : Both stave and tail with fierce contests, 1105 The one with men, the other beasts, The diff'rence is, the one fights with The tongue, the other with the teeth ; And that they bait but bears in this, In th' other souls and consciences ; 1110 Where saints themselves are brought to stake,t pendents, at one time, were as inveterate against the Presbyte- rians, as both of them were against the church. For an expla- nation of some following verses, see the note on Canto i. 457. * The Independents were great pretenders to the light of the epiril. They supposed that all their actions, as well as their prayers and preachings, were immediately directed by it. t A proverbial e.xpression for one who has some share of com- BDon sense. X The Presbyterians, when inpower, by means of their synods, Canto hi.] HUDIBRAS. 163 For gospel-light and conscience-sake ; Expo>:'d to scribes and presbyters,. Instead of mastiff dogs and curs ; Than whom tli' have less humanity, 1115 For these at souls of men will fly. This to the prophet did appear, Who in a vision saw a bear. Prefiguring the beastly rage Of church-rule, in this latter age :* '. 120 As is demonstrated at full By him that baited the pope's bull.t Bears naturally are beasts of prey. That live by rapine ; so do they. What are their orders, constitutions, 1125 Church-censures, curses, absolutions, But sev'ral mystic chains they make, To tie poor Christians to the stake ? And then set heathen officers. Instead of dogs, about their ears.t 1130 For to prohibit and dispense. To find out, or to make offence ; Of hell and heaven to dispose, To play with souls at fast and loose : To set what characters they please, 1135 And mulcts on sin or godliness ; Reduce the church to gospel-order. By rapine, sacrilege, and murder ; To make presbytery supreme. And kings themselves submit to them ;§ 1140 assemblies, classes, scribes, presbyters, triers, orders, censures, curses, &c., &c., persecuted the ministers, both of the Independ- ents and of the Church of England, with violence and cruelty little short of the inquisition. Sir Roger L'Eslrange mentions some strong instances of their persecuting tenets. * Daniel vii. .5. " And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear; and it raised up itself on one side ; and it had three ribs in the mouth of it, between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it. Arise, devour much flesh." t The baiting of the pope's bull was the title of a pamphlet written by Henry Burton, rector of St. Matthew, Friday-street and printed at London in 1607. t Tacitus says of the persecutions under Nero, pereuntibus addita ludibria, ut ferarum tergis contecti, laniatu canum interi- rent. Annal. xv. 44. § The disciplinarians, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, main- tained that kings ought to be subject to ecclesiastical censures, as well as other persons. This doctrine was revived by the Presbyterians afterwards, and actually put in practice by the Scots, in their treatment of Charles II. while he continued among them. The Presbyterians, in the civil war, maintained 164 HUDIBUAS. [Part » And force all people, the' against Their consciences, to turn saints ; Must prove a pretty thriving trade, When saints monopolists are made : When pious frauds, and holy shifts, 1145 Are dispensations, and gifts ; There godliness becomes mere vpare, And ev'ry synod but a fair. Synods are whelps o' th' Inquisition, A mongrel breed of like pernicion,* 1150 And growing up, became the sires Of scribes, commissioners, and triers ;t Whose bus'ness is, by cunning slight. To cast a figure for men's light ; To find, in lines of beard and face, 1155 The physiognomy of grace ;t And by the sound and twang of nose, If all be sound within disclose. Free from a crack, or flaw of sinning. As men try pipkins by the ringing ;§ 1160 thiit princes must submit their sceptres, and throw down their crowns bulore the church, yea, to lick up the dust of the feet of the churcli. * The word pernicion, perhaps, is coined by onr author: he means of lil; major, sine oculis, "Bine pilo : ungues tanlum prominent: hanc lambendo paula \y V Canto hi.] HUDIBRAS. 171 That ever synod-man was lickt, 1310 Or brought to any other fashion Than his own will and inchnation. But thou dost further yet in this Oppugn thyself and sense ; that is, Thou would'st have presbyters to go 1315 For bears and dogs, and bearwards too ; A strange chimsera* of beasts and men, Made up of pieces het'rogene ; Such as in nature never met. In eodem subjecto yet. 1320 Thy other arguments are all Supposures hypothetical, That do but beg ; and we may chuse , Either to grant them, or refuse. Much thou hast said, which I know when, 1325 And where thou stol'st from other men ; i Whereby 'tis plain thy light and gifts ■ Are all but plagiary shifts ; And is the same that Ranter said, Who, arguing with me, broke my head,t 1330 And tore a handful of my beard ; The self-same cavils then I heard, When b'ing in hot dispute about This controversy, we fell out ; And what thou know'st I answer'd then 1335 Will serve to answer thee agen. I Quoth Ralpho, Notiiing but th' abuse I Of human learning you produce ; / Learning, that cobweb of the brain, ' Profane, erroneous, and vain ;t 1340 ■• lim figurant." But this silly opinion is refuted hy Brown in his Vulgar Errors, book ill. ch. 6. * ChiniEera was a fabulous monster, thus described by Homer : ■ ij ^' ap' CIV Bciov yii'og, obi' ovOpojTrwv UpdaQe Xib)V, omOzv il iodKmv, fiicatj il x'V""?"- Iliad, vi. 180. Eustathius, on the passaiie, has abundance of Greek learning Hesiod has given the chimirra three heads. Theot;. 319. t The ranters were a wild sect, that denied all doctrines of re- ligion, natural and revealed. With one of these the knight had entered into a dispute, and at last came to blows. See a ranter's character in Butler's Posthumous Works. Whitclockc says, the soldiers in the parliament army were frequently punished for being ranters. iVero clothed Christians in the skins of wild beasts ; hut these wrapped wild beasts in the skins of Christians. t Dr. South, in his sermon preached in Weslminster Abbey, 1602, says, speaking of the limes about 50 years before, Latin unto them was a mortal crime, and Greek looked upon as a sin 172 HUDIBRAS. [Part s A trade of knowledge as replete, As others are with fraud and cheat : against the Hnly Ghost ; that all learning was then cried down, so that with them the best preachers were s;:ch as could not read, and the ablest divines such as could not write : in all their preachments they so highly pretended tn the spirit, that they hardly could spell the letter. To be blind, was with them the pro|)er qualification of a spiritual cuide, and to be book-learned, (as they called it,) and to be irreligious, were almost terms con- vertible. None were thought fit for the miiiislry but tradesn.en and mechanics, because none else were allowed to h.ive the spirit. Those only were accounted like St. Paul who could work with their hands, and, in a literal sense, drive the nail home, and be able to make a pulpit before they preached in it. The Independents and Anabaptists were great enemies to all hnnian learning : they thought that preaching, and every thing else, was to come by inspiration. When Jack Cade ordered lord Say's head to be struck ofT, he said to him : " I am the besom that must sweep the court clean "of such filth as thou art. Thou hast most traiterously corrupt- " ed the youth of the realm, in erecting a grammar-school ; and "whereas, before, our forefathers had no other books, but the "score and the tally, thou hast caused printing to be used ; and, "contrary to the king, his crown and dignitv, thou hast built a "paper-mill. It will be proved to thy face, 'that thou hast men "about thee, that usually talk of a noun and a verb; and such "abominable words as no Christian ear can endure to hear." Henry VI. Part 11. Act iv. sc. 7. In Mr. Butler's MS. I find the following reflections on this subject : " Thf modern doctrine of the court, that men's natural parts are rather ill! ();ured than improved by study and learning, is ri- diculously false ; and the design of it as plain as its ignorant nonsense— no more than what the levellers and Quakers fonnd out before theni : that is, to bring down all other men, whom they have no possibility of coming near any other way, to an equality with themselves; that no man may he thought to re- ceive any advantage by that which they, with all their confi- dence, dare not pretend to. "It is true that some learned men, by their want of judgment and discretion, will sometimes do and say things that appear ri- diculous to those who are entirely ignorant : but he, who from hence takes measure of all others, is most indiscreet. For no one can make another man's want of reason a just cause for not improving his own, but he who would have been as little the better f;)r it, if he had taken the same pains. "He is a fool that has nothing of philosophy in him ; but not so much so as he who has nothing else but philosophy. " He that has less learning than his capacity is able to manage, shall have more use of it than he that has more thiin he can master; for no man can i)ossibly have a ready and active com- mand of that which is too heavy for him, aiii ultra facilitates sapit, desipit. Sense and reason are too chargeable for the ordi- nary occasions of scholars, and what thev are not able to go to the e.\pense of : therefore met;iphysics are better for their pur- poses, as being cheap, which any dunce in;iy bear the exiienseof, and which make a better noise in the ears of the ignorant than that which is true and right. Non qui plurima, sed qui utilia legerunt, eruditi liabendi. " A blind man knows he cannot see, and is glad to be le^ Canto hi.] HUDIBRAS. 173 An art t' incumber gifts and wit, And render both for nothing fit ; though it be but by a dog ; but he that is blind in his understand- ing, which is ihe worst blindness of all, believes he sees as well as the best ; and scorns a guide. "Men glory in that which is their infelicity.— Learning Greek and Latin, to understand tbe sciences contained in them, which commonly proves no belter bargain than he makes, who breaks his teeth to crack a nut, which has nothing but a maggot in it. He that hath many languages to e.xpress his thoughts, but no ihoughts worth e.\pressing, is like one who can write a good hand, but never the better sense ; or one who can cast up any sums of money, but has none to reckon. "They who study mathematics only to fix their minds, and render them steadier to apply to other things, as there are many who profess to do, are as wise as those who think, by rowing in boats, to learn to swim. " He that has made an hasty march through most arts and sciences, is like an ill captain, who leaves garrisons aud strong- holds behind him." " The arts and sciences are only tools. Which students do their business with in schools : Although great men have said, 'tis more abstruse, And hard to understand them, than their use. And though they were intended but in order To better things, few ever venture further. But as all good designs are so accurst, The best intended often prove the worst ; So what was meant t' improve the world, quite cross, Has turn'd to its calamity and loss. " The greatest part of learning's only meant For curiosity and ornament. And therefore most pretending virtuosos. Like Indians, bore Iheir lips and flat their noses. When 'tis their artificial want of wit, That spoils their work, instead of mending it. To prove by syllogism is but to spell, A proposition like a syllable. "Critics esteem no sciences so noble, As worn-out languages, to vamp and cobble. And when they had corrected all old copies, To cut themselves out work, made new and foppish, Assum'd an arbitrary power t' invent And overdo what th' author never meant. Could find a deeper, subtler meaning out. Than th' innocentest writer ever thought. "Good scholars are but journeymen to nature, That shows them all their tricks to imitate her: Though some mistake the reason sho jjroposes, And make them imitate their virtuosos. And arts an. Brunck. Analect. torn. 1. 180 HUDIBRAS. [Part ii Diurnals writ for regulation Of lying, to inform tlie nation,* And by their public nse to bring down The rate of wlietstoues in the kingdom -.t 60 About her neck a pacquet-male,1; Fraught with advice, some fresh, some stale, Of men that walk'd when they were dead, And cows of monsters brought to bed : Of hail-stones big as pullets' eggs, 65 And puppies wlielp'd with twice two legs :§ A blazing star seen in the west. By six or seven men at least. Two trumpets she does sound at once,|| * The newspapers of those times, called Mercuries and Diur- nals, were not more authentic than similar publications are at present. Each party hail its Mercuries : there was Mercurius Rusticus, and Rlercurius Auliiuis. t The observations on the learning of Shakspeare will explain this passage. We there read : " A happy talent for lyin;;, familiar " enough to those men of tire, who looked on every one graver "than themselves as their whetstone." This, you may remem- ber, is a proverbial term, denoting an e.\citement to lying, or a subject that gave a man an opportunity of breaking a jest upon another. fungar vice cotis. Hor. Ars Poet. 1. 304. Thus Shakspeare makes Celia reply to Rosalind upon the entry of the Clown: "Fortune hath sent this natural for our " whetstone ; for always the dulness of the fool is the whetstone "of the wits." And Jonson, alluding to the ;ame, in the char- acter of Amorphus, says : " He will lye cheaper than any beggar, "and louder than any clock ; for which he is right properly ac- "commodated to the whetstone, his page."— " This," says Mr. Warburton, "will e.xplain a smart repartee of Sir Francis Bacon " before king James, to whom Sir Kenelm Digby was relating, " that he had seen the true philosopher's stone in the possession "of a hermit in Italy: when the king w-as very curious to know " what sort of a stone it was, and Sir Kenelm much puzzled in " describing it. Sir Francis Bacon said : ' Perhaps it was a whet- "' stone.'" "To lie, for a whetstone, at Temple Sowerby, in Westmore- "land." See Sir J. Harington's Brief View, p. 179. E.xraoor Courtship, p. 26, n. [It is a custom in the north, when a man tells the greatest lie in the company, to reward hijn with a ichetstone ; which is called lying for the whetstone- Budworth's Fortnight's Randile to the Lakes, chap. 6, 1792.] X This is a good trait in the character of Fame : laden with reports, as a post-boy with letters in his male. The word male is derived from the Greek yiijXov, ovis ; ftriXinTr], pellis ovina; because made of leather, frequently sheep skin : hence the French word maille, now written in English, mail ^ To make this story wonderful as the rest, ought we not to read — thrice two, or twice four legs 1 II In Pope's Temple of Fame, she has the trumpet of eternal praise, and the trumpet of slander. Chaucer makes .^Eolus an CiJSTO I.] HUDIBRAS. 181 But both of clean contrary tones ; 70 But whether both witli the same wind, Or one before, and one behind,* We know not, only this can tell. The one sounds vilely, th' other well. And therefore vulgar authors name 75 The one Good, tli' other Evil Fame. This tattling gossipt knew too well. What mischief Hudibras befel ; And straight the spightful tidings bears, Of all, to th' unkind widow's ears.t 80 Democritus ne'er laugh'd so loud,§ To see bawds carted through the crowd, Or funerals v.'ith stately pomp, March slowly on in solemn dump. As she laugh'd out, until her back, 83 As well as sides, was like to crack. She vow'd she would go see the sight. And visit the distressed Knight, To do the office of a neighbour. And be a gossip at his labour ; 90 And from his wooden jail, the stocks. To set at large his fetter-locks. And by exchange, parole, or ransom, To free him from th' enchanted mansion. This b'ing resolv'd, she call'd for hood 95 And usher, implements ab:oadl| Which ladies wear, beside a slender Young waiting damsel to attend her. attendant on Fame, and blow the clarion of laud and the clarion of slander, alternately, according to her directions : the latter is described as l)lacl< and stinklne. * This Hudibrastick description is imitated, but very un- equally, by Cotton, in his Travesty of the fourth book of Virgil. t Gossip or god-sib is a Saxon word, signifying cognata ex parte dei, or szodniother. It is now likewise become an appella- tion for any idle woman. Tattle, i. e. sine modo garrire. X Protinus ad regem cursus detorquet larban, Incenditqiie animum diclis. Virg. .^n. iv. 190. § Perpetiio risu pulmonem pigitare solebat Democritus Ridebat curas, nee non et itaudia vulgi, Interdum et lacrymas. Juv. Sat. x. 34-51. II Some have doubted whether the viford usher denotes an attendant, or part of her dress , but ifcom P. iii. c. iii. 1. 399, it is plain that it signifies the former. Beside two more of her retinue, To testify what pass'd between yoii. 182 HUDIBRAS. [Part i; All which appearing, on she went To find the Kniglit in limbo pent. IOC And 'twas not long before she found Him, and his stout Squire, in the pound ; Both coupled in encluinted tether, By further leg behind together: For as he set upon his rump, 105 His head, like one in doleful dump. Between his knees, his hands apply'd Unto his ears on either side, And by him, in another hole. Afflicted Ralpho, cheek by joul,* 110 She came upon him in iiis wooden Magician's circle, on the sudden, As spirits do t' a conjurer. When in their dreadful shapes th' appear. No sooner did the Knight perceive her, 115 But straight he fell into a fever, Infiam'd all over with disgrace. To be seen by her in such a place ; Which made him hang his head, and scowl, And wink and goggle like an owl ; 120 He felt his brains begin to swim, When thus the Dame accosted him : , Tiiis place, quoth she, they say's enchanted, And with delinquent spirits haunted ; Th.at iiere are ty'd in chains, and scourg'd, 125 Until tlieir guilty crimes be purg'd : Look, there are two of them appear Like persons I have seen somewhere : Some have mistaken blocks and posts For spectres, apparitions, ghosts, 130 With saucer-eyes and horns ; and some Have heard the devil beat a drum :t But if our eyes are not false glasses, That give a wrong account of faces, That beard and I should be acquainted, 135 Before 'twas conjur'd and enchanted. For though it be disfigur'd somewhat, As if 't had lately been in combat, * That is, cheek to cheek ; sometimes pronoiincefl jig by jolc ; Imt here properly written, and derived, from two Anglo-Saxon words, ceac, maxilla, and ciol, or ciole, gutlur. t The story of Mr. Monipesson's house being haunted by a ilruninier, made a great noise about the time oui- author wrote The narrative is in Mr. Glanvil's book of Witchcraft. Canto i.] HUDlliRAS. 1S3 It did belong t' a worthy Knight, Howe'er tiiis goblin is come by't. 140 Wiiou Hiulibras the Lady heard To take kind notice of liis beard, And speak with svich respect and honour, Both of the beard and the beard's owner,* He thought it best to set as good 145 A face upon it as he cou'd. And tiius he spoke : Lady, your bright And radiant eyes are in the right ; The beard's th' identique beard you knew, The same numerically true : 150 Nor is it worn by fiend or elf, But its proprietor himself. O heavens ! quoth she, can that be true ? I do begin to fear 'tis you ; Not by your individual whiskers, 155 But by your dialect and discourse, That never spoke to man or beast, In notions vulgarly exprest : * See the dignity of the beard maintained by Dr. Biilwcr in •lis Artilicial C'han<.'eling, p. 190. lie sny.s, shaving the chin is justly to be accounted a note of elVeininacy, as appears by cu- nnchs, who produce not a beard, the sign of virility. Alexander, anil his officers did not shave their beards till they were eflenii- nated by Persian lu.xury. It was late before barbers were in request at Rome : they first came from Sicily 454 years after the foundation of Rome. Varro tells us they were introduced by Ticinius Mena. Scipio Africanus was the first who shaved his face every day: the emperor Augustus used this practice. See Pliny's Nat. Hist. b. vii. c. 59. Diogenes seeing one with a smooth shaved chin, said to him. " llast thou whereof to accuse " nature fur making thee a man and not a woman V — The Itho- dians and Byzantines, contrary to the practice of modern Rus- sians, persisted against their laws and edicts in shaving, and the use of the razor. — Ulmus de fine barbas humanfe, is of opinion, that the beard seems not merely for ornament, or age, or se.t, not for covering nor cleanliness, but to serve the office of the human soul. And that nature gave to mankind a beard, that it might remain as an inde.x in the face of the masculine generative fac- ulty. — Beard-haters are by Barclay clapped on board the ship of fools : Laudis erat quandam barbatos esse parentes Atque supercilium mento gestare pudico Socratis exemplo, barbara nutrire solebant Cultores sophiae. False hair was worn by the Roman ladies. Martial says : Jurat capillos esse, quos emit, suos Fabulla nunquid ilia, Paulle, pejerat. And again : Ovid, de Art. Amandi, iii. 165: Foeinina procedit densissima crinibus emptis; Proque suis alios efficit iere suos : Nee pudor est emisse palam. 184 HUUIBRAS. [Part u. But what malignant star, alas ! Has brought you both to Ihis sad pass? 160 Quoth he, Tlie fortune of the war, Which I am less atHicted for, Than to be seen with beard and face By you in such a homely case. Quoth she. Those need not be asham'd 165 For being honourably maim'd ; If he that is in battle conquer'd. Have any title to his own beard, Tho' yours be sorely lugg'd and torn, It does your visage more adorn 170 Than if 'twere prun'd, and starch'd and lander'd. And cut sc,uare by the Russian standard.* A torn beard's like a tatter'd ensign, That's bravest which tliere are most rents in. That petticoat, about your shoulders, 175 Does not so well become a soldier's ; And I'm afraid they are worse handled, Altho' i' th' rear, your beard the van led ;t And those uneasy bruises make My heart for company to ake, 180 To see so worshipful a friend I' th' pillory set, at the wrong end. Quoth Hudibras, This thing call'd pain,t Is, as the learned stoics maintain. Not bad simpliciter, nor good, 185 But merely as 'tis understood. Sense is deceitful, and may feign As well in counterfeiting pain As other gross phoBnomenas, In which it oft' mistakes the case. 190 But since th' immortal intellect, That's free from error and defect, * The beans in the reign of James I. and Charles I. spent as much time in dressing their beards, as modern lieaus dii in dress- ing tlieir hair; and many of them kept a person to read to them while the operation was performing. It is well iinown wliat great difficulty the Czar Peter of Russia met with in obliging his subjects to cut off their beards. t The van is tlie front or fore part of an army, and commonly the post of danger and honor ; the rear the hinder part, t^o that making a front in the rear must be retreating from the enemy. By this comical expression the laily signifies that he turned laij to them, by which means liis shoulders sped worse than los beard. t Some tenets of tlie stoic philosophers are here burlesqued with great hunjor Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. 185 Whose objects still persist the same, Is free from outward bruise or maim, Which nought external can expose 195 To gross material bangs or blows, It follows we can ne'er be sure Whether we pain or not endure ; And just so far are sore and griev'd, As by the fancy is believ'd. 200 Some have been wounded with conceit, And died of mere opinion straight ;* Others, tho' wounded sore in reason. Felt no contusion, nor discretion.t A Saxon Duke did grow so fat, 205 That mice, as histories relate. Ate grots and labyrinths to dwell in His postique parts, without his feeling ; Then how is"t possible a kick Should e'er reach that way to the quick ?t 210 Quoth she, I grant it is in vain, For one that's basted to feel pain ; Because the pangs his bones endure. Contribute nothing to the cure ; Yet honour hurt is wont to rage 215 With pain no med'cine can assuage. Quoth he, That honour's very squeamish That takes a basting for a blemish : * In Grey's.note on this passage there are several stories of this sort ; of which the most remarlialile is the case of the Chev- ilier Jarre, " who was npnn the scaffuld at Troyes, had his hair " cut off. the handkerchief before his eyes, and the sword in the " executioner's hand to cut off his head ; hut the king pardoned " hini ; lieing taken up, his fear had so taken hold of him, that " he could not stand nor speak : they led him to bed, and opened " a vein, but no blood would come." Lord Stafford's Letters, vol. i. p. 166. t -As it is here stopped, it signifies, others though really and sorely wounded, (see the Lady's Answer, line -212) felt no bruise or cut : but if we put a semicolon after sore, and no stop after reason, the meaning may be, others though wounded sore in body, yet in mind or imagination felt no bruise or cut. Discretion, here signifies a cut, or separation of parts. + He justly argues from this story, that if a man could be so gnawed and mangled in those parts, without his feeling it, a kick in the same place would not much hurt him. See Butler's Remains, vol. i. p. 31, where it is asserted, that the note in the old editions is by Butler himself. I cannot fix this story on any particular duke of Saxony. It may be paralleled by the case of an interior animal, as related by a pretended eye-witness. — In Arcadia scio me esse spectatum suem, quffi prie pinguedine car- nis, non modo surgere non posset ; sed etiani ut in ejus corpore sorex, exesa came, nidum fecisset, et peperissit mures. Varro, ii. 4, 12. 186 HUDIBRAS. [Part n. For what's more honourable than scars, Or skin to tatters rent in wars? 220 Some liave been beaten till they know What wood a cudgel's of by th' blow ; Some kick'd, until they can feel whether A shoe be Spanish or neat's leather : And yet have met, after long running, 225 With some whom they have taught that cunning. The furthest way about, t' o'ercome, I' th' end does prove the nearest home. Bj' laws of learned duellists. They tiiat are bruis'd with wood, or fists, 230 And think one beating may for once Suffice, are cowards and poltroons : But if they dare engage t' a second, They're stout and gallant fellows reckon'd Th' old Romans freedom did bestow, 235 Our princes worship, with a blow :* King Pja'rhus cur'd his splenetic And testy courtiers with a kick.t * One form of declaring a slave free, at Rome, was for the prstor, in the presence of certain persons, to give the slave a light stroke with a small stick, from its use called vindicta. Tune mihi dominus, rerum imperils hominunique Tot tantisque minor ; quern ter vindicta quaterque Imposita haud unquam raisera fonuidine privet "! Herat. Sat. ii. 7, 75. Vindicta, postquam meus a prietore recessi, Cur mihi non liceat jussit quodcunque voluntas. Persius, v. 88. Sometimes freedom was given by an alapa, or blow with the open hand upon the face or head : qiiibus una QuirUem Vertigo facit. Pers. v. 75. Quos inanumittebant eos, Alapa percusses, circumagebant et liberos cnntirmabant : from hence, perhaps, came the saying of a man's being giddy, or having his head turned with his good fortune. Verterit hunc dominus, memento turbinis exit Marcus Dama. Pers. v. 78. t It was a general belief that he could cure the spleen by sacrificing a white cock, and with his right foot gently pressing the spleen of the persons, laid down on their backs, a little on one side. Nor was any so poor and inconsiderable as not to receive the benefit of his royal touch, if he desired it. The .toe nf that foot was said to have a divine virtue, for after his death the rest of his body being consumed, this was found un- hurt and untouched by the tire. Vid. Plutarch, in Vita Pyrrhi, sub initio. Canto ] HUDIBRAS. 187 The Neg-us,* when some mighty lord Or potentate's to bo restor'd, 210 And pardon'd for some great offence, Witli wliicli he"s willing to dispense, First has him laid upon his belly, Then beaten back and side, t' a jelly ;t That done, he rises, humbly bows, 245 And gives thanks for the princely blows ; Departs not meanly proud, and boasting Of his magnificent rib-roasting. The beaten soldier proves most manful, That, like his sword, endures the anvil, t 2rii> And justly's found so formidable, The more his valour's malleable : But he that fears a bastinado. Will run away from his own shadow :§ And though I'm now in durance fast, 255 By our own party basely cast. Ransom, exchange, parole, refus'd. And worst than by the en'my us'd ; In close catastall shut, past hope Of wit or valour to elope ; 260 As beards, the nearer that they tend To th' earth, still grow more reverend ; And cannons shoot the higher pitches. The lower we let down their breeches ; I'll make this low dejected fate 265 Advance me to a greater height.lT Quoth she. You've almost made m' In love . / With that which did my pity move. Great wits and valours, like great states, * Negus was king of Abyssinia. t This story is told in Le Blanc's Travels, Part ii. ch. 4. t TVTTTtadat, fivSpos viTOiiti'£tv vXiJYas, aK^wv. See the character of a parasite in the Comic Fragments, Grot, dicta Poetariiiii apud Htoba'iini. ^ TIjc fury of Bucephalus proceeded from the fear of his own shadow, llahclais, vol. i. c. 14. II A cage or prison wherein slaves were exposed for sale : ne sit praestantior alter Cappadocas rigida pingues plausisse catasta. Persius, vi. 76. TlpaTTMV KoKuig Xiav advixijarj Tzore. 'laos yap ayadob tovto Trp6t. Paul's Epistles, and in Dryden. Mr. Butler, in his Posthumous Works, uses the word varlet for bumbailift", though I do not find it in this sense in any dictionary. See Butler's Genuine Remains, vol. ii. pp. 81, and 171. Thus fur in Latin : Q.uid domini faciant, audent cum talia fures. Virg. Ed. iii. 16. Exilis domus est, ubi non et multa supersunt, Et dominum fallunt, et prosunt furibus. Hor. Epist. lib. i. 6, 45. This passage is quoted by Plutarcn in the life of LucuUns. Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. I93 And makes 'em stoop to dirty grooms, To slight the world, and to disparage Claps, issue, infamy, and marriage.* 410 Quoth she, These judgments are severe, Yet such as I should rather bear, Than trust men with their oaths, or prove Their faith and secrecy in love. Says he, There is a weighty reason 415 Fore secrecy in love as treason. Love is a burglarer, a felon, That in the windore-eye does steal int To rob the heart, and, with his prey. Steals out again a closer way, 420 Which whosoever can discover. He's sure, as he deserves, to suffer. Love is a fire, that burns and sparkles Li men, as nat'rally as in charcoals, Which sooty chymists stop in lioles, 425 When out of wood they extract coals ;t So lovers should their passions choke. That tho' they burn, they may not smoke. 'Tis like that sturdy thief that stole. And dragg'd beasts backward into's hole ;§ 430 So love does lovers, and us men Draws by the tails into his den. That no impression may discover. And trace t' his cave the wary lover. But if you doubt I should reveal 435 * That is, to slight the opinion of the world, and to undertake the want of issue and niarriase on the one hand, and the acqui- sition of claps and infamy on the other: or perhaps the poet meant a bitter sneer on matrimony, by saying love makes them submit to the emiiraces of their inferiors, and consequently to disregard four principal evils of such connections, disease, child- bearing, disgrace, and marriage. t Thus it is spelt in most editions, and perhaps most agreeably to the etyjMology. See Skinner. t Charcoal colliers, in order to keep their wood from blazing when it is in the pit, cover it carefully with turf and mould. § Cacus, a noted robber, who, when he had stolen cattle, drew them backward by their tails into his den, lest they should be traced and discovered : At furiis Caci mens efTera, ne quid inausum Aut intractatum scelerisve dolive fuisset, duatuor a stabulis prsestanti corpore tauros Avertit, totidem forma superante juvencas ; Atque hos, ne qua forent pedibus vestigia rectis, Cauda, in speluncam tractos, versisque viaruin Indiciis raptos, saxo occultabat opaco. iEneis viii. 205. 9 194 HUDIBRAS. [Part n What you entrust me under seal, I'll prove myself as close and virtuous As your own secretary, Albertus.* Quoth she, I grant you may be close In hiding what your aims propose : 440 Love-passions are like parables, By which men still mean something else: Tho' love be all the world's pretence, Money's the mythologic sense, The real substance of the shadow, 44b Which all address and courtship's made to. Thought he, I understand your play, And how to quit you your own way ; He that will win his dame, must do As Love does, when he bends his bow ; 450 With one hand thrust the lady from. And with the other pull her home.t I grant, quoth he, wealth is a great Provocative to am'rous heat : It is all philtres and high diet, 455 That makes love rampant, and to fly out : 'Tis beauty always in the flower, That buds and blossoms at fourscore : 'Tis that by which the sun and moon, At their own weapons are out-done it 46(j * Albertus Magnus was bishop ot Ratisbon, about the year 1260, and wrote a book, entitled, De Secretis Wulierum. Hence the poet facetiously calls him the women's secretary. It was printed at Amsterdam, in the year 1643, with another silly book, entitled, Michaelis Scoti de Secretis Nature Opus. t The Harleian Miscellany, vol. vi. p. 530, describes an inter- view between Perkin Warbeck and lady Catharine Gordon, which may serve as no improper specimen of this kind of dalli- ance. "If I prevail," says he, "let this kiss seal up the con- " tract, and this kiss bear witness to the indentures ; and this " kiss, because one witness is not sufficient, consummate the "assurance.^And so, with a kind of reverence and fashionable "gesture, after he had kissed her thrice, he took her in both his " hands, crosswise, and gazed upon her, with a kind of putting "her from him and pulling her to him; and so again and again "rekissed her, and set her in her place, with a pretty manner " of enforcement." t Gold and silver are marked by the sun and moon in chem- istry, as they were supposed to be more immediately under the influence of those luminaries. Tlius Chaucer, in the Chanonea Yemannes Tale, 1. 16293, ed. Tyrwhitt: The bodies sevene eke, lo hem here anon ■ Sol gold is, and Luna silver, we threpe. Mars iren, Mercurie quicksilver we clepe, Saturnus led, and Jupiter is tin. And Venus coper, by my fader kin. The appropriation of certain metals to the seven planets re Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. 195 That makes knights-errant fall in trances, And lay about 'em in romances : 'Tis virtue, wit, and worth, and all That men divine and sacred call :* For what is worth in any thing, 465 But so much money as 'twill bring? Or what but riches is there known. Which man can solely call his own ; In which no creature goes his half, Unless it be to squint and laugh ? 470 I do confess, with goods and land, I'd have a wife at second hand ; And such you are : nor is't your person My stomach's set so sharp and fierce on ; But 'tis your better part, your riches, 475 That my enamour'd heart bewitches : Let me your fortune but possess, And settle your person how you please ; Or make it o'er in trust to the devil, You'll find me reasonable and civil. 480 Quoth she, I like this plainness better Than false mock-passion, speech or letter, Or any feat of qualm or swooning. But hanging of yourself, or drowning ; Your only way with me to break 485 Your mind, is breaking of your neck : For as wlvsn merchants break, o'erthrown Like nine-pins, they strike others down ; So that would break my heart ; which done. My tempting fortune is your own. 490 These are but trifles ; evVy lover Will damn himself over and over, And greater matters undertake For a less worthy mistress' sake : Yet th' are the only ways to prove 495 Th' unfeign'd realities of love ; For he that hangs, or beats out's brains, The devil's in him if he feigns. Quoth Hudibras, This way's too rough For mere experiment and proof ; 500 spectively, may be traced as high as Proclus, in the fifth century, and perhaps is still more ancient. This point is discussed by La Croze. See Fabric. Biblioth. Gr. vol. vi. p. 793. The splen dor of gold is more refulgent than the rays of the sun and moon. * Et genus, et forniam, regina pecunia donat ; Ac bene nummatura decorat Suadela. Venusqne. Horat. Ep. i. 6, 37. 196 HUDIBRAS. [Part n It is no jesting, trivial matter, To swing i' th' air, or plunge in water, And, like a water-witch, try love ;* That's to destroy, and not to prove : As if a man should be dissected, 505 To find what part is disalFected : Your better way is to make over, In trust, your fortune to your lover ; Trust is a trial ; if it break, 'Tis not so desp'rate as a neck : 510 Beside, th' experiment's more certain. Men venture necks to gain a fortune ; The soldier does it every day. Eight to the week, for sixpence pay:t Your pettifoggers damn their souls, 515 To share with knaves in cheating fools : And merchants, vent'ring through the main, Slight pirates, rocks, and horns, for gain. This is the way I advise you to, Trust me, and see what I will do. 520 Quoth she, I should be loth to run Myself all th' hazard, and you none ; Which must be done, unless some deed Of your's aforesaid do precede ; Give but yourself one gentle s\ving,t 525 * It was usual, when an old woman was susi»8cte(l of witch- craft, to throw her into the water. If she swam, she was judged guilty ; if she sunk, she preserved her character, and only lost her life. t No comparison can be made between the evidence arising from each experiment; for as to venturing necks, it proves no great matter ; it is done every day by the soldier, pettifogger, and merchant. If the soldier has only sixpence a day, and one day's pay is reserved weekly for stoppages, he may be said to make eight days to the week; adding that to the acciuint of labor which is deducted from his pay. Percennius, the mutinous sol- dier in Tacitus, seems to have been sensible of some such hard- ship — Denis in diem assibus auimam et corpus testimari ; hinc vestem, arma, tentoria; hinc soevitiam centuriouum, et vaca- tiones munerum redimi. Annal. i. 17. :f "Eputra iravei Xip.ds, d &i ixfj, XP<5i'0f : 'Eav Sc fi'q 6c. Tavra rfjv ipXdya c6e«/:(}« ia ttirned into dry diet. Canto i.] HUDIBRAS I97 For trial, and I'll cut the string: Or give that rev'rend head a maul, Or two, or three, against a wall ; To shew you are a man of mettle, And I'll engage myself to settle. 530 Quoth he, My head's not made rf brass, As Friar Bacon's noddle was ; Nor, like the Indian's skull, so tough. That, authors say, 'twas musket-proof:* As it had need to be to enter, 535 As yet, on any new adventure ; You see what bangs it has endur'd, That would, before new feats, be cur'd ; But if that's all you stand upon, Here, strike me luck, it shall be done.t 540 Quoth she. The matter's not so far gone As you suppose, two words t' a bargain ; That may be done, and time enough. When you have given downright proof: And yet 'tis no fantastic pique 545 I have to love, nor coy dislike ; 'Tis no implicit, nice aversion! T' your conversation, mien, or person : But a just fear, lest you should prove False and perfidious in love ; 550 For if I thought you could be true, I could love twice as much as you. *" Blockheads and loggerheads are in request in Brazil, and " helmets are of little use, every one havins! an ariiftcial- " ized natural morion of his head : for the Brazilians' heads, " some of them are as hard us the wood that grows in their "country, for they cannot be broken, and they have them so " hard, that ours, in comparison of theirs, are like a jiompion, " and when they would injure any white man, they call him " soft head." Bulwer's Artiticial Changeling, p. 4'2, and Pur- chas's Pilgr. fol. vol. iii. p. 993. t Percutere et ferire fffidns. aiTovias riyLVtiV Ka\ bpKia. EcRlP. At the conclusion of treaties a beast was generally sacrificed. When batchers and country peoi)le make a bar;;ain, one of the parties holds out in his hand a piece of money, which the other strikes, and the bargain is closed. Callimachus Brunck. i. 464, epig. XiV. fl. TUTO SoKia, &c. [ Y. L,. Come strike me luck with earnest, and draw the wri- tings. M. There's a C.id's penny foi thee. Beaumont and Fle^ber. — Scornful Lady, Actii.] X Implicit here signifies secret, unaccountable, or an aversion conceived from the report of others. See P. i. c. i. v. 130. 198 HUDIBRAS. [Part ii Quoth he, My faith as adanaantine, As chains of destiny, I'll maintain ; True as Apollo ever spoke, 555 Or oracle from heart of oak ;* And if you'll give my flame but vent, Now in close hugger-mugger pent. And shine upon nie but benignly. With that one, and that other pigsney,t 560 The sun and day shall sooner part. Than love, or you, shake off my heart : The sun that shall no more dispense His own, but your bright influence ; I'll carve your name on barks of trees, t 56a With true love-knots, and flourishes ; That shall infuse eternal spring. And everlasting flourishing: Drink every letter ou't in stum. And make it brisk champaign become ;§ 57o * Jupiter's oracle in Epirus, near Die city of Dodona, Ubi ne- inus erat Jovi sacrum, querneum totuiii. in quo Jovis Dodonaji teinpluni fuisse narratur. t Higsney is a term of blandishment, from the Anglo-Saxon, or Danish, piga, a pretty girl, or the eyes of a pretty lass : thus in Pembroke's Arcadia, Danietas says to his wife, " iVliso, mine own pigsnie." To love one's mistress more than one's eyes, is a phrase used by all nations: thus Moschus in Greek, Catullus in Latin ; Spenser, in his Fairy Queen : her eyes, sweet smiling in delight, Moystened their fiery beams, with which she thrill'd Frail hearts, yet quenched not ; like starry light, Which sparkling on the silent waves, does seem more bright. Thus the Italian poets, Tasso and Ariosto. Tyrwhitt says, in a note on Chaucer's Miller's Tale, v. 3268, "the Romans used oculus, as a term of endearment ; and perhaps piggesnie, in bur- lesque poetry, means ocellus porci, the eves of a pig being re- markably smi:ll." i See Don Quixote, vol. i. ch. 4, and vol. iv. ch. 73. Populus est, memini, tluviali consita ripa, Est in qua nostri littera scripta iiiemor. Popule, Vive precor, qua; consita margine ripce Hoc in rugoso cortice carmen habes ; Cum Paris CEnone poterit spirare relicta, Ad fontera Xanlhi versa recurret aqua. Ovid. Olnone Paridi. 25. [Run, run, Orlando: carve on every tree. The fair, the chaste, and unexpressive she. As you like it.] 5 Stum, i. e. any new, thick, unfermented liquor, from the Lat- in mustum. Dr. Johnson, in liis Dictionary, has quoted these lines to prove that stum may signify wine revived by a new fer- mentation : but, perhaps, it means 'no more than figuratively to say, that the reinembrance of the widow's charms could turn Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. 199 Whate'er you tread, your foot shall set The primrose and the violet ; All spices, perfumes, and sweet powders, Shall borrow from your breath their odours ; Nature her charter shall renew, 575 And take all lives of things from you ; The world depend upon your eye, And when you frown upon it, die. Only our loves shall still survive, New worlds and natures to outlive ; 580 And like to herald's moons, remain All crescents, without change or wane. Hold, hold, quoth she, no more of this, Sir knight, you take your aim amiss : For you will find it a hard chapter, 585 To catch me with poetic rapture, In which your mastery of art Doth show itself, and not your heart ; Nor will you raise in mine combustion, By dint of high heroic fustian :* 590 bad wine into good, foul muddy wine into clear sparltling cham- paigne. It was usual, among the gallants of Butler's time, to drink as many bumpers to their mistress's health, as there were letters in her name. The custom prevailed among the Romans ; thus the well-known epigram of Martial ; Nffivia sex cyathis, septem Justina bibatur, Quinque Lycas, Lyde quatuor, Ida tribiis.— Ep. i. 72. For every letter drink a glass, That spells the name you fancy, Take four, if Suky be your lass, And five if it be Nancy. The like compliment was paid to a particular friend or bene- factor : Det numerum cyathis Instanti littera Rufi : Auctor enim tanti muneris ille mihi.— Mart. epig. viii. 51. Mr. Sandys, in his Travels, says, this custom is still much practised by the merry Greeks, in the Morea, and other parts of the Levant. Eyx^i AvaiiUrii KvaOu; SeKa. lib. vii. Anthol. * In Butler's MS. I find the following lines In foreign universities, When a king's born, or weds, or dies, All other studies are laid by. And all apply to poetry. Some write in Hebrew, some in Greek, And some more wise in Arabic ; T' avoid the critique, and th' expence Ot difficulter wit and sense. Foreign land is often used by Mr. Butler for England See Genuine Remains. 200 HUDIBRAS. [Part n She that with poetry is won, Is but a desk to write upon ; As no edge can be sharp and keen, That by the subtlest eye is seen : So no wit should acute b' allow'd That's easy to be understood. For poets sing, though more speak plain, As those that quote tlicir works maintain ; And no man's bound to any tiling He does not say, but only sing. For, since the good Confessor's time, No deeds are valid, writ in rliyme ; - Nor any held authentic acts, Seal'd with the tooth upon the wax : For men did then so freely deal. Their words were deeds, and teeth a seal. The following grants are said to be authentic ; but whether they are or not, they are probably what the poet alludes to : — Charter of Edward the Confessor. IcHE Edward Konyng, Have geovenof my forest the keeping, Of the hundred of Chelmer and Daneing, [now Den- gy, in Essex.] To Randolph Peperking and to his kindling, With heorte and hynde, doe and bock. Hare and I'ox, cat and brock, [badger] Wild foule with his flocke, Patrick, fesaunte hen, and fesaunte cock; With green and wilde stobb and stokk, [timber and stubbs of trees] To kepen, and to yeomen by all her might, [their] Both by day, and eke by night. And liounds for to holde, Gode swift and bolde. Four Greyhounds and six beaches, [bitch hounds] For hare and fox, and wilde cattes And thereof ich made him my bocke [i. e. this deed my written evidence] Wittenes the Bishop Wolston, And boche ycleped many on. [witness] And Sweyne of Essex, our brother, And token hin many other, And our steward Howelin That besouj^ht me for him. [Six beaches. — This line, as quoted by Steevens in a note to the Introduction to the Taming of tiie Shrew, runs tlius, Four Grey- hounds and six brntches. whicli must be the correct reading, as may be gathered from the tbilowing quotations from Minshew and Ducange, unnoticed by the Shakspeare Commentators, in their numerous notes on the word, and their doubts on its gen- der. A brache, a little hound. — Minsliew. Bracetus, brachetus, vulgo bracket. Charta Hen. H. torn. 2, Monast. Angl. p. 283. Concedo eis 2 leporarios et 4 bracetos ad leporem capiendum. Constit. Feder. Reg. Sicil. c. 115. Ut, nuUus .... pra-sumal canem braccum videlicet, vel leporarium .... alterius furto eubtrahere.] Canto I.] HUDIBRAS. 201 And what men say of her, they mean No more than that on which they lean. Some with Arabian spices strive, 595 T' embahn her cruelly alive ; Or season her, as French cooks use Their haut-gouts, bouillies, cr ragouts ; Use her so barbarously ill, To grind her lips upon a mill * 600 Until the facet doublet doth Fit their rhymes rather than her mouth ;1 Her mouth compar'd t' an oyster's, with A row of pearl in't, 'stead of teeth ; Bock, in Saxon, is book, or written evidence ; tliis land was therefore held as bocland, a noble tenure in strict entail, that could not be alienated from the right heir. Hopton, in the County of Salop, To the Heyrs Male of the Hopton, lawfully begotten. From me and from myne, to thee and to thine, While the water runs, and the sun doth shine, For lack of heyrs to the king againe. I William, king, the third year of my reign, Give to the Norman hunter. To me that art both line and deare,[related, or of my lineage] The Hop and the Hoptoune, And all the bounds up and downe. Under the earth to hell. Above the earth to heaven- From me, and from myne. To thee and to thyne ; As good and as faire. As ever they myne were ; To witness that this is sooth, [truej 1 bite the wite wax with my tooth. Before Jueg, Marode, and Margery, And my third son Henery, For one bow, and one broad arrow, When I come to hunt upon Yarrow. This grant of William the Conqueror, is in John Stow'sChron- icle, and in Blount's Aniient Tenures. Other rhyming charters may be seen in Morant's Essex ; Little Dunmow, vol. n. p. 429, and at Rochford, vol. i. p. 272. ,. u , u„ „ * \s they do by comparing her lips to nibies polished by a mill, which is in effect, and no better, than to grind by a mill, and that until those false stones (for, when all is done, lips are not true rubies) do plainly appear to have been brought in by them as rather befitting the absurdity of their rhymes, than that there is really any propriety in the comparison between her lip& and rubies. , , „„ . t Poets and romance writers have not been very scrupulous in the choice of metaphors, when they represented the beauties ot their mistresses. Facets are precious stones, ground a la lacette. or with many faces, that they may have the greater lustre Doublets are crystals joined together with a cement, green or red, in order to resemble stones of that color. 9* 202 HUDIBRAS. [Part n. Others make poesies of her cheeks, 605 "Where red, and vvliitest colours mix ; In wiiich the Hly and the rose. For Indian lake and ceruse goes. The sun and moon, by her bright eyes, Eclips'd and darken'd iu the skies ; 610 Are but black patches that she wears. Cut into suns, and moons, and stars,* By which astrologers, as well As those in heav'n above, can tell ■ What strange events they do foreshow, 615 Unto her under-world below.t Her voice the music of the spheres, So loud, it deafens mortal ears ; As wise philosophers have thought, And that's the cause we hear it not.t 620 This has been done by some, who those Th' ador'd in rhyme, would kick in prose ; And in those ribbons would have hung. Of which melodiously they sung.§ That have the hard fate to write best, 625 Of those that still desen'e it least ;|1 It matters not, how false or forc'd. So the best things be said o' th' worst ; * The ladies formerly were very fond of wearing a great num ber of black patches on their faces, and, perhaps, might amuse themselves in devising the shape of them. This fashion is al luded to in Sir Kenelm Digby's discourse on the sympathetic powder, and ridiculed in the Spectator, No. 50. But the poet here alludes to Dr. Bulwer's Artificial Changeling, p. 252, ifcc. t A double entendre. + "Pythagoras," saith Censorinus, "asserted, that this world "is made according to mifsical proportion; and that the seven " planets, betwixt heaven and earth, which govern the nativities " of mortals, have an harmonious motion, and render various " sounds according to their seve.'al heights, so consonant, that " they make most sweet melody, but to us inaudible, because of " the greatness of the noise, which the narrow passage of our " ears is not capable to receive." Stanley's Life of Pythagoras, p. 393. 5 Thus Waller on a girdle : Give me but what this riband bound. II Warburton was of opinion that Butler alluded to one of Mr. Waller's poems on Saccharissa, where he complains of her un- kindness. Others suppose, that he alludes to Mr. Waller's poems on Oliver Cromwell, and King Charles II. The poet's reply to the king, when he reproached him with having written best in praise of Oliver Cromwell, is known to everyone. " We " poets," says he, " succeed better in fiction than in truth." But tliis passage seems to relate to ladies and love, not to kings and politics. Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. 203 It goes for nothing when 'tis said, Only the arrow's drawn to th' head, 630 Whether it be the swan or goose They level at : so shepherds use To set the same mark on the hip. Both of their sound and rotten sheep : For wits that carry low or wide, 635 Must be aim'd higher, or beside The mark, which else they ne'er come nigh, But when they take their aim awry.* But I do wonder yon should chuse This way t'attack me with your muse. 640 As one cut out to pass your tricks on, With Fulham's of poetic fiction :t I rather hop'd I should no more Hear from you o' th' gallanting score ; For hard dry bastings use to prove 645 The readiest remedies of love,t Next a dry diet ; but if those fail, Yet tliis uneasy loop-hol'd jail. In which y' are hamper'd by the fetlock, Cannot but put y' in mind of wedlock : 650 Wedlock, that's worse than any hole here, If that may serve you for a cooler T' allay your mettle, all agog Upon a wife, the heavier clog. * An allusion to gunnery. In Butler's MS. Common-plice book ate the following lines ; Ingenuity, or wit, Does only th' owner fit For nothing, but to be undone. For nature never gave to mortal yet, A free and arbitrary power of wit : But bound him to his good behaviour for't. That he should never use it to do hurt. Wit does but divert men from the road, In which things vulgarly are understood ; Favours mistake, and ignorance, to own A better sense than commonly is known. Most men are so unjust, they look upon Another's wit as enemy t' their own. t That is, with cheats or impositions. FuUiam was a can word fo^a false die, many of them being made at that place The high dice were loaded so as to come up 4, 5, 6, and the low ones 1, 2, 3. Frequently mentioned in Butler's Genuine Re mains. + "Epura Tzavii \(.ji6i, &c. See note on line 525. 204 HUDIBRAS. [Fart ii. Nor rather thank your gentler fate,* 655 That, for a bruis'd or broken pate. Has freed you from those knobs that grow Much harder on the marry'd brow : But if no dread can cool your courage. From vent'ring on that dragon, marriage ; 660 Yet give me quarter, and advancet To nobler aims your puissance ; Level at beauty and at wit ; The fairest mark is easiest hil.t Quoth Hudibras, I am beforehand 665 In that already, with your command ;§ For where does beauty and high wit But in your constellation meet ? Quoth she. What does a match imply, But likeness and equality ? 670 I know you cannot think me fit To be th' yokefellow of your wit ; Nor take one of so mean deserts. To be the partner of your parts ; A grace vi'hich, if I cou'd believe, 675 I've not the conscience to receive. || That conscience, quoth Hudibras, Is misinform'd : I'll state the case. A man may be a legal donor Of any thing whereof he's owner, 680 And may confer it where he lists. * That is, and not rather : this depends upon v. 639, 40, 41, 42. All the intermediate verses from thence to this being, as it were, in a parenthesis : the sense is, But I do wonder — t' attack me, and should not rather thank — t The widow here pretends, she would have him quit his pursuit of her, and aim hifiher ; namely, at beauty and wit. t The reader will observe the ingenious equivocation, or the double meaning of the word fairest. ^ Where one word ends with a vowel, and the next begins with a w, inunediately followed by a vowel, or where one word ends with w, immediately preceded bya vowel, and the next be- gins with a vowel, the poet either leaves them as two syllables, or contracts them into one, as best suits his verse ; thus in the passage before us, and in P. iii. c. i. v. 1561, and P. iii. c. ii. v. 339, these are contractions in the first case ; and P. iii. c. 1. v. 804, in the latter case. II Our poet uses the word conscience here as a word of two syllables, and in the next line as a word of three : thus in Part i. c. i. v. 78, ratiocination is a word of live syllables, and in other places of four: in the first it is a treble rhyme, [[n the first in- stance, conscience means only self-opinion ; in the second, Hu- dibras marks it as meaning knowledge, by making it a trisylla ble, (conscience,) and places it in ludicrous opposition to misin &tmed.} Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. 3O5 r th' judgment of all casuists : Then wit, and parts, and valour may Be ali'nated, and made away, By those that are proprietors, 685 As I may give or sell my horse. Quoth she, I grant the case is true, And proper 'twixt your horse and you ; But whether I may take, as well As you may give away, or sell ? 090 Buyers, you know, are bid beware ; And worse than thieves receivers are. How shall I answer hue and cry. For a roan-gelding, twelve hands high,* All spurr'd and switch'd, a lock on's hoof,t 695 A sorrel mane ? Can I bring proof Where, when, by whom, and what y' are sold for, And in the open market toll'd for? Or, should I take you for a stray. You must be kept a year aud day, 700 Ere I can own you, here i' th' pound, Where, if ye're sought, you may be found ; And in the mean time I must pay For all your provender and hay. Quoth he. It stands me much upon 705 T' enervate this objection, And prove myself, by topic clear. No gelding, as you would infer. Loss of virility's averr'd To be the cause of loss of beard,t 710 That does, like embryo in the womb. Abortive on the chin become : This first a woman did invent. In envy of man's ornament : Semiramis of Babylon, 715 Who first of all cut men o' th' stone, § * This is a severe reflection upon the knicht's abilities, his complexion, and his height, which the widow intim;ites was not more than four feet. t There is humor in the representation which the widow makes of the knight, under the similitude of a roan gelding, supposed to be stolen, or to have strayed. Farmers often put locks on the fore-feet of their horses,' to prevent their being stolen. t See the note on line 143 of this canto. 5 Mr. Butier, in his own note, says, Somiraniis teneios mares castravit omnium prima, and quotes Ammian- Marcellinus, But the poet means to laugh at Dr. Bulwer, who in his Artificial Changeling, scene 21, has many strange stories ; and in page 20^ 206 HUDIBRAS. [Part ii To mar their beards, and laid foundation Of sow-geldering operation ; Look on this beard, and tell me whether Eunuchs wear such, or geldings either? TSf Next it appears I am no horse, That I can argue and discourse. Have but two legs, and ne'er a tail. Quoth she, That nothing will avail ; For some philosophers of late here, 725 Write men have four legs by nature,* And that 'tis custom makes them go Erroneously upon but two. As 'twas in Germany made good, B' a boy that lost himself in a wood ; 730 And growing down t' a man, was wont With wolves upon all four to hunt. As for your reasons drawn from tails,t We cannot say they're true or false, Till you explain yourself, and show 735 B' experiment, 'tis so or no. Quoth he, If you'll join issue on't,t I'll give you sat'sfact'ry account, So you will promise, if you lose, To settle all, and be my spouse. 740 That never shall be done, quoth she, To one that wants a tail, by me ; For tails by nature sure were meant. As well as beards, for ornament ;§ says, " Nature gave to mankind a beard, that it might remain an " index in the thee of the masculine generative taculty." * Sir Kenehii Digby, in his book of Bodies, has the well-known story of the wild German boy, who went upon all-four, was overgrown with hair, and lived among the wild beasts, the credi- bility and truth of which he endeavors to establish. See also Tatler, No. 103. Some modern writers are said to have the same conceit. The second line here quoted seems to want half a foot, but it may be made right by the old way of spelling four, fower, or reading as in the edition of 1709 : Write that men have four legs by nature. t See Fontaine, Conte de la jument du compere Pierre. X That is, rest the cause upon this point. ^ Mr. Butler here alludes to Dr. Bulwer's Artificial Change- ling, p. 410, where, besides the story of the Kentish men near Rochester, he gives an account, from an honest young man of Captain Morris's company, in Lieutenant-aeneral Ireton's regi- ment, " that at Cashell, in the county of Tipperary, in the prov- " ince of Munster, in Carrick Patrick church, seated on a rock, "stormed by Lord Inchequin, where there were near 700 put to " the sword, and none saved but the mayor's wife, and his son ; "there were found among the slain of the Irish, when they " were stripped, diverse that had tails near a quarter of a yard Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. 207 And tho' the vulgar count them homely ; 745 In men or beast they are so comely, So gentee, alamode, and handsome, I'll never marry man that wants oue : Aiid 'till you can demonstrate plain, You have one equal to your mane, 75C I'll be torn piece-meal by a horse, Ere I'll take you for better or worse. The Prince of Cambay's daily food Is asp, and basilisk, and toad,* Which makes him have so strong a breath. 755 Each night he stinks a queen to death ; Yet I shall rather lie in's arms Than your's, on any other terms. Quoth he. What nature can afford I shall produce, upon my word ; 760 And if she ever gave that boon To man, I'll prove that I have one ; I mean by postulate illation,t Wlien you shall offer just occasion ; But since ye've yet deny'd to give 765 My heart, your pris'ner, a reprieve, But make it sink down to my heel, Let that at least your pity feel ; And for the sufferings of your martyr. Give its poor entertainer quarter ; 770 And by discharge, or mainprise, grant Deliv'ry from this base restraint. Quoth she, I grieve to see your leg Stuck in a hole here like a peg, And if I knew which way to do't, 775 Your honour safe, I'd let you out. That dames by jail-delivery Of errant knights have been set free,! " long: forty soldiers, that were eye-witnesses, testified the same " upon their oaths." He mentions likewise a similar tale of many other nations. * See Purchas's Pilgrim, vol. ii. p. 1495. Philosoph. Transac- tions, Ixvi. 314. Montaigne, b. i. Essay on Customs. A gross double entendre runs through the whole of the widow's speech- es, and likewise those of the knight. See T. Warton on English Poetry, iii. p. 10. t That is, by inference, necessary consequence, or presump- tive evidence. t These and the following lines are a banter upon romance writers. Our author keeps Don Quixote constantly in his eye, when he is aiming at this object. In Europe, the Spaniards and the French engaged first in this kind of writing : from them it was communicated to the English. 208 HUDIBRAS. [Part u When by enchantment they have been, And sometimes for it too, laid in, 780 Is that which knights are bound to do By order, oaths, and honour too ;* For what are they renown'd and famous else, But aiding of distressed damosels ? But for a lady, no ways errant, 785 To free a knight, we have no warrant In any authentical romance, Or classic author yet of France ;t And I'd be lotii to have you break An ancient custom for a freak, 7J( Or innovation introduce In place of things of antique use, To free your heels by any course, That might b' unwholesome to your spurs '4 Wiiich if I could consent unto, 795 It is not in my pow'r to do ; For 'tis a service must be done ye With solemn previous ceremony ; Which always has been us'd t' untie The charms of those who here do lie ; 800 For as the ancients heretofore To honour's temple had no door. But that which thorough virtue's lay ; § So from this dungeon there's no way To honour's freedom, but by passing 805 That other virtuous school of lashing. Where knights are kept in narrow lists, With wooden lockets 'bout their wrists ; In which they for a while are tenants, And for their ladies suifer penance : 810 Whipping, that's virtue's governess, Tutress of arts and sciences ; That mends the gross mistakes of nature, * Their oath was — Voiis dufendiez les querrelles justes de toutes les dames d'honneur, de toutes les veuves qui n'ont point des amis, des orphelins, et des fiUes dont la reputation est en- tiere. t In the Coniitia Centuriata of the Romans, the class of no- bility and senators voted tirst, and all other persons were styled infra classem. Hence their writers of the first rank were called classics. , t To your honor. The spurs are badges of knighthood. If a knight of the garter is degraded, his spurs must be hacked to pieces by the king's conk. § The temple of Virtue and Honor was built by Marius ; the architect was Mutius ; it had no posticum. See Vitruvius, &c. Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. 209 And puts new life into dull matter ; That lays foundation for renown, 815 And all the honours of the gown. This sulfer'd, they are set at large, And freed with hon'rable discharge ; Then, in their robes, the penitentials Are straight presented with credentials,* 820 And in their way attended on By magistrates of every town ; And, all respect and charges paid. They're to their ancient seats convey'd. Now if you'll venture for my sake, 825 To try the toughness of your back, And suffer, as the rest have done. The laying of a whipping on, And may you prosper in your suit, As you with equal vigour do't, 830 I here engage to be your bail. And free you from th' unknightly jail : But since our sex's modesty Will not allow I should be by. Bring me, on oath, a fair account, 835 And honour to, when you have done't ; And I'll admit you to the place You claim as due in my good grace. If matrimony and hanging go By dest'ny, why not whipping too? 840 What med'cine else can cure the fits Of lovers, when they lose their wits ? Love is a boy by poets styl'd. Then spare the rod, and spoil the child : A Persian emp'ror whipp'd his grannum, 845 The sea, his mother Venus came on ;t And hence some rev'rend men approve * This alludes to the acts of parliament, 33 Eliz. cap. 4, and 1 James I. c. 31, whereby vagrants are ordered to he whipped, and, with a proper cerliticate, conveyed by the constables of the sev- eral parishes to the place of their settlement. These acts are in a great measure repealed by the 12th of Anne. Explained, amended, and repealed by the lOlh, 13th, and 17th George 11. t Spoil, or spilf, as in some copies, from the Baxon, is fre- quently used by Chaucer, in the sense of, to ruin, to destroy. Xerxes whipped the sea, which was the niothei: of Venus, and Venus was the mother of Cupid ; the sea, therefore, was the grannum, or grand-mother of Cupid, and the object of impe- rial flagellation, when the winds and the waves were not favor able and propitious to his fleets. In Corum atque Eurum solitus sievire flagellis Barbaras Juven. Sat. x. 180, 210 HUDIBRAS. [Part n. Of rosemarjr in making love.* As skilful cuopers hoop their tubs With Lyditin and with Phrygian dubs,t 850 Why may not whipping have as good A grace, perform'd in time and mood : With comely movement, and by art, Raise passion in a lady's heart? It is an easier way to make 855 Love by, than that which many take. Who would not rather suffer whipping, Than swallow toasts of bits of ribbin U Make wicked verses, traits,§ and faces, And spell names over with beer-glasses ?|1 860 Be under vows to hang and die Love's sacrifice, and all a lie^ With China-oranges and tarts. And whining-plays, lay baits for hearts? Bribe chambermaids with love and money, 865 To break no roguish jests upon ye ?"fl For lilies limn'd on cheeks, and roses. * Venns came from the sea ; hence the poet supposes some connection with the word rosemiiry, or ros maris, dew ot" the sea. Rev'rend in the precediiii; lino means ancient, or old : it is used in this sense by Pope, in his Epistles to Lord Cohhani, v. 232. Reverend age occurs in Waller, ed. Fenton, p. 56, and in this poem, P. ii. c. i. v. 527. t Coopers, like lilacUsmitlis, give to their work alternately a heavy stroke and a light one ; which our poet humorously com- pares to the Lydian and Phrygian measures. The former was soft and efleminate, and called by Aristotle moral, because it settled and composed the atfections ; the latter was rough and martial, and termed enthusiastic, because it agitated the pas- sions : Et Phrygio stimulet numero cava tibia mentes. Lucr. ii. 620. Phrygiis cantibus incitantur. Cic. de Div. i. 114. And all the while sweet music did divide Her looser notes with Lydian harmony. X These and the following lines aflbrd a curious specimen of the follies practised by inamoratos. § Trait is a word rarely used in English, of French origin, signifying a stroke, or turn of wit or fancy. II This kind of transmutation Mr. Butler is often guilty of: he means, scribble the beer-glasses over with the name of his sweet- heart, [rather spells them in the number of glasses of beer, as before at v. 370.] IT Sed prius ancillam captandae nosse puells Curasit: arcessus molliat ilia tuos. Pro.xima consiliis domina; sit ut ilia videto ; Neve parum tacitis conscia tida jocis. Ovid, de Arte Amandi, lib. 1. 351. Canto i.l HUDIBRAS. 211 With painted perfumes, hazard noses?* Or, vent'ring to be brisk and wanton, Do penance in a paper lanthorn It 870 All this you may compound for now, By sufF'ring what I offer you ; Which is no more than has been done By knights for ladies long agoue. Did not the great La Mancha do so 875 For the Infanta del Toboso ?t Did not th' illustrious Bassa make Himself a slave for Misse's sake ?§ And with bull's pizzle, for her love, Was taw'd as gentle as a glove ?|1 880 Was not young Fiorio sent, to cool His flame for Biancafiore, to school, If Where pedant made his pathic bum For her sake suffer martyrdom ? * Their perfumes and paints were more prejudicial than the roufre and odors of modern times. They were used by fops and coxconil)S as well as by women. The plain nieanmg of the dis- tich is, venture disease for painted and perfumed whores. t Alluding to a method of cure for the venereal disease: and it may point equivocally to some part of the Presbyterian or popish discipline. t Meaning the penance which Don Qui.xote imderwent for the salte of his Dulcinea, Part i. book iii. ch. 2. $ Ibrahim, the illustrious Bassa, in the romance of Monsieur Scudery. His mistress, Isabella, princess of INIonaeo, being con- veyed away to the Sultan's seraglio, he gets into the palace in quality of a slave, and, after a multitude of adventures, becomes grand-vizier. II To taw is a term used by leather-dressers, signifying to soften the leather, and make it pliable, by frequently rubbing it. So in Ben Jonson's Alchymist, " Be curry'd, claw'd, and flaw'd, and " taw'd indeed." In the standard of ancient weights and meas- ures, we read : " the cyse of a tanner that he tanne ox leather, "and netes, and calves; — the cyse of a tawyer that he shall " tawe none but shepes leather and deres." So the tawcr, or fell-monger, prepares soft supple leather, as of buck, doe, kid, sheep, lamb, for gloves, &c., which preparation of tawing differs much from tanning. Johnson, in his Dictionary, says, '• To taw " is to dress white leather, commonly called alum leather, in " contradistinction from tan leather, that which is dressed with "b:irk." [To Aerat and dress leather with alum. Nares.] IT This she instances from an Italian romance, entitled Fiorio and Biancafiore. Thus the lady mentions some illustrious ex- amples of the three nations, Spanish, French, and Italian, to induce the knisht to give himself a scourging, according to the established laws of chivalry and novelism. The adventures of Fiorio and Biancafiore, which make tlie principal subject of Bdccace's Philocopo, were famous long before Boccace, as he himself informs us. Floris and Blancaster are mentioned as illustrious lovers, bv a Languedocian poet, in his Breviari d'Amor, dated in the year '1288: it is probable, however, that the story was enlarged by Boccace. See Tyrwhitt on Chaucer, iv. 169. 312 HUDIBRAS. [Partii. Did not a certain lady whip, 885 Of late, her husband's own lordship?* And tho' a grandee of the house, Claw'd him with fundamental blows ; Ty'd him stark-naked to a bed-post, And firk'd his hide, as if sh' had rid post ; 890 And after in the sessions court, Where whipping's judg'd, had honour fort? This swear you will perform, and then I'll set you from th' enchanted den, And the magician's circle, clear. 895 Quoth he, I do profess and swear, And will perform what you enjoin. Or may I never see you mine. * Lord Munson, of Bury St. Edmund's, one of the king's judges, being suspected by his lady of changing his political principles, was by her, together with the assistance of her maids, tied naked to the bed-post, and whipped till he promised to behave better. Sir William Waller's lady, Mrs. May, and Sir Henry Mildmay's lady, were supposed to have exercised the same au- thority. See History of Flagellants, p. 340, 8vo. I meet with the following lines in Butler's MS. Common-place Book : Bees are governed in a monarchy, By some more noble female bee. For females never grow etfeniinate. As men prove often, and subvert a state. For as they take to men, and men to them, It is the safest in the worst extream. The Gracchi were more resolute and stout, Who only by theii mother had been taught. The ladies on both sides were very active during the civil wars ; they held their meetings, at which they encouraged one another in their zeal. Among the MSS. in the museum at Ox- ford is one entitled Diverse remarkable Orders of the Ladles, at the Spring-garden, in parliament assembled : together with cer- tain votes of the unlawful assembly at Kate's, in Covent-sarden, both sent abroad to prevent misinformation. Vesper. Veneris Martii 25, 1647. One of the orders is ; " That whereas the lady " Norton, door-keeper of this house, complayned of Sir Robert Har- " ley, a member of the house of commons, for attempting to deface " her, which happened thus : the said lady being a zealous Inde- " pendent, and fond of the saints, and Sir Robert Harley having "found that she was likewise painted, he pretended that she came "within Ills ordinance against idolatry, saints painted, crosses, " &c. ; but some friends of the said dooi"-keeper urging in her " behalf, that none did ever yet attempt to adore her, or worship " her, she was justified, and the house hereupon declared, that " if any person, by virtue of any power whatsoever, pretended " to be derived from the house of commons, or any other court, "shall go about to impeach, hinder, or disturb any lady from "painting, worshipping, or adorning herself to the best advan- " tage, as also from planting of hairs, or investing of teeth," &c., &c. Another order in this mock parliament was, that they send a messenger to the assembly of divines, to inquire what is meant by the words due benevolence. Canto i.] HUDIBRAS. 213 Amen, quoth she, then turn'd about, And bid her squire let liim out. 900 But ere an artist could be found T' undo tlie charms another bound, The sun grew low and left the skies, Put down, some write, by ladies' eyes. The moon puU'd off her veil of light,* 005 Tiiat's hides her face by day from sight. Mysterious veil, of brightness made. That's both her lustre and her shade,t } And in the night as freely shone, As if her rays had been her own: 910 For darkness is the proper sphere Where all false glories use t' appear. The twinkling stars began to mustre, And glitter with their borrow'd lustre. While sleep the weary'd world reliev'd, 915 By counterfeiting death reviv'd.t Our vot'ry thought it best t' adjourn His whipping penance till the morn, And not to carry on a work * This, and the eleven foUowinf; lines, are very just and beautiful. t The rays of the sun obscure the moon by day, and enliphten it by night. This passage is extremely beautiful and poetical, showing, among many others, Mr. Butler's powers in serious poetry, if he had chosen that path. X There is a beautiful modern epigram, which I do not cor- rectly remember, or know where to find. It runs nearly thus : Somne levis, quanquam certissima mortis imago, Consortem cu|>io te tainen esse tnri. Alma quies (jptata veni. nam sic sine vita Vivere quam suave est, sic sine morte mori. Biri'Oj TO. jjiiKpa Tov davdrov jiv^i'/pta. Gnomici Poets, 915, 243, vnvos PpoTti^v Travs'iip irdvdiv. AthencB. I. .\. p. 449. VTTVOS Tt((pvKe atijiaroi aiiOTtjpia. Brunck. Analect. 243. This canto in general is inimitable for wit and pleasantry: the character of Hudibras is well preserved ; his manner of address appears to he natural, and at the same time has strong marks of singularity. Towards the conclusion, indeed, the conversation becomes obscene ; but. excepting this blemish, I think the whole canto by no means inferior to any part of the performance. The critic will remark how exact our poet is in observing times and seasons ; he describes morning and evining, and one day only ia passed since the opening of the poem. 214 HUDIBRAS. [Part n. Of such importance, in the dark, 920 With erring haste, but rather stay, And do't i' th' open face of day ; And in the mean time go in quest Of next retreat, to take his rest Vallrcr.phuc ^ILlYjshM. -^ AS.® MI W2E 'JL ]L o PART IT. CANTO li. THE ARGUMENT. The Knight and Squire in hot dispute, Within an ace of falling out, Are parted with a sudden fright Of strange alarm, and stranger sight ; With which adventuring to stickle, They're sent away in nasty pickle. HUDIBRAS. CANTO II. 'Tis strange how some men's tempers suit, Like bawd and brandy, with dispute,* That for their own opinions stand fast, Only to have the«i claw'd and canvast. That keep their consciences in cases,! 5 As fiddlers do their crowds and bases,! Ne'er to be us'd but when they're bent To play a fit for argument.^ Make true and false, unjust and just, Of no use but to be discust ; 10 Dispute and set a paradox, Like a straight boot, upon the stocks, And stretch it more unmercifuU)', Than Helmont, Montaigne, White, or Tully,|| * That is, how some men love disputing, as a bawd loves brandy. t A pun, or jeu de mots, on cases of conscience. i That is, their fiddles and violoncellos. ^ The old phrase was, to play a fit of mirth : the word fit often occurs in ancient ballads, and metrical romances: it is generally applied to music, and signifies a division or part, for the conve- nience of the performers; thns in the old poem of Jolin the Reeve, the first part ends with this line. The first fitt here find we ; afterwards it signified the whole part or division : thus Chaucei concludes the rhyme of Sir Thopas : Lo ! lordes min, here is a fit ; If ye will any more of it. To tell it woll I fond. The learned and ingenious bishop of Dromore, (Dr. Percy,) thinks the word fit originally signified a poetic strain, verse, or poem. II Men are too apt to subtilize when they labor in defence of a favorite sect or system. Van Helmont was an eminent phy- sician and naturalist, a warm opposer of the principles of Aris- totle and Galen, and unreasonably attached to chemistry. He was born at Brussels, in 1588, and died l(j<)4. Michael de Mon- taigne was born at Perigord, of a good family, 1533, died 1592. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 217 So th' ancient Stoics in the porch, 15 With fierce dispute maiutain'd their church, Beat out their brains in fight and study. To prove that virtue is a body,* That bonum is an animal. Made good with stout polemic brawl : 20 In which some hundreds on the place He was fancifully educated by his father, waked every morning with instruments of music, taught Latin by conversation, and Greek as an amusement. His paradoxes related only to common life; for he had little depth of learning. His essays contain abundance of whimsical reflections on matters of ordinary oc- currence, especially upon his own temperand qualities. He was counsellor in the parliament of Bourdeau.v, and mayor of the same place. Thomas White was second son of Richard White, of Essex, esquire, by Mary his wife, daughter of Edmund Plow- den, the great lawyer, in the reign of Elizabeth. He was a zealous champion for the church of Rome and the Aristotelian philosophy. He wrote against Joseph Glanville, who printed at London, 1065, a book entitled. Scepsis Scientifica, or Confessed Ignorance the Way to Science. Mr. White's answer, which de- fended Aristotle and his disciples, was entitled, Scire, sive Scep- tices et Scepticorum a jure Disputationis exclusio. This pro- duced a reply from Glanville, under the title of. Scire, tuuni ni- hil est. White published several books with the signatures of Thomas Albius, or Thomas Anglus ex Albiis. His Dialogues de Mundo, bear date 1G42, and are signed, autore Thoma Anglo e generosa Albiorum in oriente Trinobantum prosapia, oriundo. He embraced the opinions of Sir Kenelm Digby. For TuUy some editions read Lully. Raymond Lully was a Majorcan, born in the thirteenth century. He is said to have been extreme- ly dissolute in his youth; to have turned sober at forty; in his old age to have preached the gospel to the Saracens, and suffered martyrdom, anno 1315. As to his paradoxes, prodiit, says San- derson, e media barbarie vir magna professus, R. Lullus, qui opus logicum quam specioso titulo insignivit, artem magnam commentus: cujus ope pollicetur trimestri spatio hominem, quamvis vel ipsa literarum elementa nescientem, totam encyclo- pajdiam perdocere ; idque per circulos et triangulos, et lileras al- phabeti sursum versum revolutas. There is a summary of his scheme in Gassendus de Usu Logicoe, c. 8 ; Alsted Encyclop. tom. iv. sect. 17. He is frequently mentioned in Butler's Re- mains, see vol. i. 131, and in the character of an hermetic phi- losopher, vol. ii. pp. 23-2, 247-25L But I have retained the word Tully with the author's corrected edition. Mr. Butler alluded, I suppose, to Cicero's Stoicorum Paradoxa, in which, merely for the exercise of his wit, and to amuse himself and his friends, he has undertaken to defend some of the most extravagant doc- trines of the porch : Ego vero ilia ipsa, qua; vix in gymnasiis et in otio stoici probant, ludens conjeci in communes locos. * The stoics allowed of no incorporeal substance, no medium between body and nothing. With them accidents and qualities, virtues and vices, the passions of the mind, and every thing else, was body. Animam constat animal esse, cum ipsa efficiat ut simus animalia. Virtus autem nihil aliud est quam animus tal- iter se habens. Ergo animal est. See also Seneca, epistle 113* and Plutarch oa Superstition, sub initio. 10 218 HUDIBRAS. [Part ii Were slain outright,* and many a face Retrench'd of nose, and eyes, and beard, To maintain what their sect averr'd. All which the knight and squire in wrath, 25 Had like t' have suffer'd for their faith ; Each striving to make good his own. As by the sequel shall be shown. The sun had long since, in the lap Of Thetis, taken out his nap, 30 And like a lobster boil'd, the morn From black to red began to turn ;t When Hudibras, whom thoughts and aching 'Twixt sleeping kept all night and waking, Began to rouse his drowsy eyes, 35 And from his couch prepar'd to rise ; Resolving to dispatch the deed He vow'd to do with trusty speed : But first, with knocking loud and bawling, * We meet with the same account in the Remains, vol. ii. 242. "This had been an excellent course for the old roiind- " headed stoics to find out whether bonum was corpus, or virtue "an animal; about which they had so many fierce encounters " in their stoa, that about 1400 lost their lives on the place, and "far many more their beards, and teeth, and noses." The Gre- cian history, I believe, does not countenance these remarks. Diogenes Laertius, in his life of Zeno, book vii. sect. 5, says, that this philosopher read his lectures in the stoa or portico, and hopes the place would.be no more violated by civil seditions: for, adds he, when the thirty tyrants governed the republic, 1400 citizens were killed there. Making no mention of a philosophi- cal brawl, but speaking of a series of civil executions, which took place in the ninety -fourth olympiad, at least a hundred years before the foundation of the stoical school. In the old an- notations, the words of Laertius are cited differently. " In por- " ticu (stoicorum schola Athenis) discipulorum seditionibus, " mille quadringenti triginta cives interfecti sunt." But from whence the words "discipulorum seditionibus" were picked up, I know not: unless from the old version of Ambrosius of Camal- doli. There is nothing to answer them in the Greek, nor do they appear in the translations of Aldobrandus or Meiboniius. Xen- ophon observes, that more persons were destroyed by the tyran- ny of the thirty, than had been slain by the enemy in eight en- tire years of the Peloponnesian war. Both Isocrates and ^s- chines make the number fifteen hundred. Seneca De Tranquil, thirteen hundred. Lysias reports, that three hundred were con- demned by one sentence. Laertius is the only writer that rep- resents the portico as the scene of their sufferings. This, it is true, stood in the centre of Athens, in or near the forum. Perhaps, also, it might not be far from the desmoterion, or prison. t Mr. M. Bacon says, this simile is taken from Rabelais, who calls the lobster cardinalized, from the red habit assumed by the clergy of that rank. Canto n.] HUDIBRAS. 219 He rous'd the squire, in truckle lolling ;* 40 And after many circumstances, Which vulgar authors in romances, Uo use to spend their time and wits on, To make impertinent description, They got, with much ado, to horse, 45 And to the castle bent their course. In which he to the dame before To suffer whipping-duty swore :t Where now arriv'd, and half unhamest, To carry on tlie work in earnest, 50 He stopp'd and paus'd upon the sudden, And witli a serious forehead plodding. Sprung a new scruple in his head, Which first he scratch'd, and after said ; Wliether it be direct infringing 55 An oath, if I should wave this swinging,t And what I've sworn to bear, forbear, And so b' equivocation swear ;§ Or whether 't be a lesser sin To be forsworn, than act the thing, 60 Are deep and subtle points, which must, T' inform my conscience, be discust ; In which to err a little, may To errors infinite make way : And therefore I desire to know 65 Thy judgment, ere we farther go. Quoth Ralpho, Since you do injoin't, I shall enlarge upon the point ; And, for my own part, do not doubt Th' affirmative may be made out. 70 But first, to state the case aright, For best advantage of our light ; And thus 'tis, wliether 't be a sin, To claw and curry our own skin, Greater or less than to forbear, 75 And tliat you are forsworn forswear. * See Don Quixote, Part ii. ch. 20. A truckle-bed is a little bed on wheels, which runs under a larger bed. j In some of the early editions, it is duly swore, the sense being in which he before swore to the dame to suffer whipping duly. X From the Anglo-Saxon word swingan, to beat, or whip. \ The equivocations and mental reservations of the Jesuits were loudly complained of, and by none more than by the sec- taries. When these last came into power, the royalists had too often an opportunity of bringing the same charge against them See Sanderson De Jur. Oblig. pr. ii. 55, 11. 220 HUDIBRAS. [Part n But first, o' th' first : The inward man, And outward, like a clan and clan, Have always been at daggers-drawing And one another clapper-clawing :* 80 Not that they really cufFor fence, But in a spiritual mystic sense ; Which to mistake, and make them squabble, In literal fray's abominable ; 'Tis heathenish, in frequent use, 85 With pagans and apostate jews. To offer sacrifice of bridewells,t Like modern Indians to their idols ;t And mongrel Christians of our times, That expiate less with greater crimes, 90 And call the foul abomination, Contrition and mortification. Is't not enough we're bruis'd and kicked. By sinful members of the wicked ; Our vessels, that are sanctify'd, 95 Profan'd, and curry'd back and side ; But we must claw ourselves with shameful And heathen stripes, by their example ? Which, were there nothing to forbid it. Is impious, because they did it : 100 This therefore may be justly reckou'd A heinous sin. Now to the second ; That saints may claim a dispensation To swear and forswear on occasion, I doubt not ; but it will appear 105 With pregnant light : the point is clear, Oaths are but words, and words but wind. Too feeble implements to bind ; •And hold with deeds proportion, so As shadows to a substance do.§ 110 Then when they strive for place, 'tis fit The weaker vessel should submit. Although your church be opposite To ours, as Black Friars are to White, * The clans or tribes of the Highlanders of f cotland, have sometimes kept up an hereditary prosecution oi' their quarrels for many generations. The doctrine which the Independents and other sectaries held, concerning the inward and outward man, is frequently alluded to, and frequently explained, in these notes. t Whipping, the punishment usually inflicted in houses of correction. t That is, the fakirs, dervises, bonzes, of the east. ^ \6yos cpyov oKid, was an aphorism of Democritiis. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 221 In rule and order, yet I grant 115 You are a reformado saint ;* And what the saints do claim as due, You may pretend a title to : But saints, whom oaths or vows oblige, Know little of their privilege ; 120 Farther, I mean, than carrying on Some self-advantage of their own : For if the devil, to serve his turn. Can tell truth ; why the saints should scorn, When it sei-ves theirs, to swear and lie, 125 I think there's little reason why: Else h' has a greater power than they, Which 'twere impiety to say. We're not commanded to forbear. Indefinitely, at all to swear; 130 But to swear idly, and in vain, Without self-interest or gain. For breaking of an oath and lying. Is but a kind of self-denying, A saint-like virtue ; and from hence 135 Some have broke oaths by providence : Some, to the glory of the Lord, Ferjur'd themselves, and broke their word :1 And this the constant rule and practice Of all our late apostles' acts is. 140 Was not the cause at first begun With perjury, and carried on? Was there an oath the godly took. But in due time and place tliey broke ? * That is, a saint volunteer, as being a Presbyterian, for the Independents were the saints in pay. See P. iii. c. ii. I. 91. t Dr. Owen had a wonderl'ul kiiaclc of attributing all the pro- ceedings of his own party to the direction of the spirit. "The " rebefariny," says South, " in their several treatings with the " king, being asked by him whether they would stand to such " and such agreements and promises, still answered, that they " would do as the spirit should direct them. Whereupon that " blessed prince would frequently condole his hard fate, that he " had to do with persons to whom the spirit dictated one thing " one day, and commanded the clean contrary the next." So the history of independency : when it was first moved in the house of commons to proceed capitally against the king, Crom- well stood up, and told them, that if any man moved this with design, he should think him the greatest traitor in the world; but, since providence and necessity had cast them upon it, he should pray God to bless their counsels. Harrison, Carew, and others, when tried for the part they took in the king's death, professed they had acted out of conscience to the Lord. 822 HUDIBRAS. [Part u. Did we not bring our oaths in first, 145 Before our plate, to have them burst, And cast in fitter models, for The present use of church and war? Did not our worthies of the house, Before they broke the peace, break vows? 150 For having freed us first from botii Th' aileg'ance and suprem'cy oath ;* Did they not next compel the nation To take, and break the protestation ?t To swear, and after to recant, 155 The solemn league and covenant ?t To take th' engagement, and disclaim it,§ Enforc'd by those who first did frame it ? Did they not swear, at first, to fight|l * Though they did not in formal and express terms abrogate these oaths till after the king's death, yet in eftect they vacated and annulled them, by administering the king's power, and sub- sti III ting other oalhs, protestations, and covenants. Of tliese last it is said in the Icon Basilike, whoever was the author of it, " Every man soon grows his own pope, and easily absolves him- " self from those ties, which not the command of God's word, or " the laws of the land, but only the subtilty and terror of a party " cast upon them. Either superfluous and vain, when they are " sufficiently tied before ; or fraudulent and injurious, If by such " after ligaments they find the impostors really aiming to dissolve "or suspend their former just and necessary obligations." t In the protestation they promised to defend the true reformed religi(m, expressed in the doctrine of the Church of England ; which yet in the covenant, not long after, they as religiously vowed to change. t And to recant is but to cant again, says Sir Robert L'Estrange. In the solemn league and covenant, (called a league, because it was to be a bond of amity and confederation between the king- doms of England and Scotland; and a covenant, because they pretended to make a covenant with God,) they swore to defend the person and authority of the king, and cause the world to be- hold their fidelity; and that they would not, in the least, dimin- ish his just power and greatness. The Presbyterians, who in some Instances stuck to the covenant, contrived an evasion for this part of it, viz. : that they had sworn to defend the person and authority of the king in support of religion and public liberty. Now, said they, we find that the defence of the person and au- thority of the king is incompatible with the support of religion and liberty, and therefore, for the sake of religion and liberty, we are bound to oppose and ruin the king. Hut the Independ- ents, who were at last the prevailing parly, utterly renounced the covenant. Mr. Goodwin, one of their most eminent preachers, asserted, that to violate this abominable and cursed oath, out of conscience to God, was a holy and blessed perjury. § After the death of the king a new oath was prepared, which they called the Engagement; the form whereof was, that every man should engage and swear to be true and faithful to the gov- ernment then established. II Cromwell, though in general a hypocrite, was very sincere Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 223 For the king's safety, and his right ? 160 And after march'd to find iiim out, And charg'd him home with horse and foot? And yet still had the confidence To swear it was in his defence ? Did they not swear to live and die 165 With Essex, and straight laid him by ?* If that were all, for some have swore As false as they, if th' did no more.t Did they not swear to maintain law. In which that swearing made a flaw ? 170 For protestant religion vow, That did that vowing disallow ? For privilege of parliament, In which that swearing made a rent ? And since, of all the three, not one 75 Is left in being, 'tis well known.t Did they not swear, in express words. To prop and back the house of lords ?§ when he first mustered his troop, and declared that he would not deceive them by perplexed or involved expressions, in his commission, to fight for king and parliament; but he would as soon discharge his pistol upon the king as upon any other person. * When the parliament first took up arras, and the earl of Esses was chosen general, several members of the house stood up and declared that they would live and die with the earl of Essex. This was afterwards the usual style of addresses to par- liament, and of their resolutions. Essex continued in great esteem with the party till September, 1644, when he was de- feated by the king, in Cornwall. But the principal occasion of his being laid aside was the subtle practice of Cromwell, who in a speech to the house had thrown out some oblique refiections on the second fight near Newbery, and the loss of Doninglon castle; and, fearing the resentment of Essex, contrived to pass the self-denying ordinance, whereby Essex, as general, anil most of the Presbyterians in office, were removed. The Presbyterians in the house were superior in number, and thought of new- modelling the army again; but in the mean time the earl died. t Essex, it was loudly said by many of his friends, was poi soned. Clarendon's History, vol. iii. b. 10. t Namely, law, religion, and privilege of parliament. ^ When the army began to present criminal information against the king, in order to keep the lords quiet, who might well be supposed to be in fear for their own privileges and honors, a message was sent to them promising to maintain their privileges of peerage, &c. But as soon as the king was behead- ed, the lords were discarded and turned out. February the first, two days after the king's death, when the lords sent a message to the commons for a conunittee to consider the way of settling the nation ; the commons made an order to consider on the mor- row whether the messenger should be called in, and whether the house should take any cognizance thereof. February the fifth the lords sent again, but their messengers were not called 224 HUDIBRAS. [Part ii Ana after tuni'd out the whole house-full Of peers, as dang'rous and unuseful. 180 So Cromwell, with deep oaths and vows, Swore all the commons out o' th' house ;* Vow'd that the red-coats would disband, Ay, marry wou'd they, at their command ; And troU'd them on, and swore and swore, 185 Till th' army turn'd them out of door. This tells us plainly what they thought, That oaths and swearing go for nought ; And that by them th' were only meant To serve for an expedient, h 190 What was the public faith found out for,l But to slur men of what they fought for ? The public faith, which ev'ry one Is bound t' observe, yet kept by none ; And if that go for nothing, why 195 Should private faith have such a tie ? in ; and it was debated, by the commons, whether the house of lords should be continued a court of judicature ; and the next day it was resolved by them, that the house of peers in parlia- ment was useless, and ought to be abolished. VVhitelock. * After the king's party was utterly overthrown, Cromwell, who all along, as it is supposed, aimed at the supreme power, persuaded the parliament to send part of their army into Ireland, and to disband the rest : which the Presbyterians in the house were forward to do. This, as he knew it would, set the army in a iriutiny, which he and the rest of the commanders made show to take indignation at. And Cromwell, to make the parliament secure, called God to witness, that he was sure the army would, at their first command, cast their arms at their feet ; and again solemnly swore, that he had rather himself and his whole fam- ily should be consumed, tlian that the army should break out into sedition. Yet in the mean time he blew up the flame ; and getting leave to go down to the army to quiet them, immediately joined with them in all their designs. By which arts he so strengthened his interest in the army, and incensed them against the parliament, that with the help of the red-coats he turned them all out of doors. Bates Elench. Mot. and others. t Expedient was a term often used by the sectaries. When the members of the council of state engaged to approve of what should be done by the commons in parliament for the future, it was ordered to draw up an expedient for the members to sub- scribe. X It was usual to pledge the public faith, as they called it, by which they meant the credit of parliament, or their own prom- ises, for moneys borrowed, and many times never repaid. A re- markable answer was given to the citizens of London on some occasion : "In truth the subjects may plead the property of their "goods against the king, but not ag:iinst the parliament, to whom "it appertains to dispose of all the goods of the kingdom." Their own partisans, Milton and Lilly, complain of not being repaid the money they had laid out to support the cause. Canto n.] HUDIBRAS. 225 Oaths were not purpos'd more than law, To keep the good and just in awe,* But to confine the bad and shiful, Like mortal cattle in a pinfold. 200 A saint's of th' heav'nly realm a peer ; And as no peer is bound to swear. But on the gospel of iiis honour. Of which he may dispose as owner, It follows, tho' the thing be forgery, 205 And false, th' afHrni it is no perjury. But a mere ceremony, and a breach Of nothing, but a form of speech, And goes for no more when 'tis took, Than mere saluting of the book. 210 Suppose the Scriptures are of force. They're but commissions of course,! And saints have freedom to digress. And vary from 'em as they please ; Or misinterpret them by private 215 Instructions, to all aims they drive at. Then why should we ourselves abridge, And curtail our own privilege ? Quakers, that like to lanthorns, bear Their light within them, will not swear ; 220 Their gospel is an accidence. By which they construe conscience,t And hold no sin so deeply red, As that of breaking Priscian's head.§ The head and founder of their order, 225 That stirring hats held worse than murder ;|1 * "Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous "man, but fur the lawless and disobedient." 1 Timothy i. 9. t A satire on the liberty the parliament officers took of vary- ing from their commissions, on pretence of private instructions. t That is, they, the Cluakers, interpret scripture altogether literal, and make a point of conscience of using the wrong num- ber in grammar : or, it may mean that grammar is their scripture, by which they interpret right or wrong, lawful or unlawful. ij Priscian was a great grammarian about the year 5'28, and when any one spoke false granunar, he was said to break Pris- cian's head. The Quakers, we know, are great sticklers for plainness and simplicity of speech. Thou is the singular, you the plural; consequently it is breaking Priscian's head, it is false grammar, quoth the Quaker, to use you, in the singular number: George Fo.\ was another Priscian, witness his Battel- d'or. II Some think that the order of Quakers, and not Priscian, is here meant; but then it would be holds, not held: I therefore am inclined to think that the poet humorously supposes that Priscian, who received so raanv blows oa the head, was much 10* 226 HUDIBRAS. [Part ii. These thinking they're oblig'd to troth In swearing, will not take an oath ; Like mnles, wlio if they've not the will To keep their own pace, stand stock still ; 230 But they are weak, and little know What free-born consciences may do. 'Tis the temptation of the devil That makes all human actions evil : For saints may do the same things by 235 The spirit, in sincerity, Which other men are tempted to, And at the devil's instance do ; And yet the actions be contrary, Just as the saints and wicked vary. 240 For as on land there is no beast But in some fish at sea's exprest ;* So in the wicked there's no vice. Of which the saints have not a spice ; And yet that thing that's pious in 245 The one, in th' other is a sin.t averse to taking off his hat; and therefore calls him the founder of Quakerism. This may seem a far-fetched conceit ; but a similar one is employed by Mr. Butler on another occasion. "You may perceive the Quaker has a crack in his skull," says he, " by the great care he takes to keep his hat on, lest his sickly " brains, if he have any, should take cold." Remains, ii. 353 ; i. 391. April 20, 1649, nearly at the beginning of Quakerism, Everard and Winstanley, chief of the Levellers, came to the general, and made a large declaration to justify themselves. While they were speaking, they stood with their hats on ; and being demanded the reason, said, " he was but their fellow- " creature." " This is set down," says Whitelocke, " because it " was the beginning of the appearance of this opinion." So ob- stinate were the Quakers in this point, that Barclay makes the following declaration concerning it: " However small or foolish '• this may seem, yet, I can say boldly in the sight of God, we be- " hooved to choose death rather than do it, and that for conscience " sake." There is a story told of William Penn, that being admit- ted loan audience by Charles II., he did not pull off his hat ; when the king, as a gentle rebuke to him for his ill manners, took off his own. On which Penn said, "FriendCharles, why dost not thou " keep on thy hat V and the king answered, " Friend Penn, it is " the custom of this place that no more than one person be cov- "ered at a time." * Thus Dubartas : So many fishes of so many features, That in the waters we may see all creatures, Even all that on the earth are to be found, As if the world were in deep waters drown'd. But see Sir Thomas Brown's Treatise on Vulgar Errors, book lii. chap. 24. t Many held the antinomian principle, that believers, or per- Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 237 Is't not ridiculous, and nonsense, A saint should be a slave to conscience? _ That ought to be above such fancies, As far as above ordinances 1* 250 She's of the wicked, as I guess, B' her looks, her language, and her dress : And tho', like constables, we search For false wares one another's church ; Yet all of us hold this for true, 255 No faith is to the wicked due. For truth is precious and divine. Too rich a pearl for carnal swine. Quoth Hudibras, All this is true, Yet 'tis not fit that all men knew 260 Those mysteries and revelations ; And therefore topical evasions Of subtle turns, and shifts of sense. Serve best with th' wicked for pretence, Such as the learned Jesuits use, 265 And presbyterians, for excuset sons regenerate, cannot sin. Though they commit the same acts, which are styled and are sins in others, yet in them they are no sins. Because, say they, it is not the nature of the ac- tion that derives a quality upon the person ; but it is the antece- dent quality or condition of the person that denominates his ac- tions, and stamps them good or bad: so that they are those only who are previously wicked, that do wicked actions ; but be- lievers, doing the very same things, never comnut the same sins. * Some sectaries, especially the Muggletonians, thought them- selves so sure of salvation, that they deemed it needless to con- form to ordinances, human or divine. t On the subject of Jesuitical evasions we may recite a story from Mr. Foulis. He tells us that, a little before the death of dueen Elizabfeth, when the Jesuits were endeavoring to set aside King James, a little book was written, entitled, a Treatise on Equivocation, or, as it was afterwards styled by Garnet, pro- vincial of the Jesuits, a Treatise against Lying and Dissimula- tion, which yet allows an excuse for the most direct falsehood, by their law of directing the intention. For example, in time of the plague a man goes to Coventry ; at the gates he is examined upon oath whether he came from London : the traveller, though he directly came from thence, may swear positively that he did not. The reason is, because he knows himself not infected, and does not endanger Coventry ; which he supposes to answer the final intent of the demand. At the end of this book is an allow- ance and commendation of it by Blackwell, thus : Tractatus istb valde doctus et vere pius et catholicus est. Certe sac. scriptura- rum, patrum, doctorum, scholasticorum, canonistarum, et opti- marum rationum preesidiis plenissime firmat equitatem equivo- cationis, ideoque dignissimus qui typis propagetur ad consolatio- nem afflictorum calholicorum, et omnium piorum instructionein. Ita censeo Georgius Blackwellus archipresbiter Angliae et proto- 228 HUDIBRAS. [Part a Against the protestants, when th' happen To find their churches taken napphig ; As thus : a breach of oath is duple, And either way admits a scruple, 270 And may be, ex parte of the maker, More criminal than the injur'd taker ; For he that strains too far a vow, Will break it, like an o'er bent bow : And he that made, and forc'd it, broke it, 275 Not he that for convenience took it. A broken oath is, quatenus oath. As sound t' all purposes of troth. As broken laws are ne'er the worse, Nay, 'till they're broken, have no force. 280 What's justice to a man, or laws. That never comes within their claws ? They have no pow'r, but to admonish ; Cannot control, coerce, or punish. Until they're broken, and then touch 285 Tiiose only that do make them such. Beside, no engagement is allow'd. By men in prison made, for good ; For when they're set at liberty. They're from th' engagement too set free. 290 The rabbins write, when any jew Did make to god or man a vow,* not;irius apostoliciis. On the second leaf it has this title : A Treatise against Lying and Fraudulent Dissinnilation, newly overseen by the Author, and published for the Defence of Inno- cency, and for the Instruction of Ignorats. The iSIS. was seized by Sir Edward Coke, in Sir Thomas Tresham's chamber, in the Inner Temple, and is now in the Bodleian library, at Oxford. MS. Laud. E. 45, with the attestation in Sir Edward Coke's handwriting, 5 December 1605, and the following motto: Os quod mentitur occidit animam. An instance of the parliament- arians shifting their sense, and explaining away their declara- tion, may be this : When the Scots delivered u]) the king to the parliament, they were promised that he should he treated with safety, liberty, and honor. But when the Scots afterwards found reason to demand the performance of that promise, they were answered, that the promise was formed, published, and employed according as the state of affairs then stood. And yet these promises to preserve the person and authority of the king had been made with the most solenm protestations. We protest, say they, in the presence of Almighty God, which is the strongest bond of a Christian, and by the public faith, the most solenm that any state can give, that neither adversity nor success shall ever cause us to change our resolutions. * There is a traditional doctrine among the .Tews, that if any y^W person has made a vow, which afterwards he wishes to recall, be may go to a rabbi, or three other men, and if he can prove to Canto il] HUDIBRAS. 229 Which afterwards he found untoward, And stubborn to be kept, or too hard ; Any three other jews o' tli' nation 295 Might free him from the obligation : And have not two saints power to use A greater privilege than tliree jews ?* The court of conscience, which in man Sliould be supreme and sovereign, 300 Is't fit should be subordinate To ev'ry petty court i' th' state. And have less power than the lesser, To deal with perjury at pleasure ? Have its proceedings disallow'd, or 365 Allow'd, at fancj' of pie-powder ?t Tell all it does, or does not know, For swearing ex officio ?t Be forc'd t' impeach a broken hedge, And pigs unring'd at vis. franc, pledge ?§ 310 them that no injury will be sustained by any one, they may free him from its obligation. See Remains, vol. 1. 300. * Mr. Bmler told Mr. Veal, that by the two saints he meant Dr. Dovvnini; and Mr. Marshall, who, when some of the rebels had their lives spared on condition that they would not in future bear arms against the king, were sent to dispense with the oath, and persuade them to enter again into the service. Mr. Veal was a gentleman commoner of Edmund Hall during the troubles, and was about seventy years old when he gave this account to Mr. Coopey. ^ee (Godwin's MS. notes on Grey's Hudibras, in the Hodleian library, Oxford. t The court of pie powder takes cognizance of such disputes as arise in fairs and markets; and is so called from the old French word pied-puldreaux, which signifies a pedler, one who gets a livelihood without a fixed or certain residence. See Bar- rington's Observations on the Statutes ; and Blackstone's Com- nicntarics, vol. iii. p. .32. In the borough laws of Scotland, an alien merchant is called pied-puldreaux. J tn some courts an oath was administered, usually called the oath ex officio, whereby the parties were obliged to answer to interrogatories, and therefore were thought to be obliged to ac- cuse or purge themselves of any criminal matter. In the year 11)04 a conference was held concerning some reforms in ecclesi- astical matters when James I. presided; one of the matters complained of was the ex officio oath. The Lord Chancellor lord treasurer, and the archbishop (Whitgift) defended the oath : the king gave a description of it, laid down the grounds upon which it stood, and justified the wisdom of the constitution. For swearing ex oflficio, that is, by taking the ex officio oath. A fur- ther account of this oath may be seen in Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. i. p. 444. ^ Lords of certain manors had the right of requiring surety of the freeholders for their good behavior towards the king and his subjects : which security, taken by the steward at the lord's court, was to be exhibited to the sheritl' of the county. These manors were said to have view of frank pledge. 230 IIUDIBRAS. [Part n. Discover thieves, and bawds, recusants, Priests, witclies, eves-droppers, and nuisance : Tell wlio did play at games unlawful, And who fill'd pots of ale but half-full : And have no pow'r at all, nor shift, 315 To help itself at a dead lift ? Why should not conscience have vacation As well as other courts o' th' nation ? Have equal power to adjourn, Appoint appearance and return ? 320 And make as nice distinctions serve To split a case, as those that carve. Invoking cuckolds' names, hit joints ?* Why should not tricks as sligiit, do points ; Is not th' high court of justice sworn 325 To judge that law that serves their turn ?t Make their own jealousies high treason. And fix them whomsoe'er they please on ? Cannot the learned counsel there Make laws in any shape appear ? 330 Mould 'em as witches do their clay. When they make pictures to destroy U * Our ancestors, when they found it difficult to carve a goose, a hare, or other dish, used to say in jest, they should hil the joint if they could tliink of tlie name of a cuckold. Mr. Kyile, the man of Ross, celebrated by Pope, had always company to dine with him on a market day, and a goose, if it cnuld lie pro- cured, was one of the dishes ; which he claimed the privilege of carving himself. When any guest, ignorant of the etiquette of the table, offered to save him that trouble, he would e.\claim, " Hold your hand, man, if I am good for any thing, it is for hit- " ting cuckolds' joints." t The high court of justice was a court first instituted for the trial of king Ciiarles I., hut afterwards extended its jiuticature to some of his adherents, to the year 1658. As it had no law or precedents to go by, its determinations were those which best served the turii of its members. See the form of the oath ad- ministered to them upon the trial of Sir Henry Slingsby, and Dr. Hewet, ]6.i8, in Mercurius Politicus, No. 414, page 501. I It was supposed that witches, by forming the image of any one in wa.v or clay, and sticking it with pins, or putting it to other torture, could annoy also the prototype or person repre- sented. According to Dr. Dee such enchantments were used against Clueen Elizabeth. Elinor f'obham employe(i them against Henry Vl., and Amy Simpson against James VI. of Scotland. A criminal process was issued against Robert of Artois, who con- trived the figure of a young man in wax, and declared it was made against John of France, the king's son : he added, that he would have anotlier figure of a woman, not baptized, against a she-devil, the queen. Monsieur de Laverdies observes, that the spirit of superstition had persuaded people, that figures of wax baptized, and pierced for several days tn the heart, brought about Xhe death of the [lerson against whom they were intended. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 231 And vex them into any form That fits their purpose to do harm? Rack them until they do confess, 335 Impeacli of treason whom they please, And most perfidiously condemn Those that engag'd their lives for them ? And yet do nothing in their own sense, But what they ought by oath and conscience. 340 Can they not juggle, and with slight Conveyance play with wrong and right ; And sell their blasts of wind as deai,* As Lapland witches bottl'd air ?t Will not fear, favour, bribe, and grudge, 345 The same case sev'ral ways adjudge? As seamen, with the self-same gale, Will sev'ral different courses sail ; As when the sea breaks o'er its boundsjt And overflows the level grounds, 350 Those banks and dams, that, like a screen, Did keep it out, now keep it in ; So when tyrannical usurpation Invades the freedom of a nation, The laws o' th' land that were intended 355 To keep it out, are made defend it. Does not in chanc'ry ev'ry man swear What makes best for him in his answer? Is not the winding up witnesses. And nicking, more than half the bus'ness? 360 For witnesses, like watches, go Just as they're set, too fast or slow ; And where in conscience they're strait lac'd, 'Tis ten to one that side is cast. Account of MSS. in the French king's library, 1789, vol. ii. p. 404. * That is, their breath, their pleadings, their arguments. t The witches in Lapland pretended to sell liags of wind to the s.iilors, which would carry them to whatever quarter they pleased. See Olaus Magnus. Cleveland, in his King's Disguise, p. 61 : The Laplanders when they would sell a wind Wafting to hell, bag up thy phrase and bind It to the barque, which at the voyage end Shifts pool), and breeds the collick in the fiend. t This simile may be found in prose in Butler's Remains, vol. i. p. 298. " For as when the sea breaks over its bounds, and " overflows the land, those dams and banks that were made to "keep it out, do afterwards serve to keep it in : so when tyranny "and usurpation break in upon the common right and freedom, " the laws of God and of the land are abused, to support that "which they were intended to oppose." 232 HUDIBRAS. [Part u Do not your juries give their verdict As if they felt the cause, not heard it ? And as they please make matter o' fact Run all on one side as they're packt? Nature has made man's breast no windores, To publish what he does within doors ;* Nor what dark secrets there inhabit, Unless his own rash folly blab it. If oaths can do a man no good In his own bus'ness, why tliey shou'd. In other matters, do him hurt, I think there's little reason for't. He that imposes an oath makes it, Not he that for convenience takes it : Then how can any man be said To break an oath he never made? These reasons may perhaps look oddly To th' wicked, tho' they evince the godly; But if they will not serve to clear My honour, I am ne'er the near. Honour is like that glassy bubble. That finds philosophers such trouble : Whose least part crack'd, the whole does fly, And wits are crack'd to find out why.t 365 370 375 380 385 * Monius is said to have found fault with the frame of man, because there were no doors nor windows in his breast, thnniKti whicli his thousihts might be discovered. See an ingenious paper on this subject in the Guardian, vol. ii. No. lOG. Mr. But- ler spells windore in the same manner where it does not rhyme. Perhaps he thought that the etymology of the word was wind- door. t The drop, or bubble, mentioned in this simile, is made of ordinary glass, of the shape and about twice the size described in the margin. It is nearly solid. The thick pnrt, at D or K, will bear the stroke of a hsimmer; but if you break oft' the top in the slender and slojiing part at B or C, the whole will burst with a noise, and be blown about in powder to a considerable distance. The first establishers of the Royal Society, anil many philosophers in various parts of Europe, found it diffi- cult to explain this phenomenon. Monsieur Robalt, in his Physics, calls it a kind of a miracle in nature, and says, (part i. c. xxii. § 47:) " Ed. Clarke lately "discovered, and brought it hither from Holland, "and which has travelled through all the universi- "ties in Europe, where it has raised the curiosity, " and confounded the reason of the greatest part of " the philosophers :" he accounts for it in the follow- ing manner. He says, that the drop, when taken hot from the fire, is suddenly emersed in some appropriate liquor, (cold water he thinks will break it,)* by which means the pores * Here be is mistakea. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 233 Quoth Ralpho, Honour's but a word, To swear by only in a lord :* 390 In other men 'tis but a hufF To vapour with, instead of proof; That hke a wen, looks big and swells, Insenseless, and just nothing else. Let it, quoth he, be what it will, 395 It has the world's opinion still. But as men are not wise that run , The slightest hazard, they may shun. There may a medium be found out To clear to all the world the doubt ; 400 And that is, if a man may do"t. By proxy whipp'd, or substitute. t Though nice and dark the point appeal Quoth Ralph, it may hold up and clear. That sinners may supply the place 405 Of suffering saints, is a plain case. Justice gives sentence, many times. On one man for another's crimes. Our brethren of New England use Choice malefactors to excuse,t 410 9n the outside are closed, and the substance of the glass con- (Jensed ; wjjjle the inside not cooling so fast, the pores are left wider and wider from the surface to the middle : so that the air beins let in, and findinj; no passage, bursts it to pieces. To prove the truth of his explication, he observes, that if you break off the very point of it at A, the drop will not burst : because that part beins very slender, it was cooled all at once, the pores were equally closed, and there is no passage for the air into the wider pores below. If you heat the drop again in the fire, and let it cool gradually, the outer pores will be opened, and made as large as the inner, and then, in whatever part you break it, there will be no bursting. He gave three of the drops to three several jewellers, to be drilled or filed at C D and E, but when they had worked them a little way, that is, beyond the pores which were closed, they all burst to powder. * Lords, when they give judgment, are not sworn : they say only upon my honor. t Mr- Murray, of the bed-chamber, was whipping boy to king Charles I. Burnet's History of his own Times, vol. i. p. 244. i This story is asserted to be true, in the notes subjoined by Mr. Butler to the early editions. A similar one is related by Dr. Grey, from Morton's English Canaan, printed 1037. A lusty young fellow was condemned to be hanged for stealing corn ; but it w.as proposed in council to execute a bed-rid old man in the offender's clothes, which would satisfy appearances, and pre- serve a useful member to society. Dr. Grey mentions likewise a letter from the committee of Stafford to speaker ],enthall, dated Aug. 5 , 104.5, desiring a respite for Henry Steward, a soldier under the governor of Hartlebury castle, and offering two Irishmen to be executed in his stead. Ralpho calls them his brethren of Nev/ England, because the inhabitants there were generally In- 234 • HUDIBRAS. [Part a And hang the guiltless in their stead ; Of whom the churches have less need. As lately 't happen'd : in a town There liv'd a cobler, and but one, That out of doctrine could cut use, 415 And mend men's lives as well as shoes. This precious brother having slain, In times of peace, an Indian, Not out of malice, but mere zeal. Because he was an infidel, 420 The mighty Tottipottimoy* Sent to our elders an envoy, Complaining sorely of the breach Of league, held forth by brother Patch, Against the articles in force 425 Between both churches, his and ours ; For which he crav'd the saints to render Into his hands, or hang th' offender ; But they maturely having weigh'd They had no more but him o' th' trade, 430 A man that serv'd them in a double Capacity, to teach and cobble, Resolv'd to spare him ; yet to do The Indian Hoghan Mowhan too Impartial justice, in his stead did 435 Hang an old weaver that was bed-rid : Then wherefore may not you be skipp'd, And in your room another whipp'd ? For all philosophers, but the sceptic,t Hold whipping may be sympathetic. 440 It is enough, quoth Hudibras, Thou hast resolv'd, and clear'd the case ; And canst, in conscience, not refuse. From thy own doctrine, to raise use :t I know thou wilt not, for my sake, 445 Be tender-conscienc'd of thy back : dependents. In the ecclesiastical constitution of that province, modelled according to Robinson's platform, there was a co-ordi- nation of churches, not a subordination of one to another. John (le Laet says, primos colonos, uti et illos qui postea accesserunt, potissinium aut ouinino fuisse ex eorum hominum secta, quos in Anglia Brownistas et puritanoj vocant. * I don't know whether this was a real name, or an imitation only of North AM)eric;in phraseology: the appellation of an in- dividual, or a title of office. t The skeptics held that there was no certainty of sense; and consequently, that men did not always know when they felt any thing. X A favorite expression of the sectaries of those days. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS- 235 Then strip thee of thy carnal jerkin, And give thy outward fellow a ferking ; For when thy vessel is new hoop'd, All leaks of sinning will be stopp'd. 450 Quoth Ralpho, You mistake the matter, For in all scruples of this nature, No man includes himself, nor turns The point upon his own concerns. As no man of his own self catches 455 The itch, or amorous Frencli aches ; So no man does himself convince. By his own doctrine, of his sins : And though all cry down self, none means His own self in a literal sense : 460 Besides, it is not only foppish. But vile, idolatrous, and popish, For one man out of his own skin To frisk and whip another's sin ;* As pedants out of school boy's breeches 465 Do claw and curry their own itches. But in this case it is profane, And sinful too, because in vain ; For we must take cur oaths upon it You did the deed, when I have done it. 470 Quoth Hudibras, That's answer'd soon ; Give us the whip, we'll lay it on. Quoth Ralpho, That you may swear true, 'Twere properer that I whipp'd you ; For when with your consent 'tis done, 475 The act is really your own. Quoth Hudibras, It is in vain, I see, to argue 'gainst tiie grain ; Or, like the stars, incline men to What they're averse themselves to do : 480 For when disputes are weary'd out, 'Tis interest still resolves the doubt : But since no reason can confute ye, I'll try to force you to your duty ; For so it is, howe'er you mince it ; 485 As, e'er we part, I shall evince it. And curry, t if you stand out, whether You will or no, your stubborn leather. Canst thou refuse to bear thy part * A banter on the popish doctrine of satisfactions, t Coria perficere : or it may be derived from the Welsh kuro, to beat or pound. This scene is taken from Don (liiixote. 236 HUDIBRAS. [Part u. r th' public work, base as thou art ? 490 To higgle thus, for a few blows, To gain thy Knight an op'lent spouse, Whoso wealth his bowels yearn to purchase, Merely for tli' int'rest of the churches ? And when he has it in his claws, 495 Will not be hide-bound to the cause: Nor shall thou find him a curmudgin,* If thou dispatch it without grudging : If not, resolve, before we go, That you and I must pull a crow. 500 Ye'ad best, quoth Ralpho, as the ancients Say wisely, have a care o' th' main chance. And look before you, ere you leap ; For as you sow, y'are like to reap : And were y' as good as George-a-green,t 505 I should make bold to turn agen : Nor am I doubtful of the issue In a just quarrel, as mine is so. Is't fitting for a man of honour To whip the saints, like Bishop Bonner ?t 510 A knight t' usurp the beadle's oflice. For which y' are like to raise brave trophies ? But I advise you, not for fear. But for your own sake, to forbear ; And for the churches, § which may chance 515 From hence, to spring a variance. And raise among themselves new scruples. Whom common danger hardly couples, Remember how in arms and politics, We still have worsted all your holy tricks ;|| 520 Trepann'd your party with intrigue. * Perhaps from the French cceur mechant. t A valiant hero, perhaps an outlaw, in the time of Kichard the First, who conquered Robin Hood and Little John. He is the same with the Pinder of Wakefield. See Echard's History of England, vdl. i. 2-213. The Old Ballads; Ben Jonson's play of the Sad Shepherd; and Sir John Suckling's Poems. X Bishop of London in the reign of queen Mary: a man of profligate manners and of brutal character. He sometimes whipped the Protestants, who were in custody, with his own hands, till he was tired with the violence of the e.\ercise. Hume's History of Mary, p. 378; Fox, Acts and Monuments, ed. 1576, p. 1037. ^ It was very common for the sectaries of those days, however attentive they might be to their own interest, to pretend that they had nothing in view but the welfare of the churches. iJThe Independents and Anabaptists got the array on theii side, and overpowered the Presbyterians. Gunl-'r'='ilp jm^SMOF EBffiTffH® B®MKim.. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 237 And took your grandees down a peg ; Nevv-modell'd the army, and eashier'd All that to Legion Smec adher'd ; Made a mere utensil o' your church, 525 And after left it in the lurch ; A scaffold to build up our own, And when w' had done with 't, pull'd it down ; O'er-reach'd your rabbins of the synod, And snapp'd their canons with a why-not :* 530 Grave synod-men, that where rever'd For solid face, and depth of beard, Their classic model prov'd a maggot, Their direcl'ry an Indian pagod ;t And drown'd their discipline like a kitten, 535 On which they'd been so long a sitting ; Decry'd it as a holy cheat. Grown out of date, and obsolete. And all the saints of the first grass,t As casting foals of Balaam's ass. 540 At this the Knight grew high in chafe,§ And staring furiously on Ralph, He trembl'd, and look'd pale with ire, Like ashes first, then red as fire. Have I, quoth he, been ta'en in fight, 545 And for so many moons lain by't. And when all other means did fail, I Have been exchang'd for tubs of ale ?|I * Some editions read, " capoch'd your rabbins," that is, blind- folded ; but this word does not agree so well with the squire's simplicity of expression. Why-not is a fanciful term used in Butler's Remains, vol. i. p. 178 : it sis-nifies the obliging a man to yield his assent; the driving him to a non plus, when he knows not what to answer. It may resemble quidni in Latin, and Ti iJi)i' in Greek. t The directory was a book drawn up by the assembly of di- vines, and published by authority of parliament, containing instructions to tlieir ministers for the regulation of public wor- ship. One of the scribes to the assembly, who executed a great part of the work, was Adoniram Byfield, said to have been a broken apothecary. He was the father of Byfield, the salvola- tile doctor. t The Presbyterians, the first sectaries that sprang up and op- posed the established church. $ Talibus exarsit dictis violentia Tumi. .^neid. xi. 376. II Mr. Butler, in his own note on these lines, says, " The knight " was kept prisoner in Exotcr, and after several changes pro- " posed, but none accepted of, was at last released for a barrel " of ale, as he used upon all occasions to declare." It is proba- 238 HUDIBRAS. [Part u Not but they thought me worth a ransom, Much more consid'rable and handsome ; 550 But for their own sakes, and for fear Tliey were not safe, when I was there ; Now to be baffled by a scoundrel, Au upstart sect'ry, and a mungrel,* Such as breed out of peccant humours 555 Of our own church, like wens or tumours, And like a maggot in a sore, Wou"d that which gave it life devour ; It never shall be done or said : With that he seized upon his blade ; 560 And Ralpho too, as quick and bold, Upon his basket-hilt laid hold. With equal readiness prepar'd. To draw and stand upon his guard ; When both were parted on the sudden, 565 With hideous clamour, and a loud one, As if all sorts of noise had been Contracted into one loud din ; Or that some member to be chosen. Had got the odds above a thousand ; 570 And, by the greatness of his noise, Prov'd fittest for his country's choice. This strange surprisal put the Knight And wrathful Squire, into a fright ; And tho' they stood prepar'd, with fatal 575 Impetuous rancour to join battle. Both thought it was the wisest course To wave the fight, and mount to horse ; And to secure, by swift retreating, Themselves from danger of worse beating ; 580 Yet neither of them would disparage. By utt'ring of his mind, his courage. Which made them stoutly keep their ground, With horror and disdain wind-bound. And now the cause of all their feart 585 ble from hence that the character of Hudibras was in some of its features drawn from Sir Samuel Luke. * Knights errant sometimes condescended to address their squires in this polite language. Thus Don Quixote to Sancho : "How now, opprobrious rascal! stinking garlic-eater! sirrah, I " will take you and tit your dogship to a tree, as naked as your "mother bore you." t The poet lines not suffer his heroes to proceed to open vio- lence ; but ingeniously puts an end to the dispute, by introducing them to a new adventure. The drollery of the following scene is inimitable. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 239 By slow degrees appioacli"d so near, They miglit distinguish dift'erent noise Of horns, and pans, and dogs, and boys, And kettlc-drums, whose sullen dub Sounds like the hooping of a tub : 590 But when the sight appeared in view, They found it was an antique shew ; A triumph, that for pomp and state. Did proudest Romans emulate :* For as the aldermen of Rome 595 Tlieir foes at training overcome. And not enlarging territory, As some, mistaken, write in story ,t Being mounted in their best array, Upon a car, and who but they ? 600 And foUow'd with a world of tall lads, That merry ditties troH'd, and ballads,! Uid ride with many a good-morrow. Crying, hey for our town, thro' the borough ,, So when this triumph drew so nigh, 605 'I'hey might particulars descry, Tiiey never saw two things so pat. In all respects, as this and that. First he that led the cavalcate, Wore a sow-gelder's flagellet, 610 On which he blew as strong a Ievet,§ * The skimmington, or procession, to exhibit a woman who hail beaten her husband, is h\imorously compared to a Roman triumph; the learned reader will be pleased by comparing this description with the pompous account of ^inilius's triumph, as described by Plutarch, and the satirical one, as given by Juvenal in his tenth satire. t The buildings at Rome were sometimes extended without the ceremony of describing a pomcerium, which Tacitus and Gellius declare no person to have had a right of extending, but such a one as had taken away some part of the enemy's coun- try in war; perhaps line ^'M may allude to the London trained bands. Our poet's learning and ideas here crowd upon him so IHst, that he seems to confound together the ceremonies of en- larging the pomoerium, of a triumph at Rome, and other cere- monies, with a lord mayor's show, exercising the train bands, and perhaps a borough election. I The vulgar, and the soldiers themselves, had at triumphal processions the liberty of abusing their general. Their invec- tives were commonly conveyed in metre. Ecce Cffisar nunc triuniphat, qui subegit Gallias. Nicomedes non triumphal, qui subegit Ccesarem. Suetonius in .lulio, 49. 5 Level is a lesson on the trumpet, sounded morning and evening, Mr. Bacon says, on shipboard. It is derived from the 240 HUDIBRAS. [Part e. As well-feed lawyer on his brev'ate, When over one another's heads Tliej- charge, three ranks at once, like Sweads :* Next pans and kettles of all keys, 615 From trebles down to donble base ; And after them npon a nag, That might pass for a fore-hand stag, A cornet rode, and on his staff", A smock display'd did proudly wave. 620 Then bagpipes of the loudest drones. With snuffling broken-winded tones ; Whose blasts of air in pockets shut, Sound filthier than from the gut. And make a viler noise than swine 625 In windy weather, when they whine. Next one upon a pair of panniers. Full fraught with that which, for good manners. Shall here be nameless, mix'd with grains, Which he dispens'd among the swains, 630 And busilj- upon the crowd At random round about bestow'd. Then mounted on a horned horse. One bore a gauntlet and gilt spurs, Ty'd to the pommel of a long sword 635 He held revers'd the point tnrn'd downward. Next after, on a raw-bon'd steed. The conqueror's standard-bearer rid, And bore aloft before the champion A petticoat display'd, and rampant ;t 640 Near whom the Amazon triumphant, Bestrid her beast, and on the rump on't Set face to tail, and bum to bum, The warrior whilom overcome ; Arm'd with a spindle and a distaff, 645 Which, as he rode, she made him twist off": French reveiller, a term used for the morning trumpet among the (lr;\jj;oons. * This and the proceeding lines were added by the author in 1671. He has depurted from the common n)ethod of spelling the word Swedes for the sake of rhyme: in the edition of 168!), af- ter his death, it was printed Sweeds. The Swedes appear to have been the first that practised firing by two or three ranks at a time : see Sir Robert Monro's Memoirs, and BririfF's Young Artillery-man. Mr. Cleveland, speaking of the authors of the Diurnal, says, "They write in the po.sture that the Swedes give "lire in, over one another's heads." t Alluding to the terms in which heralds blazon coats of iiiins. Canto n.] HUDIBRAS. 241 And when he loiter'd, o'er her shoulder Chastised the refonnado soldier. Before the dame, and round about, March'd whifflers, and staffiers on foot.* 650 With lackies, grooms, valets, and pages, In fit and proper equipages ; Of whom some lorclies bore, some links, Before the proud virago-minx. That was botii madam and a don,t 655 Like Nero's Sporus,t or pope Joan ; And at fit periods the whole rout Set up their throats with clam'rous shout. The kniglit transported and the squire. Put up their weapons and their ire ', 660 And Hudibras, who us"d to ponder. On such sights with judicious wonder. Could hold no longer, to impart His animadversions, for his heart. * " A mighty wliifler.'' See Shakspeare's Henry V. Act v. and Hannier's note. Vifleiir, in Lord Herbert's Henry Vfll. Staffier, from estafette, a courier or express. [Mr. Douce in his Illustrations of Shaksjieare, vol. i. p. 50(5, says: " Some errors " have crept into the remarks on this word which require correc- "tion. It is by no means, as Hanmer had conceived, a corrup- " tion from the French liuissier. He was ap|):irently misled by " the re?end)lance which the office of a whiiller bore in modern " times to that of an usher. The term is undoid)te(lly boTroued " from whiffle, another name for a fife or small flute ; for vvhitilers "were originally those who preceded armies or processions as " fifers or pipers. Representations of them occur among the " prints of the macnificent triumph of Maximilian [. In a note "on Othello, Act ill. sc. iii., Mr. Warton had supposed that " whiffler came from what he calls ' the old French vifflcur ;' but " it is presumed that that language does not supply any such "word, and that the use of it in the quotation from Rymer's "fadera is nothing more than a vitiated orthography. In pro- " cess of time the term whiffler, which had always been used in " the sense of a fif'^''' canie to signify any person who went be- '• fore in a procession. INIinsheu, in his Dictionary, 1017, defines " him to be a club or sta ft"- bearer." Mr. Douce has not attbrded us an instance of whiffler used as a.fifer. Warton carries up the use of the word as an huissicr to 1534, and certainly Shakspeare could have had no idea of its piping meaning when he wrote : "Behold, the English beach "Pales in the flood with men, with wives, and boys, "Whose shouts and clai)s oitt-voice the deep-mouth'd sea, " Which, like a migiily whiffler 'fore the king, "Seems to prepare liis way; " The whifflers who now attend the London companies in pro(»s- sions are freemen carrying staves.] t A mistress and a master. X See Suetonius, in the life of Nero. 11 242 HUDIBRAS. [Part ii Quoth !-:e, in all my life till now, 665 I ne'er saw so profane a show ; It is a paganish invention, Which Jieathen writers often mention: And he, who made it, had read Goodwin, I warrant him, and understood him : 670 With all the Grecian Speeds and Stows,* That best describe those ancient shows ; And has observ'd all fit decorums We find describ'd by old historians :t For, as the Roman conqueror, 675 That put an end to foreign war, Ent'ring the town in triumph for it, Bore a slave with him in his chariot ;t So this insulting female brave Carries behind her here a slave : 680 And as the ancients long ago. When they in field defy'd the foe. Hung out tlieir mantles della guerre, i^ So her proud standard-bearer here, Waves on his spear, in dreadful manner, 685 A Tyrian petticoat for banner. Next links and torches, heretofore Still borne before the emperor : * Speed and Stowe wrote chronicles or annals of England, and are well known English antiquaries. By firecian Speeds and Slows, he means, any ancient authors who have explained the antiquities and customs of Greece: the titles of such books were often, TO narptd, of such a district or city. Thus Dicsarchus wrote a hook entitled, Trtpi too Tfjs 'EXAa^o; (iiov, wherein he gave the description of Greece, and of the laws and cus- toms of the Grecians: our poet likewise might allude to Pau- sanias. t The render will, perhaps, think this an awkward rhyme ; but the very ingenious and accurate critic. Dr. Loveday, to whom, as well as to his learned father, I cannot too often repeat my ac- knowledgments, observes in a letter with which he honored me, that in English, to a vulgar ear, unacquainted with critical dis- quisitions on sounds, m and n sound alike. So the old sayings, among the common people taken for rhyme: A stich in time Saves nine. Tread on a worm, And it will turn. Frequent instances of the propriety of this remark occur in Hu dibras ; for e.\ample : men and them, exempt and innocent. i curru servus portatur eodem. Juv. Sat. x. 42 5 Tunica coccinea solehat pridie quam dimicandum esset su £ra prcetorium poni, quasi admonitio et indicium futurae pugnsa ipsius in Tacit. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 243 And, as in antique triumphs, eggs Were borne for mystical intrigues ;* 690 There's one, with truncheon, hke a ladle, That carries eggs too, fresh or adlo : And still at random, as he goes. Among the rabble-rout bestows. Quoth Ralpho, You mistake the matter ; 095 For all th' antiquity you smatter Is but a riding us'd of course, When tiie grey mare's the better horse ; When o'er the breeches greedy women Fight, to extend their vast dominion, 700 And in the cause impatient Grizel Has drubb'd her iuisljand with bull's pizzle. And brought him under covert-baron, To turn her vassal with a murrain ; When wives their sexes shift, like hares,t 705 And ride their husbands like night-mares; And they, in mortal battle vanquish'd. Are of their charter disenfranchis'd, And by the right of war, like gills,! Condemu'd to distaff', horns, and wlieels : 710 For when men by their wives are covv'd. Their horns of course are understood. Quoth Hudibras, Thou still giv'st sentence Impertinently, and against sense: * In the orgies of Bacchus, and the games of Ceres, eggs were caiTied itnil had a mystical import. See Banier, vol. i. b. ii. c. 5, and Rosinus, lib. v. c. 14. Pompa producebatur cum deorum signis et ovo. In some editions it is printed antick, and means mimic. t Many have been the vulgar errors concerning the jexes and copulation of hares: but they being of a very timid and modest nature, seldom couple but in the night. It is said that the doe hares have tumors in the groin, like the castor, and that the buck hares have cavities like the hyena. Besides, they are said to be retromingent, which occasioned the vulgar to make a confusion in the sexes. When huntsmen are better anatomists and philo- sophers, we shall know more of this matter. See Brown's Vul- gar Error>i, b. iii. c. 27. But our poet here chiefly means to ridi- cule Dr. Buhver's Artificial Changeling, p. 407, who mentions the female patriarch of Greece, and pope Joan of Rome, and likewise the boy Sporus, who was married to the emperor Nero ; upon which it was justly said by some, that it had been happy for the empire, if Domitius, his lather, had ha3r intimates that the sea is less terrible than a scolding wife. * Ergo iibi commota fervet plebecula bile, Fert animus calidiE fecisse silentia tuibiE Waje.state manus. Persius, Sat. iv. 6. t See Revelation, xvii. 3. + The author of the Ladies' Calling observes, in his preface, ' It is a meniorable attestation Christ gives to the piety of women, by making them the first witnesses of his resurrection, the " prime evangelists to proclaim these glad tidings ; and, as a "learned man speaks, apostles to the apostles." Some of the Scotch historians maintain, that Ireland received Christianity from a Scotch woman, who first instructed a queen there. But our poet, I suppose, alludes to the zeal which the ladies showed for the good cause. The case of Lady Mnnson was mentioned above. The women and children worked with their own hands, in fortifying the city of London, and other towns. The women of the city went by companies to fill up the quarries in the great park, that they might not harbor an enemy ; and being called to- gether with a drum, marched into the park with mattocks and spades. Annals of Coventry, MS. 1643. 246 HUDIBRAS. [Part ii Without wliose aid w' had all been lost else ; Women, that left no stone iinturn'd In which the cause might be concern'd ; Brought in their children's spoons and whistles,* To purchase swords, carbines, and pistols : 780 Their husbands, cullies, and sweethearts, To take the saints' and churches' parts ; Drew several gifted brethren in. That for the bishops would have been, And fix'd them constant to the party, 785 With motives powerful and hearty : Their husbands robb'd and made hard shifts T' administer unto their giftst All they could rap, and rend and pilfer, To scraps and ends of gold and silver : 790 Rubb'd down the teachers, tir'd and spent With holding forth for parliament ;t Pamper'd and edify'd their zeal With marrow puddings many a meal : Enabled them, with store of meat, 795 On controverted points to eat ;§ And cramm'd them till their guts did ache With caudle, custard, and plum-cake. What have they done, or what left undone, That might advance the cause at London ? 800 March'd rank and file, with drum and ensign, T' entrench the city for defence in : * In the reign of Richard II., A. D. 1382, Henry le Spencer, bishop of Norwich, set up the cross, and made a collection to support the cause of the enemies of pope Clement. Collefierat diclits episcopus innumerabilem et incredibilem suinmam pecii- nis aiiri et argenti, atque jocalium, monilium, annulorum, dis- corum, peciaruni, cocliarium, et aliorum ornamentorutn, et prs- cipue de dominabus et aliis mulieribus. Decern Scriptores, p. 1671. See also SoiUh, v. 33. t Thus, A. Cowley, in his Puritan and Papist : She that can rob her husband, to repair A budget priest that noses a long prayer. t Dr. Echard in his Works, says of the preachers of those times — " coiners of new phrases, drawers out of long godly " words, thick pourers out of texts of Scripture, mimical squeak- " ers and bellowers, vain-glorious admirers only of themselves, " and those of their own fashioned face and gesture: such as " these shall be followeil, shall have their bushels of China "oranges, shall be solaced with all manner of cordial essences, "and shall be rubb'd down with Holland of ten shillings an ell." $ That is, to eat plentifully of such dainties, of which they would sometimes controvert the lawfulness to eat at all. See P. 1. c. i. V. 225, and the following lines. Mr. Bacon would read the last word treat. Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 247 Rais'd rampires with their own soft hands,* To put the enemy to stands ; From ladies down to oyster-wenches 805 Labour'd like pioneers in trenches, Fell to their pick-axes, and tools, And iielp'd the men to dig like moles? Have not the handmaids of the city Chose of their members a committee, 810 For raising of a common purse. Out of their wages, to raise horse? And do they not as triers sit. To judge what officers are fit ? Have they At that an egg let fly, 815 Hit him directly o'er the eye, And running down his cheek, besmear'd. With orange-tawny slime, his beard ; But beard and slime being of one hue. The wound the less appear'd in view. 820 Then he that on the panniers rode. Let tly on th' other side a load, And quickly charg'd again, gave fully, In Ralpho's face, another volley. The knight was startled with the smell, 825 And for his sword began to feel ; And Ralpho, smother'd with the stink, Grasp'd his, when one that bore a link, O' th' sudden clapp'd his flaming cudgel. Like linstock, to the horse's touch-hole ;t 830 And straight another with his flambeau, Gave Ralpho, o'er the eyes, a damn'd blow. The beasts began to kick and fling, And forc'd the rout to make a ring ; Thro' which they quickly broke their way, 835 And brougiit them off from further fray ; And tho' disorder'd in retreat. Each of them stoutly kept his seat : For quitting both their swords and reins. * When London was expected to be attacked, and in several sieges during; the civil war, the women, and even the ladies ol rank and fortune, not only encouraged the men, but worked with their own hands. Lady Middlesex, Lady Foster, Lady Anne Waller, and Mrs. Dunch, have been particularly celebrated for their activity. The knight's learned harangue is here archly in- terrupted by the manual wit of one who hits him in the eye with a rotten egg. t Linstock is a German word, signifying the rod of wood or iron, with a match at the end of it, used by gunners in firing cannon. See P. i. c. ii. v. 843. 248 HUDIBRAS. [Part ii. They grasp'd with all their strength the manes ; 840 And, to avoid the foe's pursuit, With spurring put their cattle to't. And till all four were out of wind. And danger too, ne'er look'd behind. After they'ad paus'd a while, supplying 845 Their spirits, spent with fight and flying, And Hudioras recruited force Of lungs, for actions or discourse. Quoth he, That man is sure to lose That fouls his hands with dirty foes : 850 For where no honour's to be gain'd, 'Tis thrown away in being maintain'd : 'Twas ill for us, wo had to do With so dishon'rable a foe : For tho' the law of arms doth bar 855 The use of venom'd shot in war,* Yet by the nauseous smell, and noisome, Their case-shot savours strong of poison ; And, doubtless, have been chew'd with teeth Of some that had a stinking breath ; 860 Else when we put it to the push, They had not giv'n us such a brush : But as those poltroons that fling dirt, Do but defile, but cannot hurt ; So all the honour they have won, 865 Or we have lost, is much at one. 'Twas well we made so resolute A brave retreat, without pursuit ; For if we had not, we had sped Much worse, to be in triumph led ; 870 Than which the ancients held no state Of man's life more unfortunate. But if this bold adventure e'er Do chance to reach the widow's ear, It may, being destin'd to assert 875 Her sex's honour, reach her heart : And as such homely treats, they say, Portend good fortune, t so this may. Vespasian being daub'd with dirt, Was destin'd to the empire for't ;t 880 * "Abusive language, and fustian, are as unfair in controversy "as poisoned arrows or chewed Ijullets in baUle." t The original of the coarse proverb here alluded to, was the glorious battle of Azincourt, wlien the English were so afflicted with the dysentery that most of them chose to fight naked from the girdle downward. t Suetonius, in the life of Vespasian, sect, v., says, " Cum Canto ii.] HUDIBRAS. 049 And from a scavenger did come To be a mighty prince in Rome : And why may not this foul address Presage in love the same success ? Tlien let us straight, to cleanse our wounds, 885 Advance in quest of nearest ponds ; And after, as we first design'd, Swear I've perform'd what she enjoin'd. " a?dileni euin C. Ccesar (i. e. Caligula) succensens, lute jussisset " oppleri, ciiiiL'esto per milites in pr.TtextcE siiiuni ; non defuerunt " qui iiiterpretarentur, quandoque proculcataiii desertaiiique rem- " pul>liciiiii oivili aliqua perturhatlone in tutelam ejus, ac veiut " in fireiiiiuiii deventurani." BiU Dio Cassius, with all Iiis su- perstilidii, acknovvledees that the secret meaning of the cir- cumstances was not discovered till after the event. Mr. Butler iniglit here aliude to a story which has been told of Oliver Cromwell, afterwards lord |)rotector. When young, he was in- vited by Sir Oliver Cromwell, his uncle and god-father, to a feast at Christmas ; and, indulging his love for fun, he went to the ball with his hands and clothes besmeared with excrement, to the great disgust of the company : for which the master of misrule, or master of the ceremonies as he is now called, ordered him to be ducked in the horse-pond. Memoirs of the Cromwell FauiiU l; visit, and she showed him the letters. He scratched off a part of Iheni, and supposed them to have been made with blood and starch. Grandier was a handsome man, and very eloquent. Such magic had fascinated the prioress, and sul)jected the nuns to their violent ardors. See Bayle's Dic- tionary, Art. Grandier; and Dr. Hutchinson's Historical Essay on Witchcraft, p. 3'i. * Dr. Plot, in his History of O.vfordshire, ch. viii., tells us how the devil, or some evil spirit, disturbed the commissioners at Woodstock, whither they went to value the crown lands, Octo her, 1649.* A personal treaty was very much desired by the king, and often pressed and petitioned for by great part of the na- tion. The poet insinuates, that though the parliament refused to hold a personal treaty with the king, yet they scrupled not to hold one with the devil at Woodstock. [Readers, of all ages and classes of the present day, are familiar with the devil's pranks at Woodstock, through the agency of that great and fascinating magician Walter Scott, who, following the mighty Shakspeare, makes poetry and romance the two entertaining substitutes for the more " honest" chronicles of history. He has also introduced us to the Lescus of line 238 in his romance of Kenilworlh.] t Withers has a long story, in doggerel verse, of a soldiei of the king's army, who being a prisoner at Salisbury, and drinking a health to the devil upon his knees, was carried away by him through a single pane of glass. t Lilly, Booker, Culpepper, and others, were employed to fore- tel victories on the side of the parliament. Lilly was a time- serving rascal, who hesitated at no means of getting money. See his life, written by himself $ Suppose we read since the last eclipse, or suppose we point it thus: Sunk two years since the last eclipse : Lilly grounded lying predictions on that event. Dr. Grey says, his reputation was lost upon the false prognostic on the eclipse • See Ihe Just Devil of Woojslook, or a true narrative of the several Appari- tious, the Frights and Punishments inllicteil upon the nimpish Commissioners, by Thomas Widows, masler of the free school at Norlhleach, Gloucestershire It was not printed till 1660, though the date put to it is 1649. See Bishop of Pe terborough s Register and Chronicle Canto ui.] HUDIBRAS. 259 A total o'erthrow giv'n the king In Cornwall, horse and foot, next spring?* And has not he point-blank foretold Whats'e'er the close committee would ? 180 Made Mars and Saturn for the cause,t Tiie Moon for fundamental laws. The Ram, the Bull, the Goat, declare Against the hook of common prayer? The Scorpion take the protestation, 185 And Bear engage for reformation ; Made all the royal stars recant. Compound, and take the covenant ?t Quoth Hudibras, The case is clear The saints may 'niploy a conjurer, 190 As thou hast proved it by their practice ; No argument like matter of fact is : And we are best of all led to Men's principles, by what they do. Then let us strait advance in quest 195 Of tliis profound gymnosophist,§ And as the fates and he advise, Pm'sue, or wave this enterprise. Tills said, ho turn'd about his steed. And eftsoons on th' adventure rid : 200 Where leave we him and Ralph awhile, And to the Conj'rer turn our style. that was to happen on the 29th of March, 10.52, commonly called Black Monday, in which his (irciliclions not licin<: tally answer- ed, Mr. Heath iiliserves, (Chrnnicle, p. 210:) " That he was re- garded no more (or the future, than one of hU own worthless almanacs." * It Is certain tliat the parliament, in Iheir reports of victories, neither olistrved time or place. Cleveland, in his character of a London diurnal, p. 113, says of L(jrd Stamford: "This cnhit and half of a conimander, ljy the help of a diurnal, runted the enemies fifty miles oli'." The .suliject here is not false reports, but lalse predictions: the direct contrary happeneil to what is here said; the king overthrew the parliamentarians in Cornwall. t Made the planets and constellations side with the parlia- ment; or, as bishop VVarhurton observes, the planets and signs here recapitulated may signify the several leaders of the parlia- mentary army — Essex, Fairfax, and others. J The author here evidently alludes to Charles, elector pala- tine of the Rhine, and to king Charles the Second, who both took the covenant. ^ The L'ymnosophists were a sect of philosophers in India, so called from their gcjing naked. They were mui-.h respected for their profiiund knowledge; and held in the same eslimalioti among their countrymen as the ChaldiiM among the Assyrians, the Jlaj'i among the Persians, and the Driuds among the Gault and Britons 260 IIUDIBRAS. [Part il To let our reader understand What's useful of him beforehand. He had been long t'wards mathematics, 205 Optics, philoHophy, and statics, Magic, horoscopy, astrology, And was old dog at physiology ; But as a dog, tliat turns the spit,* Bestirs liimseif and plies iiis feet 210 To chmb the wlieel, but all in vain. His own weight brings him down again ; And still he's in the self-same place Where at his setting out he was : So in the circle of the arts 215 Did he advance his nat'ral parts, Till falling back still, for retreat. He fell to juggle, cant, and cheat :t For as those iovvls that live in water Are never wet, he did but smatter ; 220 Whate'er he labour'd to appear, His understanding still was clear ;t Yet nous a deeper knowledge boasted. Since old Hodge Bacon, and Bob Grosted.§ Til' intelligible world he kncw,|| 225 And all men dream on't to be true, That in this world there's not a wart * Mr. Prior's simile seems to have been suggested by this pas- sage : Dear Thomas, didst thou never see ('Tis but by way of simile) A squirrel spend his little rage In . jumping round a rolling cage? But here or there, turn wood or wire, He never gets two inches higher. So fares it with those merry blades That frisk it under I'indus' shades. t The account here given of William Lilly agrees exactly with his life written by himself. I Clear, that is, empty. ^ Roger liacon, a Franciscan friar, flourished in the thirteenth century. His penetration in most branches of philosophy was the wonder of the age. Hayle says he wrote a hundred books, many of them upon astronomy, geometry, and medicine. Robert Grosted, or Grossa Testa, lived nearly at the same time with Bacon. He wrote some treatises on astronomy and niathenuit- ics ; but his works were chiefly theological. Several books were translated by him from the Greek language ; which it any un- derstood in that age, he was sure, as Erasmus says, to be taken for a conjuror. II The intelligible world is spoken of, by some persons, as the model or prototype of the visible world. See P. i. c. i. v. 535, and note. Canto hi.] HUDIBRAS. 261 That has not there a counterpart ; Nor can there, on the face of gruund, All individual beard be found 230 Tliat has not in that foreign nation, A fellow of the self-same fasliiou ; So cut, so colour'd. and so curl'd, As those are in th' inferior world. He'ad read Dee's prefaces before 235 The devil and Euclid o'er and o'er ;* And all th' intrigues 'twixt him and Kelly, Lpscus and th' emperor, wou'd tell ye :t But with the moon was more familiar * Dr. John Dee. a AVelshmnn, was admitted to the dejiree of M. A. and h;id a te>timonial t'rnm llie univerjily nf Cainlnidge in 1548. He was pit-senlud hy Edward VI. to the livini,' ot'Upton upon Severn, in W<)r(.estei--hire, in the year l.i.Vi, when John Harley was made bishop of Hereford. He gained great funie at tlie time of Elizabeth and James I., by his knowledge in mathematics; Tyclio Brahe gives liim tlie title of prfestantissimiis matliemati- cus ; and Camden calls him nobilis mathematicus. He wrote a preface to Euclid, and to Billingsley's Geometry, Epistola prs- fixa Epheiiieridi Johannis Felde, 1.5.57 ; Epistola ad C'ommandi- num pra-tixa libello de supcrficiornm divisionibus, 1570; and perhaps in the whole not less than fifty treatises. He began early to have the reputation of a conjuror; of which he griev- ously complains in his preface to Euclid. This report, and his pretended transactions with spirits, gave the poet occasion to call it Dee's preface before the devil. t Kelly was born at Worcester, and bred to the business of an apotlii'Cary there, about the year 1555. Sometimes he is called Talbot. He was a famous alchyujist, and Dee's assistant, his seer or skryer, as he calls liim. Uriel, one of their chief spirits, was the promoter of this connection. Soon after a learned Po- lonian, ,-\lbert Alaski, prince of Sirad, whom j\!r. Butler calls Lesciis, came into England, formed an acquaintance with Dee and Kelly, and, when lie left this country, took them and their families with him into I'oland. Ne.xt to Kelly, he was the great- est confidant of Dee in his secret transactions. Camden speaks of this Le^ciis in his Annals, 1.583. '■ E Polonia Russi:e vicina, " hac lEtate vcnit in .XnL'liam Alhertus Alasco, Paiatinns .''iradi- "ensis vir eruilitus, barba pronfisissima," &c. From Poland, Dee ;uul Kelly, alter some time, removed to Pr^igue. They were entertained by tlie emperor Kodolph U., disclosed to him some of their chymical secrets, and showed liim the wonderful stone. The empenjr. in reliu-n, treated them with great respect. Kelly was knighted by him, liut iifterwards imprisoned ; and he died in 1.587. Dee had received some advantageous otfers, it is said, from tiie king of Friince, the emperor of Mu-covy, and several foreign princes. Perhaps he had given them some specimens of his service in the capacity of a spy. However, he returned to England, and died VC17 poor, at Mortlake in Surrey, in the year KiliS, aged 81. wou'd tell ye: — In the author's edition it is printeii. " would -not tell ye." To raise the greater opinion of his knowledge, he would pretend to make a secret of things which he did not understand. 262 HUDIBRAS. [Part il Than e'er was almanac well-wilier ;* 240 Her secrets understood so clear, That some believ'd he had been there ; Knew when she was in fittest mood For cutting corns, or letting blood ;t When for anointing scabs and itches, 245 Or to the bum applj'ing leeches ; When sows and b.tches may be spay'd, And in wiiat sign best cider's made ; Whether the wane be, or increase, Best to set garlic, or sow pease ; 250 Who first found out the man i' th' moon, That to the ancients was unknown ; How many dukes, and earls, and peers, Are in the planetary spheres. Their airy empire, and command, 255 Their sev'ral strengtlis by sea and land ; What factions they've, and what the}^ drive at In public vogue, or what in private ; With wliat designs and interests Each party manages contests. 260 He made an instrument to know If the moon shine at full, or no ; That would, as soon as e'er she shone, straight Whether 'twere day or night demonstrate ; Tell what her d'ameter to an inch is, 265 And prove that she's not made of green cheese. It wou'd demonstrate, that the man in The moon's a sea mediterranean ;t And that it is no dog nor bitch Tliat stands behind him at his breech, 270 * The almanac makers styled themselves well-willers to the ni'ithematics, or philomaths. t Ile-ipecthi}.' these anil other matters mentioned in the fol- Iduing lines, Lilly and the old almanac makers pave pMrticnlar directions. It appears from various calendars still preserved, not to mention tlie works of flesiod, and the apotelesms of Rla- nclho, jNIiixinnis, and Julius I'^irmicus, that astrologers ;imong the Greeks and Romans conceived some planetary hours to be especially favorable to the operations of hn^haiidry and physic. t The light of the sun being uneriually reflected, and some |virt< of the moon appearing more fully illuminated than others, on tho supposition of ihe moon's being a terr.K]neous <;lobe, it is thoUL'ht that the brighter parts are land, and the ilarker water Thi-i instrument, therefore, woulil give a more distinct view of tliose dusky liinires. which had vulgarly been called the man in the moon, ami di-cover them to be bran "dies of the sea. In th^Se- lenography of Floreatius Laiigrenus Johannes Hevelius, and others, the dark parts are distinL'uishpd by the names of mare crisiiim, mare serenitatis, oceanus pncelluriim, &c. Canto hi.] HUDIBRAS. 263 But a huge Caspian sea or lake, With arms, which men for legs mistake ; How large a gulph his tail composes, And what a goodly bay his nose is ; How many German leagues by th' scale, 275 Cape snout's from promontory tail. He made a planetary gin, Which rats would run their own heads in. And come on purpose to be taken Without th' expence of cheese or bacon ; 280 With lute-strings he would counterfeit Maggots, that crawl on dish of meat ;* Quote moles and spots on any place O' th' body, by the index face ;t Detect lost maidenheads by sneezing,t 285 Or breaking wind of dames, or pissing ; Cure warts and corns, with application Of med'cines to th' nnagination ; Fright agues into dogs, and scare. With rhymes, tiie tooth-ach and catarrh ;§ 290 Chase evil spirits away by dint * The snrill strings of a fiddle or lute, cut into short pieces, and strewed npon warm meat, will contract, and appear lilie live majigots. t " Some physiosnomers have conceited the head of man to " he the model of the whole body ; so that any mark there will " have a corresponding one on some part of the body." See Lilly's life. t Democritus is said to have pronounced more nicely on the maid servant of Hippocrates. "Puellseque vitium solo aspectu " deprehendit." Yet the eyes of Democritus were scarcely more acute and subtle than the ears of Albertus Magnus : " nee minus " vocis mutationem ob eandem fere causam : quo tantum signo " ferunt .\lbertum Jlagnum. ex niu^eo suo, puellam.ex vinopolio "vinum pro hero deportanteiii, in ilinere vitiatam fuisse depre- " hendisse; qiibd, in reditu subinde, cantantis ex acuta in gravi- " orem niutatam vocem agnovisset." Gasper a Rcies. in elysio Jiu-und. quasstion. ^anipo. Lilly professed this art. and said no woman, that he fomd a maid, ever twitted him with his being mistMken. ^ liutler seems to have raked together many of the baits for humin credulity which his reading could furnish, or he had ever Iie.ird mentioned. These charms for tooth-ache and coughs wore well known to the common people a few yo::rr, since. The word ahrncadahra. for fevers, is as old as Sammonicus. Haul hnvt hista pista visln. were recommended for a sprain by Cato. fCito prodidit luxalis mcmbris carmen auxiliare. Plin. Hist. Nat xxviii.] Homer relate-', that the sons of .\utolycus stopped the bleeding of Ulysses's xvound by a charm. See Odyss xix. 457, and Barnes' Notes and Scholia: iiraot&fj 6'' aljia JccXatvov 264 HUDlBRAS. [Part n Of sickle, horseshoe, hollow flint ;* Spit fire out of a wulniit-shell, Which made tlie Roman slaves rebel ;t And fire a mine in China here, 295 With sympatiietic gunpowder. He knew whals'ever's to be known, But mucli more than he knew would own. Wliat med'cine 'twas that Paracelsus Could make a man with, as he tells us ;t 300 What figur'd slates are best to make, On wat'ry surface duck or drake :§ What bowling-stones, in running race Upon a board, have swiftest pace ; Whether a pulse beat in the black SO.* List of a dappled louse's back ;|1 * Tliese concave implements, particiiliu'ly the horvc-slioe, we have often seen nailed to the threshold of doors in the country, in order to chase away evil spirits. I Lucius Florus, l^ivy, and other historians, eive the followinf; account of the ori^'in of the servile war. There was a j;reat number of slaves in Sicily, and one of them, a Syrian, t:illed Eunus, encouraged his ccnnpanions, at the order o.f the f.'ods, as he said, to free themselves iiy arms. Ho tilled a nutslull with fire and sulphur, and holding it in his mouth, breathed out tlanies, when he spoke to them, in proof of his divine commission. By this deception he mustered more than 4(),0ri0 persons. t That philosopher, and others, thousht that man mifiht he generated without connection of the se.\es. See this idea ridi- culed by Rabelais, lib. ii. ch. 27. " Et celeherrimus Athanasius "Kircherus, libro secnndo mundi subterranci pr;echire et S(didis " rationibus, rcfutavit stultitlam nuiiatoris Paracelsi, qui (de pen- "erat. rerum naturalium, lib. i.) copiose admodunr docere voluit " ridirulam melhodum fienerandi honuinciones in vasis chenn- " coruni." V. 38, Franc. Redi de generat. insectorum. The poet probably had in view Hulwer's Artificial Changeling, who at page 49(1, gives a full account of this matter, both from Paracel- sus and others. ^ The poet, l)y mentioning this play" of children, means to in- timate that Sidrophel was a smattcrer in natural pliilosophy, knew sometliing of the laws of motion and gravity, though all he arrived at was but childish play, no better than making ducks and drakes. II See Sparrmann's Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope. vol. ii. p. 291. It was the fashion with the wits of our author's time to ridicule the transactions of the Koyal Society. Mr. P)Utler here indulges his vein by bantering tlicir micro-copic discoveries. At present every one must be inclined to adopt the sentiment of Cowley : Mischief and true dishonor fall on those Who wcnild to l.iughler or to scorn e.\pose So virtuous and so noble a design. So human for its use, for knowledge so divine. The things vvhidi these proud men despise, and call Impertinent, and vain, and small, Canto hi.] HUDIBRAS. 265 If systole or diastole move Quickest when he's in wrath, or love ;* Wiien two of them do run a race, Whether they gallop, trot, or pace ; ilO How many scores a flee will jump. Of his own length, from head to rump,t Which Socrates and Chffirephon In vain assay'd so long agone ; Whether his snout a perfect nose is, 315 And not an elephant's proboscis ;t How many dift'Vent spccieses Of maggots breed in rotten cheeses ; And which are next of kin to those Engendered in a chandler's nose ; 3a0 Or those not seen, but understood. That live in vinegar and wood.§ A paltry wretch he had, half slai-v'd, Those smallest things nf nature let me know, Rather than all their greatest actions do I Vhe learned and ingenious Bishop Hurd delivers his opinion c this passage in two lines t'roni Pope : But sense survived when merry jests were past, For rising merit will buoy up at last. •• Systole the contraction, and diastole the dilatation, of the hrr.st, are motions of that organ by means of which the circula- tio:, of the blood is eflected. The passions of the mind have a sen::ii>le influence on the animal economy. Some of them, fear and strrnw, chill the blood and retard its progress. Other pas- sions, pvnd especially an^er and love, accelerate its motion, and cause (^c [nrise to beat with additional strength and quickness. t Ai'uophanes, in his comedy of the Clouds, Act i. sc. 2, in troducei a scholar of Socrates describing the method in which Socrates, and his friend Chaerephon, endeavored to ascertain how manv lengths of his own feet a flea will jump— '/"'^'^''»' (nr6(Tuvi li'^XoiTO rois aiirrjg ttoSu^, quot pedes suos pulex salta- ret. They did not measure, as our author snys, by the length of the body ; 'hey dipped the feet of the flea in melted wax, which presently hardened into shoes ; these they took ofT. and meas- ured the leap of the flea with them. It is probable that this representation had been received with pleasure by the enemies of Socrates. In the banquet of Xenophon the subject is taken up bv one of the company : «AX' uni fioi, ndaovi i/.uXX« i:66ai iuov anix^i. ratiTa yap at fam ytw/jcrptT;/— and is dismissed by Socrates with akindofcooi coni(MM|)t. Plato somewhere aliudes to the same jest. A tlea had jumped from the InrcheMd of Chie- rephon to the head of Socraies, which introduced the incpiiry. t Microscopic inquirers tell us that a flea has a proboscis, somewhat like that of an elephant, but not quite so large. (J The pungency of vinegar is said, by some, to arise from the bites of animalcules which are contained in it. For these dis- coveries see Hook's inicographical observations. 12 26ft HUDIBRAS. [Paot n. That him in place of Zany serv'd,* Hight Wliachniu, bred to dash and draw, 325 Not wine, but more unwliolesome law ; To make 'twixt words and lines huge gaps,+ Wide as meridians in maps ; To squander puper, and spare ink, Or clieat men ol' their words, some think 330 From this by merited degrees He'd to more liigh advancement rise, To be an under-conjurer. Or journeyman astrologer : His bus'ness was to pump and wheedle, 335 And men with their own keys unriddle ;t To make them to tiiemselves give answers. For which tliey pay tlie necromancers ; To fetch and carry intelligence Of v/hom, and what, and where, and whence, 340 And all discoveries disperse Among ih' whole pack of conjurers ; What cut-purses have left with them, For the right owners to redeem, And what they dare not vent, find out, 345 To gain themselves and th' art repute ; Draw figures, schemes, and horoscopes. * A Zany is a luiffiion. or Morry Andrew, designed to assist the quack, as the ballnd-singer does the cut-purse or pickpocket. Some have supposed tliis ch;!r::cternf Wlmcluuii tn have lieeii intended for one Tom Jones, a foolish Welshman. Others think it was meant for Ridiard Green, who puldished a pamplit't en- titled " Hudihras in a snare." The word ziny is derived by some from the Creek aavvag^ a fool, r^ai'i/of ; (see Eust iih. ;id. Odyss. .\.\ii. and !\Ieur-ii (ilossar. Gra-co-barl).,) by others from the Venetian Zani, abbreviated from giovanni. t As the way of lawyers is in their bills and answers in chan eery, where they are piid so much a sheet. X Mencitenius, in his book de Cliarlatineria Eruditoriun, ed. Amst. 1747, p. 11)3, telU this story: Jactibat empiricus qnidam, se ex solo urina; aspectu non solum de inorbis omnibus, sed eide illorum cau-iis, qna'cunque deniuni illa^ (uerint. sive nalura, sive siirs lulisset, certi^sime crgnoscere ; interim ille ita instruxerat servulos suns, ut calllde humines ad se accedentes explor rent, et de his, qu.-p rdiiipertt Inbcrent, clam ad se referrent. — Acce- dit mulier [jiupercnla cum lotiii loiriti, quo vi\ viso, m o-itus tun-;, inquil, per scalas doimis inliiu-cto casu decidit. Turn ilia admirabuiida, i^iuihie, ail, ex urina intelligis ? Imii vero, iiquit empiricus, et nisi me onmia fal tint, per quindecim scala- ci-mIus deliip-ius est. At cum ilia, ulique visiinti se numeras e referret, Iiic velut indiL'natu< (]uaM-it: num oinnem secuu] urinim auulis- set : atque, ilia neg:inte, quod vasculmu materiam omnem non capcret: itaque, ait, eli'udisti cum urina quinque gradus illos, qui mihi ad numerum deerant.— 1 wonder this slory escaped Ur, Grey Canto hi.] HUDIBRAS. i>67 Of Newgate, Bridewell, brokers' shops, Of thieves ascendant in the cart,* And find out all by rules of art : 350 Which way a servino^-man, that's run With clothes or money away, is gone ; Wlio pick'd a fob at holding-fortli, And wliere a watch, for half the worth, May be redeeni'd ; or stolen plate 355 Restor'd at conscionable rate. Beside all this, he serv'd his master In quality of poetaster, And rhymes appropriate could make To ev'ry month i' th' almanack ; 360 When terms begin, and end, could tell, Witii their returns, in doggerel ; When the exchequer opes and shuts, And sowgelder with safety cuts ; When men may eat and drink their fill, 365 And when be template, if they will ; When use, and when abstain from vice, Figs, grapes, phlebotomy, and spice. And as in prisons mean rogues beat Hemp for the seivice of the great,t 370 So Whacluun beat his dirty brains T' advance his master's fame and gains, And like the devil's oracles. Put into dogg'rel rhymes his spells,! Wliicli, over ev'ry month's blank page 375 I' th' almanack, strange bilks presage. § He would an elegy compose On maggots squeez'd out of his nose ; In lyric numbers write an ode on His mistress, eating a black-pudding ; 380 And, when imprison'd air escaped her, It puft him with poetic rapture: His sonnets charm'd th' attentive crowd, By wide-mouth'd mortal troll'd aloud, T'liat, circled with his long-ear'd guests, 385 * A-cciul:int, a term in sistrnlooy, is here eiiuivuf^al. t Petty rnyues in Briilevvoll pimnil lieinp ; mikI it limy hnppen thit the (iriiiliice of tlu'ir lulior is employed in halters, in which grpa'er cr niiiii^ls .ire hiingcd. i Pluiarch has a whole treitise to discuss the question, why Apulli) h^id censed to delivfr liis (irKcles in verse : which brings on an incident il inquiry why hi/ language was often bad, and his verses defective. § Hillv is a Gothic word, sifinifying a cheat or fraud: it .signi- fies lijtewise to baulk or disappoint. 268 HUDIBRAS.. [Part n. Like Orpheus, look'd among the beasts : A carman's liorse could not pass by, But stood ty'd up to poetry : No porter's burden pass'd along, But sen''d for burden to his song: 390 Each window like a pill'ry appears, With heads thrust thro' nail'd by the ears ; All trades run in as to the sight Of monsters, or their dear delight, The gallow-tree,* when cutting purse 395 Breeds bus'ness for heroic verso, Which none does hear, but would have hung T' have been the theme of such a song.t Those two together long liad liv'd. In mansion, prudently contriv'd, 400 Where neither tree nor house could bar The free detection of a star ; And nigh an ancient obelisk Was rais'd by him, found out by Fisk, On which was written not in words, 405 But hieroglyphic mute of birds, t Many rare pithy saws, concerning^ The worth of astrologic learning : * Thus Clevel.iml, in his poem entitled the Rebel Scot: A Scot when from the i;;illo\v-tree got loose, Drops into Styx, and turns a Soland goose. 1 The author |ierh;ips recollected some lines in Sir John Den ham's poem on the trial and death ot' the earl of Stratford : Such was his force of eloquence, to make The hearers more concern'd than he ihiit spake ; Each seem'd to act that part he came lo see, And none was more a looker on than he ; So did he move our passions, some were known To wi>h, for the defence, the crime their own. When Mars and Venus were surprised in Vulcan's net, and the deities were assembled to see them, Ovid says : aliqnis de dis non tristibus optet Sic fieri turpis Wetamorph. lib. iv. 187. J Fisk was a quack physician and astrolof;cr of that time, and an acqnaint;mre of William l/illy, the almanac maker and prog nosticator. " In the year KUi:!," says Lilly in his own life, '' I " lieranie acquaintod with Nicholas Fisk, licentinte in physic, " born in Su(l(>lk, tit for, but ncjt sent to, the university. Study- "ing at home astrology and physic, which he afterwards prac- " tiscd at Colchester :" He had a pension from the parliament; and during the civil war, and the whole of the u-^urpation, prog- nosticateii on that side. [J\Inle. The dung of birds. Todd in his edition of Johnson, with this passage quoted.] § Pithy, that is, nervous, witty, full of sense and meaning, like a proverb. Saw, that is, say, or saying, from A. S. Douglas Canto hi.] HUDIBRAS. 269 From top of this there hung a rope, To which he fasten'd telescope ;* 410 The spectacles with which the stars He reads in smallest characters. It happened as a boy, one night. Did fly his tarsel of a kite,t The strangest long-wing'd hawk that flies 413 "That, like a bird of Paradise, Or herald's martlet, has no legs,t Nor hatches young ones, nor lays eggs ; His train was six yards long, milk white. At til' end of which there hung a light, 420 Enclos'd in lanthorn made of paper. applies it to any saying, (p. 143, v. 52,) and once in a bad sense to indecent language : Nil rin with sleath, and many unseemly saw auhare sciiaine is loisl. P. 90, v. 15. * Befracting telescopes were formerly so constructed as to re quire such an awkward apparatus. Hugenius invented a teles- cope without a tube. The object glass was fixed to a long pole, and its axis directed towards any object by a string, which pass- ed down I'roiii the glass above to the eye-glass below. He pre- sented to the Royal Society an object glass of one hundred and twenlv-three feet focal distance, with an apparatus belonging to it, which he had made himself. It is described in his Astroco- pia cnmpendiaria tulii optici molimine liberata, Hague, 1084. t Ticrsel, or liercelet. as the French call the male hawk, which is less in the body by a third part than the female, from whence it hath the name. Lord Bacon says it is stronger and more courageous than the female. t The bird of Paradise, or the Pica Paradissa of Linnaeus. The manucodiata of Edwards and Ray. The Portuguese first saw them in Gilolo, Papua, and New Guinea : many idle fables have been propagated concerning these birds, among which are to be reckoned, that they have no feet, pass their lives in the air and feed on that element: but it is found that the feet are cutot}', that the birds may dry the better, and the scapular knlh- ers prevent tlieir sitting on trees in windy weather. Natural- ists describe intiny species, but the Paradi>a:'a apoilo, or greater bird of Paradise is generally about two feet in length. See La- tham, Syn. ii. 47. Index, i. 104, and Essay on India, by John ReinhobI Forster, p. 17. Martlets are painted by "the heralds without legs, or with very short ones, scarcely visible. In Le Blanc's Travels, p. 1 15, we are told of the birds of Paradise, that they are kept in a cage in the Sultan's garden, and are thought by Europeans to have no legs. Lord Baci>n has the following passage in his Works, fol. vol. iv. p. 3-25 : " The second reason "that" made me silent w.ts. because this su-picion and rumour "of nnderlakins settles upon no person certa'.n : it is like the "birds of paradise, that they have in the Indies, that have no " feet, and tlierefore never liiilit upon any phice. but the wind "carries them away. And such a thing I take this rumour to " be." Pliny, in his Natural History, hasachapter de Apodibu% lib. X. ch.39. 270 HUDIBRAS. [Part a That fai off like a star did appear : This 8idrophel by chance espy'd, And with amazement staring wide : Bless us, qiioth he, what dreadful wonder 42.'! Is tliat appears in heaven yonder 1 A cornel, and without a beard ! Or star, that ne'er before appear'd ! I'm certain 'tis not in the serowl Of all those beasts, and fish, and fowl,* 430 With wiiich, like Indian plantations, The learned stock tlie constellations ;t Nor those that, drawn for signs, have been To th' houses where the planets inn.t It must be supernatural, 435 Unless it be that cannon-ball That, shot i' the air, point-blank upright, Was borne to that prodigious height, That, learn'd pliilosophers maintain. It ne'er came backwards down again, § 440 But in the airy regions yet Hangs, like the body o' Mahomet :|| * Astrnnniners, for the help of their memory, and to avoid giving n;imes to every star in particular, have divided them into constellations oi companies, which they have distinguished by the names of several beasts, birds, tishes, &c., as they fall with- in the compass which the tbrnis of these creatures reach to. Butler, in his Genuine Remains, vol. i. page 9, says : Since from the greatest to the least. All other stars and constellations Have cattle of all sorts of nations. This distribution of the stars is very ancient. Tully mentions it from Aralus, in nearly the same terms which are used in our astriinoniical tables. The divisions are called houses by the as- trologers. t Cosmographers, in their descriptions of the world, when they found many vast places, whereof they knew nothing, are used to fill the same with an account of Indian plantations, strange birds, beasts, &.c. So historians and poets, says Plutarch, embroider and intermix the tales of ancient times with fictions and filiulous discoveries. J Signs, a pun between signs for public houses, and signs or constellaliiiiis in the heavens. Aralus and Eratnsthenes. — The Catasterisinoi of the latter, printed at the end of Fell's Aratus, are nearly as old as Aratus himself. See also Hall's Virgidemi- aruu), book ii. Sat. vii. v. 20. ^ Some foreign philosophers directed a cannon against the z?nith ; and, having fired it, could not find where the ball fell from whence it was conjectured to have stuck in the moon 0?s Ciirti"< imasined that the bill remained in the air. II The iniprobible story of .Mahomet's body being suspended in an iron ih(>st, between two,great loadstones, is refuted by Mr Sandys aad Ur. Prideau.x. Canto hi.] - HUDIBRAS. 271 For if it be above the shade, That by the eartii's round bulk is mado, 'Tis probable it may from far, 445 Appear no bullet, but a star. This said, he to his engine flew, Plac'd near at hand, in open view, And rais'd it, till it leveli'd right Against the glow-worm tail of kite ;* 450 Then peeping thro', Bless us I quoth he, It is a planet now I see ; And, if I err not, by his prqper Figure, that's like tobacco-stopper,'! It should be Saturn : yes, 'tis clear 455 'Tis Saturn ; but what makes him there? He's got between the Dragon's tail, And farther leg behind o' th' Whale ;|: Pray heav'n divert the fatal omen. For 'tis a prodigy not common, 460 And can no less than the world's end. Or nature's funeral, portend. With that, he fell again to pry Thro' perspective more wistfully. When, by mischance, the fatal string, 405 That kept the tow'ring fowl on wing, Breaking, down fell the star. Well shot. Quoth Whachum, w^ho right wisely thought He' ad levell'd at a star, and iiit it ; But Sidrophel, more subtle-vvitted, 470 Cry'd out, V.'hat iiorrible and fearful Portent is this, to see a star fall ! It threatens nature, and the doom Will not be long before it come ! * The luminous part of the ^low-worm is the tail. t This allhdes to the syiiiliol which astronomers use to ilennte the planet Saturn ( ^), and astrologers use a sij;n not much un- like it. It is no wonder Sidrophel should lie pnzzled to know for certain whether it was Saturn or not, as the i)hases of Saturn are very various and extraordinary, and long perplexed the as- tronomers, who could not divine the meaning of such irref;ular- ity. thus Hevelius observes, that he appears sometimes mono- spherical, sometimes trispherical, spherico-ansatcd, e/liptica-an- sated, and sp/ierico-ciisp/datcd ; Iml Huygens reduced all these phases to three principal ones, round, brachiated. and ansaUd. See (^'hanihers's Uiclion;iry, art. Saturn. X Sidropliel. the sliii-ua'zer, names any two constellations he can think of: or rather the poet designs to make him liliinserxe the arifnlness of Whachum, wlio pumps the squire concerning the knight's busi- ness, and afterwards relates it to Sidrophel in the presence of both of them. Canto m.] HUDIBRAS. 273 What time?— Quoth Ralpho, Sir, too long, Three years it off and on has hung — 510 Quoth he, I meant what time o' th' day 'tis. Quoth Ralpho, between seven and eight 'tis, Why then, quoth Whachum, my small art Tells me the Dame has a hard heart. Or great estate. Quoth Ralph, A jointure, 515 Which makes him have so hot a mind t' her. Mean-whiie the Knight was making water, Before he fell upon the matter: Which having done, the Wizard steps in, To give iiim a suitable reception ; 520 But kept his business at a bay. Till Whachum put him in the way ; Who having now, by Ralpho's light. Expounded th' errand of the Knight, And what he came to know, drew near, 525 To whisper in the Conj'rer's ear, Which he prevented thus : What was't, Quoth he, that I was saying last,* Before these gentlemen arriv'd? Quoth Whachum, Venus you retriev'd, 530 In opposition with Mars, And no benign and friendly stars T' allay the effect.! Quoth Wizard, So: In Virgo? ha! Quoth Whachum, No:t Has Saturn nothing to do in it ;§ 535 One tenth of 's circle to a minute ! 'Tis well, quoth he — Sir you'll excuse This rudeness I am forc'd to use ; It is a scheme, and face of heaven. As th' aspects are dispos'd this even, 540 * To prevent the suspicion which niifrht be created by vihis- perinji, he ciiuses Whachum to relate his intelligence aloud, in tiie cant terms of his own iirol'ession. t There should lie no comma after the word retriev'd ; it here signities found, observed, from the French retrouver. Venus, the goddess of love, opposes and thwarts Mars, the god of war, and there is likely to be no accord between theui. By which he gives him to understand, that the knight was in love, and had small hopes of success. t Is his ndstress a virgin t No. 5 Saturn. K/idio?, was the god of time. The wizard by these words inquires how long the love alfair had been carried on. Whachnni replies, one tenth of his circle to a minute, or three years; one tenth of the thirty years in which palurn finishes his revolution, and exactly the time which the knight's court- ship had been pending. 12* 274 HUDIBRAS. [Part a. I was contemplatiiifj upon When yoii arriv'd ; but now I've done. Quotii Hiidibrds, If I appear Unseasonable in coming here At sucli a time, to interrupt 545 Your specuhitions, which I hop'd Assistance from, and come to use, 'Tis fit tiiat I ask your excuse. By no means, Sir, quoth Sidrophel, The stars your coming did foretci ; 550 I did expect you here, and knew, Before you spalie, your business too.* Quoth Hud. bras, Make that appear, And I siiall credit wluitsoe'er You tell me after, on your word, 555 Howe'er unlikely, or absurd. You are in love, Sir, with a widow, Quoth he, that does not greatly heed you, And for three years has rid your wit And passion, without drawing bit ; 560 And now your business is to know If you shall carry her, or no. Quoth Hudibras, You're in the right. But how the devil you come by't I can't imagine ; for the stars, 565 I'm sure, can tell no more than a horse : Nor can their aspects, tho' you pore Your eyes out on 'em, tell you more Than th" oracle of sieve and sheers,t That turns as certain as the spheres : 570 But if the Devil's of your counsel. Much may be done, my noble donzel ;t * In some editions we read, Know before you speak. t '"Put a p:iire of sheeres in llie rim of a sieve, and let two " persons set the tip of each of their fiirefinL'crs upon llie upper " part of the >heers, holdint; it with the sieve up from.the ground "steddilie, and ask Peter and Paul whetlier A. B. or C. hath " stolne the .hing lost, and at the nonjination of the auilty per- "son the sieve will turn round." Scot's Discovery of Witchcraft, book xii. ch. xvii. p. 262. The KotTKivdfiavTi;, or diviner by a sieve, is mcntioneil liy Theocritus Idyll, iii. 31. The Greek prac- tice differed very little from that whicli has been slated above. They tied a thread to the sieve, or fixed it to a pair of shears, which they held between two finders. After addressinf; them- selves to the gods, they repealed the names of the suspected per-ons ; and he, ,it whose name the sieve turned njund, was adjudged guilty. Potter's Gr. Antiq. vol.i. p. 3.52. I A sneering kind of appellation : donzel being a dimintitive from don. Builer says, in his character of a squire of Dames, Canto m.J HUDIBRAS. 275 And 'tis on this account I come, To know from you my fatal doom. Quoth Sidi-oplicl, If you suppose, 575 Sir Knight, that I am oue of tnose, I might suspect and take the alarm, Your business is but to inform :* But if it be, 'tis ne'er the near, Yon iiave a wrong sow by the ear ; 580 For I assure you, for my part, I only deal by rules of art ; Such as are lawful, and judge by Conclusions of astrology ; But for the devil ; know nothing 1^ him, 585 But only this, that I defy him. Quoth he, Whatever others deem ye, I understand your metonymy jt Your words of second-hand intentien,t When things by wrongful names you mention ; 590 (vol. ii. p. 379.) "he is donzel to the (iamzels, and gentleman " iHher dHily waiter on the hiilies, that rubs mu his time in nia- " king legs and love to them." 'J'he vvurd is likewise used in Ben .lonson's Alchymist. ['' DonzeL del Plicbo. A celehrated " hero of roniMnce in tlie Mirror of Knightliood. &c. Donzel is " from the Italian, donzellu, and means a squire, or young man; " or, as Florio stiys, • A damosell, a bacheler,' &c. He seems al- " ways united with Rosicluar. " Defend thee powerfully, marry thee simiptuously, and keep " thee in despite of Rosiclear or Duiizel del Pliebo. " Malcontent, O. PI. iv.92. " Donzel del Plitho and Rosicleer '. are you there ^ " The Bird in a Cage, O. PI. viii. 248. "So the Captain in Philuster calls liie citizens in insurrection " with him, ' Sly dear Dun.tels:'' and presently after, when Phi- " laster appears salutes him hy the title of " — iNly royal Rosiclear! " We are thy myrnjidons. thy gnirds, thy roarers. •' Pliilaster, v. p. lGG-7." — Nares's Glossary.] * .At that time there was a severe inquisition against conjurers, witches, &c. See the note on line 143. In Rymer's Fcedera, vol. xvi. p. (51)6, is a special pardon from king James to Simon Read, for practising the hiack art. It is entitled, \)c Pardonatio- ne pro Simone Read de Invocatione, et Conjuratione Cacodnemo- num. He is there said to have invoked certain wicked spirits in the year 1008, in the parish of St. George, Sonlhwark, partiruilar- ly one such spirit called Heavelon, another called Falernon, and a third called Cleveton. t Metonymy is a figure of speech, whereby the cause is put for the effect,'the suhject for the a and TihulUis, book i. elegy ii. 44. t '■ The king presently called to his Bongi to clear the air ; the conjuror immeiliately made a hole in the eround, wherein he urined." Le BlancV Travels, p. 98. The ancient Zabii used to dig a hole in the earth, and till it with blood, as the means of forming a correspondence with demons, and obtaining their fa- vor. $ To secure demons or spirits. II The chyinists and alchymists. In the Remains of Butler, vol. ii. p. '2:i5, we read: "'i'hese spirits they use to catch by the noses with lumigations, as St. Uunstan did the devil, by a pair of tongs." The story of St. Dnnslan taking the devil by the nose with a pair of hot pincers, has been frequently related. St. Dunstan lived Canto in.] HUDIBRAS. 277 Otiiers with characters and words Catch 'em, as men in nets do birds ;* 020 And some with symbols, signs, and tricks, Engrav'd in planetary nicks, t With their own influences will fetch 'em Down from their orbs, arrest, and catch 'em ;t Make 'em depose, and answer to 625 All questions, e'er they let them go. Bombastus kept a devil's bird Shut in the pummel of his sword, § That taught him all the cunning pranks Of past and future mountebanks. 630 Kelly did all his feats upon The devil's looking glass, a stone, H in the tenth century: was a great admirer and proficient in the piilite arts, particularly painting and sculpture. As he was very Hltentively in his cell engraving a gold cu|i, the devil tempted him in the shape uf a beautiliil \V(jnian. The saint, perceiving in the spirit who it was. took up a red hot pair of tongs, and catching hold of the devil by the nose, made him howl in such a terrible manner as to be heard all over the neighborhood. * By repetition of magical S(junds and words, pro|)erly culled enchanimeiits. t By lisures and signatures described according to astrological synimelry ; that is, certain conjunctions or oppositions with the planets antl aspects of tlie stars. X Carmina vel ccelo possunt deducere lunam. § Bombastus de Ilohenheim, called also Aurelius Philippus, an'd Theophrastus, but more generally known by the name of Paracelsus, was son of William Hohenheim, and author, or rath- er rc>torer, of chymical pharmacy. He ventured upon a free administering of mercury and laudannin; and performed cures, which, in those days of ignorance, were deemed supernatural. He entertained some whimsical notions concerning the antedilu- vian form of man. and man's generation. Mr. Butler's note on this passage is in the following words: "Paracelsus is said to " have kept a small devil prisoner in the piinmiel stimat annis ; Miraturque nihil, nisi quod Libitina sacravit. Epist. lib. ii. ep. i. 48. • Thp tienlhcna were fond of comparing these fcata with the miraclae of JesuB Chri6l. Canto hi.] HUDIBRAS. 281 Before lie pull'd her out of it ;* And as he eats his sons, just so He feeds upon his daughters too.t Nor does it follow, 'cause a herald Can make a gentleman, scarce a year old,} 670 To be descended of a race Of ancient kings in a small space, That we should all opinions hold Autheutic, that we can make old. Quoth Sidrophel, It is no part 675 Of prudence to cry down an art. And what it may perform, deny, Because you understand not why ; As Averrhois play'd but a mean trick, To damn our whole art for eccentrick,§ 680 * Time brings many truths to light: according to Horace, Epist. lib. i. ep. vi. 24 : Qiiicqiiid sub terra est in apricum proferet *tas. But time often involves subjects in perplexity, and occasions those very ditficullies which afterwards it helps to remove. " Veritaleiii in puteo latenteni non inconcinne finxit antii|uitas." Cicero employs a saying of Democritns to this purpose, Acadeni. (iua;st. i. IC, " anfriistos sensus, iiiibecillos aninios, brevia curri- "cula vit;e, et ut Ueiiiocritus, in pmfundci veritatem esse dcnier- " sain." Again in Lucullo : '' N.itLUam accusa, qn;c in profundo "veritatem, nt ait Democritus, penitus abstruserit." Bishop VVarburton observes, that the satire contained in these lines of our author is fine and just. Cleaiithes said, " that truth whs hid '■ in a pit." " Yes," answers the poet ; " but you Greek philoso- " pbers were the first that put her in there, and then c1;h lined so "much merit to yourselves f(ir dra wins her out." The fir^t Greek philosophers creatly obscured truth by their endless speculations, and it was business enough for the industry and talents of their successors to clear matters up. t If truth is " time's daughter," yet Saturn, Xpdi'of, or Time, may be never the kinder to her on that account. Forias pciets feign thtit Saturn eats his sons, so he feeds upon liis daughters. He devours truths as well as years, and buries them in obliviun. t In all civil wars the order of things is subverted ; the poor become rich, and the rich poor. And they who suddenly gain riches njust in the next place be furnished with an honorable pedi'.'ree. Many instances of this kind are preserved in Walk- er's History of [ndependency. Bite's Lives of the Regicides, &c. § Averroes flourished in the twelfth century. He was a great critic, lawyer, and physician ; and (Uie of the most subtle phi- losophers that ever appeared among the Arabians. He wrote a commentary upon .\ristotle, from whence he obtained the sur- name of commentator. He mnch disliked the epicycles and eccentrics which Ptolemy had introduced into his system ; they seemed so absurd to him, that they gave him a disgust to the science of astronomy in general. He does not seem to have formed a more favorable opinion of astrology. Here likewise was too mnch eccentricity : and he condemned the art as use- less and fallacious, having no foundation of truth or certainty. 282 HUDIBRAS. [Part ii. For who knows all that knowledge contains ? Men tiwoll not on the tops of moinitains, Bat on their sides, or risings seat ; So 'tis witii knowledge's vast height. Do not the hist'ries of all ages 685 Relate iniracnlous presages or strange tnrns, in the world's affairs, Foreseen b' astrologers, sooth-sayers, Chaldeans, learned Genelhiiacs,* And some tiiat have writ almanacs? 690 The Median einp'ror dream'd his daughter Had pist all Asia under water,! And that a vine, sprung from her haunches, O'erspread his empire with its branches ; And did not soothsayers expound it, 695 As after by th' event he found it ? When CiEsar in the senate fell. Did not the sun eclips'd foretell,! And in resentment of his slaLighter, Look'd pale for almost a year after? 700 Augustus having, b' oversight. Put on his left shoe 'fore his right, § Had like to have been slain that day, By soldiers mutin'ing for pay. Are there not inyriads of this sort, 705 Which stories of all times report? Is it not ominous in all countries, * Genethliaci, termed also Chaldasi, were soothsayers, who unriertoi>k to foretell the forliines of men from circumstances at- tending tlicir births. Castors of nativity. t AslyaL'Ps, kirii; of Media, had this dream of his daughter Mandane ; and heing alarmed at the interpretation of it which was uiven by the mas;!, he married her to Candiyses, a Persian of mean quility. Her son was Cyrus, who fnlrilicd the dream by the conqiiesi of Asia, t^ee Herodotus, i. KIT, and .luslin. t The prodigies wliich are said to have been noticed before tlie death of Ca-sar, are menlioued by several of the classics, Virgil, Ovid. rUu:\rcli, &c. lint tlie pnet alludes to wliat is re- hitei^ by Pliny in his A'aiural Misiory, ii. :!0, •'liiint prodigiosi. et "longiores soils ello, totius |)ene anni p:illore conlinuo." ^ An excellent banter upon omens and prodigies. Pliny gives this account in his second book : " Divus .Augustus la;vum pri>di- "dit sibicalceiun priepostere indiictum, quo die sedilione miljtari " prope adtlictus est." And .'^ueloiiius, in .August! Vita, sect. 'Ji5, ssiys : •■ (.Augustus) au^picia (pucdam et oiiiina |;ro certissinds "observabat, si mane sibi calceus perperam, ac sinister |in> dex- " tro induceretur, ut ilirum." Charles the First is said to have been much allc(-ted by some omens of this kind, such iis tlie sorles Virgiliana;, observations on his bust made by Bernini, and nn his dictate. Canto hi.] HUDIBRAS. - 283 no When crows and ravens croak upon trees? Tiie Roman senate, when within The city walls an owl was seen,* Did cause their clergy, with lustrations, Our synod calls huiniliations. The roniid-fac"d proditry t' avert, From doing town or country hurt. And if an owl have so much pow'r, 715 Why should not planets have much more, That in a region far above Inferior fowls of the air move, And should see further, and foreknow More than their augury below ? 720 Tho' that once serv"d the polity Of mighty states to govern by ;t And this is what we take in hand, By pow'rful art, to understand ; Which, how wc have perform'd, all ages 725 Can speak th" events of our presages. Have we not lately in the inoon. Found a new world, to th' old unknown ? Discover'd sea and land, Columbus And Magellan could never compass? 730 Made mountains with om* tubes appear, And cattle orrazing on them there ? Quoth Hudibras, You lie so ope, That I, without a telescope. Can find your tricks out, and descry 735 Where you tell truth, and where you lie : For Anaxagoras long agone. Saw hills, as well as you, i' th' moon,t * Anno ante Christum 97, buhone in urbe viso, urbs lustrata. Biibone in cipitnliu sujir i deoniiii siiiml:icra viso, cum piaretur, tHunis vitlima exanimU concidit. Julius Obsequens, No. 4-1-45, et Lycosthenes, pp. 1U4, 1U5. t ll appears finm many passages of Cicero, and other authors, that the determinations of the augurs, aruspices, and the sybil line |](iolpoyzvciai, &c. Brunk. )?«£ oVK em axopav "Epxc/Jit, 011^' Iva ivKTos bSoiTTopJovT^ ivox^'ioi^, AAA' ipiiij), &c. Binn. ii. ^92. Hriink. .A.n. vol. i. Mosch. Idyl. vii. ac fording lo the Oxford edit, of Bion and Moschus. E typ. Clar. 1748. Sidrophel argues, that so many luminous bodies cnuld never have boen i-onstruct^'d for the sole purpose of ;ilTl>rding a little light, in the ab-ence of Ihe sun. Ilis reasoning does not con- tribute nmcii to the support of astrology ; but it seems to favor the notion of a plurality of worlds. t Colleciini: herbs, and other requisites, for their enchant- ments. See Shakspeare's Macbeth, Act. iv. 288 HUUIBRAS. [Partii Only to stand by, and look on, But not know what is said or done ? Is there a constellation there That was not born and bred up here?* 830 And therefore cannot be to learn In any inferior concern? Were they not, during all their lives, Most of 'em pirates, whores, and thieves ? And is it like Ihey have not still, 835 In their old practices, some skill ? Is there a planet that by birth Does not derive its house frem earth ? And tlTerefore probably must know What is, and hath been done below ? 840 Who made the Balance, or whence camo The Bull, the Lion, and the Ram ? Did not we here the Argo rig, Make Berenice's periwig ?t Whose liv'ry does the coachman wear ? 845 Or who made Cassiopeia's chair ? And therefore, as they came from hence, With us may hold intelligence. Plato deny'd the world can be Govern'd without geometry,! 850 For money b'ing the common scale Of things by measure, weight and tale, In all th' affairs of church and state, 'Tis both the balance and the weight : Then much less can it be without 855 Divine astrology made out, That puts the other down in worth, As far as heaven's above earth. * Astronomers, both ancient and modern, have divided the heavens into certain fifiiires, representing animals and niher ob jects. Eratosthenes, the scholiast on AnUus, and Julius Hy ginus, mention the reasons whicli determined men to the choice of these particular figures. See Sir Isaac Newton's Chronology of the Greeks, p. 83. t The constellation called coma Berenices. Berenice, the wife of Ptolemy Euercetes, king of Egypt, in consequence oi a vow, cut otl" and dedicated some of her iieauliful hair to Venus, on the return of her husliand from a military expedition. And Conon, the mathematician, paid her a handsome compliment, hy forming the constellation ot' this name. Callimicbus wrote a poem to celebrate her atfeclion and piety: a translation of it by Catullus is still preserved in the works of that author. t I'lato, ont of fondness for geometry, has employed it in all his systems. He used to say that the Deity did yimficTpav, play the geometrician ; that is, do every thing by weiglit and measure. Canto m.] HUDIBRAS. 289 These reasons, qiiotli the Knight, I grant Are somethhig more significant 800 Than any that the learned nse Upon this subject to produce ; And yet they're far from satisfactory, T' establish and keep up your factory Til' Egyptians say, the sun has twice* 864 Shifted liis setting and his rise ; Twice has lie risen in the west, As many times set in the east ; But wliether that be true or no, Tlie devil any of yon know. 870 Some hold, the heavens, like a top, Are kept by circulation up.t And were 't not for their wheeling round. * The Epyplian priests infornied Herodnlus that, in Ihe sp-ice of 11340 years, the sun had fnur times risen and set out of its usu:tl course, risin;; twice where it now sets, and setlinu twice where it now rises — cpOa n v5i/ Kara^vcrai, IvQzvtcv (5ij lirav- Tti'XaC Koi 'iiBcv, &c. Herodotus, Euterpe, sen iil). ii. 142. A learned pers