The Poetical Works of Samuel Butler: The life and works of Samuel Butler ; Hudibras in three parts, written in the time of the late wars

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James Nichol, 1854

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Page 8 - 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 The holy text of pike and gun ; Decide all controversies by Infallible artillery ; And prove their doctrine orthodox By apostolic blows and knocks...
Page 9 - Compound for sins they are inclined to, By damning those they have no mind to...
Page 4 - twixt south and south-west side ; On either which he would dispute, Confute, change hands, and still confute ; He'd undertake to prove by force Of argument a man's no horse ; He'd prove a buzzard is no fowl, And that a lord may be an owl, A calf an alderman, a goose a justice, And rooks committee-men and trustees.
Page 8 - To be the true Church Militant; Such as do build their faith upon The holy text of pike and gun; Decide all controversies by Infallible artillery; And prove their doctrine orthodox By apostolic blows and knocks; Call fire, and sword, and desolation, A godly, thorough Reformation, Which always must be carried on, And still be doing, never done; As if Religion were intended For nothing else but to be mended.
Page 42 - For he was of that noble trade, That demi-gods and heroes made, Slaughter, and knocking on the head, The trade to which they all were bred; And is, like others, glorious when Tis great and large, but base, if mean : The former rides in triumph for it, The latter in a two-wheel'd chariot, For daring to profane a thing So sacred with vile bungling.
Page 6 - In Mathematics he was greater Than Tycho Brahe, or Erra Pater: For he, by geometric scale, Could take the size of pots of ale; Resolve, by sines and tangents straight, If bread or butter wanted weight; And wisely tell what hour o' th' day The clock does strike, by Algebra.
Page 6 - For th' other, as great clerks have done. He could reduce all things to acts, And knew their natures by abstracts; Where Entity and Quiddity, The ghosts of defunct bodies, fly; Where truth in person does appear, Like words congeal'd in northern air.
Page 4 - H' had hard words ready to show why, And tell what rules he did it by ; Else, when with greatest art he spoke, You'd think he talked like other folk.
Page 16 - We shall not need to say what lack Of leather was upon his back ; For that was hidden under...
Page 201 - And basely turn'd his back to fly ; But Hudibras gave him a twitch, As quick as lightning, in the breech, Just in the place where honour's lodg'd, As wise philosophers Have judg'd, Because a kick in that place more Hurts honour, than deep wounds before.

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