That some occult design doth lie
In bloody cynarctomachy 1
Is plain enough to him that knows
How Saints lead Brothers by the nose.
I wish myself a pseudo-prophet,
But sure some mischief will come of it,
Unless by providential wit,
Or force, we averruncate2 it.
For what design, what interest,
Can beast have to encounter beast?
They fight for no espoused Cause,
Frail Priv❜lege, fundamental Laws;
Nor for a thorough Reformation,
Nor Covenant, nor Protestation,
Nor Liberty of consciences,
Nor Lords and Commons' Ordinances;
Nor for the Church, nor for Church-lands,
To get them into their own hands;
Nor evil Counsellors to bring
To justice, that seduce the King;
Nor for the worship of us men,
Tho' we have done as much for them.
Th' Egyptians worshipp'd dogs, and for
Their faith made internecine war.
Others adored a rat, and some
For that Church suffer'd martyrdom.
The Indians fought for the truth
Of th' elephant and monkey's tooth;
And many, to defend that faith,
Fought it out mordicus to death;
But no beast ever was so slight,
For man, as for his God, to fight.
'Cynarctomachy:' a pedantic rendering of the words 'fighting between dog and bear.'-Averruncate:' i. e. weed it out.—3 Privilege:' of Parliament, violated in the case of the five members.
They have more wit, alas! and know
Themselves and us better than so:
But we, who only do infuse
The rage in them like boute-feus;
'Tis our example that instils
In them th' infection of our ills.
For, as some late philosophers
Have well observed, beasts that converse
With man, take after him, as hogs
Get pigs all th' year, and bitches dogs ;
Just so, by our example, cattle
Learn to give one another battle.
We read, in Nero's time, the Heathen,
When they destroy'd the Christian brethren,
They sew'd them in the skins of bears,
And then set dogs about their ears;
From whence, no doubt, th' invention came
Of this lewd Antichristian game.
To this quoth Ralpho, Verily
The point seems very plain to me;
It is an Antichristian game,
Unlawful both in thing and name.
First, for the name; the word Bear-baiting
Is carnal, and of man's creating;
For certainly there's no such word
In all the Scripture on record;
Therefore unlawful, and a sin.
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,' as thou say'st
(For that 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 homœosis,2
Tussis pro crepitu, an art,
Under a cough to slur a f-t,
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;8
And that both are so near of kin,
And like in all, as well as sin,
That put 'em in a bag, and shake 'em,
Your self o' th' sudden would mistake 'em,
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,
But art not able to keep touch.
1' Ad amussim:' exactly.-Homœosis:' an explanation of a thing by something resembling it.-Classis :' referring to the Synods and Sessions of Presbytery.
Mira de lente, as 'tis i' th' adage,
Id est, to make a leek a cabbage;
Thou wilt at best but suck a bull,
Or shear swine, all cry, and no wool;
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
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 ;
For we are animals no less,
Altho' of different specieses.
But, Ralpho, this is no fit place,
Nor time, to argue out the case;
For now the field is not far off,
Where we must give the world a proof
Of deeds, not words, and such as suit
Another manner of dispute:
A controversy that affords
Actions for arguments, not words;
Which 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 deceived, unless
We're slurr'd and outed by success:
Success, the mark no mortal wit,
Or surest hand, can always hit;
For whatsoe'er we perpetrate,
We do but row, we're steer'd by Fate.
1 Mira de lente:' look slowly, or observe cautiously.
Which in success oft disinherits,
For spurious causes, noblest merits.
Great actions are not always true sons
Of great and mighty resolutions;
Nor do the bold'st attempts bring forth
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;
Which tho' they're known to be so ample,
We need not copy from example;
We're not the only person durst
Attempt this province, nor the first.
In northern clime a val'rous Knight
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
Th' attempt of victory to come.
"Tis sung, there is a valiant Mamaluke
In foreign land, yclep'd
To whom we have been oft compared
For person, parts, address, and beard;
Both equally reputed stout,
And in the same cause both have fought:
He oft, in such attempts as these,
Came off with glory and success;
Nor will we fail in th' execution,
For want of equal resolution.
Honour is like a widow, won
With brisk attempt and putting on;
Yclep'd:' some supply 'Sir Samuel Luke.' He was Governor of NewportPagnel in Bucks, and a Puritan.
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