THE ARGUMENT.
The Saints engage in fierce contests
About their carnal interests,
To share their sacrilegious preys
According to their rates of Grace:
Their various frenzies to reform,
When Cromwell left them in a storm;
Till, in th' effige of Rumps, the rabble
Burn all their Grandees of the Cabal.
THE learned write, an insect breeze?
Is but a mongrel prince of bees,
That falls before a storm on cows,
And stings the founders of his house,
From whose corrupted flesh that breed
Of vermin did at first proceed :
So, ere the storm of war broke out,
Religion spawn'd a various rout
Of petulant capricious sects,
The maggots of corrupted texts,
That first run all religion down,
And after every swarm its own.
For as the Persian Magi once
Upon their mothers got their sons,
That were incapable to' enjoy
That empire any other way;
(1) This Canto is entirely independent of the adventures of Hudibras and Ralpho: neither of our heroes make their appearance other characters are introduced, and a new vein of satire is exhibited. The Poet steps out of his road, and skips from the time wherein these adventures happened to Cromwell's death, and from thence to the dissolution of the Rump Parliament.
(2) Breezes often bring along with them great quantities of insects, which some opine are generated from viscous / exhalations in the air, but Butler raises them from the cow.
So Presbyter begot the other
Upon the Good Old Cause, his mother,
Then bore them like the devil's dam,
Whose son and husband are the same;
And yet no natural tie of blood,
Nor interest for the common good,
Could, when their profits interfer'd,
Get quarter for each other's beard:
For when they thriv'd they never fadg'd,
But only by the ears engag'd;
Like dogs that snarl about a bone,
And play together when they 'ave none;
As by their truest characters,
Their constant actions, plainly' appears.
Rebellion now began, for lack
Of zeal and plunder, to grow slack;
The Cause and Covenant to lessen,
And Providence to be out of season;
For now there was no more to purchase
O' th' King's revenue, and the Churches,
But all divided, shar'd, and gone,
That us'd to urge the Brethren on;
Which forc'd the stubborn'st for the Cause,
To cross the cudgels to the laws,
That what by breaking them they 'ad gain'd,
By their support might be maintain'd;
Like thieves, that in a hemp-plot lie,
Secur'd against the Hue-and-cry;
For Presbyter and Independent
Were now turn'd Plaintiff and Defendant;
Laid out their apostolic functions
On carnal Orders and Injunctions;
And all their precious Gifts and Graces
On Outlawries and Scire facias;
At Michael's term had many trial,
Worse than the Dragon and St. Michael,
Where thousands fell, in shape of fees,
Into the bottomless abyss.
For when, like brethren, and like friends,
They came to share their dividends,
And every partner to possess
His church and state joint-purchases,
In which the ablest Saint, and best,
Was nam'd in trust by all the rest
To pay their money, and, instead
Of every Brother, pass the deed,
He straight converted all his gifts
To pious frauds and holy shifts,
And settled all the other shares
Upon his outward man and's heirs ;
Held all they claim'd as forfeit lands
Deliver'd up into his hands,
And passed upon his conscience
By pre-entail of Providence;
Impeach'd the rest for Reprobates,
That had no titles to estates,
But by their spiritual attaints
Degraded from the right of Saints.
This b'ing reveal'd, they now begun
With law and conscience to fall on,
And laid about as hot and brain-sick
As the' Utter-barrister of Swanswick; 3
Engag'd with money-bags, as bold
As men with sandbags did of old,
(3) Prynne was born at Swanswick, and used to style himself Utter-barrister; which seems to imply a champion as well as advocate. See Minshen in voc.
(4) A combat in a legal way, by knights and gentlemen,
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