Although by woful proof we find
They always leave a fcar behind.
He knew the feat of Paradife,
Could tell in what degree it lies,
And, as he was difpos'd, could prove it
Below the moon, or elfe above it;
What Adam dreamt of, when his bride
Came from her clofet in his fide;
Whether the devil tempted her
By a High-Dutch interpreter;
If either of them had a navel;
Who firit made mufic malleable;
Whether the Serpent, at the Fall,
Had cloven feet, or none at all:
All this, without a glofs or comment,
He would unriddle in a moment,
In proper terms, fuch as men fmatter
When they throw out and mifs the matter.

For his religion, it was fit

175

Call fire, and fword, and defolation,
A godly, thorough Reformation,
Which always must be carry'd on,
And still be doing, never done;
As if Religion were intended
For nothing else but to be mended:
A fect whofe chief devotion lies
In odd perverfe antipathies;
In falling out with that or this,
180 And finding fomewhat ftill amifs;
More peevish, crofs, and fplenetick,
Thar dog distract, or monkey fick;
That with more care kept holy-day
The wrong, than others the right way;
185 Compound for fins they are inclin'd to,
By damning those they have no mind to:
Still fo perverfe and oppofite,
As if they worship'd God for spite:
The self-fame thing they will abhor
One way, and long another for:
Free-will they one way difavow,
Another, nothing else allow :
All piety confifts therein

To match his learning and his wit:
'Twas Prefbyterian true blue;
For he was of that ftubborn crew

190

Of errant faints, whom all men grant

To be the true Church Militant;
Such as do build their faith upon

The holy text of pike and gun;

That which they love most tenderly;

Quarrel with minc'd pies, and disparage

In them, in other men all fin:

Decide all controverfies by

Infallible artillery ;

And prove their doctrine orthodox,
By apoftolic blows and knocks;

200

Ver. 181. Several of the Ancients have fuppofed that Adam and Eve had no navels and, among the Moderns, the late learned Bishop Cumberland was of this opinion.

Ver. 189.] Mr. Butler is very exact in delineating his hero's religion; it was neceffary that he fhould be fo, that the reader might judge whether he was a proper person to fet up for a Reformer, and whether the religion he profeffed was more eligible than that he endeavoured to demolish. Whether the Poet has been just in the pourtrait must be left to every reader's obfervation.

Their best and dearest friend, plum-porridge;
Fat pig and goose itself oppofe,

And blafpheme cuftard through the nose.
Th' apostles of this fierce religion,
Towhom our Knight, by fast instinct
Like Mahomet's, were afs and widgeon,
Of wit and temper, was fo linkt,
As if hypocrify and nonsense
Had got th' advowson of his confcience.
Thus was he gifted and accouter'd,
We mean on th' infide, not the outward:

230

835

Ver. 207, 208.] The religion of the Prefbyte oppofition to the Church of England, and in quarrians of those times confifted principally in an Ver. 193, 194.] Where prefbytery has been ufe, as the eating Christmas-pies and pluni-porreiling with the most innocent customs then in eftablished, it has been ufually effected by force ridge at Christmas, which they reputed finful. of arms, like the religion of Mahomet: thus it was established at Geneva in Switzerland, Hol-ftinate in this refpect, that they kept a faft upon Ver. 213, 214. They were fo remarkably ob land, Scotland, &c. In France, for fome time, by that means, it obtained a toleration: much food was thed to get it eftablished in England ; d once, during that Grand Rebellion, it feemvery near gaining an establishment here.

er. 195, 196.] Upon thefe Cornet Jovce built ith, when he carried away the King, by a from Holdenby: for when his Majefty faium for a fight of his inftructions, Joyce ing fhould fee them prefently; and fo drawSis troop in the inward court, Thefe, Velid the Cornet) are my inftructions." are giv, 200.] Many instances of that kind Apicopaly Dr. Walker, in his Sufferings of the

γ.

66

Christmas-day.

Ver. 215, 216.] Added in 1674.

Ver. 235, 236.] Dr. Bruno Ryves gives a remarkable inftance of a fanatical confcience in 3 captain who was invited by a foldier to eat part of a goofe with him; but refufed, because he faid, would eat no itolen goofe, made no fcruple to ride it was ftolen: but being to march away, he who away upon a stolen mare; for, plundering Mrs. Bartlett of her mare, this hypocritical captan gave fufficient testimony to the world, that the old Pharifee and new Puritan have confciences of the felf-fame temper, "To ftrain at a guat, and "fwallow a camel.",

Which made fome confidently write,
They had no ftomachs but to fight.
'Tis falfe; for Arthur wore in hall
Round table like a farthingal,

On which, with fhirt pull'd out behind,
Andeke before, his good knights din'd;
Though 'twas no table fome iurpofe,
But a huge pair of round trunk hofe,
In which he carry'd as much meat
As he and all the knights could eat,

335 They were upon hard duty ftill,
And every night stood centinel,
To guard the magazine i' th' hofe
From two-legged and from four-legg'd foes.

340

This clad and fortify'd, Sir Knight,
From peaceful home, fet forth to fight.
But firft with nimble active force
He got on th' outfide of his horfe:
For having but one stirrupty'd
T' his faddle on the further fide,
It was fo fhort, h' had much ado
To reach it with his defperate toe;
But after many ftrains and heaves,
He got up to the faddle-eaves.

From whence he vaulted into th' feat
350 With fo much vigour, ftrength, and heat,
That he had almost tumbled over
With his own weight, but did recover,
By laying hold on tail and main,
Which oft he us'd instead of rein.

355

When laying by their fwords and truncheons, 345
They took their break fafts, or their nuncheons.
But let that pafs at prefent, left
We fhould forget where we digreft,
As learned authors ufe, to whom
We leave it, and to th' purpose come.
His puiffant fword unto his fide,
Near his undaunted heart, was ty'd,
With basket-hilt that would hold broth,
And ferve for fight and dinner both;
In it he melted lead for bullets
To fhoot at foes, and fometimes pullets,
To whom he bore fo fell a grutch,
He ne'er gave quarter to any fuch.
The trenchant blade, Toledo trusty,
For want of fighting was grown rusty,
And ate into itself, for lack
Of fomebody to hew and hack:
The peaceful fcabbard, where it dwelt,
The rancour of its edge had felt;
For of the lower end two handful
It had devoured, 'twas fo manful,
And fo much fcorn'd to lurk in case,
As if it durft not fhew its face.
In many defperate attempts

Of warrants, exigents, contempts,
It had appear'd with courage holder
Than Serjeant Bum invading fhoulder:
Oft had it ta'en poffeffion,
And prifoners too, or made them run.

This word a dagger had, his page,
That was but little for his age,
And therefore waited on him fo,
Ás dwarfs upon knights-errant do:
It was a ferviceable dudgeon,
Either for fighting or for drudging:
When it had ftabb'd, or broke a head,
It would fcrape trenchers, or chip bread;
Toaft cheese or bacon; though it were
To bait a moufe-trap, 'twould not care:
'Twould make clean fhoes, and in the earth
Set leeks and onions, and fo forth:
It had been 'prentice to a brewer,
Where this and more it did endure,
But left the trade, as many more
Have lately done on the fame fcore.
In th' hoifters, at his faddle-bow,
Two aged pistols he did flow,
Among the furplus of fuch meat
As in his hofe he could not get:
Thefe would inveigle rats with th' fcent,
To forage when the cocks were bent,
And fometimes catch them with a snap,
As cleverly as th' ableft trap:

But now we talk of mounting steed,
Before we further do proceed,
It doth behove us to fay fomething
Of that which bore our valiant bumkin.
The beast was sturdy, large and tall,

360 With mouth of meal, and eyes of wall; 1
I would fay eye, for h' had but one,
As most agree, though fome fay none.
He was well stay'd, and in his gait
Preferv'd a grave, majestic state;
365 At fpur or fwitch no more he kipt,
Or mended pace, than Spaniard whipt;
And yet fo fiery, he would bound
As if he griev'd to touch the ground;
That Cæfar's horse, who, as fame goes,
370 Had corns upon his feet and toes,
Was not by half fo tender-hooft,
Nor trod upon the ground so soft;
And as that beaft would kneel and floop
(Some write) to take his rider up;
So Hudibras's ('tis well known)
Would often do to fet him down.

375

We fhall not need to say what lack
Of leather was upon his back;
For that was hidden under pad,

380 And breech of Knight gall'd full as bad:
His ftrutting ribs on both fides show'd
Like furrows he himself had plow'd;
For underneath the fkirt of pannel,
'Twixt every two there was a channel:
385 His draggling tail hung in the dirt,
Which on his rider he would furt,
Still as his tender fide he prickt,
With arm'd heel, or with unarm'd, kickt;
For Hudibras wore but one fpur,
399 As wifely knowing could he stir
To active trot one fide of 's horfe,
The other would not hang an arse.
A Squire he had whofe name was Ralph,
That in th' adventure went his half,

395

Ver. 457.] Sir Roger L'Eftrange (Key H bras) fays, This famous Squire was one las

Though writers, for more ftately tone,
Do call him Ralpho, 'tis all one;
And when we can, with metre fafe,
We'll call him fo; if not, plain Ralph;
(For rhyme the rudder is of verses,

Whate'er men fpeak by this New-light,
460 Still they are fure to be i' th' right.
'Tis a dark-lantern of the Spirit,
Which none fee by but thofe that bear it
A light that falls down from on high,
For fpiritual trades to cozen by;
An ignis fatuus, that bewitches,

With which, like fhips, they fteer their courfes.)
An equal stock of wit and valour

He had laid in, by birth a tailor.

The mighty Tyrian queen, that gain'd
With fubtle threds a tract of land,

Did leave it with a castle fair

To his great ancestor, her heir;

From him defcended cross-legg'd knights,
Fam'd for their faith and warlike fights
Against the bloody Cannibal,

Whom they destroy'd both great and smail.
This fturdy Squire he had, as well

As the bold Trojan knight, feen hell,
Not with a counterfeited pafs

Of golden bough, but true gold-lace:
His knowledge was not far behind
The Knight's, but of another kind,
And he another way came by't;

Some call it Gifts, and fone New-light;
A liberal art, that cofts no pain.

Of study, induftry, or brains.

His wit was fent him for a token,

But in the carriage crack'd and broken;
Like commendation nine-pence crookt.
With To and from my love"-it lookt.
de ne'er confider'd it, as loth

To look a gift-horse in the mouth,
And very wifely would lay forth
No more upon it than 'twas worth;
But, as he got it freely, fo

He spent it frank and freely too:

or faints themselves will femetimes be,
Of gifts that coft them nothing, free.
by means of this, with hem and cougli,
holongers to enlighten'd stuff,

le could deep myfteries unriddle,
is eafily as thread a needle:

Tor as of vagabonds we say,

That they are ne'er befide their way, 7:

465

470

And leads men into pools and ditches,

510

To make them dip themfelves, and found
For Christendom in dirty pond;

To dive, like wild-fowl, for falvation,
And fish to catch regeneration,
This light infpires and plays upon
The nofe of faint, like bag-pipe drone,
And fpeaks, through hollow empty foul,
As through a trunk, or whispering-hole,

475 Such language as no mortal ear

But fpirit'al eaves-droppers can hear :
So Phoebus, or fome friendly Mufe,
Into fmall poets fong infuse,

Which they at fecond hand rehearse,

480 Through reed or bag-pipe, verfe for verse.
Thus Ralph became infallible

525

As three or four-legg'd oracle,

The ancient cup, or modern chair;

Spoke truth point blank, though unaware.

For myftic learning, wondrous able

In magic, talifman, and cabal,

530

485

Whofe primitive tradition reaches

As far as Adam's first green breeches;
Deep-fighted in intelligences,

490 Ideas, atoms, influences;

And much of Terra Incognita,
Th' intelligible world, could fay;
A deep occult philofopher,
As learn'd as the Wild Irish are,
495 Or Sir Agrippa, for profound
And folid lying much renown'd:
He Anthropofophus, and Flond,
And Jacob Behmen, understood;
Knew many an amulet and charm,

535

540

545

550

500 That would do neither good nor harm; In Roncrucian lore as learned, As he that Verè adeptus earned: He understood the speech of birds As well as they themfelves do words; Could tell what fubtlett parrots mean, tobinson, a zealous butcher in Moor-fields, who. That speak and think contrary clean; vas conceiving fome new querpo cut in church What member 'tis of whom they talk overnment: but, in a Key at the end of a burlefWhen they cry Rope, and Walk, knave, walk. ue poem of Mr. Butler's, 1706, in folio, p. 12. He'd extract numbers out of matter, tis obferved, "That Hudibras's Squire was one And keep them in a glafs, like water,' Pemble a tailor, and one of the Committee of Of fovereign power to make men wife; 'Sequeftrators," For, drept in blear thick-fighted eyes, Ver. 485.] His wits were fent bim, in all editions They'd make them fee in darkest night, 01704 inclufive. Like owls, though parblind in the light.

Ver. 487, 488.] Until the year 1696, when all noney, not milled, was called in, a ninepenny piece of filver was as common as fixpence or fhilings, and these ninepences were ufually bent as ixpences commonly are now, which bending was alled, "To my love, and From my love;" and uch ninepences the ordinary fellows gave or fent o their sweethearts as tokens of love.

556

Ver. 511.] Alluding to Ralpho's religion, who was, probably, an Anabaptift or Dipper,

Ver. 546.] Alluding to the Philofopher's Stone.

Examine Venus, and the Moon, 560 Who ftole a thimble or a fpoon ; And though they nothing will confels, Yet by their very looks can guess, And tell what guilty afpect bodes, Who ftole, and who receiv'd the goods: 565 They'll question Mars, and by his look, Detect who 'twas that nimm'd a cloke; Make Mercury confefs, and 'peach Thofe thieves which he himself did teach. 600 They 'll find, i' th' phyfiognomies O' th' planets, all men's deftinies; Like him that took the doctor's bill, And swallow'd it instead o' th' pill, Caft the nativity o' th' queftion, And form pofitions to be gueft on, As fure as if they knew the moment Of Native's birth, till what will come on't, They'll feel the pulfes of the ftars, To find out agues, coughs, catarrhs, And tell what crifis does divine

580 The rot in theep, or mange in fwine;
In men, what gives or cures the itch,
What makes them cuckolds, poor or rich;
What gains or lofes, hangs or faves;
What makes men great, what fools or knaves:
But not what wife, for only' of thofe
The ftars (they fay) cannot difpose,
No more than can the aftrologians:
There they fay right, and like true Trojans.
This Ralpho Knew, and therefore took
The other courfe, of which we spoke.