Hudibras Redivivus or, a Burlesque poem on the times. The Second Edition. To which is added, An Apology, and some other Improvements throughout the Whole [by Edward Ward] |
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 | Hudibras Redivivus |  |
CANTO IX.
The Teacher, after some Delay,
In which h'ad study'd what to say,
With Grace and Gravity affected,
Rose from his Seat, and stood erected.
Then opening of his Lips most nicely,
He made us t'other Pray'r concisely;
Which Work he did with Amen Crown,
And then the sighing Saints sat down:
Then with his horny Thumbs, he spread
A Book, which, when 'twas open laid,
He did therein precisely look,
And thus his Text he gravely took.
In which h'ad study'd what to say,
With Grace and Gravity affected,
Rose from his Seat, and stood erected.
Then opening of his Lips most nicely,
He made us t'other Pray'r concisely;
Which Work he did with Amen Crown,
And then the sighing Saints sat down:
8
A Book, which, when 'twas open laid,
He did therein precisely look,
And thus his Text he gravely took.
Most Holy Brethren, if you mind,
In the last Book of Kings, you'll find,
Mark you me, Chapter Forty Eight,
When Israel's Saints were Rich and Great,
These Wonders in the thirtieth Verse,
Written in bloody Characters:
This Day the haughty Tyrant fell,
And with him all the Priests of Baal:
Bless'd be the Hand that gave the Stroke,
Which freed all Israel from her Yoke.
In the last Book of Kings, you'll find,
Mark you me, Chapter Forty Eight,
When Israel's Saints were Rich and Great,
These Wonders in the thirtieth Verse,
Written in bloody Characters:
This Day the haughty Tyrant fell,
And with him all the Priests of Baal:
Bless'd be the Hand that gave the Stroke,
Which freed all Israel from her Yoke.
This is a hopeful Rogue, thought I,
He'll preach rare Doctrine by and by;
Sure he and all his list'ning Mob,
Are Members of the Calves-Head Club;
None but such Rebels would dispence
With so much Heath'nish Impudence.
He'll preach rare Doctrine by and by;
Sure he and all his list'ning Mob,
Are Members of the Calves-Head Club;
None but such Rebels would dispence
With so much Heath'nish Impudence.
9
I sha'n't, says he, divide my Words,
O'th' Text, as Joiners do Deal Boards,
And as too many Knaves have done,
Make half a Dozen out of one;
But keep in Union all its Parts,
And Glue them closely to your Hearts.
My Words are not like Human Sorrow,
That comes to Day, and goes to Morrow;
But will, by th'help of Pray'r and Fasting,
Stick by your Souls for everlasting.
O'th' Text, as Joiners do Deal Boards,
And as too many Knaves have done,
Make half a Dozen out of one;
But keep in Union all its Parts,
And Glue them closely to your Hearts.
My Words are not like Human Sorrow,
That comes to Day, and goes to Morrow;
But will, by th'help of Pray'r and Fasting,
Stick by your Souls for everlasting.
In the first place, my Text imports
The Massacres, the Spoils, and Hurts,
That to the Righteous have been done
By wicked Tyrants on the Throne.
The Massacres, the Spoils, and Hurts,
That to the Righteous have been done
By wicked Tyrants on the Throne.
Thought I, not half so many, sure,
As have been done in Times of Yore,
When Rogues, like you, by Hell appointed,
Pull'd down God's Church, and his Anointed.
As have been done in Times of Yore,
When Rogues, like you, by Hell appointed,
Pull'd down God's Church, and his Anointed.
After he'd made a little Pause,
Again he stretch'd his Lockrum Jaws;
But now, says he, 'tis worth our Wonder,
T'observe how th'Lord brings Tyrants under,
As Ahaz, Jeroboam, Saul,
Jehoram, and the Dev'l and all,
Who were so wicked, that they valu'd
No more Religion, than a Ballad;
And gave the Priests no more Respect,
Than if they'd been a lousy Sect
Of Heath'nish Sophisters of Old,
Who, as we've been in Proverb told,
Were such poor despicable Wretches,
They us'd to shew, thro' fallen Stitches,
And Pocket-holes, their naked Britches.
Again he stretch'd his Lockrum Jaws;
10
T'observe how th'Lord brings Tyrants under,
As Ahaz, Jeroboam, Saul,
Jehoram, and the Dev'l and all,
Who were so wicked, that they valu'd
No more Religion, than a Ballad;
And gave the Priests no more Respect,
Than if they'd been a lousy Sect
Of Heath'nish Sophisters of Old,
Who, as we've been in Proverb told,
Were such poor despicable Wretches,
They us'd to shew, thro' fallen Stitches,
And Pocket-holes, their naked Britches.
Thought I, for all your Pulpit-Drumming,
Had you no Hose to hide your Bum in,
But what true Merit would procure you,
I then might venture to assure you,
Your poor Deserts would scarce be able
To find you Trouzers to your Bauble;
But all the Holy Tribe might see
Your Label of Mortalitie
Hang dang'ling down, in sorry Pickle,
To th'Grief of all the Gender Fickle,
That Comfort seek in Conventicle.
Had you no Hose to hide your Bum in,
But what true Merit would procure you,
I then might venture to assure you,
Your poor Deserts would scarce be able
To find you Trouzers to your Bauble;
11
Your Label of Mortalitie
Hang dang'ling down, in sorry Pickle,
To th'Grief of all the Gender Fickle,
That Comfort seek in Conventicle.
Said he, 'tis for this Cause, we see
Proud Kings reduc'd to Miserie,
From their high Thrones and Scepters torn,
And made God's Holy People's Scorn.
Proud Kings reduc'd to Miserie,
From their high Thrones and Scepters torn,
And made God's Holy People's Scorn.
Kings have no longer Right to Reign,
Than they the Covenant maintain;
Nor ought the People to obey
Their Prince, but in a righteous Way;
So that when e'er he breaks the Law,
Allegiance is not worth a Straw;
Or if he falsifies his Oath,
His Crime absolves us of our Troth;
For when us Saints are disappointed,
The Sovereign Pow'r is quite disjointed,
And he no longer God's Anointed:
As you may read Review th'Eleventh,
And Observator Twenty seventh;
In many Godly Books beside,
If you'd be further satisfied.
Than they the Covenant maintain;
Nor ought the People to obey
Their Prince, but in a righteous Way;
So that when e'er he breaks the Law,
Allegiance is not worth a Straw;
Or if he falsifies his Oath,
His Crime absolves us of our Troth;
For when us Saints are disappointed,
The Sovereign Pow'r is quite disjointed,
And he no longer God's Anointed:
12
And Observator Twenty seventh;
In many Godly Books beside,
If you'd be further satisfied.
Rare Doctrine for a Rogue to scatter,
And exc'lent Proofs to clear the Matter.
And exc'lent Proofs to clear the Matter.
But then, says he, perhaps you'll say,
How shall we know, that do obey,
When he that rules, the Law abuses,
And when his Pow'r he rightly uses.
I'll answer this with greater Ease,
Than Boys catch Flies, or Women Fleas.
You must depend upon your Guide,
'Tis he that must these Things decide:
We know by special Revelation,
When a King means to hurt his Nation,
For Instance, James's Abdication;
And when we're pleas'd to let you know,
That Things are carry'd so and so,
You Nolens Volens, must believe us,
For curs'd is he that does deceive us:
Nay, lost for ever, d---n'd as sure
As the Wind changes every Hour.
How shall we know, that do obey,
When he that rules, the Law abuses,
And when his Pow'r he rightly uses.
I'll answer this with greater Ease,
Than Boys catch Flies, or Women Fleas.
You must depend upon your Guide,
'Tis he that must these Things decide:
We know by special Revelation,
When a King means to hurt his Nation,
For Instance, James's Abdication;
And when we're pleas'd to let you know,
That Things are carry'd so and so,
13
For curs'd is he that does deceive us:
Nay, lost for ever, d---n'd as sure
As the Wind changes every Hour.
Thought I, if Priests the Pow'r should have,
Assum'd by this Imperial Knave,
A Hero sure would sooner choose
To carry Brooms, and cry old Shooes,
Than rule a Kingdom at the Pleasure
Of such a Pack of Knaves as these are;
For should such Wolves, in Shepherds Clothing,
Who bear to Kingly Pow'r a Lothing,
Be Judges of their Prince's Actions,
And Kings be bound by their Directions;
The Ax, or some more cruel Fate,
Would on each wretched Sov'reign wait,
That we alass! should find too soon,
More Revolutions than the Moon.
For how should Kings endure the Teaz
Of hum'ring such damn'd Guides as these,
Whom Earth can't bind, or Heaven please;
For as all Kingdoms are the Lord's,
They prove, by wresting Scripture-Words;
His Saints, that is, themselves, Pox on 'em,
Have th'only Right to over-run 'em.
Assum'd by this Imperial Knave,
A Hero sure would sooner choose
To carry Brooms, and cry old Shooes,
Than rule a Kingdom at the Pleasure
Of such a Pack of Knaves as these are;
For should such Wolves, in Shepherds Clothing,
Who bear to Kingly Pow'r a Lothing,
Be Judges of their Prince's Actions,
And Kings be bound by their Directions;
The Ax, or some more cruel Fate,
Would on each wretched Sov'reign wait,
That we alass! should find too soon,
More Revolutions than the Moon.
For how should Kings endure the Teaz
Of hum'ring such damn'd Guides as these,
Whom Earth can't bind, or Heaven please;
14
They prove, by wresting Scripture-Words;
His Saints, that is, themselves, Pox on 'em,
Have th'only Right to over-run 'em.
Did not Jehojada, says he,
The Lord's chief Priest, as I may be,
Command Athaliah to be slain,
With all her Idolizing Train:
It's true, she bawl'd out Treason, Treason,
But all her Crys were out of Season;
For tho' a Queen, when once the Priest
Did her false Gods and her detest,
Pronouncing Heav'n's Degree upon her,
Alass! what signify'd her Honour?
Just nothing, for she might have been
As well a Vagrant, as a Queen;
For once beneath the High-Priest's Curse,
Sh'ad neither better far'd, nor worse;
For whatsoe'er he doom'd her to,
That Fate she was to undergo;
For when the Priest has said the Word,
Deliver'd to him by the Lord,
Be it to Hang, to Burn, or Drown,
The bitter Portion must go down.
Thus when Athaliah was subjected
By the High Priest, by Heav'n directed,
In spight of Aid, she met her Fate,
And fell before her own Horse-Gate.
From hence we learn what mighty Things
The Priests have done by Queens and Kings;
Therefore the Lord commands, I say,
That you his Ministers obey;
For if you side for Love or Money,
With Crowns that have so oft undone ye,
The Dev'l will get a Hank upon ye.
The Lord's chief Priest, as I may be,
Command Athaliah to be slain,
With all her Idolizing Train:
It's true, she bawl'd out Treason, Treason,
But all her Crys were out of Season;
For tho' a Queen, when once the Priest
Did her false Gods and her detest,
Pronouncing Heav'n's Degree upon her,
Alass! what signify'd her Honour?
Just nothing, for she might have been
As well a Vagrant, as a Queen;
For once beneath the High-Priest's Curse,
Sh'ad neither better far'd, nor worse;
15
That Fate she was to undergo;
For when the Priest has said the Word,
Deliver'd to him by the Lord,
Be it to Hang, to Burn, or Drown,
The bitter Portion must go down.
Thus when Athaliah was subjected
By the High Priest, by Heav'n directed,
In spight of Aid, she met her Fate,
And fell before her own Horse-Gate.
From hence we learn what mighty Things
The Priests have done by Queens and Kings;
Therefore the Lord commands, I say,
That you his Ministers obey;
For if you side for Love or Money,
With Crowns that have so oft undone ye,
The Dev'l will get a Hank upon ye.
'Tis strange such canting Knaves, thought I,
Such Emp'ricks in Divinity,
Should sour the People with such Leven,
And all the while look up to Heaven,
As if they thought to please the Lord,
B' abusing thus his Holy Word;
And by confounding silly People
With Notions, so profoundly evil,
Not fit for Christians, but the Devil.
How should the Peace of Kingdoms flourish,
Where Pulpit-Quacks such Discords nourish,
And by false Jealousies and Fears,
Set King and People by the Ears,
And by the Doctrines that they spread,
Their spiteful scabby Flocks perswade
To hold this dangerous Opinion,
That they by Grace have all Dominion,
For Pow'r they hold in Grace is founded,
And Grace, they say, alone is bounded
Within their Holy Tribe, the Round-head?
Thus, like the Roman Church, we see
They hold Infallibilitie,
Only the one more wisely guess
'Tis seated in his Holiness;
Whilst our Geneva Dunces squabble
To place it in their gracious Rabble,
And make them Lords, that have a Right
By Dint of Grace, that is, by Spight,
Their Prince at Pleasure to abuse,
Reproach, Imprison, and Accuse,
Try, Condemn, Murder, then proceed,
When from all lawful Pow'r they're freed,
To raise some Rebel in his stead:
Thus change, thro' Preaching, and their Pray'rs,
Their Kings, as often as Lord May'rs;
That every bold rebellious Brother
Might hope, by making of a Pother,
To climb the Throne, one time or other.
Such Emp'ricks in Divinity,
16
And all the while look up to Heaven,
As if they thought to please the Lord,
B' abusing thus his Holy Word;
And by confounding silly People
With Notions, so profoundly evil,
Not fit for Christians, but the Devil.
How should the Peace of Kingdoms flourish,
Where Pulpit-Quacks such Discords nourish,
And by false Jealousies and Fears,
Set King and People by the Ears,
And by the Doctrines that they spread,
Their spiteful scabby Flocks perswade
To hold this dangerous Opinion,
That they by Grace have all Dominion,
For Pow'r they hold in Grace is founded,
And Grace, they say, alone is bounded
Within their Holy Tribe, the Round-head?
Thus, like the Roman Church, we see
They hold Infallibilitie,
17
'Tis seated in his Holiness;
Whilst our Geneva Dunces squabble
To place it in their gracious Rabble,
And make them Lords, that have a Right
By Dint of Grace, that is, by Spight,
Their Prince at Pleasure to abuse,
Reproach, Imprison, and Accuse,
Try, Condemn, Murder, then proceed,
When from all lawful Pow'r they're freed,
To raise some Rebel in his stead:
Thus change, thro' Preaching, and their Pray'rs,
Their Kings, as often as Lord May'rs;
That every bold rebellious Brother
Might hope, by making of a Pother,
To climb the Throne, one time or other.
So Rogues, that live by Rape and Spoil,
The Laws Severity revile,
And labour to themselves perswade,
That Theft's a consciencious Trade,
And downright Robbery, no more
Than Justice, in a Man that's poor.
The Laws Severity revile,
And labour to themselves perswade,
That Theft's a consciencious Trade,
18
Than Justice, in a Man that's poor.
But now our Teacher stretch'd his Jaws,
And cry'd aloud, Observe the Cause
Why Queen Athaliah dy'd the Death,
And thus resign'd her sinful Breath?
'Twas not with common Female Fraily,
That she dishonour'd Sov'reign Royalty,
Nor did she fall for Sins so paultry,
As Fornication, or Adult'ry;
But Crimes more damnable than both,
Such that provok'd the L---d to Wrath,
And made the Priests so vex'd and mad,
There was no Mercy to be had:
In short, sh' was guilty of a Sin
Unpardonable in a Queen.
And cry'd aloud, Observe the Cause
Why Queen Athaliah dy'd the Death,
And thus resign'd her sinful Breath?
'Twas not with common Female Fraily,
That she dishonour'd Sov'reign Royalty,
Nor did she fall for Sins so paultry,
As Fornication, or Adult'ry;
But Crimes more damnable than both,
Such that provok'd the L---d to Wrath,
And made the Priests so vex'd and mad,
There was no Mercy to be had:
In short, sh' was guilty of a Sin
Unpardonable in a Queen.
After strange Gods she ran a Whoring,
An Itch beyond the High Priest's curing;
Which grew at last to such an Evil,
That made her prove a very Devil:
False Gods she to her self erected,
And the true Worship she rejected;
Upon the Levites turn'd her Tail,
And countenanc'd the Priests of Baal,
With Idols, to polute the Temple,
And shew the Land a bad Example.
Thus she defil'd the House of David,
And took new Measures to be saved;
Ador'd false Gods for Love or Lucre,
For which the Levites did rebuke her,
But still in vain, 'till God forsook her:
And then, altho' a Queen before,
Abandon'd thus, she was no more;
No more, I will be bold to say
To the High Priest Jehojada,
Than the poor'st Gossip, if compar'd
To me, that teach the Holy Word;
For if against the Lord you Sin,
And we, his Priests, declare wherein:
If you don't speedily repent it,
And when we bid you do't, recant it,
We're bound in Duty to resent it.
So if you Evil heap upon us,
And don't repair the Wrong you've done us,
The Lord resents the sad Offence,
As offer'd to Omnipotence,
And will most surely find a Time
To punish, nay, revenge the Crime.
Therefore you Saints, that would be bless'd,
And of the Promis'd Land possess'd,
Must do as we, your Teachers, bid you,
And follow us, or Woe betide you;
For what can signify a Guide,
If Satan's Hobby you bestride,
And turn a head-strong, wicked Rover,
As if the Devil was your Drover.
An Itch beyond the High Priest's curing;
Which grew at last to such an Evil,
That made her prove a very Devil:
19
And the true Worship she rejected;
Upon the Levites turn'd her Tail,
And countenanc'd the Priests of Baal,
With Idols, to polute the Temple,
And shew the Land a bad Example.
Thus she defil'd the House of David,
And took new Measures to be saved;
Ador'd false Gods for Love or Lucre,
For which the Levites did rebuke her,
But still in vain, 'till God forsook her:
And then, altho' a Queen before,
Abandon'd thus, she was no more;
No more, I will be bold to say
To the High Priest Jehojada,
Than the poor'st Gossip, if compar'd
To me, that teach the Holy Word;
For if against the Lord you Sin,
And we, his Priests, declare wherein:
20
And when we bid you do't, recant it,
We're bound in Duty to resent it.
So if you Evil heap upon us,
And don't repair the Wrong you've done us,
The Lord resents the sad Offence,
As offer'd to Omnipotence,
And will most surely find a Time
To punish, nay, revenge the Crime.
Therefore you Saints, that would be bless'd,
And of the Promis'd Land possess'd,
Must do as we, your Teachers, bid you,
And follow us, or Woe betide you;
For what can signify a Guide,
If Satan's Hobby you bestride,
And turn a head-strong, wicked Rover,
As if the Devil was your Drover.
I say, Go on as we direct ye,
And Heav'n will bless ye, and protect ye;
Then we, the Elect, shall trample o'er
The Babylonian scarlet Whore;
Then shall the Holy Saints prevail,
And pull down all the Priests of Baal;
Confound their Bag-pipes, and their Fiddles,
Despoil their Images and Idols,
Deface their gilded Pagan Altars,
And turn their Girdles into Halters;
Stop all their old romantick Stories
Of Lymbo's and of Purgatories;
Consume their Anti-christian Base-Books,
Their Aves, Ros'ries, and their Mass-Books,
That they no more shall Preach or Prate in
That Heath'nish, Roman Language, Latin,
But Worship God as Christians shou'd do,
That is, as Holy I and you do:
Our Practice of their own Receipt,
Will make the Heav'nly Work compleat:
Faggot and Fire are exc'lent Tools
To humble Knaves, and punish Fools:
There can be no true Reformation,
Without a gentle Conflagration:
Therefore remember, that I say
This is the true and only Way
For you, the Saints, to rise to Glory,
And make the Wicked fly before ye.
Rush on at all; make no Delay;
Like Soldiers fight, like Prophets pray,
And we shall surely win the Day;
For where the Gospel and the Sword
Unite, to propagate the Word,
The Lord will, at our humble Call,
Become his People's General:
Therefore I say again, go on;
Ne'er flinch 'till the good Work be done,
And the whole World be made our own;
For Satan's Kingdom now shall perish,
And in their stead the Saints shall flourish:
For which Success, we ought to pray,
That full of Grace and Peace, we may
Conclude the Service of the Day.
And Heav'n will bless ye, and protect ye;
21
The Babylonian scarlet Whore;
Then shall the Holy Saints prevail,
And pull down all the Priests of Baal;
Confound their Bag-pipes, and their Fiddles,
Despoil their Images and Idols,
Deface their gilded Pagan Altars,
And turn their Girdles into Halters;
Stop all their old romantick Stories
Of Lymbo's and of Purgatories;
Consume their Anti-christian Base-Books,
Their Aves, Ros'ries, and their Mass-Books,
That they no more shall Preach or Prate in
That Heath'nish, Roman Language, Latin,
But Worship God as Christians shou'd do,
That is, as Holy I and you do:
Our Practice of their own Receipt,
Will make the Heav'nly Work compleat:
Faggot and Fire are exc'lent Tools
To humble Knaves, and punish Fools:
22
Without a gentle Conflagration:
Therefore remember, that I say
This is the true and only Way
For you, the Saints, to rise to Glory,
And make the Wicked fly before ye.
Rush on at all; make no Delay;
Like Soldiers fight, like Prophets pray,
And we shall surely win the Day;
For where the Gospel and the Sword
Unite, to propagate the Word,
The Lord will, at our humble Call,
Become his People's General:
Therefore I say again, go on;
Ne'er flinch 'till the good Work be done,
And the whole World be made our own;
For Satan's Kingdom now shall perish,
And in their stead the Saints shall flourish:
23
That full of Grace and Peace, we may
Conclude the Service of the Day.
Sure none, thought I, that hear a Knave,
With Noddle grey, and Looks so grave,
Delude a brainless Congregation
After so vile and wicked Fashion,
Can wonder at our sev'ral Factions,
And stand amaz'd at our Distractions,
Or blame the Crowd for their Divisions
About their Morals and Religions;
Since such illit'rate, envious Praters,
Are suffer'd to seduce poor Creatures,
And op'nly draw them to dissent,
Both from the Church and Government;
For every poys'nous Principle,
When Scripture's made the Vehicle,
In Pulpit spread by such a Villain,
Nurs'd up in Treason and Rebellion,
Will in short time infect a Million;
For all Contagions of the Tongue,
Are blown insensibly along
Into by Alleys, Nooks, and Holes,
Among such Pestilential Souls,
Whose Lungs still make the Poyson worse,
And break it forth with greater Force,
'Till the Plague does it self expand
To every Corner of the Land,
And gains such Epidemick Pow'r,
'Tis past the State-Physician's Cure:
Who then must flatter the Disease,
And paliate what he can't appease.
So Princes, that command a Throne,
When Faction is too pow'rful grown,
And forc'd, for Ease, to Favour shew,
Where Punishment is only due.
Thus, when our Bab'ler had confounded
What Fools believ'd he had expounded,
He chang'd his formal preaching Air
Into a Godly Mein, for Pray'r,
And so began a new Oration,
To bless his sighing Congregation,
Who look'd as if their meagre Chaps
Were chiefly fed with Pulpit-Scraps,
And that their skinny Sides and Faces
Were almost starv'd with hungry Messes
Of tedious Pray'rs, and cooling Graces.
With Noddle grey, and Looks so grave,
Delude a brainless Congregation
After so vile and wicked Fashion,
Can wonder at our sev'ral Factions,
And stand amaz'd at our Distractions,
Or blame the Crowd for their Divisions
About their Morals and Religions;
Since such illit'rate, envious Praters,
Are suffer'd to seduce poor Creatures,
And op'nly draw them to dissent,
Both from the Church and Government;
For every poys'nous Principle,
When Scripture's made the Vehicle,
In Pulpit spread by such a Villain,
Nurs'd up in Treason and Rebellion,
Will in short time infect a Million;
24
Are blown insensibly along
Into by Alleys, Nooks, and Holes,
Among such Pestilential Souls,
Whose Lungs still make the Poyson worse,
And break it forth with greater Force,
'Till the Plague does it self expand
To every Corner of the Land,
And gains such Epidemick Pow'r,
'Tis past the State-Physician's Cure:
Who then must flatter the Disease,
And paliate what he can't appease.
So Princes, that command a Throne,
When Faction is too pow'rful grown,
And forc'd, for Ease, to Favour shew,
Where Punishment is only due.
Thus, when our Bab'ler had confounded
What Fools believ'd he had expounded,
He chang'd his formal preaching Air
Into a Godly Mein, for Pray'r,
25
To bless his sighing Congregation,
Who look'd as if their meagre Chaps
Were chiefly fed with Pulpit-Scraps,
And that their skinny Sides and Faces
Were almost starv'd with hungry Messes
Of tedious Pray'rs, and cooling Graces.
Having thus screw'd his Parchment Jaws
Such sundry ways, to gain Applause,
He rowl'd his Ogles with a Grace
Becoming so a zealous Face,
That all the Brethren groan'd to see
Such exquisite Hypocrisie,
And by a sympathetick Force,
Look'd full as bad as him, or worse:
At length this Utterance he made,
And spoke his Words with doleful Dread,
Like Fryar Bacon's Brazen Head.
Such sundry ways, to gain Applause,
He rowl'd his Ogles with a Grace
Becoming so a zealous Face,
That all the Brethren groan'd to see
Such exquisite Hypocrisie,
And by a sympathetick Force,
Look'd full as bad as him, or worse:
At length this Utterance he made,
And spoke his Words with doleful Dread,
Like Fryar Bacon's Brazen Head.
O L---d, says he, O L---d of Host,
We are thy Saints, and that thou know'st;
Stick by us now, that we may scatter
Our Foes, and stick by thee herea'ter.
Exalt the Horns of us thy People
Above the Dragon of Bow Steeple,
That by thy Grace's Contribution,
We may have Strength of Constitution,
To knock down High Church Persecution.
We are thy Saints, and that thou know'st;
26
Our Foes, and stick by thee herea'ter.
Exalt the Horns of us thy People
Above the Dragon of Bow Steeple,
That by thy Grace's Contribution,
We may have Strength of Constitution,
To knock down High Church Persecution.
O let not this thy Holy Place,
E'er want that Scavenger, thy Grace,
That ev'ry Soul that comes herein,
May be new vamp'd, and made so clean,
That not one Speck of Sin or Folly
May any tender Conscience sully;
So that each Saint, who hither comes,
May return back to their own Homes
As undefil'd from Head to Rump,
As a new Jug just rinc'd at Pump.
E'er want that Scavenger, thy Grace,
That ev'ry Soul that comes herein,
May be new vamp'd, and made so clean,
That not one Speck of Sin or Folly
May any tender Conscience sully;
So that each Saint, who hither comes,
May return back to their own Homes
As undefil'd from Head to Rump,
As a new Jug just rinc'd at Pump.
O L---d, look down, and bless thy People,
The Young, the Old, the Blind, the Cripple.
May they thy Holy Word remember,
Above the Fifth Day of November.
O bless each Saint that edifies
By this Day's Holy Exercise:
Let thy Grace hover round about 'em,
And dwell within 'em, and without 'em,
That they may all Dominion gain,
And o'er thy Foes in Triumph reign;
So, L---d, with us say thou Amen.
The Young, the Old, the Blind, the Cripple.
27
Above the Fifth Day of November.
O bless each Saint that edifies
By this Day's Holy Exercise:
Let thy Grace hover round about 'em,
And dwell within 'em, and without 'em,
That they may all Dominion gain,
And o'er thy Foes in Triumph reign;
So, L---d, with us say thou Amen.
| Hudibras Redivivus | |