To keep from flaying scourge thy skin,
And ankle free from iron gin?
Which now thou shalt—but first our care
Must see how Hudibras doth fare.970
This said, he gently rais'd the Knight,
And set him on his bum upright:
To rouse him from lethargic dump,[1]
He tweak'd his nose, with gentle thump[2]
Knock'd on his breast, as if 't had been975
To raise the spirits lodg'd within.
They, waken'd with the noise, did fly
From inward room to window eye,
And gently op'ning lid, the casement,
Look'd out, but yet with some amazement.980
This gladded Ralpho much to see,
Who thus bespoke the Knight: quoth he,
Tweaking his nose. You are, great Sir,
A self-denying conqueror;[3]
As high, victorious, and great,985
As e'er fought for the Churches yet,
If you will give yourself but leave
To make out what y' already have;
That's victory. The foe, for dread
Of your nine-worthiness,[4] is fled,990
All, save Crowdero, for whose sake
You did th' espous'd Cause undertake;
And he lies pris'ner at your feet,
To be dispos'd as you think meet,
- ↑ Compare this with the situation of Hector, who was stunned by a severe blow received from Ajax, and then comforted by Apollo.—Iliad xv. 240.
- ↑ Shakspeare represents Adonis attempting after this fashion to rouse Venus from her swoon—
"He wrings her nose, he strikes her on the cheek."
See also Beaumont and Fletcher, "The Nice Valour," Act iii. - ↑ Ridiculing the Self-denying Ordinance, by which the members of both Houses, who were in the army, pledged themselves to renounce either their civil or their military appointments. Grey thinks that Butler here meant to sneer at Sir Samuel Luke, who, notwithstanding the Self-denying Ordinance, continued for 20 days to hold office as governor of Newport Pagnel.
- ↑ Thrice worthy is a common appellation in romances. This is borrowed from the History of the "Nine Worthies."
