316
HUDIBRAS.
[PART III.
(Thought he, this devil's full of malice,
That on my late disasters rallies.) 1370
Condemn'd to whipping, but declin'd it,
By being more heroic-minded;
And at a riding handled worse,
With treats more slovenly and coarse:[1]
Engag'd with fiends in stubborn wars, 1375
And hot disputes with conjurers;
And, when thou 'dst bravely won the day,
Wast fain to steal thyself away—
(I see, thought he, this shameless elf
Would fain steal me too from myself,[2] 1380
That impudently dares to own
What I have suffer'd for and done);
And now, but vent'ring to betray,
Hast met with vengeance the same way.
Thought he, how does the devil know 1385
What 'twas that I design'd to do?
His office of intelligence,
His oracles, are ceas'd long since;[3]
And he knows nothing of the saints,
But what some treach'rous spy acquaints. 1390
This is some pettifogging fiend,
Some under door-keeper's friend's friend,
That undertakes to understand,
And juggles at the second-hand,
And now would pass for Spirit Po,[4] 1395
And all men's dark concerns foreknow.
I think I need not fear him for't;
These rallying devils do no hurt.[5]
That on my late disasters rallies.) 1370
Condemn'd to whipping, but declin'd it,
By being more heroic-minded;
And at a riding handled worse,
With treats more slovenly and coarse:[1]
Engag'd with fiends in stubborn wars, 1375
And hot disputes with conjurers;
And, when thou 'dst bravely won the day,
Wast fain to steal thyself away—
(I see, thought he, this shameless elf
Would fain steal me too from myself,[2] 1380
That impudently dares to own
What I have suffer'd for and done);
And now, but vent'ring to betray,
Hast met with vengeance the same way.
Thought he, how does the devil know 1385
What 'twas that I design'd to do?
His office of intelligence,
His oracles, are ceas'd long since;[3]
And he knows nothing of the saints,
But what some treach'rous spy acquaints. 1390
This is some pettifogging fiend,
Some under door-keeper's friend's friend,
That undertakes to understand,
And juggles at the second-hand,
And now would pass for Spirit Po,[4] 1395
And all men's dark concerns foreknow.
I think I need not fear him for't;
These rallying devils do no hurt.[5]
- ↑ Alluding to the result of the Knight's attempt to put down the Skimmington.
- ↑ A phrase used by Horace, Carm. lib. iv. Od. 13, v. 20; also by Ben Jonson in his Tale of a Tub, Act iii. sc. 5.
- ↑ The heathen oracles wore said to have ceased at the Nativity. See [[Author:|John Milton|Milton's]] Ode.
- ↑ Tom Po was a common name for a spectre. The word seems to be akin to bug in "bugbear;" to the Dutch bauw, a spectre; and to the Welsh bo, a hobgoblin. One son of Odin was named Po or Bo.
- ↑ Grey illustrates this by the story of two male servants, one of whom alarmed the other, who was very apprehensive of the devil, by getting under the bed at night time and playing pranks; but happening to make a natural explosion, the frightened man recovered himself, and cried out, "Oh! oh!
