328
HUDIBRAS.
[PART III.
Like dogs that snarl about a bone,
And play together when they 've none;[1]
As by their truest characters,
Their constant actions, plainl' appears. 30
Rebellion now began, for lack
Of zeal and plunder, to grow slack;
The Cause and Covenant to lessen,
And Providence to b' out of season:
For now there was no more to purchase[2] 35
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,[3] 40
That what by breaking them they'd gain'd,
By their support might be maintain'd;
Like thieves, that in a hemp-plot lie,
Secur'd against the hue-and-cry.[4]
For Presbyter and Independent 45
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; 50
At Michael's term had many a trial,
Worse than the dragon and St Michael,
Where thousands fell, in shape of fees,
Into the bottomless abyss.
For when, like bretheren and friends, 55
They came to share their dividends,[5]
And play together when they 've none;[1]
As by their truest characters,
Their constant actions, plainl' appears. 30
Rebellion now began, for lack
Of zeal and plunder, to grow slack;
The Cause and Covenant to lessen,
And Providence to b' out of season:
For now there was no more to purchase[2] 35
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,[3] 40
That what by breaking them they'd gain'd,
By their support might be maintain'd;
Like thieves, that in a hemp-plot lie,
Secur'd against the hue-and-cry.[4]
For Presbyter and Independent 45
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; 50
At Michael's term had many a trial,
Worse than the dragon and St Michael,
Where thousands fell, in shape of fees,
Into the bottomless abyss.
For when, like bretheren and friends, 55
They came to share their dividends,[5]
- ↑ Butler here implies that while the Dissenters were struggling for the upper hand and had nothing to lose, they were united, but the moment they succeeded, the dominant party jealously excluded their former allies.
- ↑ Although the Ordinance which removed obstructions in the sale of the Royal Lands, was passed so early as 1649, it was not till 1659 that Whitehall, Somerset House, and Hampton Court, were ordered to be sold.
- ↑ Cudgels across one another denote a challenge: to cross the cudgels to the laws, is to offer to fight in defence of them.
- ↑ Meaning a plantation of hemp, which being a thick cover, a rogue may lie concealed therein. "Thus," says Butler, "he shelters himself under the cover of the law, like a thief in a hemp-plat, and makes that secure him which was intended for his destruction." Remains, vol. ii. p. 384.
- ↑ When the estates of the king and Church were ordered to be sold in
