ANSWER.]
HUDIBRAS.
443
Of whom no less will satisfy,
Than all the sex, your tyranny: 190
Altho' you'll find it a hard province,
With all your crafty frauds and covins,[1]
To govern such a num'rous crew,
Who, one by one, now govern you;
For if you all were Solomons, 195
And wise and great as he was once,
You'll find they're able to subdue,
As they did him, and baffle you.
And if you are impos'd upon,
'Tis by your own temptation done: 200
That with your ignorance invite,
And teach ns how to use the slight.
For when we find ye're still more taken
With false attracts of our own making.
Swear that's a rose, and that's a stone, 205
Like sots, to ns that laid it on,
And what we did but slightly prime,
Most ignorantly daub in rhyme;
You force us, in our own defences,
To copy beams and influences; 210
To lay perfections on the graces,
And draw attracts upon our faces;
And, in compliance to your wit,
Your own false jewels counterfeit:
For, by the practice of those arts, 215
We gain a greater share of hearts;
And those deserve in reason most,
That greatest pains and study cost;
For great perfections are, like heav'n.
Too rich a present to be giv'n: 220
Nor are those master-strokes of beauty
To be perform'd without hard duty,
Which, when they're nobly done, and well,
The simple natural excel.
How fair and sweet the planted rose,[2] 225
Beyond the wild in hedges, grows!
Than all the sex, your tyranny: 190
Altho' you'll find it a hard province,
With all your crafty frauds and covins,[1]
To govern such a num'rous crew,
Who, one by one, now govern you;
For if you all were Solomons, 195
And wise and great as he was once,
You'll find they're able to subdue,
As they did him, and baffle you.
And if you are impos'd upon,
'Tis by your own temptation done: 200
That with your ignorance invite,
And teach ns how to use the slight.
For when we find ye're still more taken
With false attracts of our own making.
Swear that's a rose, and that's a stone, 205
Like sots, to ns that laid it on,
And what we did but slightly prime,
Most ignorantly daub in rhyme;
You force us, in our own defences,
To copy beams and influences; 210
To lay perfections on the graces,
And draw attracts upon our faces;
And, in compliance to your wit,
Your own false jewels counterfeit:
For, by the practice of those arts, 215
We gain a greater share of hearts;
And those deserve in reason most,
That greatest pains and study cost;
For great perfections are, like heav'n.
Too rich a present to be giv'n: 220
Nor are those master-strokes of beauty
To be perform'd without hard duty,
Which, when they're nobly done, and well,
The simple natural excel.
How fair and sweet the planted rose,[2] 225
Beyond the wild in hedges, grows!
