Th' Ægyptians worship'd Dogs, and for
Their Faith made internecine War.
Others ador'd a Rat, and fome
For that Church fuffer'd Martyrdom.
The Indians fought for the Truth
Of th' Elephant and Monkey's Tooth:
And many, to defend that Faith,
Fought it out mordicus to Death:
But no Beaft ever was fo slight,
For Man, as for his God, to fight.
They have more Wit, alas! and know
Themselves and us better than fo.
But we, who only do infufe,
The Rage in them, like Boute-feus ;
'Tis our Example that inftills
In them, th' Infection of our Ills.
For, as fome late Philofophers
Have well obferv'd, Beafts, that converse
With Man, take after him, as Hogs
Get Pigs all th' Year, and Bitches Dogs.
Just fo, by our Example, Cattle
Learn to give one another Battle.
We read in Nero's time, the Heathen
When they deftroy'd the Chriftian Brethren,
Car Egyptiens adorerent
Les chiens, & pour eux fe tuerent; (77)
Aux rats un Temple on fit bâtir,
Cette Eglife eut plus d'un Martyr;
Dent d'élephant, ou finge infâme, (78)
De la guerre alluma la flamme
Dans l'Inde, & de chaque parti
On dit bien du monde péri.
Mais on n'a jamais vu de bête
Adorer l'homme; hélas! Sa tête
Est bien meilleure, & connoît mieux
Ce que nous valons tous les deux.
Mais non : c'est nous, c'eft notre rage,
Qui leur inspire le carnage;
Car l'exemple rend furieux,
Ainfi qu'un mal contagieux.
Et l'on voit que celles qui gîtent
Avec les hommes, les imitent;
Truie & chienne font des petits
Toute l'année, & l'ont appris
De nos femmes; bœufs en colere,
Tout comme nous, fe font la
On lit que du tems de Néron,
Durant la perfécution,
Que l'on faifoit à nos faints Freres,
Les tourmentant de cent manieres,
They few'd them in the Skins of Bears,
And then fet Dogs about their ears ;
From whence, no doubt, th' Invention came
Of this lewd antichriftian Game.
To this, quoth Ralpho, Verily
The Point feems very plain to me ;
It is an antichriftian Game,
Unlawful both in Thing and Name.
Firft for the Name, the Word Bear-baiting
Is carnal, and of Man's creating s
For certainly there's no fuch Word
In all the Scripture on Record:
Therefore unlawful, and a Sin ;
And fo is (Secondly) the Thing.
A vile Affembly 'tis, that can
No more be prov'd by Scripture, than
Provincial, Claffick, National,
Mere Human Creature-Cobwebs all.
Thirdly, It is Idolatrous ;
For when Men run a Whoring thus
With their Inventions, whatfoe'er
The Thing be, whether Dog or Bear,
It is Idolatrous and Pagan,
No leff than worshipping of Dagon.
Quoth Hudibras, I smell a Rat,
Ralpho, thou dost prevaricate:
Dans des peaux d'ours on les coufoit,
Puis aux chiens on les expofoit;
Et c'est delà que vient peut-être,
Ce jeu payen, barbare & traître.
C'est clair, dit Ralph, & je soutiens
Ce jeu des plus anti-Chrétiens;
D'abord, le nom m'en indispose,
Et me déplaît, comme la chofe ;
Car combat d'ours eft bien un nom
De l'humaine création
Qu'on ne voit pas dans l'Ecriture, (79)
Donc à la foi c'est une injure.
D'ailleurs, ce concours de manans
Dans aucun texte n'a garans;
Non plus que claffique Synode,
Ou les autres, quoiqu'à la mode ;
Et tout cela n'eft, pour certain,
Qu'invention d'efprit humain.
Et n'eft-ce pas idolâtrie
De courir après la manie, (80)
Suivant ce qu'à l'esprit nous vient,
Que la chofe foit ours ou chien?
De Dagon le culte damnable
N'étoit pas plus abominable.
Tout beau, Ralpho, dit Hudibras, Carton difcours ne me va pas;
For though the Thefis which thou lay'ft
Be true ad amuffim, as thou say'st;
(For that Bear-baiting should appear
Jure Divino lawfuller
Than Synods are, thou doft deny.
Totidem Verbis; fo do I:)
Yet there's a Fallacy in this;
For if by sly Homaofis,
Tuffis pro crepitu, an Art
Under a Cough to slur a Fart,
Thou woud'ft fophiftically imply,
Both are unlawful, I deny.
And I (quoth Ralph ) do not doubt
But Bear-baiting may be made out
In Gospel-times, as lawful as is
Provincial, or Parochial Claffis ;
And that both are so near of Kin,
And like in all, as well as Sin,
That put them in a bag, and shake 'em,
Your felf o'th' fudden wou'd mistake 'em,
And not know which iswhich, unless
You measure by their Wickedness:
For 'tis not hard t'imagine whether
O'th' two is worst, tho' I name neither.
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