Provincial, claffic, national; Mere human creature-cobwebs all. For when men run a-whoring thus Quoth Hudibras, I smell a rat; Than fynods are, thou doft deny, Yet there's a fallacy in this; 815 820 825 830 Thou wouldst sophistically imply And I, quoth Ralpho, 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, That, put 'em in a bag and shake 'em, 835 Yourself o' th' fudden would mistake 'em, 840 And not know which is which, unless You measure by their wickedness ; Quoth Hudibras, Thou offer'st much, But art not able to keep touch. 845 Mira de lente, as 'tis i' th' adage, y And then what genus rightly doth As justly pass for bears as they ç Altho' of diff'rent specieses. But, Ralpho, this is no fit place, Nor time, to argue out the cafe : 850 855 860 We read, in Nero's time, the Heathen, 795 When they destroy'd the Christian brethren, From whence, no doubt, th' invention came To this, quoth Ralpho, verily The point seems very plain to me ; It is an antichristian game, Unlawful both in thing and name. First, for the name; the word bear-baiting No more be prov'd by Scripture, than 800 810 Provincial, claffic, national; Mere human creature-cobwebs all. 815 For when men run a-whoring thus Quoth Hudibras, I smell a rat; Than fynods are, thou dost deny, Yet there's a fallacy in this; 820 825 830 |