10

Not fo her young; for their unequal line Was hero's make, half human, half divine. Their earthly mold obnoxious was to fate, The immortal part affum'd immortal state. Of thefe a flaughter'd army lay in blood, Extended o'er the Caledonian wood, Their native walk; whofe vocal blood arofe, 15 And cry'd for pardon on their perjur'd foes. Their fate was fruitful, and the fanguine feed, Endu'd with fouls, increas'd the facred breed.

What relation has the hind to our Saviour? Or what notion have we of a panther's bible? If you fay he means the Church, how does the Church feed on lawns, or range the foreft? Let it be always a Church, or always the cloven-footed beaft, for we cannot bear his fhifting the fcene every line. If it is abfurd in comedies to make a peafant talk in the strain of a hero, or a country wench use the language of a court, how monftrous is it to make a priest of a hind, and a parfon of a panther! To bring them in difputing, with all the formalities and terms of the fchool! Though, as to the arguments themfelves, thofe, we confess, are fuited to the capacity of the beafts; and if we would fuppofe a hind expreffing herfelf about thefe matters, fhe would talk at that rate." Dr. J. WARTON.

Ver. 1. Hind,] It is fingular, that in the most curious account of old Sunfkreet Fables, given to us by Mr. Wilkins, entitled Heeto-pades, or Amicable Inftruction, animals, like our hind and panther, are fometimes abfurdly introduced as arguing on fubjects of theology; a tyger is defcribed as devout, and praifing charity and religious duties; an old moufe is well verfed in Neetce Saftras, or Syftem of Policy and Ethics; and a cat reads religious books. Mr. Wilkins tranflated the Mahabarat, an Epic Poem, and Sir William Jones the Sacontala, a Drama of a furprising early date, and an invaluable curiosity on account of the manners defcribed in it. Dr. J. WARTON. The ravages and

the Caledonian wood,]

Ver. 14. disorders committed by the Scotch covenanters gave occafion to thefe lines.

DERRICK.

20

So captive Ifrael multiply'd in chains,
A numerous exile, and enjoy'd her pains.
With grief and gladnefs mix'd, the mother
view'd

Her martyr'd offspring, and their race renew’d;
Their corpfe to perish, but their kind to laft,
So much the deathlefs plant the dying fruit
furpafs'd.

Panting and pensive now the rang'd alone, 25 And wander'd in the kingdoms, once her own. The common hunt, though from their rage reftrain'd

30

By fovereign power, her company disdain'd;
Grinn'd as they pafs'd, and with a glaring eye
Gave gloomy figns of fecret enmity.
'Tis true, the bounded by, and trip'd so light,
They had not time to take a steady sight.
For truth has fuch a face and fuch a mein,
As to be lov'd needs only to be seen.

The bloody Bear, an independent beaft, 35 Unlick'd to form, in groans her hate expreft.

Ver. 21. their mother.

the mother view'd] Original edition,

TODD.

Ver. 29. Grinn'd as they pafs'd, and with a glaring eye

Gave gloomy figns &c.]

Dryden here, I think, had Milton in his mind. See Par. Loft, x. 713.

Ver. 35. The bloody Bear, an independent beaft,] The Inde pendents were a fect of Proteftants, who held, that "each church, within itself, had fufficient power to do every thing

Among the timorous kind the quaking Hare
Profefs'd neutrality, but would not swear.
Next her the buffoon Ape, as atheists use,
Mimick'd all fects, and had his own to chufe: 40

"relative to church-government." They fprung up amidst the confufions of Charles the Firft's reign, about the year 1643. Walker calls them a compofition of Jews, Chriftians, and Turks. See his Hiftory of Independency, p. 1, 27; for which he was committed by Cromwell to the Tower. See Echard's Hiftory of England, vol. ii. p. 435, for an account of their rife. Butler calls them,

"The maggots of corrupted texts."

And our author, in his Religio Laici, fays,

Hud. p. 3. v. 10.

"The fly-blown text creates a crawling brood,
"And turns to maggots what was meant for food."

Because that, in order to infufe into people a notion that they had a right to chufe their own paftors, they corrupted this text: Wherefore, brethren, look you out from among you feven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost, whom ye (instead of we) may appoint over this bufinefs. Acts vi. 3. Field is faid to have been the first printer of this forgery, and to have received for it 15001. Be that as it may, it is certainly to be found in feveral of his editions of the Bible, particularly in his fine folio of 1659-60, and his octavo of 1661. DERRICK.

Ver. 37.

the quaking Hare

Profess'd neutrality, but would not fwear.]

The Quakers: fo called from certain tremblings and convulfions, with which they appear to be feized at their religious meetings. They decline all military employments; reject the ufe of arms, which they call profane and carnal weapons; and refufe the oaths. Their affirmation is now admitted, by Act of Parliament, in our jufticiary courts, as of equal force to an oath taken by a perfon of any other perfuafion upon the gospel.

DERRICK.

Ver. 39. Next her the buffoon Ape] No particular fect is meant by the buffoon ape, but libertines and latitudinarians, perfons ready to conform to any thing to ferve their turn.

DERRICK.

Still when the Lion look'd, his knees he bent,
And paid at church a courtier's compliment.
The briftled Baptist Boar, impure as he,
(But whiten'd with the foam of fanctity,)

Ver. 43. The bristled Baptift Boar,] The unexampled abfurdities of the principles and practices of the Anabaptifts were too inviting and copious a fubject for Swift not to feize, and enabled him to give fome of the finest touches of ridicule in his Tale of a Tub.

"Having, from his manner of living, frequent occafions to wash himfelf, he would often leap over head and ears into the water, though it were in the midst of the winter, but was always obferved to come out again much dirtier, if poffible, than when he went in.

"He was the first that ever found out the secret of contriving a foporiferous medicine to be conveyed in at the cars: it was a compound of fulphur and bulm of Gilead, with a little Pilgrim's Progrefs fulve.

"He wore a large plaifter of artificial cauftics on his stomach, with the fervour of which he could fet himself a groaning, like the famous board, upon application of a red hot iron.

"He would ftand in the turning of a street, and calling to thofe who paffed by, would cry to one, Worthy Sir, do me the honour of a good flap in the chops: to another, Honeft friend, pray favour me with a handfome kick on the arfe: Madam, Shall I entreat a small box on the ear from your ladyship's fair hand? Noble captain, lend a reasonable thwack, for the love of God, with that cane of your's, over these poor shoulders. And when he had, by fuch earnest folicitations, made a fhift to procure a bafting fufficient to fwell up his fancy and his fides, he would return home extremely coinforted, and full of terrible accounts of what he had undergone for the public good. Obferve this ftroke, (faid he, fhewing his bare fhoulders) a plaguy janisary gave it me this very morning at feven o'clock, as with much ado I was driving off the great Turk. Neighbours of mine, this broken head deferves a plajter; had poor Jack been tender of his noddle, you would have feen the Pope and the French King long before this time of day among your wives and your warehoujes. Dear Chriftians, the Great Mogul was come as far as Whitechapel, and you may thank these poor fides, that he hath not (God bless us) already fwallowed up man, woman, and child.” Dr. J. WARTON.

Ibid. The briftled Baptift Boar, &c.] The Anabaptifts, who reject infant baptifm, and baptize only adults by immersion.

DERRICK.

With fat pollutions fill'd the facred place, 451
And mountains levell'd in his furious race;
So first rebellion founded was in grace.
But fince the mighty ravage, which he made
In German forefts, had his guilt betray'd,
With broken tufks, and with a borrow'd name, 50
He fhunn'd the vengeance, and conceal'd the
fhame;

So lurk'd in fects unfeen. With greater guile
Falfe Reynard fed on confecrated spoil :

The graceless beaft by Athanafius first
Was chas'd from Nice; then, by Socinus

nurs'd,

55

His impious race their blafphemy renew'd, And nature's King through nature's optics view'd.

Revers'd they view'd him leffen'd to their eye,
Nor in an infant could a God defcry:
New fwarming fects to this obliquely tend, 60
Hence they began, and here they all will end.

What weight of ancient witnefs can prevail, If private reason hold the public scale?

Ver. 49. In German forefts, had his guilt betray'd,] They fucceeded to the rife of Lutheranifin in Germany about the year 1521, and committed innumerable acts of violence, particularly in Munfter. DERRICK.

Ver. 53. False Reynard fed on confecrated Spoil:

The graceless beaft &c.]

This alludes to the perfecution of the Arians, and the rife of the Socinians.

DERRICK.