30
THE ELEPHANT
And now both Armies, mortally enrag'd,
Are in a fierce and bloody Fight engag'd;
65 And many fall on both sides kill'd and slain,
As by the Telescope 'tis clear and plain.
Look in it quickly then, that every one
May see his Share before the Battle's done.
At this, a famous great Philospher,
70 Admir'd, and celebrated, far and near
As one of wond'rous singular Invention,
And equal universal Comprehension,
Are in a fierce and bloody Fight engag'd;
65 And many fall on both sides kill'd and slain,
As by the Telescope 'tis clear and plain.
Look in it quickly then, that every one
May see his Share before the Battle's done.
At this, a famous great Philospher,
70 Admir'd, and celebrated, far and near
As one of wond'rous singular Invention,
And equal universal Comprehension,
73. By which he had compos'd a Pedlar's Jargon, &c.] Butler imputes the same Invention to his Sydrophel, or Sir Paul Neal, where Hudibras, threatning to have him and his Man Whachum seized by the Constable for robbing him, says,
They're guilty by their own Confessions
Of Felony, and at the Sessions
Upon the Bench I will so handle 'em,
That the Vibration of this Pendulum
Shall make all Taylor's Yards of one
Unanimous Opinion:
A Thing he long has vapour'd of,
But now shall make it out by proof.
Hudib. P. II. C. 2. ver. 1021.
Of Felony, and at the Sessions
Upon the Bench I will so handle 'em,
That the Vibration of this Pendulum
Shall make all Taylor's Yards of one
Unanimous Opinion:
A Thing he long has vapour'd of,
But now shall make it out by proof.
Hudib. P. II. C. 2. ver. 1021.
"The Device of the Vibration of a Pendulum, was intended to settle a certain Measure of Ells and Yards, &c. (that should have its Foundation in Nature) all the World over: For by swinging a Weight at the End of a String, and calculating (by the Motion of the Sun, or any Star) how long the Vibration would last, in Proportion to the Length of the String, and Weight of the Pendulum; they thought to reduce it back again, and from any part of Time compute the exact Length of any String that must necessarily vibrate, into so much Space of Time: So that if a Man should ask in China for a Quarter of an Hour of Sattin or Taffata, they would know perfectly what it meant; and all Mankind learn a new Way to measure Things no more by the Yard, Foot, or Inch, but by the Hour, Quarter, or Minute.
And
