Et par algebre eut dit aussi
A quelle heure il sonne midi.
The last specimen I shall give from this work, is Hudibras’s consultation with the lawyer, in which the Knight proposes to prosecute Sidrophel in an action of battery:
Quoth he, there is one Sidrophel
Whom I have cudgell’d—“Very well.”—
And now he brags t’have beaten me.
“Better and better still, quoth he.”—
And vows to stick me to the wall
Where’er he meets me—“Best of all.”—
’Tis true, the knave has taken’s oath