Quoth Hudibras, That cuckow’s tone,
Ralpho, thou always harp’st upon. 
When thou at any thing would’st rail, 1075
Thou mak’st Presbytery the scale
To take the height on’t, and explain
To what degree it is prophane
Whats’ever will not with (thy what d’ye call)
Thy light jump right, thou call’st synodical; 1080
As if Presbytery were the standard
To size whats’ever’s to he slander’d. 
Dost not remember how this day,
Thou to my beard wast bold to say,
That thou coud’st prove bear-baiting equal 1085
With synods orthodox and legal? 
Do if thou canst; for I deny’t,
And dare thee to ’t with all thy light.

Quoth Ralpho, Truly that is no
Hard matter for a man to do, 1090
That has but any guts in ’s brains,
And cou’d believe it worth his pains;
But since you dare and urge me to it,
You’ll find I’ve light enough to do it.

Synods are mystical bear-gardens, 1095
Where elders, deputies, church-wardens,
And other members of the court,
Manage the Babylonish sport;
For prolocutor, scribe, and bear-ward,
Do differ only in a mere word; 1100
Both are but sev’ral synagogues
Of carnal men, and bears, and dogs: 
Both antichristian assemblies,
To mischief bent far as in them lies: 
Both stave and tail with fierce contests; 1105
The one with men, the other beasts. 
The diff’rence is, the one fights with
The tongue, the other with the teeth;
And that they bait but bears in this,
In th’ other, souls and consciences; 1110
Where Saints themselves are brought to stake
For gospel-light, and conscience sake;
Expos’d to Scribes and Presbyters,
Instead of mastive dogs and curs,
Than whom th’ have less humanity; 1115
For these at souls of men will fly. 
This to the prophet did appear,
Who in a vision saw a bear,
Prefiguring the beastly rage
Of Church-rule in this latter age; 1120
As is demonstrated at full
By him that baited the Pope’s Bull. 
Bears nat’rally are beasts of prey,
That live by rapine; so do they. 
What are their orders, constitutions, 1125
Church-censures, curses, absolutions,
But’ sev’ral mystic chains they make,
To tie poor Christians to the stake,
And then set heathen officers,
Instead of dogs, about their ears? 1130
For to prohibit and dispense;
To find out or to make offence;
Of Hell and Heaven to dispose;
To play with souls at fast and loose;
To set what characters they please, 1135
And mulcts on sin or godliness;
Reduce the Church to gospel-order,
By rapine, sacrilege, and murder;