Ode to Sir Andrew Agnew, Bart.?

“At certain seasons he makes a prodigious¹ clattering² with his bill.”— SELBY.

“The bill is rather long, flat, and tinged³ with green.”— BEWICK.

O Andrew Fairservice — but I beg pardon,

You never labor’d in Di Vernon’s garden,

On curly kale and cabbages intent —

Andrew Churchservice was the thing I meant —

You are a Christian⁴ — I would be the same,

Although we differ, and I’ll tell you why,

Not meaning to make game,

I do not like my Church so very High!

When people talk, as talk they will,

About your bill,

They say, among their other jibes⁵ and small jeers⁶,

That, if you had your way,

You’d make the seventh day

As overbearing as the Dey of Algiers.

Talk of converting Blacks —

By your attacks,

You make a thing so horrible of one day,

Each nigger, they will bet a something tidy,

Would rather be a heathenish Man Friday,

Than your Man Sunday!

So poor men speak,

Who, once a week,

P’rhaps, after weaving artificial flowers,

Can snatch a glance of Nature’s kinder bowers⁷,

And revel⁸ in a bloom

That is not of the loom⁹,

Making the earth, the streams, the skies, the trees,

A Chapel¹⁰ of Ease.

Whereas, as you would plan it,

Wall’d in with hard Scotch¹¹ granite¹²,

People all day should look to their behaviors; —

But though there be, as Shakspeare owns,

“Sermons in stones,”

Zounds! Would you have us work at them like paviors?

Spontaneous is pure devotion’s fire;

And in a green wood many a soul has built

A new Church, with a fir-tree for its spire¹³,

Where Sin has prayed for peace, and wept for guilt¹⁴,

Better than if an architect the plan drew;

We know of old how medicines were back’d,

But true Religion needs not to be quack’d

By an Un-merry Andrew!

Suppose a poor town-weary sallow elf

At Primrose-hill would renovate¹⁵ himself,

Or drink (and no great harm)

Milk genuine at Chalk Farm —

The innocent intention who would balk¹⁶,

And drive him back into St. Bennet Fink?

For my part, for my life, I cannot think

A walk on Sunday is “the Devil’s Walk.”

But there’s a sect¹⁷ of Deists, and their creed¹⁸

Is D—— ing other people to be d —— d —

Yeas, all that are not of their saintly level,

They make a pious¹⁹ point

To send, with an “aroint,”

Down to that great Fillhellenist, the Devil.

To such, a ramble²⁰ by the River Lea

Is really treading on the “Banks of D——.”

Go down to Margate, wisest of law-makers,

And say unto the sea, as Canute did,

(Of course the sea will do as it is bid,)

“This is the Sabbath — but there be no Breakers!”

Seek London’s Bishop²¹, on some Sunday morn,

And try him with your tenets to inoculate²² —

Abuse his fine souchong, and say in scorn,

“This is not Churchman’s Chocolate!”

Or, seek Dissenters²³ at their mid-day meal,

And read them from your Sabbath Bill some passages,

And while they eat their mutton, beef, and veal²⁴,

Shout out with holy zeal²⁵ —

“These are not Chappet’s sassages!”

Suppose your Act should act up to your will,

Yet how will it appear to Mrs. Grundy,

To hear you saying of this pious bill,

“It works well — on a Sunday!”

To knock down apple-stalls is now too late,

Except to starve some poor old harmless madam; —

You might have done some good, and chang’d our fate,

Could you have upset that, which ruined Adam!

’Tis useless to prescribe salt-cod and eggs,

Or lay post-horses under legal fetters²⁶,

While Tattersall’s on Sunday stirs its Legs,

Folks look for good examples from their Betters!

Consider — Acts of Parliament may bind²⁷

A man to go where Irvings are discoursing²⁸ —

But as for forcing “proper frames of mind,”

Minds are not framed, like melons, for such forcing!

Remember, as a Scottish legislator,

The Scotch Kirk always has a Moderator;

Meaning one need not ever be sojourning

In a long Sermon Lane without a turning.

Such grave old maids as Portia and Zenobia

May like discourses²⁹ with a skein of threads,

And love a lecture for its many heads,

But as for me, I have the Hydra-phobia.

Religion one should never overdo³⁰:

Right know I am no minister you be,

For you would say your service, sir, to me,

Till I should say, “My service, sir, to you.”

Six days made all that is, you know, and then

Came that of rest — by holy ordination³¹,

As if to hint unto the sons of men,

After creation should come re-creation.

Read right this text, and do not further search

To make a Sunday Workhouse of the Church.

1 prodigious   

adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• This business generates cash in prodigious amounts.这种业务收益丰厚。
• He impressed all who met him with his prodigious memory.他惊人的记忆力让所有见过他的人都印象深刻。

2 clattering   

发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Typewriters keep clattering away. 打字机在不停地嗒嗒作响。
• The typewriter was clattering away. 打字机啪嗒啪嗒地响着。

3 tinged   

v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• memories tinged with sadness 略带悲伤的往事
• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 jibes   

n.与…一致( jibe的名词复数 )；（与…）相符；相匹配v.与…一致( jibe的第三人称单数 )；（与…）相符；相匹配

参考例句：

• He made several cheap jibes at his opponent during the interview. 在采访中他好几次对他的对手粗俗地加以嘲讽。
• The report jibes with the facts. 报告与事实相符。 来自辞典例句

6 jeers   

n.操纵帆桁下部（使其上下的）索具；嘲讽( jeer的名词复数 )v.嘲笑( jeer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They shouted jeers at him. 他们大声地嘲讽他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The jeers from the crowd caused the speaker to leave the platform. 群众的哄笑使讲演者离开讲台。 来自辞典例句

7 bowers   

n.（女子的）卧室( bower的名词复数 )；船首锚；阴凉处；鞠躬的人

参考例句：

• If Mr Bowers is right, low government-bond yields could lose their appeal and equities could rebound. 如果鲍尔斯先生的预计是对的，那么低收益的国债将会失去吸引力同时股价将会反弹。 来自互联网

8 revel   

vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢

参考例句：

• She seems to revel in annoying her parents.她似乎以惹父母生气为乐。
• The children revel in country life.孩子们特别喜欢乡村生活。

9 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

10 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

11 scotch   

n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的

参考例句：

• Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
• Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景，真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。

12 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

13 spire   

n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点

参考例句：

• The church spire was struck by lightning.教堂的尖顶遭到了雷击。
• They could just make out the spire of the church in the distance.他们只能辨认出远处教堂的尖塔。

14 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

15 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

16 balk   

n.大方木料；v.妨碍；不愿前进或从事某事

参考例句：

• We get strong indications that his agent would balk at that request.我们得到的强烈暗示是他的经纪人会回避那个要求。
• He shored up the wall with a thick balk of wood.他用一根粗大的木头把墙撑住。

17 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

18 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。

19 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

20 ramble   

v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延

参考例句：

• This is the best season for a ramble in the suburbs.这是去郊区漫游的最好季节。
• I like to ramble about the street after work.我下班后在街上漫步。

21 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

22 inoculate   

v.给...接种，给...注射疫苗

参考例句：

• A corps of doctors arrived to inoculate the recruits.一队医生来给新兵打防疫针。
• I was just meant to come out here and inoculate some wee babies.我是过来这边给小孩子们接种疫苗的。

23 dissenters   

n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He attacked the indulgence shown to religious dissenters. 他抨击对宗教上持不同政见者表现出的宽容。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• (The dissenters would have allowed even more leeway to the Secretary.) （持异议者还会给行政长官留有更多的余地。） 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

24 veal   

n.小牛肉

参考例句：

• She sauteed veal and peppers,preparing a mixed salad while the pan simmered.她先做的一道菜是青椒煎小牛肉，趁着锅还在火上偎着的机会，又做了一道拼盘。
• Marinate the veal in white wine for two hours.把小牛肉用白葡萄酒浸泡两小时。

25 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

26 fetters   

n.脚镣( fetter的名词复数 )；束缚v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They were at last freed from the fetters of ignorance. 他们终于从愚昧无知的束缚中解脱出来。
• They will run wild freed from the fetters of control. 他们一旦摆脱了束缚，就会变得无法无天。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

28 discoursing   

演说（discourse的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• He was discoursing to us on Keats. 他正给我们讲济慈。
• He found the time better employed in searching than in discussing, in discovering than in discoursing. 他认为与其把时间花费在你争我辩和高谈阔论上，不如用在研究和发现上。

29 discourses   

论文( discourse的名词复数 )； 演说； 讲道； 话语

参考例句：

• It is said that his discourses were very soul-moving. 据说他的讲道词是很能动人心灵的。
• I am not able to repeat the excellent discourses of this extraordinary man. 这位异人的高超言论我是无法重述的。

30 overdo   

vt.把...做得过头，演得过火

参考例句：

• Do not overdo your privilege of reproving me.不要过分使用责备我的特权。
• The taxi drivers' association is urging its members,who can work as many hours as they want,not to overdo it.出租车司机协会劝告那些工作时长不受限制的会员不要疲劳驾驶。

31 ordination   

n.授任圣职

参考例句：

• His ordination gives him the right to conduct a marriage or a funeral.他的晋升圣职使他有权主持婚礼或葬礼。
• The vatican said the ordination places the city's catholics in a "very delicate and difficult decision."教廷说，这个任命使得这个城市的天主教徒不得不做出“非常棘手和困难的决定”。