Rudiments, Rudiments, and Rudiments! <br />'Thinketh one made them i' the fit o' the blues. <br />'Thinketh one made them with the 'tips' to match, <br />But not the answers; 'doubteth there be none, <br />Only Guides, Helps, Analyses, such as that: <br />Also this Beast, that groweth sleek thereon, <br />And snow-white bands that round the neck o' the same. <br />'Thinketh, it came of being ill at ease. <br />'Hath heard that Satan finds some mischief still <br />For idle hands, and the rest o 't. That's the case. <br />Also 'hath heard they pop the names i' the hat, <br />Toss out a brace, a dozen stick inside; <br />Let forty through and plough the sorry rest. <br />'Thinketh, such shows nor right nor wrong in them, <br />Only their strength, being made o' sloth i' the main— <br />'Am strong myself compared to yonder names <br />O' Jewish towns i' the paper. Watch th' event— <br />'Let twenty pass, 'have a shot at twenty-first, <br />'Miss Ramoth-Gilead, 'take Jehoiakim, <br />'Let Abner by and spot Melchizedek, <br />Knowing not, caring not, just choosing so, <br />As it likes me each time, I do: so they. <br />'Saith they be terrible: watch their feats i' the Viva! <br />One question plays the deuce with six months' toil. <br />Aha, if they would tell me! No, not they! <br />There is the sport: 'come read me right or die!' <br />All at their mercy,—why they like it most <br />When—when—well, never try the same shot twice! <br />'Hath fled himself and only got up a tree. <br />'Will say a plain word if he gets a plough.<br /><br />Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/caliban-upon-rudiments-or-autoschediastic-theology-in-a-hole/
