The Scot poet, like Sam Butler of old,
Continued the tale of Hudibras, bold.
Names and places he did change
Yet the story remains much the same.
Colvil borrowed substance and words, it's true
But defended the practice, as he and others do.
Stolen from those that have stolen before
It's rewrapped in pen, paper and more.
Is it theft or plagiary, to copy some measure,
When the original source is lost forever?
Scholars may debate this long and loud
Like W's Indians, seeing God in the Cloud.
But for the reader, the material enhances
Like hint of an ankle, in older romances.
Colvil with borrowed simile, metaphor and rhyme,
Added zest to his poetry; good grapes make good wine.
The Whigs Supplicaton; or, the Scots Hudibras, A Mock Poem, Samuel Colvil, St Andrews; Printed by and for James Morison, Printer to the University, 1796. In several places in his poem, Colvil takes issue with plagiarism. He does not apologize for using the work of others when it was, in his opinion, stolen from another. Further, if the work from which his lines are lifted is well known and the subject of his work, he sees no reason to burden the reader with countless reference to the original piece.
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