Note 5 — REMONSTRANCE ADDRESSED TO WILLIAM COWPER, ESQ. IN 1788, ON THE SARCASMS LEVELLED AT NATIONAL GRATITUDE IN THE TASK.[4]
Reading edition
l. 1. I would not enter, &c.—The line and half, with which this poem opens, are taken from the Task. So says its author of those who feel no pang of conscience for having set their foot upon a noisome reptile.