If I know a man is cruel to his beast
I ask no more questions about him.
He may be a noble man, or a rich man,
Or a polite man, or a sensible man,
Or a learned man, or an orthodox man,
Or a church man, or a puritan man,
Or anything else, it matters not;
This I know on the sacred words of a wise king,
That being cruel to his beast, he is a wicked man.
(Humphrey Primatt, 1770)