Let James rejoice with the Skuttle-Fish who foils his foe by the effusion of his ink.

The line imagines “James” taking delight in the skuttle-fish (cuttlefish/squid), which escapes danger by releasing a cloud of ink. Read figuratively, it can suggest a kind of defensive cunning: when threatened, one obscures the field—confusing an adversary rather than confronting directly. In a literary context, the image can also hint at writing itself (ink as both weapon and concealment), implying that words may be used to evade, deflect, or “foil” opponents. Without a secure source passage, however, it is difficult to determine whether Smart intends praise, satire, or a devotional-natural-historical emblem.