One way of tackling this is to split scotchlade and seek for the combination of constituents. The obvious split is scotch and lade.

The likely association is then

Merriam Webster
scotch, scotched; scotching; scotches. transitive verb
1 archaic : CUT, GASH, SCORE also : WOUND we have scotched the snake, not killed it —William Shakespeare
2 : to put an end to scotched rumors of a military takeover

These meanings give the overtones of a wounding that although not lethal, is serious.

Merriam Webster
lade:
a: to put a load or burden on or in : LOAD
b: to put or place as a load especially for shipment
c: to load heavily or oppressively

This fits with a reference to lade as a noun in:

Etymology Online
load (noun)
c. 1200, lode, lade "that which is laid upon a person or beast, burden," a sense extension from Old English lad "a way, a course, a carrying; a street, watercourse; maintenance, support," from Proto-Germanic *laitho (source also of Old High German leita, German leite, Old Norse leið "way, road, course"), from PIE root *leit- (2) "to go forth" (see lead (v.1)).
It seems to have expanded its range of senses in early Middle English, supplanting words based on lade (v.), to which it is not etymologically connected.

I therefore suggest that the Lycurgus's scotchlade is his burden of being so seriously impaired (wounded) physically and in reputation that he was later to die of it:

Mythica
According to Apollodorus,4 Dionysus, on his expeditions, came to the kingdom of Lycurgus, but was expelled; whereupon he punished the king with madness, so that he killed his son Dryas, in the belief that he was cutting down a vine. When this was done, Lycurgus recovered his mind; but his country produced no fruit, and the oracle declared that fertility should not be restored unless Lycurgus were killed. The Edonians therefore tied him, and led him to Mount Pangaeum, where he was torn to pieces by horses.

So the passage seems to be advice not to follow the example of Lycurgus: do not anger the gods.

One way of tackling this is to split scotchlade and seek for the combination of constituents. The obvious split is scotch and lade.

The likely association is then

Merriam Webster
scotch, scotched; scotching; scotches. transitive verb
1 archaic : CUT, GASH, SCORE also : WOUND we have scotched the snake, not killed it —William Shakespeare
2 : to put an end to scotched rumors of a military takeover

These meanings give the overtones of a wounding that although not lethal, is serious.

Merriam Webster
lade:
a: to put a load or burden on or in : LOAD
b: to put or place as a load especially for shipment
c: to load heavily or oppressively

This fits with a reference to lade as a noun in:

Etymology Online
load (noun)
c. 1200, lode, lade "that which is laid upon a person or beast, burden," a sense extension from Old English lad "a way, a course, a carrying; a street, watercourse; maintenance, support," from Proto-Germanic *laitho (source also of Old High German leita, German leite, Old Norse leið "way, road, course"), from PIE root *leit- (2) "to go forth" (see lead (v.1)).
It seems to have expanded its range of senses in early Middle English, supplanting words based on lade (v.), to which it is not etymologically connected.

I therefore suggest that the Lycurgus's scotchlade is his burden of being so seriously impaired (wounded) physically and in reputation that he was later to die of it:

Mythica
According to Apollodorus, Dionysus, on his expeditions, came to the kingdom of Lycurgus, but was expelled; whereupon he punished the king with madness, so that he killed his son Dryas, in the belief that he was cutting down a vine. When this was done, Lycurgus recovered his mind; but his country produced no fruit, and the oracle declared that fertility should not be restored unless Lycurgus were killed. The Edonians therefore tied him, and led him to Mount Pangaeum, where he was torn to pieces by horses.

So the passage seems to be advice not to follow the example of Lycurgus: do not anger the gods.

One way of tackling this is to split scotchlade and seek for the combination of constituents. The obvious split is scotch and lade.

The likely association is then

Merriam Webster
scotch, scotched; scotching; scotches. transitive verb
1 archaic : CUT, GASH, SCORE also : WOUND we have scotched the snake, not killed it —William Shakespeare
2 : to put an end to scotched rumors of a military takeover

These meanings give the overtones of a wounding that although not lethal, is serious.

Merriam Webster
lade:
a: to put a load or burden on or in : LOAD
b: to put or place as a load especially for shipment
c: to load heavily or oppressively

This fits with a reference to lade as a noun in:

Etymology Online
load (noun)
c. 1200, lode, lade "that which is laid upon a person or beast, burden," a sense extension from Old English lad "a way, a course, a carrying; a street, watercourse; maintenance, support," from Proto-Germanic *laitho (source also of Old High German leita, German leite, Old Norse leið "way, road, course"), from PIE root *leit- (2) "to go forth" (see lead (v.1)).

It seems to have expanded its range of senses in early Middle English, supplanting words based on lade (v.), to which it is not etymologically connected.

I therefore suggest that the Lycurgus's scotchlade is his burden of being so seriously impaired (wounded) physically and in reputation that he was later to die of it:

Mythica
According to Apollodorus,4 Dionysus, on his expeditions, came to the kingdom of Lycurgus, but was expelled; whereupon he punished the king with madness, so that he killed his son Dryas, in the belief that he was cutting down a vine. When this was done, Lycurgus recovered his mind; but his country produced no fruit, and the oracle declared that fertility should not be restored unless Lycurgus were killed. The Edonians therefore tied him, and led him to Mount Pangaeum, where he was torn to pieces by horses.

So the passage seems to be advice not to follow the example of Lycurgus: do not anger the gods.

One way of tackling this is to split scotchlade and seek for the combination of constituents. The obvious split is scotch and lade.

The likely association is then

Merriam Webster
scotch, scotched; scotching; scotches. transitive verb
1 archaic : CUT, GASH, SCORE also : WOUND we have scotched the snake, not killed it —William Shakespeare
2 : to put an end to scotched rumors of a military takeover

These meanings give the overtones of a wounding that although not lethal, is serious.

Merriam Webster
lade:
a: to put a load or burden on or in : LOAD
b: to put or place as a load especially for shipment
c: to load heavily or oppressively

This fits with a reference to lade as a noun in:

Etymology Online
load (noun)
c. 1200, lode, lade "that which is laid upon a person or beast, burden," a sense extension from Old English lad "a way, a course, a carrying; a street, watercourse; maintenance, support," from Proto-Germanic *laitho (source also of Old High German leita, German leite, Old Norse leið "way, road, course"), from PIE root *leit- (2) "to go forth" (see lead (v.1)).
It seems to have expanded its range of senses in early Middle English, supplanting words based on lade (v.), to which it is not etymologically connected.

I therefore suggest that the Lycurgus's scotchlade is his burden of being so seriously impaired (wounded) physically and in reputation that he was later to die of it:

Mythica
According to Apollodorus,4 Dionysus, on his expeditions, came to the kingdom of Lycurgus, but was expelled; whereupon he punished the king with madness, so that he killed his son Dryas, in the belief that he was cutting down a vine. When this was done, Lycurgus recovered his mind; but his country produced no fruit, and the oracle declared that fertility should not be restored unless Lycurgus were killed. The Edonians therefore tied him, and led him to Mount Pangaeum, where he was torn to pieces by horses.

So the passage seems to be advice not to follow the example of Lycurgus: do not anger the gods.