That thou art blamed shall not be thy defect,
For slander's mark was ever yet the fair;
The ornament of beauty is suspect,
A crow that flies in heaven's sweetest air.
So thou be good, slander doth but approve
Thy worth the greater, being wooed of time;
For canker vice the sweetest buds doth love,
And thou present'st a pure unstained prime.
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I am disgraced, impeached, and baffled here;
Pierced to the soul with slander's venomed spear,
The which read more
I am disgraced, impeached, and baffled here;
Pierced to the soul with slander's venomed spear,
The which no balm can cure but his heart-blood
Which breathed this poison.
A slander is like a hornet; if you can't kill it dead the first time, better not strike at it.
A slander is like a hornet; if you can't kill it dead the first time, better not strike at it.
God knows I loved my niece,
And she is dead, slandered to death by villains,
That dare read more
God knows I loved my niece,
And she is dead, slandered to death by villains,
That dare as well answer a man indeed
As I dare take a serpent by the tongue.
Boys, apes, braggarts, Jacks, milksops!
I hate the man who builds his name
On ruins of another's fame.
I hate the man who builds his name
On ruins of another's fame.
Cut
Men's throats with whisperings.
Cut
Men's throats with whisperings.
A generous heart repairs a slanderous tongue.
A generous heart repairs a slanderous tongue.
. . . For slander lives upon succession,
For ever housed where it gets possession.
. . . For slander lives upon succession,
For ever housed where it gets possession.
'Twas slander filled her mouth with lying words;
Slander, the foulest whelp of Sin.
'Twas slander filled her mouth with lying words;
Slander, the foulest whelp of Sin.
No, 'tis slander,
Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue
Outvenoms all the worms of read more
No, 'tis slander,
Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue
Outvenoms all the worms of Nile, whose breath
Rides on the posting winds and doth belie
All corners of the world. Kings, queens. and states,
Maids, matrons, nay, the secrets of the grave
This viperous slander enters.
