“Foul canker of fair virtuous action,
Vile blaster of the freshest blooms on earth,
Envys abhorrèd child, Detraction,
I here expose, to thy all-tainting breath,
The issue of my brain: snarl, rail, bark, bite,
Know that my spirit scorns Detraction's spite.”

—  John Marston

"To Detraction I Present My Poesy", line 1, from The Scourge of Villainy (1598-99).

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Foul canker of fair virtuous action, Vile blaster of the freshest blooms on earth, Envys abhorrèd child, Detraction, …" by John Marston?
John Marston photo
John Marston6
English writer 1576–1634

Related quotes

Leonardo Da Vinci photo

“Envy wounds with false accusations, that is with detraction, a thing which scares virtue.”

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Renaissance polymath

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1883), XIX Philosophical Maxims. Morals. Polemics and Speculations.

Ambrose Bierce photo

“Absent, adj. Peculiarly exposed to the tooth of detraction; vilifed; hopelessly in the wrong; superseded in the consideration and affection of another.”

Ambrose Bierce book The Devil's Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo

“My bark is on the ocean riding,
Like a spirit o'er it gliding;
Maiden, wilt thou come—and be
Queen of my fair ship and me?”

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist

The Vow of the Peacock (1835)

Pete Doherty photo

“Now I can deal with all the blood on my shoes,
The holes in my sole,
My spirit is tainted and,
Oh, all my tears are painted”

Pete Doherty (1979) English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist

"Lust of the Libertines"
Lyrics and poetry

W.B. Yeats photo

“Fair and foul are near of kin,
And fair needs foul,’ I cried.
‘My friends are gone, but that’s a truth
Nor grave nor bed denied.”

W.B. Yeats book The Winding Stair and Other Poems

Crazy Jane Talks With The Bishop http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/1471/, st. 2 <br class="br">The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1933)

Socrates photo

“I have said enough in answer to the charge of Meletus: any elaborate defense is unnecessary; but as I was saying before, I certainly have many enemies, and this is what will be my destruction if I am destroyed; of that I am certain; not Meletus, nor yet Anytus, but the envy and detraction of the world, which has been the death of many a good men, and will probably be the death of many more; there is no danger of my being the last of them.”

Socrates (-470–-399 BC) classical Greek Athenian philosopher

28a
Plato, Apology

William Shakespeare photo

“Foul words is but foul wind, and foul wind is but foul breath, and foul breath is noisome; therefore I will depart unkissed.”

William Shakespeare book Much Ado About Nothing

Source: Much Ado About Nothing

“—leave me," Japhrimel snarled. "You will not leave me to wander the earth alone—breathe, damn you, breathe!”

Lilith Saintcrow (1976) American writer

Source: Working for the Devil

Matthew Lewis (writer) photo

“Farewel, thou cruel world! – to morrow
No more thy scorn my heart shall tear: –
The grave will shield the child of sorrow,
And heaven will hear the orphan's prayer.”

Matthew Lewis (writer) (1775–1818) English novelist and dramatist

"The Orphan's Prayer", line 29; cited from Titus Strong (ed.) The Common Reader (Greenfield, Mass.: Denio & Phelps, 1819) p. 174.

Gordon Brown photo

“I understand that in the UK there have already been 10,000 complaints from viewers about these remarks, which people see, rightly, as offensive. I want Britain to be seen as a country of fairness and tolerance. Anything detracting from this I condemn.”

Gordon Brown (1951) British Labour Party politician

Alexa Barcia, Shekhar Bhatia, "C4 bosses under fire in race row", Evening Standard, 17 January 2007, p. 4.
Asked about racist bullying of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty on Celebrity Big Brother, during a visit to India on 16 January 2007.
Chancellor of the Exchequer

Related topics