“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).

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John Marston 6
English writer 1576–1634

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