| Citation |
NHG-P.768.039
30 Sep 1768:41 (625)
ON CALUMNY.
What canker'd pen of brass, what characters
Indelible, what ink of worse than gall,
Say, shall we seek to brand the harden'd front
Of calumny, foul fiend! Her on the banks
Of Acheron erst bore to Cerberus
(The many headed hell hound Cerberus)
Megaera dire; then gave the hideous brat
To envy's charge; forth from her bloated dogs
Eager the monster suck'd contagion, felt
Congenial nourishment, and quickly spread
To size gigantick. Timorous at first,
She stole along, nor dar'd the barefac'd lie;
Content to whisper slander to pervert
Words harmless into crimes, to gloss on deeds
With plausible distortion! 'Till at length
Astaera, weary of the sins of men,
Back to her native region flew, and left
The world this happy's prey.
. . . [31 more lines]
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