To The Detracter Poem by John Andrewes

Think'st thou it makes thy Reputation faire,
if by thy muddy tongue thou canst impaire
An other mans? looke how a murtherer can
(whose fatall hand shall kill an other man)
Adde to his owne by shortning others daies;
so by detracting others growes by praise.
Perchance thou feed'st thy selfe with a conceipt,
that euery man that heares thee raile, doth straite
Belieue that all thou sayst is true, for that
they contradict thee not; Ile tell thee what,
In my opinion thou shouldst rather feare,
it makes them tremble and amaz'd to heare,
How diu'lishly thou second'st what thou say'st
with oaths, and curses; or admit thou mai'st
Light vpon some who (knowing not thy vse)
may be perswaded, that from some abuse
Offer'd to thee, proceeds thy railing fit:
Yet all the glory thou enioy'st by it
Is, they'le note thee euer after, for
a creature which all good men should abhorre.
Or say thou shalt some man, to some depraue
who know him honest; think'st thou for a knaue
They can do lesse then iudge thee? and beware
thou rayl'st to no men that iuditious are:
For they'le soone finde that thou dishonest art,
and therefore know thou tak'st no good mans part:
Whose prayse they iudge is equally the same,
Where Iust men doe applaud, or thou defame.
I might haue spar'd my breath in wishing thee
to men of iudgement not to be too free;
For thou art chiefly carefull in this point
to plie his eare whose iudgement's out of ioynt:
By whom as yet was neuer vnderstood
how any cause could, but the first, be good;
Whose ignorance (I thinke) might argue rather
Th'Vicar of fooles will prooue their ghostly father.
And as for thee, thou dost resolue I know
thou must die mad, thy braine's distemperd so.
Which will be for thy credit when thou'rt dead:
for some will lay the fault vpon thy head,
And say thy braine inforc'd thy tongue to raue.
Better be thought a mad-man then a knaue.