University of Virginia Library

Search this document 

9

Satyr, if justly handled, is of use,
But real Names turn Satyr to abuse;
Lash Folly in the sharpest terms you can,
Condemn the Vice, but not expose the Man;
For if the injur'd Person cannot draw
A Pen, or seek due remedy at Law,
When with resentment warm'd, he need not want
A Crab-tree Cudgel, or an Oaken Plant:
Tough answers, we confess, but sometimes fit
To tame the wildness of ill-natur'd Wit,
Which often, unprovok'd, gives mortal Wounds,
And would, without Correction, know no Bounds.