 | Three Hundred Sonnets |  |
141
PRAISE AND BLAME.
If thou art praised, be sure that envious spiteWill dodge thee sullenly; will never shrink
From blotting thy fair fame with slander's ink;
And, where it can, right cruelly will smite:
If thou art praised, thou standest on the brink
Of peril, and art near to be cast down
Either through vain conceits, or brainless fright
Of some malignant critic's sneer or frown:
But if loud blame assault thine honour's crown,
Take comfort; for that, to defend the right,
A generous troop of friends shall surely come
To vindicate thy hooted words and ways,
Tending the Pythian victor to his home
With more than he deserves of love and praise.
| Three Hundred Sonnets | |