File:Slander and backbiting.jpg

Summary
"For the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. (Psalm xi. 2) their tongue a sharp sword. (Psalm lvii. 4)."

SLANDER AND BACKBITING. Mark! where the good man unsuspecting treads No evil meditates, nor evil dreads ; The base assassins from their covert start, And sheath the dagger in his bleeding heart; Or shoot their arrows, strung by hate, alack, With deadly aim at the defenceless back. So smites the slanderer, with poisond tongue. The man—his neighbour—who has done no wrong ; Thief-like, he steals what gold cannot replace, And, like a coward, dares not show his face: A brutish cur, that sneaks along the track, Awaits his time, then springs upon the back.