---
title: "The Libeller’s Self-Reproof"
author: "Robert Burns"
form: "Poem"
year: "1787"
location: "Edinburgh"
source: "Project Gutenberg #1279 — Poems and Songs of Robert Burns"
source_url: "https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1279/pg1279.txt"
canonical_url: "https://robert-burns.com/poems/the-libellers-self-reproof/"
---

# The Libeller’s Self-Reproof

## Poem
Rash mortal, and slanderous poet, thy name  
Shall no longer appear in the records of Fame;  
Dost not know that old Mansfield, who writes like the Bible,  
Says, the more ’tis a truth, sir, the more ’tis a libel!

---

Source: [Project Gutenberg #1279 — Poems and Songs of Robert Burns](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1279/pg1279.txt)  
Canonical HTML: https://robert-burns.com/poems/the-libellers-self-reproof/