Robert Burns - Robert Burns as 'Dirt and Deity': "'When proud misfortune's ebbing tide recedes,' he wrote in one letter, 'you will bear me witness, that when my bubble of fame was at the highest, I stood, unintoxicated, with the inebriating cup in my hand, looking forward with rueful resolve to the hastening time when the blow of Calumny should dash it to the ground, with all the eagerness of vengeful triumph.' "