Upright and downright, scorning wrong;
He gave good weight and paid his way,
He thought for himself and said his say.
Whenever a rascal strove to pass, 5
Instead of silver, a coin of brass,
He took his hammer and said with a frown,
"The coin is spurious--nail it down!"

John Littlejohn was firm and true,
You could not cheat him in "two and two"; 10
When foolish arguers, might and main,
Darkened and twisted the clear and plain,
He saw through the mazes of their speech
The simple truth beyond their reach;
And crushing their logic said with a frown, 15
"Your coin is spurious--nail it down!"

John Littlejohn maintained the right,
Through storm and shine, in the world's despite;
When fools or quacks desired his vote,
Dosed him with arguments learned by rote, 20
Or by coaxing, threats, or promise tried
To gain his support to the wrong side,
"Nay, nay," said John with an angry frown,
"Your coin is spurious--nail it down!"

When told that kings had a right divine,
And that the people were herds of swine,
That nobles alone were fit to rule,
That the poor were unimproved by school,
That ceaseless toil was the proper fate 5
Of all but the wealthy and the great,
John shook his head and said with a frown,
"The coin is spurious--nail it down!"

When told that events might justify
A false and crooked policy, 10
That a decent hope of future good
Might excuse departure from rectitude,
That a lie, if white, was a small offense,
To be forgiven by men of sense,
"Nay, nay," said John with a sigh and frown, 15
"The coin is spurious--nail it down!"

Whenever the world our eyes would blind
With false pretenses of such a kind,
With humbug, cant, or bigotry,
Or a specious, sham philosophy, 20
With wrong dressed up in the guise of right,
And darkness passing itself for light,
Let us imitate John and exclaim with a frown,
"The coin is spurious--nail it down!"

1. What kinds of cheating are mentioned? Which is
most dangerous?