A moral, sensible, and well-bred man / Will not ____ me, and no other can' (Cowper, Conversation) (7)

I believe the answer is:

affront

(Other definitions for affront that I've seen before include "Action causing outrage or offence" , "Offend; offence" , "A slight" , "Insult openly" , "not trivial offence" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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