Quotes from Robert Burns

Some books are lies frae end to end, And some great lies were never penn'd...

Not the bee upon the blossom, In the pride o' sunny noon; Not the little sporting fairy, All beneath the simmer moon; Not the poet, in the moment Fancy lightens in his e'e, Kens the pleasure, feels the rapture, That thy presence gi'es to me.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne? For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Oh would some power the giftie gie us, To see ourselves as others see us.

Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie, O, what a panic's in thy breastie!

But little Mouse, you are not alone, In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy! Still you are blest, compared with me!

And man, whose heav'n-erected face The smiles of love adorn Man's inhumanity to man Makes countless thousands mourn!

Oh the gift that God could give us, to see ourselves as others see us.

Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.--Robert Burns

By Oppression's woes and pains! By your sons in servile chains! We will drain our dearest veins, But they shall be free! Lay the proud usurpers low! Tyrants fall in every foe! Liberty's in every blow! Let us do or die!

But deep this truth impress'd my mind: Thro' all His works abroad, The heart benevolent and kind The most resembles God.

Oh wad some power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us! It wad frae monie a blunder free us And foolish notion.

O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us. It wad frae money a blunder free us And foolish notion.

God knows I'm no the thing I should be Nor am I even the thing I could be.

Learn taciturnity and let that be your motto!

The poor inhabitant below Was quick to learn and wise to know And keenly felt the friendly glow And softer flame; But thoughtless follies laid him low, And stain'd his name!

There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing.

Suspicion is a heavy armor and with its weight it impedes more than it protects.

There is scarcely anything to which I am so feelingly alive as the honour and welfare of my country, and, as a poet, I have no higher enjoyment than singing her sons and daughters.

I foresee that poverty and obscurity probably await me, and I am in some measure prepared and daily preparing to meet them.

Let them cant about decorum, Who have characters to lose!

Some hae meat and cann eat, And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, And sae the Lord be thankit.

Suspense is worst than disappointment.