Robert Burns Quotes

Quotes about:

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft a-gley, And leave us nought but grief and pain, For promised joy.

Robert Burns

Pain, Disappointment, Grief

95 Copy quote
A women can make an average man great, and a great man average.

Robert Burns

Men, Average, Great Men

70 Copy quote
Now's the day and now's the hour.

Robert Burns

Inspirational, Life, Positive

'Robert Bruce's March to Bannockburn' (1799) (also known as 'Scots, Wha Hae')

121 Copy quote
Oh would some power the gift give us,
to see ourselves as others see us!

Robert Burns

Inspirational, Humility, Learning

149 Copy quote
Gie me ae spark o' Nature's fire,
That's a' the learning I desire.

Robert Burns

Teacher, Nature, Teaching

'Epistle to J. L[aprai]k' (1786) st. 13

107 Copy quote
There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing.

Robert Burns

Inspirational, Uncertainty Of Life, Cockiness

107 Copy quote
Nae man can tether time or tide.

Robert Burns

Time, Men, Tides

'Tam o' Shanter' (1791) l. 67

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To see her is to love her,
And love but her forever;
For nature made her what she is,
And never made anither!

Robert Burns

Love, Life, Nature

'Bonnie Lesley' (1798)

14 Copy quote
Life is but a day at most.

Robert Burns

Life, Life Is

Robert Burns, “Written In Friars' Carse Hermitage (Second Version)”

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While Europe's eye is fix'd on mighty things, The fate of empires and the fall of kings; While quacks of State must each produce his plan, And even children lisp the Rights of Man; Amid this mighty fuss just let me mention, The Rights of Woman merit some attention.

Robert Burns

Kings, Children, Humorous

Robert Burns, Robert Chambers (1838). “The Poetical Works of Robert Burns. To which are Now Added, Notes Illustrating Historical, Personal, and Local Allusions. [The Editor's Preface Signed: R. C., I.e. Robert Chambers.]”, p.85

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An honest man here lies at rest, the friend of man the friend of truth the friend of age and guide of youth. Few hearts like his with virtue warmed, few heads with knowledge so informed. If there's another world, he lives in bliss. If there is none, he made the best of this.

Robert Burns

Lying, Heart, Men

Robert Burns (1871). “The complete poetical works of Robert Burns, arranged in the order of their earliest publication: (... by Scott Douglas)”, p.166

80 Copy quote
Dare to be honest and fear no labor.

Robert Burns

Honesty, Ethics, Being Honest

Robert Burns, James Currie, Robert Hartley Cromek (1839). “The prose works of Robert Burns: with the notes of Currie and Cromek, and many by the present editor”, p.57

94 Copy quote
My heart 's in the Highlands, my heart is not here; My heart 's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer.

Robert Burns

Heart, Deer, Scottish

"MyHeart's in theHighlands" l. 1 (1790)

121 Copy quote
But pleasures are like poppies spread, You seize the flower, it's bloom is shed; Or, like the snow-fall in the river, A moment white, then melts forever.

Robert Burns

Flower, Fall, Rivers

'Tam o' Shanter' (1791) l. 59

90 Copy quote
Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it, But we hae meat and we can eat, And sae the Lord be thankit.

Robert Burns

Thanksgiving, Meat, Want

Robert Burns (1994). “The Works of Robert Burns: With an Introduction and Bibliography”, p.297, Wordsworth Editions

80 Copy quote
I love drinking now and then. It defecates the standing pool of thought. A man perpetually in the paroxysm and fears of inebriety is like a half-drowned stupid wretch condemned to labor unceasingly in water; but a now-and-then tribute to Bacchus is like the cold bath, bracing and invigorating.

Robert Burns

Stupid, Drinking, Food

100 Copy quote
The heart that is generous and kind most resembles God.

Robert Burns

Faith, Heart, Kind

18 Copy quote
My love is like a red, red rose That's newly sprung in June: My love is like the melody That's sweetly played in tune. How fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in love am I; And I will love thee still, my dear, Till all the seas gang dry. Till all the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt with the sun; I will love thee still, my dear, While the sands of life shall run. And fare thee weel, my only love. And fare thee weel awhile! And I will come again, my love, Though it were ten thousand mile.

Robert Burns

Running, Art, Love Is

Robert Burns, “A Red, Red Rose”

55 Copy quote
Painters and poets have liberty to lie.

Robert Burns

Lying, Liberty, Painting

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The best laid plans take 40 years to complete.

Robert Burns

Years, Best Laid Plans, Plans

27 Copy quote
The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Robert Burns

Men, Best Laid Plans, Planning

98 Copy quote
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.

Robert Burns

New Year, Kindness, Mind

Robert Burns (2016). “Burns: 'A Red, Red Rose' and Other Poems”, p.96, Michael O'Mara Books

10 Copy quote
I look on the opposite sex with something like the admiration with which I regard the starry sky on a frosty December night. I admire the beauty of the Creator's workmanship, I am charmed with the wild but graceful eccentricity of the motions, and then I wish both of them goodnight.

Robert Burns

Sex, Night, Opposites

48 Copy quote
The voice of Nature loudly cries,And many a message from the skies,That something in us never dies.

Robert Burns

Sky, Voice, Messages

Robert Burns (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Robert Burns (Illustrated)”, p.412, Delphi Classics

27 Copy quote
A eunuch is a man who has had his work cut out for him.

Robert Burns

Sex, Cutting, Men

13 Copy quote

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Born: January 25, 1759
Died: July 21, 1796
Occupation: Poet
Cite this Page: Citation

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