Robert Burns

You are seeing this page because javascript is disabled

To use MindSay, you must have a browser that supports javascript, and have it enabled.

[ Login to reply ]

culdeedeacon

Robert Burns

Tags:

robert

scotland

burns

Well its that time of the year again for Burns Suppers, haggis, malt whisky and reading Burns' poems. Here is one of my favorites:

Address To The Unco Guid, Or The Rigidly Righteous
by Robert Burns
1786

My Son, these maxims make a rule,
An' lump them aye thegither;
The Rigid Righteous is a fool,
The Rigid Wise anither:
The cleanest corn that ere was dight
May hae some pyles o' caff in;
So ne'er a fellow-creature slight
For random fits o' daffin.
Solomon.-Eccles. ch. vii. verse 16.

O ye wha are sae guid yoursel',
Sae pious and sae holy,
Ye've nought to do but mark and tell
Your neibours' fauts and folly!
Whase life is like a weel-gaun mill,
Supplied wi' store o' water;
The heaped happer's ebbing still,
An' still the clap plays clatter.

Hear me, ye venerable core,
As counsel for poor mortals
That frequent pass douce Wisdom's door
For glaikit Folly's portals:
I, for their thoughtless, careless sakes,
Would here propone defences-
Their donsie tricks, their black mistakes,
Their failings and mischances.

Ye see your state wi' theirs compared,
And shudder at the niffer;
But cast a moment's fair regard,
What maks the mighty differ;
Discount what scant occasion gave,
That purity ye pride in;
And (what's aft mair than a' the lave),
Your better art o' hidin.

Think, when your castigated pulse
Gies now and then a wallop!
What ragings must his veins convulse,
That still eternal gallop!
Wi' wind and tide fair i' your tail,
Right on ye scud your sea-way;
But in the teeth o' baith to sail,
It maks a unco lee-way.

See Social Life and Glee sit down,
All joyous and unthinking,
Till, quite transmugrified, they're grown
Debauchery and Drinking:
O would they stay to calculate
Th' eternal consequences;
Or your more dreaded hell to state,
Damnation of expenses!

Ye high, exalted, virtuous dames,
Tied up in godly laces,
Before ye gie poor Frailty names,
Suppose a change o' cases;
A dear-lov'd lad, convenience snug,
A treach'rous inclination-
But let me whisper i' your lug,
Ye're aiblins nae temptation.

Then gently scan your brother man,
Still gentler sister woman;
Tho' they may gang a kennin wrang,
To step aside is human:
One point must still be greatly dark, -
The moving Why they do it;
And just as lamely can ye mark,
How far perhaps they rue it.

Who made the heart, 'tis He alone
Decidedly can try us;
He knows each chord, its various tone,
Each spring, its various bias:
Then at the balance let's be mute,
We never can adjust it;
What's done we partly may compute,
But know not what's resisted

[ Login to reply ]

mamajo on

Re: Robert Burns

I can't remember the last time I read this. I'm so glad I have a better understanding of the speech patterns now so, I can appreciate it much more. Thanks for sharing it with us.

btw...do you really eat haggis yourself? lol Just wondering...

[ Login to reply ]

culdeedeacon on

Re: Robert Burns

Really good haggis is very good, bad haggis is terrible! The best I ever had was in Edinburgh for breakfast! Good haggis is great with a wee dram of single malt Scotch whisky. Due to Mardi Gras, we have to wait until mid-February to celebrate Burns' birthday.
CuldeeDeacon +

[ Login to reply ]

mamajo on

Re: Robert Burns:

I'm not sure I will ever find out, not much chance I'll ever get to Scotland. Although, I would really, really love to.

That's a bum deal, having to wait to celebrate a famous man like Burns for a parade that is for what??? Celebrating a crime fest in Rio? Boooo!!!

[ Login to reply ]

culdeedeacon on

Re: Robert Burns:

Well almost every community in the USA and Canada, in fact, all over the world, has a Burns Supper celebrating the birth of Robert Burns and usually featuring haggis.

CuldeeDeacon +

[ Login to reply ]

mamajo on

Re: Robert Burns:

Hmm...maybe I can google it and find one in my neck of the woods. Thanks!

[ Login to reply ]

culdeedeacon on

Re: Robert Burns:

Sure! Key words: Caledonian Society of (your city); St. Andrew Society of (Your City or State); Scottish Society of *****.

Also check out these sites:
http://www.electricscotland.com/heritage/st_andrew_societies.htm

http://www.rampantscotland.com/features/societies.htm

CuldeeDeacon +

[ Login to reply ]

mamajo on

Re: Robert Burns:

Thanks so my CD...I've done some checking on these sites you referred me too and they are fascinating. It gives me access to a whole other world.

[ Login to reply ]

mamajo on

Re: Robert Burns:

Oops...Uhh..."Thanks so MUCH", not "my" I hate typos.