“I waive the quantum o' the sin, The hazard of concealing; But, Och! it hardens a' within, And petrifies the feeling!”

— Robert Burns, Epistle to a Young Friend, st. 6 (1786)

About Robert Burns

1759 – 1796

Scottish poet and lyricist, regarded as the national poet of Scotland.

“Hope springs exulting on triumphant wing.”

“The best laid schemes o' mice and men Gang aft a-gley; And leave us naught but grief and pain For promised joy.”

“Man's inhumanity to man Makes countless thousands mourn.”

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

“It is unlikely that the good of a snail should reside in its shell: so is it likely that the good of a man should?”

“In theory there is nothing to hinder our following what we are taught; but in life there are many things to draw us aside.”

“If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches, and poor men's cottages princes' palaces.”

“That which makes the man no worse than he was makes his life no worse: it has no power to harm, without or within.”

“Always take the short cut; and that is the rational one. Therefore say and do everything according to soundest reason.”