The Quotes Flix

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

— Robert Burns, To a Mouse, st. 7 (1785)

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About Robert Burns

1759 – 1796

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

See all 21 Robert Burns quotes →

More from Robert Burns

“Hope springs exulting on triumphant wing.”

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

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“Gie me ae spark o' Nature's fire, That's a' the learning I desire.”

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“All violence consists in some people forcing others, under threat of suffering or death, to do what they do not want to do.”

— Leo Tolstoy

“Labour without joy is base. Labour without sorrow is base. Sorrow without labour is base. Joy without labour is base.”

— John Ruskin

“But love for an object eternal and infinite feeds the mind with joy alone, and a joy which is free from all sorrow.”

— Baruch Spinoza

“Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.”

— Thomas Szasz

“Something the heart must have to cherish, must love and joy and sorrow learn.”

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Pure and complete sorrow is as impossible as pure and complete joy.”

— Leo Tolstoy