First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"O life! thou art a galling load, Along a rough, a weary road, To wretches such as I!"
"O Life! how pleasant is thy morning, Young Fancy's rays the hills adorning! Cold-pausing Caution's lesson scorning, We frisk away, Like schoolboys at th' expected warning, To joy and play."
"What's done we partly may compute, But know not what's resisted."
"An atheist-laugh's a poor exchange For Deity offended!"
"I waive the quantum o' the sin, The hazard of concealing; But, Och! it hardens a' within, And petrifies the feeling!"
"Perhaps it may turn out a sang: Perhaps turn out a sermon."
"Freedom and Whisky gang thegither."
"O thou! whatever title suit thee, Auld Hornie, Satan, Nick, or Clootie."
"Stern Ruin's plowshare drives elate, Full on thy bloom."
"Wee, modest, crimson-tippèd flow'r, Thou's met me in an evil hour; For I maun crush amang the stoure Thy slender stem: To spare thee now is past my pow'r, Thou bonie gem."
"O, wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us! It wad frae monie a blunder free us, An' foolish notion. What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us An' ev'n Devotion"
"Rejoiced they were na men, but dogs."
"An' there began a lang digression About the lords o' the creation."
"His lockèd, lettered, braw brass collar Showed him the gentleman an' scholar."
"And like a passing thought, she fled In light away."
"Misled by fancy's meteor ray, By passion driven; But yet the light that led astray Was light from heaven."
"It's hardly in a body's pow'r, To keep, at times, frae being sour."
"On ev'ry hand it will allowed be, He's just—nae better than he should be."
"For thus the royal mandate ran, When first the human race began, "The social, friendly, honest man, Whate'er he be, 'Tis he fulfills great Nature's plan, And none but he!""
"Gie me ae spark o' Nature's fire, That's a' the learning I desire."
"O Death! the poor man's dearest friend, The kindest and the best!"
"Man's inhumanity to man Makes countless thousands mourn."
"Nature's law, That man was made to mourn."
"When chill November's surly blast Made fields and forests bare."
"All in this mottie, misty clime, I backward mus'd on wasted time, How I had spent my youthfu' prime An' done nae-thing, But stringing blethers up to rhyme For fools to sing."
"O L--d thou kens what zeal I bear, When drinkers drink, and swearers swear, And singin' there, and dancin' here, Wi' great an' sma'; For I am keepet by thy fear, Free frae them a'. But yet—O L--d—confess I must— At times I'm fash'd wi' fleshly lust... O L--d—yestreen thou kens—wi' Meg— Thy pardon I sincerely beg! O may 't ne'er be a living plague, To my dishonour! And I'll ne'er lift a lawless leg Again upon her."
"The best laid schemes o' mice and men Gang aft a-gley; And leave us naught but grief and pain For promised joy."
"I'm truly sorry Man's dominion Has broken Nature's social union, An' justifies that ill opinion Which makes thee startle, At me, thy poor, earth-born companion, An' fellow-mortal!"
"Wee, sleekit, cow'rin', tim'rous beastie, O what a panic's in thy breastie! Thou need na start awa sae hasty, Wi' bickering brattle! I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee, Wi' murd'ring pattle!"
"Gin a body meet a body Comin thro' the rye, Gin a body kiss a body, Need a body cry?"
"They never sought in vain that sought the Lord aright."
"Beneath the milk-white thorn that scents the evening gale."
"The halesome parritch, chief o Scotia's food."
"The sire turns o'er, wi patriarchal grace, The big ha'-Bible, ance his father's pride."
"He wales a portion with judicious care; And "Let us worship God" he says, with solemn air."
"Perhaps Dundee's wild-warbling measures rise, Or plaintive Martyrs, worthy of the name."
"From scenes like these, old Scotia's grandeur springs, That makes her loved at home, revered abroad: Princes and lords are but the breath of kings, "An honest man's the noblest work of God.""
"The fear o' hell 's a hangman's whip To haud the wretch in order; But where ye feel your honour grip, Let that aye be your border."
"And may you better reck the rede, Than ever did the adviser!"
"A gaudy dress and gentle air May slightly touch the heart; But it's innocence and modesty that polished the dart."
"Oh, my Luve is like a red, red rose, That's newly sprung in June. O, my Luve is like the melodie, That's sweetly played in tune."
"Contented wi' little and cantie wi' mair."
"Ye banks and braes o' bonny Doon, How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair? How can ye chant, ye little birds, And I sae weary fu' o' care! Thou'll break my heart, thou warbling bird, That wantons thro' the flowering thorn! Thou minds me o' departed joys, Departed never to return."
"But my fause luver staw my rose, And left the thorn wi' me."
"Chords that vibrate sweetest pleasure Thrill the deepest notes of woe."
"Ae fond kiss, and then we sever; Ae farewell, alas, forever!"
"Gars auld claes look amaist as weel's the new."
"Th' expectant wee-things, toddlin, stacher through To meet their dad, wi flichterin noise and glee."
"What's a' your jargon o' your schools, Your Latin names for horns and stools? If honest Nature made you fools What sairs your grammars? Ye'd better taen up spades and shools Or knappin hammers. Gie' me ae spark o' Nature's fire! That's a' the learning I desire: Then, tho' I drudge thro' dub and mire At plough or cart, My muse, though homely in attire, May touch the heart."
"We labour soon, we labour late, To feed the titled knave, man; And a' the comfort we're to get, Is that ayont the grave, man."