The Poetry of Robert Burns Edited by William Ernest Henley and Thomas F. Henderson |
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ADDRESS TO THE UNCO GUID
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 | The Poetry of Robert Burns |  |
ADDRESS TO THE UNCO GUID
OR THE RIGIDLY RIGHTEOUS
My Son, these maxims make a rule,
An' lump them ay thegither:
The Rigid Righteous is a fool,
The Rigid Wise anither;
The cleanest corn that e'er was dight
May hae some pyles o' caff in;
So ne'er a fellow-creature slight
For random fits o' daffin.
SOLOMON (Eccles. vii. 16).
An' lump them ay thegither:
The Rigid Righteous is a fool,
The Rigid Wise anither;
The cleanest corn that e'er was dight
May hae some pyles o' caff in;
So ne'er a fellow-creature slight
For random fits o' daffin.
SOLOMON (Eccles. vii. 16).
I
O ye, wha are sae guid yoursel,Sae pious and sae holy,
Ye've nought to do but mark and tell
Your neebours' fauts and folly;
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Supplied wi' store o' water;
The heapet happer's ebbing still,
An' still the clap plays clatter!
II
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.
III
Ye see your state wi' theirs compared,And shudder at the niffer;
But cast a moment's fair regard,
What makes 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.
IV
Think, when your castigated pulseGies now and then a wallop,
What ragings must his veins convulse,
That still eternal gallop!
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Right on ye scud your sea-way;
But in the teeth o' baith to sail,
It maks an unco lee-way.
V
See Social-life and Glee sit downAll joyous and unthinking,
Till, quite transmugrify'd, 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!
VI
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.
VII
Then gently scan your brother man,Still gentler sister woman;
Tho' they may gang a kennin wrang,
To step aside is human:
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The moving why they do it;
And just as lamely can ye mark
How far perhaps they rue it.
VIII
Who made the heart, 'tis He aloneDecidedly 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.
| The Poetry of Robert Burns | |