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Robert Burns Quotes: Sources, Meanings & Themes

Browse quotations by Robert Burns with named works, context notes, meanings and recurring themes.

Sources

All 3 works represented in this collection

A Man’s a Man for A’ That1795 · 1 quotation
To a Mountain Daisy1786 · 1 quotation
To a Mouse1785 · 1 quotation
Leading recurring themes
Life 2Kindness 1Wisdom 1Deep 2Nature 2Short 2Life Advice 1Integrity 1Life Lessons 1Self-Respect 1Thought Provoking 3Humanity 2
Source identified1
The rank is but the guinea’s stamp, The man’s the gowd for a’ that.
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“The rank is but the guinea’s stamp, The man’s the gowd for a’ that.”

A Man’s a Man for A’ That · 1795
Meaning & context

Burns contrasts social rank with intrinsic human worth, treating title and status as external marks rather than the measure of the person.

Source details

“A Man’s a Man for A’ That,” 1795, represented in Project Gutenberg #18388. The Scots “gowd” means gold; the poem argues for human worth beyond inherited rank and wealth.

Source identified2
Wee modest crimson-tippèd flow’r, Thou’s met me in an evil hour; For I maun crush amang the stoure Thy slender stem:
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“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 a Mountain Daisy · 1786
Meaning & context

The speaker addresses the small flower with regret as the plough destroys it, turning an accidental act against nature into a meditation on vulnerability.

Source details

“To a Mountain Daisy,” written 1786, represented in Project Gutenberg #18388. This is the opening excerpt; Burns later extends the flower’s fate into reflections on human fragility and uncertainty.

Source identified3
The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men Gang aft agley,
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“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men Gang aft agley,”

To a Mouse · 1785
Meaning & context

Burns reflects that careful plans can still be overturned by circumstances, linking the mouse’s ruined nest with the wider human experience of disappointed expectations.

Source details

“To a Mouse,” written in November 1785 and represented in Project Gutenberg #1279. The Scots wording appears in a poem that moves from sympathy with an animal to reflection on human foresight, regret and fear of the future.