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O ye whose cheek the tear of pity stains, Draw near with pious rev'rence and attend! Here lie the loving Husband's dear remains, The tender Father, and the gen'rous Friend. The pitying Heart that felt for human Woe; The dauntless heart that fear'd no human Pride; The Friend of Man, to vice alone a foe; 'For ev'n his failings lean'd to Virtue's side'.
This is an epitaph by Robert Burns. It was written in 1784 and is read here by Jonathan Watson.
Ralph McLeanAfter the death of Burns’s father William Burnes on 13 February 1784, this was one of a number of epitaphs which was selected by the poet for inclusion in the Kilmarnock edition.
Worn out by illness, over-work, money worries and litigation, William Burnes (Robert altered the spelling), the poet's father, died on this day in 1784. On his death-bed, he expressed deep concern about his eldest child's conduct and prospects. A God-fearing man, he had always disapproved of Robert's levity and love of dancing. Approving pen portraits of the 'tender' father who had done so much to educate and raise Burns can be found in My Father Was A Farmer and The Cottar's Saturday Night. William's sober, affectionate, nurturing, paternal decency seems to contrast with the wayward impulses of his gifted son, a temperamental artist quick to seek excitement but slow to settle down.
Donny O'Rourke
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