Written in Friar's-Carse Hermitage (Second Versi
“On Nithside” presents the Beadsman of Nithside’s counsel to any stranger who arrives there, whatever their clothing or rank. He describes life as brief, born from darkness and returning to it, and urges the traveller neither to expect constant happiness nor to fear unending sorrow. In youth, when love and pleasure are most alluring, enjoyment should be guided by prudence so that it can be fully and wisely tasted. In life’s vigorous middle course, the desire to climb toward proud heights should be restrained, since dangers surround lofty ambition, while peace sings in humble valleys. In old age, as weariness approaches, a person should seek quiet comfort, reflect soberly on what they have done and learned, and pass sound experience to the young. The Beadsman teaches that a person’s true worth is not determined by high or low station, changing fortune, or the number of talents granted by nature. Heaven’s judgment belongs instead to virtue and vice. Justice, kindness, and wisdom bring genuine self-enjoyment, whereas selfish, foolish, and faithless conduct makes people wretched, vile, and base. The counsel ends by urging a resigned and peaceful acceptance of death, with hope that the good will be restored to a future life of unprecedented light and joy.
By Robert Burns · First published 1808 · Genre: Philosophical Poetry, Didactic Poetry, Moral Poetry · 554 words
First lines
On Nithside
Thou whom chance may hither lead, / Be thou clad in russet weed, / Be thou deckt in silken stole, / Grave these counsels on thy soul.
Similar titles
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Genres
- Philosophical Poetry — The poem meditates on the brevity of life, the conduct of a virtuous existence, mortality, and the prospect of divine judgment and afterlife.
- Didactic Poetry — Its central purpose is instructional: the speaker offers direct counsels on pleasure, ambition, prudence, kindness, wisdom, vice, and moral self-assessment.
- Moral Poetry — The work explicitly contrasts virtue with vice and argues that genuine happiness arises from being just, kind, and wise rather than successful or socially elevated.
- Meditative Lyric — Written in reflective verse, the poem contemplates successive stages of human life through concentrated imagery, personal counsel, and a contemplative tone.
Tags
Scottish poetry · moral counsel · life's journey · mortality · death · afterlife · Christian virtue · divine judgment · virtue and vice · resignation · wisdom · prudence
What this Textopian page supports
Written in Friar's-Carse Hermitage (Second Version) is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1808 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Burns
- Date: 1808 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Philosophical Poetry, Didactic Poetry, Moral Poetry, Meditative Lyric, Religious Poetry
- Length: 554 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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