quote · Legacy record
Curst be the man, the poorest wretch in life, / The crouching vassal to the tyrant wife, / Who has no will but by her high permission; / Who has not sixpence but in her possession; / Who must to her his dear friend's secret tell; / Who dreads a curtain lecture worse than hell. / Were such the wife had fallen to my part, / I'd break her spirit or I'd break her heart.
Curst be the man, the poorest wretch in life, / The crouching vassal to the tyrant wife, / Who has no will but by her high permission; / Who has not sixpence but in her possession; / Who must to her his dear friend's secret tell; / Who dreads a curtain lecture worse than hell. / Were such the wife had fallen to my part, / I'd break her spirit or I'd break her heart.
Approximate author period: c. 1777 AD · early modern
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Robert Burns
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1777 AD · early modern
author lifetime midpoint (1759–1796)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Dictionary of Quotations (1893) (1893 AD)
Printed citation: Burns. · page_052
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.