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Description: | Headed 'Alteration to the verses, Page 27' referring to the page No in the Afton Manuscript volume where he recorded his first version of this poem. Here on page 43 is the later, longer version. Based on the same theme the format is somewhat different. Burns considers the ages of man, youth, maturity and old age at the last giving way to the peace of death and the joy of the resurrection.
Robert Burns was a neighbour of Capt Riddell who lived in the mansion house, 'Friars Carse'. Nearby was a secluded monks hermitage to which the Captain gave Robert a key and it was here that he also wrote this later version of the poem. He enclosed it with a letter to his friend and confidante Mrs Dunlop on 7 Dec. 1788, adding the comment 'tell me which of them you like best'.
In this third page Burns continues to ask what attributes were allotted by nature and reminds us that they are predestined by heaven and hopes that our lot lies in a just path rather than a foolish one. Finally he turns our attention to the peace of the grave and to the joy of the resurrection. | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 | Publisher: | Burns Monument Trust | Temporal: | 1788-01-01 - 1788-12-31 | Source: | Burns Scotland | Identifier: | Poem by Robert Burns: 'Written in Friars | Go to resource |
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