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BURNS' CENTENARY, by Charles Murray(1864-1941)

"I'll be more respected a hundred years after I am dead than I am at present."—R. B., 1796.

"My fame is sure; when I am dead
A century," the Poet said,
"They'll heap the honours on my head
                         They grudge me noo";
To-day the hundred years hae sped
                            That prove it true.
 
Whiles as the feathered ages flee,
Time sets the sand-glass on his knee,
An' ilka name baith great an' wee
                  Shak's thro' his sieve;
Syne sadly wags his pow to see
                        The few that live.
 
An' still the quickest o' the lot
Is his wha made the lowly cot
A shrine, whaur ilka rev'rent Scot
                          Bareheadit turns.
Our mither's psalms may be forgot,
                              But never Burns.
 
This nicht, auld Scotland, dry your tears,
An' let nae sough o' grief come near's;
We'll speak o' Rab's gin he could hear's;
                                    Life's but a fivver,
And he's been healed this hundred years
                                          To live for ever.
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3 hours ago, Doug Morris said:

I guess something similar applies to Ayn Rand.  I can't guarantee that a hundred years will be enough in her case.

This poem, presumably written in 1896 and published in Hamewith (1900), was a tribute to Robert Burn (1759-1796) by Charles Murray. In what way might Charles Murray have been a tribute by Ayn Rand?

I would caution that correlation, in this sense, is not necessarily causation.

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Spoiler alert: Charles Murray was the signal engineer from the Chicago terminal requested by Dagny to repair the interlocker.

Touché @Harrison Danneskjold

An 'ilka and a Pow appear to reference back to Robert Burns, the source of the quote heading Charles Murray's peom in the O.P.

 

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33 minutes ago, dream_weaver said:

Spoiler alert: Charles Murray was the signal engineer from the Chicago terminal requested by Dagny to repair the interlocker.

Touché @Harrison Danneskjold

An 'ilka and a Pow appear to reference back to Robert Burns, the source of the quote heading Charles Murray's poem in the O.P.

 

 

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10 hours ago, Harrison Danneskjold said:

Who is An'Ilka and what's a Pow?

"An' ilka name baith great an' wee"

And every name both great and wee

"Syne sadly wags his pow to see"

Time sadly wags his head to see

That is a curious line. It seems to reference a famous Burns poem called "Auld Lang Syne" and depict Time's head moving side-to-side like an old clock's pendulum.

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