Is there for honesty poverty <br />That hings his head, an' a' that; <br />The coward slave - we pass him by, <br />We dare be poor for a' that! <br />For a' that, an' a' that, <br />Our toils obscure an' a' that, <br />The rank is but the guinea's stamp, <br />The man's the gowd for a' that. <br /> <br />What though on hamely fare we dine, <br />Wear hoddin grey, an' a' that? <br />Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine, <br />A man's a man for a' that. <br />For a' that, an' a' that, <br />Their tinsel show, an' a' that, <br />The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor, <br />Is king o' men for a' that. <br /> <br />Ye see yon birkie ca'd a lord, <br />Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that; <br />Tho' hundreds worship at his word, <br />He's but a coof for a' that. <br />For a' that, an' a' that, <br />His ribband, star, an' a' that, <br />The man o' independent mind <br />He looks an' laughs at a' that. <br /> <br />A price can mak a belted knight, <br />A marquise, duke, an' a' that; <br />But an honest man's aboon his might, <br />Gude faith, he maunna fa' that! <br />For a' that, an' a' that, <br />Their dignities an' a' that, <br />The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth, <br />Are higher rank than a' that. <br /> <br />Then let us pray that come it may, <br />(As come it will for a' that,) <br />That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth, <br />Shall bear the gree, an' a' that. <br />For a' that, an' a' that, <br />That man to man, the world o'er, <br />Shall brithers be for a' that.<br /><br />Robert Burns<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-man-s-a-man-for-a-that/
