The Book Worms



Through and through th' inspir'd leaves, 
Ye maggots, make your windings; 
But O respect his lordship's taste, 
And spare his golden bindings

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About this work

This is an epigram by Robert Burns. It is read here by Vivien Heilbron.

More about this epigram

The poem was supposedly inscribed in a volume of Shakespeare in a nobleman's library, according to Alexander Cunningham. John Syme copied a variant which was written in a bible that a friend offered Burns for his inscription.

Ralph Richard McLean

Themes for this epigram

humour hypocrisy

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