Let other heroes boast their scars,
The marks of sturt and strife;
And other poets sing of wars,
The plagues of human life;
Shame fa’ the fun; wi’ sword and gun
To slap mankind like lumber!
I sing his name, and nobler fame,
Wha multiplies our number.
Great Nature spoke with air benign,
“Go on, ye human race!
This lower world I you resign;
Be fruitful and increase.
The liquid fire of strong desire
I’ve pour’d it in each bosom;
Here, in this hand, does mankind stand,
And there, is beauty’s blossom.”
The hero of these artless strains,
A lowly bard was he,
Who sung his rhymes in Coila’s plains
With meikle mirth an’ glee;
Kind Nature’s care had given his share,
Large, of the flaming current;
And all devout, he never sought
To stem the sacred torrent.
He felt the powerful, high behest,
Thrill vital through and through;
And sought a correspondent breast,
To give obedience due:
Propitious Powers screen’d the young flowers,
From mildews of abortion;
And lo! the bard, a great reward,
Has got a double portion!
Auld cantie Coil may count the day,
As annual it returns,
The third of Libra’s equal sway,
That gave another B[urns],
With future rhymes, an’ other times,
To emulate his sire;
To sing auld Coil in nobler style,
With more poetic fire.
Ye Powers of peace, and peaceful song,
Look down with gracious eyes;
And bless auld Coila, large and long,
With multiplying joys:
Lang may she stand to prop the land,
The flow’r of ancient nations;
And B[urns’s] spring, her fame to sing,
Thro’ endless generations!
Poem Analysis:
Robert Burns’s Nature’s Law, also known as A Poem Humbly Inscribed to G.H., Esq., celebrates the natural human desire for love, reproduction, and the continuation of life. Through humour, pastoral imagery, and a contrast between war and peaceful creation, Burns presents nature as a powerful force that governs human existence. The poem reflects his characteristic sympathy for ordinary people and his belief in the fundamental importance of natural instincts.
The poem begins by rejecting the traditional glorification of military heroes and warfare. While other poets celebrate battles and the suffering caused by conflict, Burns chooses to praise the person who increases humanity through love and reproduction. His declaration, “I sing his name, and nobler fame,” establishes an alternative definition of heroism. True greatness, in his view, lies not in destroying human life but in creating and sustaining it. This contrast reveals Burns’s preference for peace, vitality, and the ordinary experiences of human beings.
Nature becomes the central authority in the poem. In the second stanza, she speaks directly to humanity, granting people the world and commanding them to “Be fruitful and increase.” The personification of Nature gives this command both divine dignity and universal significance. Desire is described as “The liquid fire of strong desire,” suggesting a powerful, instinctive energy that exists within every human being. Love and sexual attraction are therefore represented not as shameful impulses but as essential elements of the natural order.
Burns then presents himself as a humble poet whose life reflects obedience to Nature’s laws. The references to Coila, the region associated with his native Ayrshire, establish a strong connection between the poet, his homeland, and the natural world. His description of his own temperament is playful and self-aware, particularly when he suggests that Nature has given him a generous share of her passionate energy. The humour prevents the poem from becoming overly solemn while reinforcing its celebration of human vitality.
The fourth stanza develops this theme through the image of desire as a “high behest” that must be fulfilled. The speaker seeks a “correspondent breast,” suggesting the mutual affection necessary for love and family life. The successful outcome is celebrated as a “great reward,” with the birth of a child representing the fulfilment of Nature’s command. The poem thus connects personal happiness with the broader continuation of humanity.
The final stanzas turn from individual experience to the future of the Burns family and the community of Coila. The birth of another Burns is presented as an occasion for celebration, with the hope that the child will inherit his father’s poetic talent and enhance the reputation of their homeland. The closing invocation to the “Powers of peace, and peaceful song” unites the poem’s principal themes: love, fertility, family, poetry, and national continuity.
Nature’s Law offers a humorous yet meaningful celebration of the natural forces that shape human life. Burns challenges conventional ideas of heroism by placing creation above destruction and presenting love as an essential expression of Nature’s authority. Through personification, vivid imagery, pastoral references, and playful self-presentation, he transforms a personal celebration of family and fertility into a broader affirmation of life. The poem ultimately suggests that humanity’s enduring greatness lies not in warfare but in love, peaceful creation, and the transmission of life and culture across generations.