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Section Chair - RGHF senior historian Basil Lewis, UK FIRST IN EACH REGION



 

Robert Burns
 


On January 25th many Rotary Clubs around the world will hold a Burns Supper and enjoy eating the traditional Scottish meal of haggis, neeps and tatties, the drinking of whisky, and the recitation of works by, about, and in the spirit of Scotland’s National Bard – Robert  Burns.

At this time, I wonder how many of you realise a special Rotary connection with Burns? It is more than simply the traditional singing of the Burns song ‘Auld Lang Syne’ at the end of Conferences and Conventions; it is more profound.

Robert Burns was Rotary founder, Paul Harris’ favourite poet. Forget for a moment the annual RI Presidential themes, Harris believed that Burns' work – ‘A Man's a Man For A' That’ -gave to us all a simple yet definitive Rotary philosophy based around our common humanity.

In his 1935 book ‘This Rotarian Age’, he once said (in his unmistakeable prose style) of Burns' poem, " In the compass of these words have been found all the philosophy, all the hope, the substance of every prayer of the first seer, but how vain were the aspirations and hopes of this widely separated twain. Primordial forces were to be reckoned with, as is also the case even now though generations have lived and died since the lips of the sage of Ayr were sealed in death."

Harris would also go on to say, "When I think of Burns I see the thing we are striving for in Rotary - The Brotherhood of Man". He further explained Burns' part in the genesis of Rotary:
"Centuries later was born in Scotland another who lived in advance of his time, one who stoutly refused to do obeisance to unreasoning precedent; one whose soul overflowed with the poetry of life. Of all the words of the Scottish bard, none will be more highly appraised nor longer remembered than..."(Harris continues by quoting the final verse of ‘A Man’s A Man For A’ That’).

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an' a' that,
 For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
 That man to man, the world o'er,
 Shall brithers be for a' that."

In his 1935 book, Harris also used a verse of Burns 'Address to the Unco Guild' as an introduction to his third chapter entitled 'The Cradle of Religious Liberty'.

In another reference to the National Bard, Harris wrote “It should all do us good once in a while to see ourselves as others see us…”[1]

One co-incidence between both men was that their respective wives were both called Jean. Robert Burns married Jean Armour in 1788. Like Jean Harris, Burns father came from Kincardineshire. The following Burns poem to his wife was one of Paul Harris' favourites.

"Of a' the airts the wind can blaw
I dearly like the west
For there the bonnie lassie lives
The lassie I lo'e best;


There wild woods grow and rivers row
And monie a hill between;
By day and night my fancy's flight
Is ever wi'my Jean 

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There's not a bonnie flower that springs
By fountain, shaw or green;
There's not a bonnie bird that sings
And mins me o' my Jean"

Harris visited Ayr in Scotland, Burns' birthplace, in 1928 and returned a few years later to see the newly formed Rotary Club of Ayr and often hypothesised over what a wonderful Rotarian Burns would have made. On this Scottish leg of his tour Paul also visited the Rotary Club of Glasgow, where he was clearly moved by a rendition of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and remarked to the Club President that it would be a lovely gesture for the Club to sing "Should Auld Aquaintance be forgot..." to all visiting Rotarians. The President replied with a frosty disdain "We dinna sing songs like that for everyone"!

The Bard of Ayr's influence on the small town New England world of the young Paul Harris can also be illustrated by looking at the poem entitled ‘Robert Burns’ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Here's a brief extract:

"But still the music of his song
Rises o'er all elate and strong;
It's master-chords
Are Manhood, Freedom, Brotherhood,
Its discords but an interlude
Between the words."

Recently, thanks to the sterling work and dedication of Californian Rotarian Art McCullough, a radio broadcast of a Paul Harris radio address has allowed the Rotary world to hear the voice of The Founder via the web at www.rotaryfirst100.org.

Paul Harris’1933 speech at the International Convention in Boston, USA to non- Rotarians everywhere is truly inspirational.  Harris quotes Burns’ poetry and tells us that the words of the “Bard of Ayr” are as relevant today as they were when written over one hundred years earlier. “If you have the love of your fellow man in your hearts”, he declares, “then you are potential Rotarians”.

Enjoy your Burns Supper!

Calum Thomson

Rotary Club of Longniddry and District  (District 1020)

Researcher for Rotary Global History

 

Paul Harris makes note of Burns in a 1933 radio address during the Rotary convention in Boston, MA, USA. That address and written comments can be found at the following "History" link. /1910harris/paulharris/1933.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This article, by Calum Thomson, appeared in the February 2003 issue of ROTARY in the UK

 


The Rotary Club of Alloway (Burns’ birthplace) publish their own stamp collection to commemorate the bard.

[1] The National Rotarian magazine, March 1912.
 

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