---
title: "Complimentary Epigram on Maria Riddell"
author: "Robert Burns"
form: "Poem"
year: "1793"
location: "Dumfries"
source: "Project Gutenberg #1279 — Poems and Songs of Robert Burns"
source_url: "https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1279/pg1279.txt"
canonical_url: "https://robert-burns.com/poems/complimentary-epigram-on-maria-riddell/"
---

# Complimentary Epigram on Maria Riddell

## Poem
“Praise Woman still,” his lordship roars,  
“Deserv’d or not, no matter?”  
But thee, whom all my soul adores,  
Ev’n Flattery cannot flatter:

Maria, all my thought and dream,  
Inspires my vocal shell;  
The more I praise my lovely theme,  
The more the truth I tell.

---

Source: [Project Gutenberg #1279 — Poems and Songs of Robert Burns](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1279/pg1279.txt)  
Canonical HTML: https://robert-burns.com/poems/complimentary-epigram-on-maria-riddell/