---
title: "Inscription for an Altar of Independence"
subtitle: "At Kerroughtree, the Seat of Mr. Heron"
author: "Robert Burns"
form: "Poem"
year: "1795"
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/inscription-for-an-altar-of-independence/"
---

# Inscription for an Altar of Independence

### At Kerroughtree, the Seat of Mr. Heron

## Poem
Thou of an independent mind,  
With soul resolv’d, with soul resign’d;  
Prepar’d Power’s proudest frown to brave,  
Who wilt not be, nor have a slave;  
Virtue alone who dost revere,  
Thy own reproach alone dost fear—  
Approach this shrine, and worship here.

---

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/inscription-for-an-altar-of-independence/