Роберт Бёрнс. To Mr. Syme. No more of your guests

      Мистеру Джону Сайму

Не надо гостей, именитых иль нет,
   И лучших в стране угощений;
Ведь кто доказал, что он остр и умён,   
   Достоин иных предпочтений.

       
         Extempore to Mr. Syme

No more of your guests, be they titled or not,
  And cookery the first in the nation;
Who is proof to thy personal converse and wit,
  Is proof to all other temptation.

                Robert Burns


Extempore to Mr. Syme, on Refusing to Dine with Him, after Having Been Promised the First of Company, and the First of Cookery
The poem is a humorous apology for declining an invitation to dine, with Burns playfully suggesting he's more interested in the meal than the company, whether noble or common.                (From the Internet)

John Syme toured Galloway with Burns in the summer of 1794 and worked ceaselessly after the poet's death to assist his family and promote his work. A laird's son, lawyer and former soldier, Syme left us a very vivid pen portrait of his friend. Of the poet's eyes and lips he wrote, 'The first, remarkable for fire, and the second for flexability...'. Today's poem bears the date December 17th, 1795.

                Donny O'Rourke