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Why did Robert Burns refuse payment for his work on Scottish song collections?

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Engraved portrait of Robert Burns, shown from the waist up wearing a dark jacket and cravat, facing slightly to the left. — Robert Burns Robert Burns, engraving from *A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen*, 1870.

Robert Burns refused payment for his extensive work on Scottish song collections because he regarded his contributions—which included finding, editing, improving, and rewriting traditional items for projects like The Scots Musical Museum—as a service to Scotland.1