---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is nothing in the whole frame of…"
description: "\"There is nothing in the whole frame of man which seems to me so unaccountable as that thing called conscience.\" — Robert Burns"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/robert-burns-1511_conscience_there-is-nothing-in-the-whole-frame-of-m_623082.png"
---

#  There is nothing in the whole frame of man which seems to…

![“There is nothing in the whole frame of man which seems to me so unaccountable as that thing called conscience.” quote by Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/robert-burns-1511_conscience_there-is-nothing-in-the-whole-frame-of-m_623082.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/robert-burns-1511_conscience_there-is-nothing-in-the-whole-frame-of-m_623082.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/robert-burns-1511_conscience_there-is-nothing-in-the-whole-frame-of-m_623082.png)

> “There is nothing in the whole frame of man which seems to me so unaccountable as that thing called conscience.”

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Conscience is an inexplicable, powerful force that governs human behavior.

**In simple terms:** Conscience is a mysterious moral guide.

Key Takeaway

Listen to your inner moral compass.

Themes

morality self inner conflict human nature philosophy

Mood

thoughtful serious

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

- decision making
- personal reflection
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

ethical intuition psychological mystery moral accountability

Questions to Reflect On

- What does your conscience tell you?
- When have you ignored it?

A Different Perspective

Conscience can be suppressed or ignored, causing inner turmoil.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Called Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-conscience-3528321/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frame/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Man Unaccountable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-unaccountable-1884403/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Unaccountable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unaccountable-916228/) [Unaccountable Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unaccountable-thing-5038742/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/)

## Related quotes

> [ Nothing about his life is more strange to \[man\] or more unaccountable in purely mundane terms than the stirrings he finds in himself, usually… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/nothing-about-his-life-is-more-strange-to-man-or-more-unaccountable/)

[Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/)

> [Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/labor-to-keep-alive-in-your-breast-that-little-spark-of-celestial/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [“I picked up a rare disease called conscience" … "That can often turn fatal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-bester/i-picked-up-a-rare-disease-called-conscience-that-can-often-turn-fatal/)

[Alfred Bester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-bester/)

> [The hardest thing usually to leave behind, as was the case now, can loosely be called the conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/the-hardest-thing-usually-to-leave-behind-as-was-the-case-now-can/)

[Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/)

> [Control cannot be called conscience until we are able to take it inside us and make it our own, until--in spite of the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-viorst/control-cannot-be-called-conscience-until-we-are-able-to-take-it/)

[Judith Viorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-viorst/)

> [It consisteth in one knows not what, and springeth up one can hardly tell how. Its ways are unaccountable and inexplicable, being answerable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-barrow/it-consisteth-in-one-knows-not-what-and-springeth-up-one-can-hardly/)

[Isaac Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-barrow/)

> [Children are unaccountable little creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/children-are-unaccountable-little-creatures/)

[Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/)

> [A miracle is an act or event out of the order of nature and unaccountable, as beating a normal hand of four kings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/a-miracle-is-an-act-or-event-out-of-the-order-of-nature-and/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [In many respects, you can argue Dodd-Frank isn't even law. It's a license for unaccountable, un-elected officials to make law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-hensarling/in-many-respects-you-can-argue-dodd-frank-isn-t-even-law-it-s-a/)

[Jeb Hensarling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-hensarling/)

> [Nothing symbolizes American strength and vigor more than another unaccountable Washington bureaucrat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-malkin/nothing-symbolizes-american-strength-and-vigor-more-than-another/)

[Michelle Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-malkin/)

> [There is something more severe than the problem with Thomas Friedman, which can be generalized to represent someone causing action while being completely unaccountable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/there-is-something-more-severe-than-the-problem-with-thomas-friedman/)

[Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/)

> [The passion for playing Chess is one of the most unaccountable in the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/the-passion-for-playing-chess-is-one-of-the-most-unaccountable-in-the/)

[H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/)

> [“Love makes us all do unaccountable things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-grant/love-makes-us-all-do-unaccountable-things/)

[Cecilia Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-grant/)

> [“Christmas isn't just a day. It's a frame of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/christmas-isn-t-just-a-day-it-s-a-frame-of-mind/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I will say that when it comes to the horror genre, for me, the scariest thing is when something is actually in the frame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-whannell/i-will-say-that-when-it-comes-to-the-horror-genre-for-me-the-scariest/)

[Leigh Whannell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-whannell/)

## More by Robert Burns

> [Some wee short hour ayont the twal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/some-wee-short-hour-ayont-the-twal/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [The snowdrop and primrose our woodlands adorn, and violets bathe in the wet o' the morn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/the-snowdrop-and-primrose-our-woodlands-adorn-and-violets-bathe-in/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [Oh my luve's like a red, red rose, That's newly sprung in June; Oh my luve's like the melodie That's sweetly played in tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/oh-my-luve-s-like-a-red-red-rose-that-s-newly-sprung-in-june-oh-my/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [Again rejoicing Nature sees Her robe assume its vernal hues Her leafy locks wave in the breeze, All freshly steep'd in the morning dews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/again-rejoicing-nature-sees-her-robe-assume-its-vernal-hues-her-leafy/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [Gin a body meet a body Coming thro' the rye, Gin a body kiss a body— Need a body cry?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/gin-a-body-meet-a-body-coming-thro-the-rye-gin-a-body-kiss-a-body/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [“O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/o-wad-some-power-the-giftie-gie-us-to-see-oursels-as-ithers-see-us/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [Liberty's in every blow! Let us do or die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/liberty-s-in-every-blow-let-us-do-or-die/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [Dare to be honest and fear no labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/dare-to-be-honest-and-fear-no-labor/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [Look abroad through Nature's range, Nature's mighty law is change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/look-abroad-through-nature-s-range-nature-s-mighty-law-is-change/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [ “All-cheering Plenty, with her flowing horn, Led yellow Autumn, wreath'd with nodding corn." \[ Brigs of Ayr \]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/all-cheering-plenty-with-her-flowing-horn-led-yellow-autumn-wreath-d/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [To make three guineas do the work of five.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/to-make-three-guineas-do-the-work-of-five/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [Some books are lies frae end to end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/some-books-are-lies-frae-end-to-end/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [Who made the heart, 'tis He alone Decidedly can try us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/who-made-the-heart-tis-he-alone-decidedly-can-try-us/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.--Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/nursing-her-wrath-to-keep-it-warm-robert-burns/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

> [It is cruelty to be humane to rebels, and humanity is cruelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/it-is-cruelty-to-be-humane-to-rebels-and-humanity-is-cruelty/)

[Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

[Explore all 233 Robert Burns quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/)

## More Conscience quotes

> [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/)

[Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/)

> [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/)

[Rabelaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabelaise/)

> [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/)

[Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/)

> [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/)

[Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/)

> [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/)

[Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/)

> [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/)

[Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/)

> [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/)

[Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/)

> [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/)

[John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/)

> [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/)

[Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/)

> [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another ones belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another ones right to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/being-tolerant-does-not-mean-that-i-share-another-ones-belief-but-it/)

[Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/)

> [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/)

[John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/)

> [I've worked with people who are much further to the left than I am and much further to the right than I am. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/i-ve-worked-with-people-who-are-much-further-to-the-left-than-i-am/)

[Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/)

> [If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-all-the-world-hated-you-and-believed-you-wicked-while-your-own/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/)

[Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/)

[Browse all 3,490 Conscience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There is nothing in the whole frame of man which seems to me so unaccountable as that thing called conscience.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert Burns"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/there-is-nothing-in-the-whole-frame-of-man-which-seems-to-me-so/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Conscience"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/there-is-nothing-in-the-whole-frame-of-man-which-seems-to-me-so/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/robert-burns-1511_conscience_there-is-nothing-in-the-whole-frame-of-m_623082.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/robert-burns-1511_conscience_there-is-nothing-in-the-whole-frame-of-m_623082.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/robert-burns-1511_conscience_there-is-nothing-in-the-whole-frame-of-m_623082.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There is nothing in the whole frame of man which seems to me so unaccountable as that thing called conscience.” — Robert Burns",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Robert Burns",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There is nothing in the whole...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/there-is-nothing-in-the-whole-frame-of-man-which-seems-to-me-so/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/there-is-nothing-in-the-whole-frame-of-man-which-seems-to-me-so/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
