“There's no such thing as a tough child - if you parboil them first for seven hours, they always come out tender.”
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
W.C. Fields 47
actor 1880–1946Related quotes

Noah BenShea, Great Quotes to Inspire Great Teachers, Corwin Press, 2001, ISBN 0761945407, p. 78.
Attributed

Source: 1960s, Strength to Love (1963), Ch. 1 : A tough mind and a tender heart
Context: Jesus recognized the need for blending opposites. He knew that his disciples would face a difficult and hostile world, where they would confront the recalcitrance of political officials and the intransigence of the protectors of the old order. He knew that they would meet cold and arrogant men whose hearts had been hardened by the long winter of traditionalism. … And he gave them a formula for action, "Be ye therefore as wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." … We must combine the toughness of the serpent with the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.

“The woman who survives intact and happy must be at once tender and tough.”

“Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives.”
Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance (2000, Harvest House Publishers)

“Seven hours to law, to soothing slumber seven,
Ten to the world allot, and all to heaven.”
Reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919) Compare: "Six hours in sleep, in law's grave study six, Four spend in prayer, the rest on Nature fix", Translation of lines quoted by Edward Coke.