“Unless you remove the weeds, a good crop will be ruined.”
Sadao Araki (1877–1966) Japanese general
Quoted in "The Quarterly review" - Page 20 - by William Gifford, John Taylor Coleridge - 1935
1900s, Address at Providence (1901)
Context: We are passing through a period of great commercial prosperity, and such a period is as sure as adversity itself to bring mutterings of discontent. At a time when most men prosper somewhat some men always prosper greatly; and it is as true now as when the tower of Siloam fell upon all alike, that good fortune does not come solely to the just, nor bad fortune solely to the unjust. When the weather is good for crops it is also good for weeds.
“Unless you remove the weeds, a good crop will be ruined.”
Sadao Araki (1877–1966) Japanese general
Quoted in "The Quarterly review" - Page 20 - by William Gifford, John Taylor Coleridge - 1935
Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969) Vietnamese communist leader and first president of Vietnam
"To Practice Thrift and Oppose Embezzlement (1952)
1950's
John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury (1834–1913) British banker, Liberal politician, philanthropist, scientist and polymath
The Use of Life (1894), ch. IV: Recreation
Elton John (1947) English rock singer-songwriter, composer and pianist
Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny), his song dedicated to John Lennon
Song lyrics, Jump Up! (1982)
“There is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) English writer and art critic
Quoted by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, The Use of Life, chapter IV: "Recreation" (1894).
“It's but little good you'll do a-watering the last year's crop.”
George Eliot book Adam Bede
Adam Bede (1859)
“5465. Weeds are apt to grow faster than good Herbs.”
Thomas Fuller (writer) (1654–1734) British physician, preacher, and intellectual
Introductio ad prudentiam: Part II (1727), Gnomologia (1732)
“Any time I make a record it's followed by a painting period. It's good crop rotation.”
Joni Mitchell (1943) Canadian musician
Woman of Heart and Mind: A Life Story (2003)