“Tender-handed stroke a nettle,
And it stings you for your pains;
Grasp it like a man of mettle,
And it soft as silk remains.’Tis the same with common natures:
Use ’em kindly, they rebel;
But be rough as nutmeg-graters,
And the rogues obey you well.”

— Aaron Hill (writer)

Verses Written on a Window in Scotland.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 2, 2022. History

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Aaron Hill (writer) 11

British writer 1685–1750

Aaron Hill (writer) (1685–1750) British writer

Verses Written on a Window in Scotland.
Context: Tender-handed stroke a nettle,
And it stings you for your pains;
Grasp it like a man of mettle,
And it soft as silk remains.’Tis the same with common natures:
Use ’em kindly, they rebel;
But be rough as nutmeg-graters,
And the rogues obey you well.

“The world is a nettle; disturb it, it stings.
Grasp it firmly, it stings not.”

Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton (1831–1891) English statesman and poet

Part iii, canto ii. Quoted by Walt Whitman in Roaming in Thought.
Lucile (1860)

“You paint stinging-nettles, and I prefer roses.”

Narcisse Virgilio Díaz (1807–1876) French painter

Diaz, quoted by Muther; cited in The Barbizon Painters – being the story of the Men of thirty, Arthur Hoeber – associate of the National Academy of Design; publishers, Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York 1915, p. 138
according to Richard Muther this was the characteristic expression which Diaz used to Millet
Quotes of Diaz

“You know the wild flowers suit your hair:
Place hands full of the purple bloom
Of loosestrife, glad of such soft doom,
And tender-toned narcissus there”

Edward Andrade (1887–1971) English physicist

Poem Fate and the Little Flowers

“Everything in space obeys the laws of physics. If you know these laws, and obey them, space will treat you kindly. And don't tell me that man doesn't belong out there. Man belongs wherever he wants to go — and he’ll do plenty well when he gets there.”

Wernher von Braun (1912–1977) German, later an American, aerospace engineer and space architect

As quoted in Time (17 February 1958)

“Some strong-willed children absolutely demand to be spanked, and their wishes should be granted... [T]wo or three stinging strokes on the legs or buttocks with a switch are usually sufficient to emphasize the point, 'You must obey me.”

James Dobson (1936) Evangelical Christian psychologist, author, and radio broadcaster.

From The Strong-Willed Child, pp. 53-4.
1970s

“Make your hearts tender so that the grace the God of life abundantly grants us will drench you, and you will experience his salvation. Make your hearts tender so that you will not be indifferent to the pain or suffering of anyone.”

Mario Aurelio Poli (1947) Catholic Cardinal from Argentine.

Cardinal calls on faithful to have tender hearts during Lent https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/29155/cardinal-calls-on-faithful-to-have-tender-hearts-during-lent (5 March 2014)

“You are like a chestnut burr, prickly outside, but silky-soft within, and a sweet kernel, if one can only get at it. Love will make you show your heart some day, and then the rough burr will fall off.”

Louisa May Alcott book Little Women

Source: Little Women

“His voice is low and soft, a piece of silk you might keep in a drawer and pull out only on rare occasions, just to feel it between your fingers.”

Anthony Doerr book All the Light We Cannot See

Source: All the Light We Cannot See

“Being good is the same as being a philosopher. If you obey your father, you will follow the will of a man; if you choose the philosopher's life, the will of God. It is plain, therefore, that your duty lies in the pursuit of philosophy.”

Gaius Musonius Rufus (25–95) Roman philosopher

Fragment 16 "What is the best provision for old age," in Moral Exhortation (1986), p. 32

“Tender-handed stroke a nettle,
And it stings you for your pains;
Grasp it like a man of mettle,
And it soft as silk remains.’Tis the same with common natures:
Use ’em kindly, they rebel;
But be rough as nutmeg-graters,
And the rogues obey you well.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Aaron Hill (writer) 11

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“Tender-handed stroke a nettle,And it stings you for your pains;Grasp it like a man of mettle,And it soft as silk remains.’Tis the same with common natures:Use ’em kindly, they rebel;But be rough as nutmeg-graters,And the rogues obey you well.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Aaron Hill (writer) 11

Related quotes

Related topics

“Tender-handed stroke a nettle,
And it stings you for your pains;
Grasp it like a man of mettle,
And it soft as silk remains.’Tis the same with common natures:
Use ’em kindly, they rebel;
But be rough as nutmeg-graters,
And the rogues obey you well.”