[Ads-l] Quote Origin: Do Not Confine Your Children to Your Own Learning, for They Were Born in Another Time

[Stephen Goranson]

My mistake: Huebsch died in 1884, not 1888.

On Wed, May 13, 2026 at 6:39 AM Stephen Goranson <goransonsc at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Interesting topic. The Gems of the Orient book by Rabbi Adolph Huebsch
> (1830-1888) may be from 1877 rather than 1887.
> s
>
> On Wed, May 13, 2026 at 12:32 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <
> 00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
>> The saying in the subject line has been attributed to the Bengali sage
>> Rabindranath Tagore. The statement has also been called a Rabbinical
>> saying and an Arabic Proverb. I received a request to investigate.
>>
>> The earliest match I found appeared in an 1887 book titled "Gems of
>> the Orient" which contained sayings compiled and translated by
>> Reverend A. Huebsch. The saying occurred in a part of the volume
>> titled "Arabic Proverbs and Sentences". The precise source of the
>> saying was not specified. Here are four statements from the subsection
>> about "Children":
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born
>> in another time.
>>
>> By much falling the child learns to walk.
>>
>> From the rose proceeds a thorn, from the thorn a rose. (Said of the
>> diversity between parents and children.)
>>
>> Be submissive in thy childhood that thou mayest be respected in thy old
>> age.
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>> In 1894 "Good Housekeeping" magazine printed a collection of
>> miscellaneous sayings under the title "The Family Scrap Basket"
>> including the following three items:
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> What class of tradesmen succeed best by going to the wall? Paper hangers.
>>
>> He is a gallant man, indeed, who always stands up for women—in a street
>> car.
>>
>> Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born
>> in another time.
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>> In 1900 the saying appeared in "Wit and Wisdom of the Talmud" edited
>> by Madison C. Peters. Here are four statements from a section titled
>> "Duties Between Parents and Children":
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born
>> in another time.
>>
>> Where the children honor their parents, there God dwells, there He is
>> honored.
>>
>> Parental love should be impartial; one child must not be preferred to the
>> other.
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>> The three citations above demonstrate the uncertain origin of the
>> saying. The creator remains anonymous. The saying seems to be either
>> Arabic or Rabbinic. I hope that future research will help to clarify
>> the origin.
>>
>> The earliest attribution to Rabindranath Tagore I found appeared in
>> 2008 which is an extremely late date.
>>
>> Here is a link to the Quote Investigator article:
>> https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/05/13/children-time/
>>
>> Feedback welcome
>> Garson O'Toole
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org