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

[Stephen Goranson]

Differing views from "AI." On responder that it's usually taken as
Chinese--not that I've seen. Another offered Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.
Elsewhere, non AI, claims Yiddish. Since Rabbi Huebsch listed it as from
Arabic, that seems provisionally the best bet.

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
>

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