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

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Thanks Stephen. You are correct that the book "Gems of the Orient" by
Reverend A. Huebsch appeared in 1877. I wrote 1877 in the
bibliographical note, but I incorrectly wrote 1887 in the body of the
article. The article has now been updated and your help is
acknowledged.

[Begin acknowledgement update]
Thanks to Stephen Goranson who told QI about a typo in a date.
[End acknowledgement update]

Garson

On Wed, May 13, 2026 at 6:39 AM Stephen Goranson
<00001dd3d6fc15d3-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> 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

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