APAD:as the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined

as the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined

Etymology

From the Epistles to Several Persons (1732): "'Tis education forms the common mind, Just as the twig is bent the tree's inclined."

A person's formative experiences in youth influence their character during adulthood.

所有跟帖： 

• Agreed. e.g. like the 1st book one read that stays forever -最西边的岛上- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/13/2024 postreply 06:23:58

• Yes, the experiences during youth can indeed influence -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/13/2024 postreply 06:56:55

• one's adult personality. -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/13/2024 postreply 06:57:31

• My childhood public speaking experiences hav been helping me -妖妖灵- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/13/2024 postreply 08:43:03

• 2 be a good public speaker -移花接木- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/13/2024 postreply 09:01:53

• help me speak Chinglish confidently～：） -妖妖灵- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/13/2024 postreply 14:26:03

• Out of context, it applies to much more than youth education -7grizzly- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/13/2024 postreply 08:54:38

• Good to know about Pope's epistles, BTW. -7grizzly- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/13/2024 postreply 09:00:43

• animal ate human'd be shot to keep human out of their menu -移花接木- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/13/2024 postreply 09:07:05

• Thanks for sharing. Happy Year of the Dragon! -CBA7- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/13/2024 postreply 09:42:37