A cow is a very good animal in the field; but we turn her out of a garden.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Cows are useful in fields but not suitable for gardens.
- In plain terms
- Cows work well in fields, not in gardens.
- What can you take from it?
- Use tools where they fit best.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When do we misuse resources?
- How can we better align tools with tasks?
Another view
Metaphor may not translate to modern contexts.
More from Samuel Johnson
A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization.
Permalink to quote #137 Read over your compositions, and wherever you meet with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out.
Permalink to quote #139 A gentleman who had been very unhappy in marriage, married immediately after his wife died: Johnson said, it was the triumph of hope over experience.
Permalink to quote #136
Related quotes
The Farmer will never be happy again; He carries his heart in his boots; For either the rain is destroying his grain Or the drought is destroying his roots.
A. P. HerbertA. P. Herbert quote #1 'Dr. Norman Borlaug was the father of the Green Revolution that transformed much of the hungry Third World. As U.S. Food for Peace Administrator in the 1960s, …
Norman BorlaugNorman Borlaug quote #12 'Dr. Norman Borlaug is the first person in history to save a billion human lives. But he must also get credit for saving the wild creatures and diverse plant s…
Norman BorlaugNorman Borlaug quote #16