Talk:A rolling stone gathers no moss

Misleading Introduction

According to wikiquote "A rolling stone gathers no moss" was misattributed to Publius Syrus, yet the introduction here credits him but then goes on to quote a different proverb. This different proverb (People who are always moving, with no roots in one place or another, avoid responsibilities and cares) mentions neither stones nor moss.

Earlier mention in English than Heyword

A Thomas Wyatt poem written in the 1530s which predates John Heyward's 1546 collection of proverbs.

A spending hand that alway powreth owte
Had nede to have a bringer in as fast,
And on the stone that still doeth tourne abowte
There groweth no mosse: these proverbes yet do last.

Also William Langford writes

Seldom mosseth the marble stone
That men oft tread

— William Langford, Piers Plowman (1362)

Missing the point?

This article doesn't describe the underlying metaphor, which is really very straightforward. In nature, moss grows on all objects that stay put - rocks, trees, buildings, whatever. It doesn't grow on moving things because the slow-growing moss spores are shaken off before they can grow and establish themselves.

In this saying, 'moss' is a metaphor for the things that people accumulate when they settle down in life - or put down roots, as another old saying has it. These accoutrements can be seen as desirable or undesirable depending on one's perspective. Originally, the phrase was intended to convey a warning to people who, by continually 'moving on', might fail to accumulate wealth and substance; in more modern times, it has acquired an alternative meaning as an endorsement of a more itinerant lifestyle that avoids irksome responsibilities.

But whatever the interpretation, it certainly has no connection with peat bogs or baby diapers.

Ammilne (talk) 22:33, 22 January 2019 (UTC)

Needs work

This article mightn't have been deleted, but it could use some rewriting: while it has plenty of content, it's written the same way students write exam papers when they're running out of time and aren't entirely sure what point they're trying to make. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ckerr (talk • contribs) 10:46, 15 January 2007 (UTC).

Idiom

Isn't this actually an idiom? KobraArboc (talk) 00:02, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Music section seems to avoid mentioning the popular music group "The Rolling Stones" or their album "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss."

The music section of this article seems to avoid mentioning the popular music group "The Rolling Stones" or their album "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss" (1977).

In the music section, clear references to the group "The Rolling Stones" are ignored, as evidenced by Bob Dylan's 1965 song "Like a Rolling Stone", which mentions the song "may refer to the original proverb," ignoring the more obvious observation that the song references both the proverb and the popular music group.

Reference:

"The Rolling Stones". (1977). A rolling stone gathers no moss (blue label ed.). Japan: London. ASIN: B0050AQNRY

    https://www.evernote.com/shard/s10/sh/979fdbf4-ce19-46b7-bcfb-d04f1c922fd6/f1511d911037129b3282597a3302b935

Dwlloyd810 (talk) 15:00, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

External links modified

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