
ProverbHuman Nature
English origin1734
As the twig is bent, so grows the tree
Meaning: Early experiences and upbringing shape a person's lifelong character and habits.
Who said it? Alexander Pope, Moral Essays, 1734
Origin: From Alexander Pope's Moral Essays, in the epistle to Lord Cobham (1734):"'Tis education forms the common mind: / Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined." A gardener can shape a young tree by bending its supple branches, but grown wood sets; Pope applied the image to how upbringing shapes character.
Equivalents in German
German: Jung gewohnt, alt getan (literally: Accustomed to it when young, doing it when old)
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- El perro de San Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramón Ramírez se lo ha robado. A rolled-'r' workout — every word demands the vibrating trill.
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