ProverbChallenge
English origin1640
English origin1640The mill cannot grind with the water that is past.
Meaning: Dwelling on past opportunities wastes energy; focus your effort on present circumstances to achieve results.
Origin: George Herbert's Outlandish Proverbs (1640) gives it as "The mill cannot grind with the water that's past." Sarah Doudney's Victorian poem "The Lesson of the Water-Mill" made it famous: time and chances once gone cannot be used again.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, and Dutch
French: Le moulin ne moult pas avec l’eau coulée en bas (literally: The mill does not grind with water that is past)
Spanish: Agua pasada no mueve molino (literally: Water that has gone by does not turn the mill)
Japanese: 覆水盆に返らず (Fukusui bon ni kaerazu) (literally: Spilled water does not return to the tray)
Italian: Acqua passata non macina più (literally: Water gone by grinds no more)
Portuguese: Águas passadas não movem moinhos (literally: Past waters don't turn mills)
Dutch: Met verlopen water maalt geen molen (literally: No mill grinds with water that has run off)
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