Good timber does not grow with ease: The stronger wind, the stronger trees; The further sky, the greater length; The more the storm, the more the strength. By sun and cold, by rain and snow, In trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth, We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars Of many winds and much of strife. This is the common law of life.