Grocott & Ward, comps. Grocott’s Familiar Quotations, 6th ed. 189-?.
Grafting
Where the sharp thistle springs implant the corn,
And graft the rose upon the springing thorn.
Anonymous.—To Fielding, on the revival of the Intriguing Chambermaid.
As fruits, ungrateful to the planter’s care,
On savage stocks inserted, learn to bear.
Pope.—Essay on Man, Epistle II. Line 181.
You see, sweet maid, we marry
A gentle scion to the wildest stock;
And make conceive a bark of baser kind
By bud of nobler race.
This is an art
Which does mend nature—change it rather: but
The art itself is nature.
Shakespeare.—Winter’s Tale, Act IV. Scene 3. (Polixenes to Perdita.)