Robert Christy, comp. Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages. 1887.

Nettle

He that handles a nettle tenderly is soonest stung.

It is better to be stung by a nettle than pricked by a rose.

Tender handed stroke a nettle and it stings you for your pains;
Grasp it like a man of mettle, and it soft as silk remains.

Though you stroke the nettle ever so kindly, yet it will sting you.