Nettle Quotes

“When the nettle is young, the leaves make excellent greens; when it grows old it has filaments and fibers like hemp and flax. Cloth made from the nettle is as good as that made from hemp. Chopped up, the nettle is good for poultry; pounded, it is good for horned cattle. The seed of the nettle mixed with the fodder of animals gives a luster to their skin; the root, mixed with salt, produces a beautiful yellow dye. It makes, however, excellent hay, as it can be cut twice in a season. And what does the nettle need? very little soil, no care, no culture; except that the seeds fall as fast as they ripen, and it is difficult to gather them; that is all. If we would take a little pains, the nettle would be useful; we neglect it, and it becomes harmful. Then we kill it. How much men are like the nettle! My friends, remember this, that there are no weeds, and no worthless men, there are only bad farmers.”
― Victor Hugo

“Sometimes it’s like watching a wasp land on a stinging nettle: someone’s going to get stung and you don’t care.”
― Terry Pratchett, Night Watch

“I am too swift of tongue. But I think that is the best way to talk to a dragon.”
― Robin Hobb, Fool's Fate

“Nettie, is that short for Annette?" Dr. Carlyle asked.
"It's short for Nettle." Nettie hated the way her voice quavered as she shivered in the office gown. "Stinging nettle was the only thing that soothed my mother's hives when she was carrying me.”
― Ellen Herrick, The Sparrow Sisters