You Can Lead a Horse to Water, but You Can’t Make It Drink Contributor: “Dr. J” Via Calorielab “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink” may well be the oldest English proverb that is still in regular use today. It first appeared in the Old English Homilies in 1175 as, “Hwa is thet mei thet hors wettrien the him self nule drinken.” “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink” literally means that you can help the horse by showing him where the water is, but it is up to the horse itself to decide that it will actually take the drink. In our general usage the meaning is usually thought to be, “You can show people the way to do things, but you can’t force them to act,” or, “You can give someone the opportunity to learn or to do something, but you can never force him to accept that opportunity,” or, “You can offer something to someone, like good advice, but you cannot make them take it,” or, “You can help someone as much as you like, but if they do not try or do not help themselves, then they will not succeed.” I suppose in many ways, writing this column is my leading a horse to water. In that vein, I imagine there are many possibilities as to how it will all play out. I can lead a horse to water, and sometimes they may be thirsty. I can lead a horse to water, and… why are they following ME? I can lead a horse to water, but it’s usually a bad idea to turn your back on a horse. I can lead a horse to water, but the water better not be too deep. I can lead a horse to water, but even in the abundance of water, a foolish horse is thirsty. I can lead a horse to water, but some horses just like being dehydrated. I can lead a horse to water, but some horses would just rather complain about being thirsty. I can lead a horse to water, but some horses just want to be a thirst in progress. I can lead a French horse to water, but they know all too well that water is for bathing, wine is for drinking! I can lead my horse to water, and he has lived a long and healthy life because he has always been one to drink the water! May your life be long and healthy as well! Dr. J offers his irreverent, slightly irrelevant, but possibly useful opinions on health and fitness. A Florida surgeon and fitness freak with a black belt in karate, he runs 50 miles a week and flies a Cherokee Arrow 200.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:18:54 +0000
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