Today's literary nugget - cynical advice on handling the workforce from a little-known early 18th Century English poet, Aaron Hill. To some, it might seem like a method for handling women too ("Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen."). For me, it has always seemed most appropriate to wrangling a class of unruly students. That's the beauty of a good metaphor: its applicability can spin off in all sorts of directions.
Written on a Window
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.
'Tis the same with common natures:
Use them kindly, they rebel;
But be rough as nutmeg-graters
And the rogues obey you well.
Aaron Hill (1685-1750)
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