Man Thinks Himself Wise, till God Shows Him His Folly

“A philosopher, seating himself under an oak tree, and viewing its massiveness, could not understand why so large a tree should produce such small fruit. ‘There,’ said he, ‘is the pumpkin, growing on a slender vine; how much better it would be, if that vine bore acorns, and the great tree the pumpkins; then there would be some harmony and fitness in nature.’ As he was meditating on this subject, and examining some ancient theories on the works of creation, an acorn dropped on his head and broke up the train of his reflections. ‘How foolish and short-sighted I am, to question the wisdom of Providence,’ thought the philosopher, ‘if the acorn had been a pumpkin, my head would have been broken.’"—Barber, 1857

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