--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The rain is plentious but, by God's…" description: "\"The rain is plentious but, by God's decree, Only a third is meant for you and me; Two-thirds are taken by the growing things Or vanish Heavenward on va..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/a-p-herbert-18929_decree_the-rain-is-plentious-but-by-god-s-decre_3113427.png" --- # The rain is plentious but, by God's decree, Only a third… ![“The rain is plentious but, by God's decree, Only a third is meant for you and me; Two-thirds are taken by the growing things Or vanish Heavenward on vapour's wings: Nor does it mathematically fall With social equity on one and all. The population's habit is to grow In every region where the…” quote by A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/a-p-herbert-18929_decree_the-rain-is-plentious-but-by-god-s-decre_3113427.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/a-p-herbert-18929_decree_the-rain-is-plentious-but-by-god-s-decre_3113427.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/a-p-herbert-18929_decree_the-rain-is-plentious-but-by-god-s-decre_3113427.png) > “The rain is plentious but, by God's decree, Only a third is meant for you and me; Two-thirds are taken by the growing things Or vanish Heavenward on vapour's wings: Nor does it mathematically fall With social equity on one and all. The population's habit is to grow In every region where the water's low: Nature is blamed for failings that are Man's, And well-run rivers have to change their plans.” [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights that water distribution is uneven, with most allocated to nature and only a small share for humans, reflecting social inequities and environmental challenges. **In simple terms:** Water is mostly for nature; humans get little. Key Takeaway Recognize scarcity and manage resources wisely. Themes environment resource allocation inequality human impact Mood concerned reflective Type observational critical When to use this quote - urban planning - agricultural policy - climate adaptation Key Concepts hydrology social justice population growth Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance ecological needs with human consumption? - What policies can ensure fair water distribution? A Different Perspective Human demand often exceeds supply, leading to conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Equity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equity/) [Growing things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-things/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [“Nothing in life is constant, for even rivers change their course.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-bax/nothing-in-life-is-constant-for-even-rivers-change-their-course/) [Timothy Bax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-bax/) > [We look at mountains and call them eternal, and they seem... but in the course of time, mountains rise and fall, rivers change their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-look-at-mountains-and-call-them-eternal-and-they-seem-but-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When a young person is sent 'up the river,' we need to remember that all rivers can change course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-k-simpson/when-a-young-person-is-sent-up-the-river-we-need-to-remember-that-all/) [Alan K. Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-k-simpson/) > [It seems very safe to me to be surrounded by green growing things and water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-seems-very-safe-to-me-to-be-surrounded-by-green-growing-things-and/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Whoever accelerates the media of earth, water and air centrifugally perishes unconditionally, for in so doing they reduce the Blood of the Earth (water)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-schauberger/whoever-accelerates-the-media-of-earth-water-and-air-centrifugally/) [Viktor Schauberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-schauberger/) > [...To be honest, I'd be the last person who should be doling out gardeinng advice. I don't have the patience for growing things. Yes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/to-be-honest-i-d-be-the-last-person-who-should-be-doling-out/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [The quality of place, the reaction to immediate contact with earth and growing things that have a fugal relationship with mountains and sky, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/the-quality-of-place-the-reaction-to-immediate-contact-with-earth-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [You'll live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/you-ll-live-to-be-a-hundred-if-you-give-up-all-the-things-that-make/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > ['Green fingers' are a fact, and a mystery only to the unpracticed. But green fingers are the extensions of a verdant heart. A good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-page/green-fingers-are-a-fact-and-a-mystery-only-to-the-unpracticed-but/) [Russell Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-page/) > [“Nobody adores fertilizer. Nobody devotes their life to fertilizer (unless they own a fertilizer company). But, shit, you need it to grow the crops.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/nobody-adores-fertilizer-nobody-devotes-their-life-to-fertilizer/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [A ruler must learn to persuade and not to compel... he must lay the best coffee hearth to attract the finest men... a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/a-ruler-must-learn-to-persuade-and-not-to-compel-he-must-lay-the-best/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Music is in all growing things; And underneath the silky wings Of smallest insects there is stirred A pulse of air that must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-parsons-lathrop/music-is-in-all-growing-things-and-underneath-the-silky-wings-of/) George Parsons Lathrop > [People who spend a great deal of time in their gardens attest to the natural mindfulness that gardening requires. What could be more naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/people-who-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-in-their-gardens-attest-to-the/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [I send out thoughts of love and peace and healing to the whole universe: to all trees and plants and growing things, to all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmet-fox/i-send-out-thoughts-of-love-and-peace-and-healing-to-the-whole/) [Emmet Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmet-fox/) > [Growing things and being able to live off the land has always appealed to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/growing-things-and-being-able-to-live-off-the-land-has-always/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) ## More by A. P. Herbert > [The portions of a woman which appeal to man's depravity Are constructed with considerable care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/the-portions-of-a-woman-which-appeal-to-man-s-depravity-are/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [An act of God was defined as something which no reasonable man could have expected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/an-act-of-god-was-defined-as-something-which-no-reasonable-man-could/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [“At the Theatre: To the Lady Behind Me Dear Madam, you have seen this play; I never saw it till today. You know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/at-the-theatre-to-the-lady-behind-me-dear-madam-you-have-seen-this/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [As my poor father used to say In 1963, Once people start on all this Art Goodbye, moralitee! And what my father used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/as-my-poor-father-used-to-say-in-1963-once-people-start-on-all-this/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [For I must write to The Times tonight, and save the world from sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/for-i-must-write-to-the-times-tonight-and-save-the-world-from-sin/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [The Common Law of England has been laboriously built about a mythical figure-the figure of 'The Reasonable Man'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/the-common-law-of-england-has-been-laboriously-built-about-a-mythical/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [Justice should be cheap but judges expensive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/justice-should-be-cheap-but-judges-expensive/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [“Holy Mother we do believe, That without sin Thou didst conceive; May we now in Thee believing, Also sin without conceiving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/holy-mother-we-do-believe-that-without-sin-thou-didst-conceive-may-we/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [A man who has made up his mind on a given subject twenty-five years ago and continues to hold his political opinions after he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/a-man-who-has-made-up-his-mind-on-a-given-subject-twenty-five-years/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [Citizens who take it upon themselves to do unusual actions which attract the attention of the police should be careful to bring these actions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/citizens-who-take-it-upon-themselves-to-do-unusual-actions-which/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [aven, I have given up smoking again!... God! I feel fit. Homicidal, but fit. A different man. Irritable, moody, depressed, rude, nervy, perhaps; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/aven-i-have-given-up-smoking-again-god-i-feel-fit-homicidal-but-fit-a/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [There is no reason why a joke should not be appreciated more than once. Imagine how little good music there would be if, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/there-is-no-reason-why-a-joke-should-not-be-appreciated-more-than/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [Well, fancy giving money to the Government! Might as well have put it down the drain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/well-fancy-giving-money-to-the-government-might-as-well-have-put-it/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [Men who would face torture without a word become blasphemous at the short fourteenth. It is clear that the game of golf may well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/men-who-would-face-torture-without-a-word-become-blasphemous-at-the/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [People must not do things for fun. We are not here for fun. There is no reference to fun in any Act of Parliament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/people-must-not-do-things-for-fun-we-are-not-here-for-fun-there-is-no/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) [Explore all 33 A. P. Herbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) ## More Decree quotes > [Kings or parliaments could not give the rights essential to happiness... We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/kings-or-parliaments-could-not-give-the-rights-essential-to-happiness/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) > [“What is to be, will be, and no prayers of ours can arrest the decree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/what-is-to-be-will-be-and-no-prayers-of-ours-can-arrest-the-decree/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [On one hand, we know that everything happens for a reason, and there are no mistakes or coincidences. On the other hand, we learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-berg/on-one-hand-we-know-that-everything-happens-for-a-reason-and-there/) [Yehuda Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-berg/) > [Again I ask whence it happened that the fall of Adam involved, without remedy, in eternal death so many nations, together with their infant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/again-i-ask-whence-it-happened-that-the-fall-of-adam-involved-without/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [There must be a law if there is to be liberty. Try to play a piano and you will run into laws as fixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/there-must-be-a-law-if-there-is-to-be-liberty-try-to-play-a-piano-and/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [Silence 'tis awe decrees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/silence-tis-awe-decrees/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [Authority is the spiritual dimension of power because it depends upon faith in a system of meaning that decrees the necessity of the hierarchical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shoshana-zuboff/authority-is-the-spiritual-dimension-of-power-because-it-depends-upon/) [Shoshana Zuboff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shoshana-zuboff/) > [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [State governments seek local remedies for the globally fabricated deprivations and miseries in vain - just as the individuals-by-the-decree-of-fate (read: by the impact of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/state-governments-seek-local-remedies-for-the-globally-fabricated/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [If there's another 9/11 or a major war in the Middle-East involving a U.S. attack on Iran, I have no doubt that there will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/if-there-s-another-9-11-or-a-major-war-in-the-middle-east-involving-a/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [Nature is not benevolent; Nature is just, gives pound for pound, measure for measure, makes no exceptions, never tempers her decrees with mercy, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/nature-is-not-benevolent-nature-is-just-gives-pound-for-pound-measure/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Leadership does not mean being bossy, always telling others what to do. No, leadership means going ahead, not putting others in the front. Good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/leadership-does-not-mean-being-bossy-always-telling-others-what-to-do/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [Donald Trump gives the impression that he would like to govern by decree. He has that impulse in him and he wants to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/donald-trump-gives-the-impression-that-he-would-like-to-govern-by/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [The same government that requires a taxpaying citizen to document every statement on his tax return decrees that questioning a welfare applicant demeans and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-same-government-that-requires-a-taxpaying-citizen-to-document/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [This particular consent decree not only looks at the police department, but it also looks at how we engage our community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-e-pugh/this-particular-consent-decree-not-only-looks-at-the-police/) Catherine E. Pugh Browse all 224 Decree quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The rain is plentious but, by God's decree, Only a third is meant for you and me; Two-thirds are taken by the growing things Or vanish Heavenward on vapour's wings: Nor does it mathematically fall With social equity on one and all. The population's habit is to grow In every region where the water's low: Nature is blamed for failings that are Man's, And well-run rivers have to change their plans.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A. P. 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