---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thou canst not serve both cod and salmon."
description: "\"Thou canst not serve both cod and salmon.\" — Ada Leverson"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/ada-leverson-18731_salmon_thou-canst-not-serve-both-cod-and-salmon_2023714.png"
---

#  Thou canst not serve both cod and salmon.

![“Thou canst not serve both cod and salmon.” quote by Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/ada-leverson-18731_salmon_thou-canst-not-serve-both-cod-and-salmon_2023714.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/ada-leverson-18731_salmon_thou-canst-not-serve-both-cod-and-salmon_2023714.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/ada-leverson-18731_salmon_thou-canst-not-serve-both-cod-and-salmon_2023714.png)

> “Thou canst not serve both cod and salmon.”

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Choosing between two exclusive options forces a decision; you cannot support both simultaneously.

**In simple terms:** You must pick one over the other.

Key Takeaway

Decide and commit.

Themes

choice priorities exclusivity

Mood

determined reflective

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- business strategy
- personal relationships
- resource allocation

Key Concepts

decision theory opportunity cost

Questions to Reflect On

- What trade‑off are you avoiding?
- Can a hybrid approach work?

A Different Perspective

May overlook nuanced solutions that combine elements.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [All nature is but art, unknown to thee; All chance, direction, which thou canst not see; All discord, harmony not understood; All partial evil,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/all-nature-is-but-art-unknown-to-thee-all-chance-direction-which-thou/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [Thou canst not speak of thou dost not feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-canst-not-speak-of-thou-dost-not-feel/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Drink not the third glass, which thou canst not tame, When once it is within thee; but before Mayst rule it, as thou list:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/drink-not-the-third-glass-which-thou-canst-not-tame-when-once-it-is-2/)

[George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/)

> [Say not that thou hast royal blood in thy veins; say not that thou art born of God if thou canst not prove thy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gurnall/say-not-that-thou-hast-royal-blood-in-thy-veins-say-not-that-thou-art/)

[William Gurnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gurnall/)

> [Thou canst not force my soul to wish thee ill, That is the only evil that can kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/thou-canst-not-force-my-soul-to-wish-thee-ill-that-is-the-only-evil/)

[Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/)

> [O money, money, money. I'm not necessarily one of those who think thee holy, but I often stop to wonder how thou canst go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/o-money-money-money-i-m-not-necessarily-one-of-those-who-think-thee/)

[Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/)

> [Know what thou canst work at, and work at it like a Hercules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/know-what-thou-canst-work-at-and-work-at-it-like-a-hercules/)

[Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/)

> [Drink not the third glass, which thou canst not tame, when once it is within thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/drink-not-the-third-glass-which-thou-canst-not-tame-when-once-it-is/)

[George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/)

> [“No, thou art come too late, Empedocles! And the world hath the day, and must break thee, Not thou the world. With men thou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/no-thou-art-come-too-late-empedocles-and-the-world-hath-the-day-and/)

[Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/)

> [Do what good thou canst unknown, and be not vain of what ought rather to be felt than seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/do-what-good-thou-canst-unknown-and-be-not-vain-of-what-ought-rather/)

[William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/)

> [All chance, direction, which thou canst not see](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/all-chance-direction-which-thou-canst-not-see/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [Give all thou canst; high Heaven rejects the lore of nicely-caluculated less or more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/give-all-thou-canst-high-heaven-rejects-the-lore-of-nicely/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [Shorten my days thou canst with sullen sorrow, And pluck nights from me, but not lend a morrow; Thou canst help time to furrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/shorten-my-days-thou-canst-with-sullen-sorrow-and-pluck-nights-from/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Remember, thou canst be brought into no condition, be it ever so severe, where Love has not been before thee and where its tender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-baker-eddy/remember-thou-canst-be-brought-into-no-condition-be-it-ever-so-severe/)

[Mary Baker Eddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-baker-eddy/)

> [See only that thou work and thou canst not escape the reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/see-only-that-thou-work-and-thou-canst-not-escape-the-reward/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

## More by Ada Leverson

> [Some men are born husbands; they have a passion for domesticity, for a fireside, for a home. Yet, curiously, these men very rarely stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/some-men-are-born-husbands-they-have-a-passion-for-domesticity-for-a/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [As a rule the person found out in a betrayal of love holds, all the same, the superior position of the two. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/as-a-rule-the-person-found-out-in-a-betrayal-of-love-holds-all-the/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [People were not charmed with Eglantine because she herself was charming, but because she was charmed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/people-were-not-charmed-with-eglantine-because-she-herself-was/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [When a passion is not realized ... it fades away, or becomes ideal worship--Dante--Petrarch--that sort of thing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/when-a-passion-is-not-realized-it-fades-away-or-becomes-ideal-worship/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [She could carry off anything; and some people said that she did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/she-could-carry-off-anything-and-some-people-said-that-she-did/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [A morbid propensity that causes great suffering in domestic life is often curiously infectious to the very person for whom it creates most suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/a-morbid-propensity-that-causes-great-suffering-in-domestic-life-is/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [A butler in an English household should, however, be English, and as much like an archbishop as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/a-butler-in-an-english-household-should-however-be-english-and-as/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [Everything comes to the man who won't wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/everything-comes-to-the-man-who-won-t-wait/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [envy, as a rule, is of success rather than of merit. No one would have objected to his talent deserving recognition - only to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/envy-as-a-rule-is-of-success-rather-than-of-merit-no-one-would-have/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [Most people would far rather be seen through than not be seen at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/most-people-would-far-rather-be-seen-through-than-not-be-seen-at-all/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [The Futurists?… Well, of course, they are already past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/the-futurists-well-of-course-they-are-already-past/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [You don’t know a woman until you have had a letter from her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/you-don-t-know-a-woman-until-you-have-had-a-letter-from-her/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [It's always something to get one's wish, even if the wish is a failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/it-s-always-something-to-get-one-s-wish-even-if-the-wish-is-a-failure/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [an optimist is the man who looks after your eyes, and the pessimist the person who looks after your feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/an-optimist-is-the-man-who-looks-after-your-eyes-and-the-pessimist/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [Women are so perverse. Look how they won't wear black when nothing suits them so well!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/women-are-so-perverse-look-how-they-won-t-wear-black-when-nothing/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

[Explore all 34 Ada Leverson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

## More Salmon quotes

> [I don't think I've ever bench-pressed anything in my life. Until about two years ago I swam a mile almost every day. Then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-antosca/i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-bench-pressed-anything-in-my-life-until-about/)

[Nick Antosca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-antosca/)

> [I eat a lot of chicken with salad or salmon with salad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ellison/i-eat-a-lot-of-chicken-with-salad-or-salmon-with-salad/)

[Jennifer Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ellison/)

> [I love a massage. I'd go every day if I could.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-bateman/i-love-a-massage-i-d-go-every-day-if-i-could/)

[Jason Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-bateman/)

> [That is no country for old men. The young In one another's arms, birds in the trees - Those dying generations-at their song, The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/that-is-no-country-for-old-men-the-young-in-one-another-s-arms-birds/)

[William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/)

> [It cannot but affect our philosophy favorably to be reminded of these shoals of migratory fishes, of salmon, shad, alewives, marsh-bankers, and others, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-cannot-but-affect-our-philosophy-favorably-to-be-reminded-of-these/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [When dams were erected on the Columbia, salmon battered themselves against the concrete, trying to return home. I expect no less from us. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/when-dams-were-erected-on-the-columbia-salmon-battered-themselves/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [Obama does not believe in individual upward mobility. He would penalize it, tax it, regulate it, inveigh against it and disincentivize it. We will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/obama-does-not-believe-in-individual-upward-mobility-he-would/)

[Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/)

> [I'm a big fish eater. Salmon - I love salmon. My sister loves Chinese food and sushi and all that. I'm not as big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-fanning/i-m-a-big-fish-eater-salmon-i-love-salmon-my-sister-loves-chinese/)

[Elle Fanning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-fanning/)

> [There are times when salmon play no part in the proceedings of a day that is obstensibly spent in their pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-rex-coman/there-are-times-when-salmon-play-no-part-in-the-proceedings-of-a-day/)

Dale Rex Coman

> ['Winning' in Hollywood means not just power, money, and complimentary smoked-salmon pizza, but also that everyone around you fails just as you are peaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/winning-in-hollywood-means-not-just-power-money-and-complimentary/)

[Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/)

> [A wonderful thing happens when you give up on hope, which is that you realize you never needed it in the first place. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/a-wonderful-thing-happens-when-you-give-up-on-hope-which-is-that-you/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [A smoked salmon sandwich of a football match if ever there has been one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drury/a-smoked-salmon-sandwich-of-a-football-match-if-ever-there-has-been/)

[Peter Drury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drury/)

> [“My name was Salmon like the fish, first name Susie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/my-name-was-salmon-like-the-fish-first-name-susie/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [All we want, whether we are honeybees, salmon, trash-collecting ants, ponderosa pines, coyotes, human beings, or stars, is to love and be loved, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/all-we-want-whether-we-are-honeybees-salmon-trash-collecting-ants/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [If you don't believe your salmon is wild, ask it to fetch your newspaper and see what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-don-t-believe-your-salmon-is-wild-ask-it-to-fetch-your/)

[Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/)

Browse all 180 Salmon quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Thou canst not serve both cod and salmon.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ada Leverson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/thou-canst-not-serve-both-cod-and-salmon/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Salmon"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/thou-canst-not-serve-both-cod-and-salmon/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/ada-leverson-18731_salmon_thou-canst-not-serve-both-cod-and-salmon_2023714.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/ada-leverson-18731_salmon_thou-canst-not-serve-both-cod-and-salmon_2023714.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/ada-leverson-18731_salmon_thou-canst-not-serve-both-cod-and-salmon_2023714.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Thou canst not serve both cod and salmon.” — Ada Leverson",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Ada Leverson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Thou canst not serve both cod...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/thou-canst-not-serve-both-cod-and-salmon/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/thou-canst-not-serve-both-cod-and-salmon/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
