--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some trees flourish, others die. Some…" description: "\"Some trees flourish, others die. Some cattle grow strong, others are taken by wolves. Some men are born rich enough and dumb enough to enjoy their live..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/john-marston-14867_born_some-trees-flourish-others-die-some-catt_1489526.jpg" --- # Some trees flourish, others die. Some cattle grow strong… ![“Some trees flourish, others die. Some cattle grow strong, others are taken by wolves. Some men are born rich enough and dumb enough to enjoy their lives. Ain't nothing fair. You know that.” quote by John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/john-marston-14867_born_some-trees-flourish-others-die-some-catt_1489526.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/john-marston-14867_born_some-trees-flourish-others-die-some-catt_1489526.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/john-marston-14867_born_some-trees-flourish-others-die-some-catt_1489526.jpg) > “Some trees flourish, others die. Some cattle grow strong, others are taken by wolves. Some men are born rich enough and dumb enough to enjoy their lives. Ain't nothing fair. You know that.” [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is uneven; success and hardship are distributed arbitrarily, often beyond personal control. **In simple terms:** Life is unfair and random. Key Takeaway Accept randomness, focus on personal agency. Themes inequality fate survival justice Mood reflective somber Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - business decisions - personal finance - risk management - health - environmental planning Key Concepts determinism social stratification existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond to unfair circumstances? - What can you control when outcomes feel random? A Different Perspective Randomness does not absolve responsibility for choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Cattle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cattle/) [Cattle Grow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cattle-grow-4328861/) [Die Cattle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/die-cattle-4122760/) [Dumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dumb/) [Enjoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Trees Flourish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees-flourish-5442566/) [Wolves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wolves/) [Wolves Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wolves-men-5442567/) ## Related quotes > [What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-owen/what-passing-bells-for-these-who-die-as-cattle-only-the-monstrous-2/) [Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-owen/) > [“Yet they enjoy the high. In the surest sign that selenium actually makes them go mad, cattle grow addicted to locoweed despite its awful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/yet-they-enjoy-the-high-in-the-surest-sign-that-selenium-actually/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [Wherever wolves run free, indigenous cultures have revered them as symbols of loyalty, free will, fearlessness and unity. But wolves haven't had it easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-helene/wherever-wolves-run-free-indigenous-cultures-have-revered-them-as/) [Zoe Helene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-helene/) > [When I was born, they didn't work. They're broken, the nerves in my lower left lip. When I was kid, I would talk out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-ventimiglia/when-i-was-born-they-didn-t-work-they-re-broken-the-nerves-in-my/) [Milo Ventimiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-ventimiglia/) > [Come to earth to taste our sadness, He whose glories knew no end. By His life He brings us gladness, our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wesley/come-to-earth-to-taste-our-sadness-he-whose-glories-knew-no-end-by/) [Charles Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wesley/) > [Buy our album, were Nirvana, a garage band from Seattle. Well, it sure beats raising cattle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buy-our-album-were-nirvana-a-garage-band-from-seattle-well-it-sure/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Why do we not care to acknowledge them? The cattle, the body count. We still don't like to admit the war was even partly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/why-do-we-not-care-to-acknowledge-them-the-cattle-the-body-count-we/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Hitchcock said he viewed actors as cattle.. but some were free range.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crier/hitchcock-said-he-viewed-actors-as-cattle-but-some-were-free-range/) [Catherine Crier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crier/) > [The thing that bothers me the most is the recklessness and greed of the local ranchers, who run too many cattle back here, choking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-haggard/the-thing-that-bothers-me-the-most-is-the-recklessness-and-greed-of/) [Merle Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-haggard/) > [It were good to know how much hay an acre of every sort will bear; how many cattle the same weight of each sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/it-were-good-to-know-how-much-hay-an-acre-of-every-sort-will-bear-how/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [My father was trained as a saddler, but in fact as a young man worked in his father's business of rearing and selling cattle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-klug/my-father-was-trained-as-a-saddler-but-in-fact-as-a-young-man-worked/) [Aaron Klug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-klug/) > [But remember that the Captain belongs to the most dangerous enemy to truth and freedom, the solid unmoving cattle of the majority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/but-remember-that-the-captain-belongs-to-the-most-dangerous-enemy-to/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Work is the province of cattle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/work-is-the-province-of-cattle/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) ## More by John Marston > [Wink and shut their apprehensions up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/wink-and-shut-their-apprehensions-up/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [It's wanting that gets so many folks in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/it-s-wanting-that-gets-so-many-folks-in-trouble/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [You'll be the first to know when I kill you, I promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/you-ll-be-the-first-to-know-when-i-kill-you-i-promise/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [All the fatt's in the fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/all-the-fatt-s-in-the-fire/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [If you win power, remember why you wanted it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/if-you-win-power-remember-why-you-wanted-it/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [You want me to shoot you in the head right now for that poor girl?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/you-want-me-to-shoot-you-in-the-head-right-now-for-that-poor-girl/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [I've met some sick bastards in my life, Seth, but you...you're special.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/i-ve-met-some-sick-bastards-in-my-life-seth-but-you-you-re-special/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [Irish, I've met enough men like you to last me a lifetime!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/irish-i-ve-met-enough-men-like-you-to-last-me-a-lifetime/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [He ain't gonna to be no frontier gunslinger, killing and running in no gang though. That way's over. Railroads and government and motor cars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/he-ain-t-gonna-to-be-no-frontier-gunslinger-killing-and-running-in-no/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [I'm many things, most of 'em bad. But a man of political principles? No.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/i-m-many-things-most-of-em-bad-but-a-man-of-political-principles-no/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [You and West Dickens are so crooked you could swallow nails and spit out corkscrews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/you-and-west-dickens-are-so-crooked-you-could-swallow-nails-and-spit/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [“Why, man, we are all philosophical monarchs Or natural fools.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/why-man-we-are-all-philosophical-monarchs-or-natural-fools/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [“I’d have scratched her eyes out and sucked the holes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/i-d-have-scratched-her-eyes-out-and-sucked-the-holes/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [Men are born, and then they're formed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/men-are-born-and-then-they-re-formed/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) > [Through danger safety comes - through trouble rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marston/through-danger-safety-comes-through-trouble-rest/) [John Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) [Explore all 45 John Marston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marston/) ## More Born quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/) [Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/) [Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. 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