Discussion Groups / ESL Teaching / December 2006

A rolling stone gathers no moss.

"A rolling stone gathers no moss" has been explained as: "A person who
never stays long in one place will never be encumbered by
responsibilities. Conversely, the person who is on the move all the time
will never accomplish much either. The proverb is based on the Latin:
Saxum volutum non obducitur musco. It has been traced back to around the
first century B.C. (Publilius Syrus). In 1546, it was included in John
Heywood's book of proverbs. First cited in the United States in 1721 in
'A Word of Comfort to a Melancholy Country' by John Wise (1652-1725)."
From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by
Gregory Y. Titelman,1996). (Ref: [1], cited at [2])

See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_rolling_stone_gathers_no_moss

Owain

[1] http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin_board/6/messages/1129.html
[2] http://www.levitt.co.uk/v3.html