proverb · Legacy record
All trees are made out of wood, but pine is not mahogany.
All trees are made out of wood, but pine is not mahogany.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Pine and mahogany distinguished despite both being wood illustrate differences within a shared category. The saying warns against treating common membership as sameness.
What the words are saying
The material contrast is an analogy rather than a complete botanical classification. A useful application identifies the relevant difference without assuming one group member represents every other. Applied to people, the image should not create a hierarchy of inherent worth from a material comparison.
Everyday example
A reader compares the relevant characteristics of two things instead of assuming their shared label makes them interchangeable.
When to use it
Use it to discuss category and difference with the actual comparison specified.
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What it does not mean
No complete botanical account or hierarchy of human worth is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
Mexico
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.- Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 210; PDF page 26; collection label: Mexico
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Mexico