Human nature, essentially changeable, unstable as the dust, can endure no restraint; if it binds itself it soon begins to tear madly at its bonds, until it renders everything asunder, the wall, and the bonds and its very self.

Meaning: Small birds sing as nature stirs their instincts, and people too feel a renewed desire to set out on journeys. The difficult words describe springtime energy, not foolish people or bravery.

Meaning: Unpleasant early weather is linked with a pleasing later display of flowers. The sequence can express hope that present conditions help prepare a later benefit.

Meaning: When April's gentle rain reaches the roots, it ends the dryness left by March. This is a picture of spring returning, rather than a command or a moral rule.

Meaning: The saying treats April and May as decisive months for what the rest of the year will yield. Keys picture their conditions as opening or closing later possibilities.