Knowledge and timber shouldn't be much used till they are seasoned.
Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.
There is a frightful interval between the seed and the timber.
Aus so krummen Holze, als woraus der Mensch gemacht ist, kann nichts ganz Gerades gezimmert werden. Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing can ever be made.
Out of the crooked timber of humanity, nothing completely straight was ever made
To carry timber into the wood. [Lat., In silvam ligna ferre.]