Related:

• He who wants a rose must respect the thorn. Persian Proverb
• The rose and the thorn, and sorrow and gladness are linked together. -- Saadi
• But ne'er the rose without the thorn. -- Robert Herrick (1591-1674) -- The Rose
• A thorn defends the rose, harming only those who would steal the blossom. -- Chinese proverb
• A rose by any other name would likely be "deadly thorn-bearing assault vegetation.
  -- Robert Bullock...
• Flowers of all hue, and without thorn the rose.
  -- John Milton (1608-1674) -- Paradise Lost, Book iv, Line 256...
• But earthlier happy is the rose distill'd Than that which withering on the virgin thorn Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.
  -- William Shakespeare (1564-1616), A Midsummer Night's Dream -- Act i, Sc. 1...
• But earthlier happy is the rose distill'd Than that which withering on the virgin thorn 1 Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.
  --Shakespeare, Midsummer Night's Dream, Act i. Sc. 1....
• The thorn from the bush one has planted, nourished and pruned pricks more deeply and draws more blood.
  -- Maya Angelou...