Weeds and Wheat. On the Making of the Unwanted

As the Bible reminds us with relentless clarity, human existence is defined by toil: life must be wrested from a recalcitrant earth that yields chiefly “thorns and thistles” (Genesis 3:18–19). Yet the thistle signifies more than mere hardship. It stands as an emblem of endurance—of resilience forged under sustained pressure. Scotland gathered itself around this resilient, peripheral plant, fashioning a national symbol. What obstructs cultivation may also secure survival; what wounds may at t...