A rolling stone gathers no moss

A rolling stone gathers no moss is a proverb, first credited to Publilius Syrus, who in his Sententiae states, "People who are always moving, with no roots in one place or another, avoid responsibilities and cares."

It is first documented in Egbert of Liège collection in Latin, "Fecunda Ratis" ('The Well-Laden Ship'), V. 182, of about 1023: "Assidue non saxa legunt volventia muscum."

To quote the 1825 Dictionary of Scots Language: "Any gentleman, whether possessing property or not, who was popular, and ready to assist the poor in their difficulties, might expect a day in the moss, as they were wont to term it, and could have them longer for payment."

In Swallows and Amazons, published in 1930 by the English children's author Arthur Ransome, the theft and eventual return of "Captain Flint's" memoirs Mixed Moss by A Rolling Stone, forms an important narrative in the story.

Hazel Stone, the grandmother, justifies the initiation of their rootless existence saying: "this city life is getting us covered with moss", when they buy their ship, with the theme carrying throughout the book.

[6] Union activist Joe Hill's last will, written in the form of a song in 1915, states: "My kin don't need to fuss and moan / Moss does not cling to rolling stone.

This led researchers to believe that persons with mental illness were only capable of "concrete" thinking, or interpreting metaphorical or abstract concepts literally, often simply restating the proverb in different words.

[14] Ken Kesey, who had participated in Air Force mental health studies using LSD, derided what he felt were the simplistic conclusions of these psychiatrists in his book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, in a scene where a psychologist asks McMurphy what he thinks the proverb means.