# Honey

    For other uses, see Honey (disambiguation).
Honey is a sweet, viscous food substance made by honey bees and some related insects. Bees produce honey from the sugary secretions of plants (floral nectar) or from secretions of other insects (such as honeydew), by regurgitation, enzymatic activity, and water evaporation. Bees store honey in wax structures called honeycombs.

## Quotes

* ἵππος δραμών, κύων ἰχνεύσας, μέλισσα μέλι ποιήσασα, ἄνθρωπος δ εὖ ποιήσας οὐκ ἐπίσταται, ἀλλὰ μεταβαίνει ἐφ ἕτερον, ὡς ἄμπελος ἐπὶ τὸ πάλιν ἐν τῇ ὥρᾳ τὸν βότρυν ἐνεγκεῖν. ἐν τούτοις οὖν δεῖ εἶναι τοῖς τρόπον τινὰ ἀπαρακολουθήτως αὐτὸ ποιοῦσι.
** Marcus Aurelius, Book V, §6 of Meditations (167 CE).
*** As a horse after a race, and a hunting dog when he hath hunted, and a bee when she hath made her honey, look not for applause and commendation; so neither doth that man that rightly doth understand his own nature when he hath done a good turn: but from one doth proceed to do another, even as the vine after she hath once borne fruit in her own proper season, is ready for another time.
**** Translated by Meric Casaubon (1634).
*** As a horse when he has run, a dog when he has tackled the game, a bee when it has made the honey, so a man when he has done a good act does not call out for others to come and see, but he goes on to another act, as a vine goes on to produce again the grapes in season.
**** Translated by George Long (1862).
*** We ought to do good to others as simply as a horse runs, or a bee makes honey, or a vine bears grapes season after season without thinking of the grapes it has borne.
**** Unknown translator.
* The Words of Kindness are more healing to a drooping Heart than Balm or Honey: and if ever Gratitude fully possessed the human Breast, it might at that Instant be said to possess the Breast of Cynthia.
** Sarah Fielding, Book VII of The Adventures of David Simple, Volume the Last (1744), p. 339.
* When you go in search of honey you must expect to be stung by bees.
** Joseph Joubert, tr. Paul Auster, The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert (1883).
* Nothing but Money, Is Sweeter than Honey.
** Poor Richard's Almanack (1735).
* The bee collects honey from flowers in such a way as to do the least damage or destruction to them, and he leaves them whole, undamaged and fresh, just as he found them.
** Francis de Sales, "Devotion Must Be Practiced in Different Ways."

### Lyrics

* You moved like honey in my dream last night
** Fiona Apple, "Slow Like Honey", tr. 5 of Tidal (Columbia, 1996).
* Sunlight loves me, feeds me milk and honey
** Arcade Fire (unreleased).
* Milk and honey pouring down like money
** Beck, "Milk & Honey", tr. 8 of Midnite Vultures (DGC, 1999).
* And it's just like honey when you're love comes over me
** Mariah Carey, "Honey", tr. 1 of Butterfly (Columbia, 1997).
* And they check the phase much faster licking honey from a knife
** The Cult, "Honey from a Knife", tr. 1 of Choice of Weapon (Cooking Vinyl, 2012).
* And I hold on to you until the light pours like honey
** Hole, "Honey", tr. 3 of Nobody's Daughter (Mercury, 2010).
* Listen to the girl As she takes on half the world Moving up and so alive In her honey dripping Beehive Beehive It's good, so good, it's so good
** The Jesus and Mary Chain, "Just Like Honey", tr. 1 of Psychocandy (Blanco y Negro, 1985).
* She got the honey, and I got some money to buy her a big bouquet
** Mat Kearney, "She Got the Honey", tr. 8 of Young Love (Universal Republic, 2011).
* I smell honey in your hair
** Magic Man, "Honey", tr. 6 of Before the Waves (Columbia, 2014).
* Your love was sticky like honey
** Bonnie McKee, "Honey", tr. 6 of Trouble (Reprise, 2004).
* I taste honey but I haven't seen the hive Yeah I didn't look, I didn't even try
* We are honey and the bee Backyard of butterflies surrounded me I fell in love with you Like bees to honey
** Owl City, "Honey and the Bee", tr. 5 of All Things Bright and Beautiful (Universal Republic, 2011).
* Honey in the morning, honey in the evening, honey at suppertime Be my little honey and love me all the time
** Charlie Phillips and Odis Echols, "Sugartime" (1958).
* There's a lot of honey in this world Baby this honey's from me You've got to do what you do Do it with me
** R.E.M., "Me in Honey", tr. 11 of Out of Time (Warner Bros., 1991).
* Milk and toast and honey make it sunny on a rainy Saturday
** Roxette, "Milk and Toast and Honey", tr. 3 of Room Service (EMI, 2001).
* A taste of honey Tasting much sweeter than wine
** Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow, "A Taste of Honey".
* Who wants honey As long as there's some money? Who wants that honey?
** The Smashing Pumpkins, "Cherub Rock", tr. 1 of Siamese Dream (Virgin, 1993).
* In the days When we were swinging from the trees I was a monkey Stealing honey from a swarm of bees
** U2, "Wild Honey", tr. 7 of All That You Can't Leave Behind (Interscope, 2000).

### Poetry

* The pedigree of honey Does not concern the bee; A clover, any time, to him Is aristocracy.
** Emily Dickinson, Poems. V. (Ed. 1891).
* Bees work for man, and yet they never bruise Their Master's flower, but leave it having done, As fair as ever and as fit to use; So both the flower doth stay and honey run.
** George Herbert, The Church. Providence.
* "O bees, sweet bees!" I said; "that nearest field Is shining white with fragrant immortelles. Fly swiftly there and drain those honey wells."
** Helen Hunt Jackson, My Bees.
* The rose is red, the violet's blue The honey's sweet, and so are you. Thou are my love and I am thine; I drew thee to my Valentine. The lot was cast and then I drew; And Fortune said it shou'd be you.
** As printed in Gammer Gurton's Garland (London, 1784).
* How doth the little busy bee Improve each shining hour, And gather honey all the day From every opening flower.
** Isaac Watts, Against Idleness.

### Movie quotes

* We're the only ones who make honey, pollinate flowers, and dress like this!
** Barry B. Benson (voiced by Jerry Seinfeld), Bee Movie (2007).
* Well, all I know is, mama only got a taste of honey. But she wanted the whole beehive.
** Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyonce Knowles), Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002).
* To make honey, young bee need young flower, not old prune.
** Mr. Kesuke Miyagi (Pat Morita), The Karate Kid (1984).
* That buzzing noise means something. Now, the only reason for making a buzzing noise that I know of is because you are…a bee! And the only reason for being a bee is to make honey. And the only reason for making honey is so I can eat it.
** Winnie the Pooh (voiced by Sterling Holloway), Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966).

### Upanishads quotes

* This earth is the honey (madhu, the effect) of all beings, and all beings are the honey (madhu, the effect) of this earth. Likewise this bright, immortal person in this earth, and that bright immortal person incorporated in the body (both are madhu). He indeed is the same as that Self, that Immortal, that Brahman, that All.
** Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.5.1.

### Bible quotes
#### Exodus 33:1–3

| | King James Version | New American Standard Bible |
| $^1$ | And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it: | Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your descendants I will give it.' |
| $^2$ | And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: | "I will send an angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. |
| $^3$ | Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way. | "Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way." |

#### Deuteronomy 6:3

| | King James Version | New American Standard Bible |
| $^3$ | Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. | "O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. |

#### Psalms
##### Psalm 19:7–11

| | King James Version | New American Standard Bible |
| $^7$ | The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. | The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. |
| $^8$ | The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. | The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. |
| $^9$ | The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. | The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. |
| $^{10}$ | More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. | They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. |
| $^{11}$ | Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. | Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. |

##### Psalm 81:15–16

| | King James Version | New American Standard Bible |
| $^{15}$ | The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. | "Those who hate the LORD would pretend obedience to Him, And their time of punishment would be forever. |
| $^{16}$ | He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee. | "But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you." |

##### Psalm 119:103

| | King James Version | New American Standard Bible |
| $^{103}$ | How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! | How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! |

#### Book of Proverbs
##### Proverbs 5:3–4

| | King James Version | New American Standard Bible |
| $^3$ | For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: | For the lips of an adulteress drip honey And smoother than oil is her speech; |
| $^4$ | But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. | But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. |

##### Proverbs 16:24

| | King James Version | New American Standard Bible |
| $^{24}$ | Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. | Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. |

##### Proverbs 24:13–14

| | King James Version | New American Standard Bible |
| $^{13}$ | My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste: | My son, eat honey, for it is good, Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste; |
| $^{14}$ | So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off. | Know that wisdom is thus for your soul; If you find it, then there will be a future, And your hope will not be cut off. |

##### Proverbs 25:16, 27

| | King James Version | New American Standard Bible |
| $^{16}$ | Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it. | Have you found honey? Eat only what you need, That you not have it in excess and vomit it. |
| $^{27}$ | It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory. | It is not good to eat much honey, Nor is it glory to search out one's own glory. |

##### Proverbs 27:7

| | King James Version | New American Standard Bible |
| $^7$ | The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. | A sated man loathes honey, But to a famished man any bitter thing is sweet. |

#### Isaiah 7:14–15

| | King James Version | New American Standard Bible |
| $^{14}$ | Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. | "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. |
| $^{15}$ | Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. | "He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. |

#### Revelation 10:9–10

| | King James Version | New American Standard Bible |
| $^9$ | And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. | So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey." |
| $^{10}$ | And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. | I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. |

### Attributed

* Life is the flower for which love is the honey.
** Attributed to Victor Hugo
* Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.
** Attributed to Robert Green Ingersoll
* Our treasure lies in the beehive of our knowledge. We are perpetually on the way thither, being by nature winged insects and honey gatherers of the mind.
** Friedrich Nietzsche

## External links

* "Honey". The New Student's Reference Work. 1914.