Water is the mother of the ...

Water is the mother of the vine, the nurse and fountain of fecundity, the adorner and refresher of the world.
 Charles Mackay

Quotes from the same author

He who has mingled in the fray of duty that the brave endure, must have made foes. If you have none, small is the work that you have done.
 Charles Mackay
Of all the offspring of Time, Error is the most ancient, and is so old and familiar an acquaintance, that Truth, when discovered, comes upon most of us like an intruder, and meets the intruder's welcome.
 Charles Mackay
Some love to roam o'er the dark sea's foam, Where the shrill winds whistle free.
 Charles Mackay
Men of thought and men of action, clear the Way!
 Charles Mackay
The study of the errors into which great minds have fallen in the pursuit of truth can never be uninstructive. . . No man is so wise but that he may learn some wisdom from his past errors, either of thought or action, and no society has made such advances as to be capable of no improvement from the retrospect of its past folly and credulity.
 Charles Mackay