Matthew 13:7

Sprang up. The seed, therefore, fell, not among standing thorns, but among those beneath the surface, ready to spring up.

Trench (" Parables ") cites a striking parallel from Ovid, describing the obstacles to the growth of the grain :

"Now the too ardent sun, now furious showers, With baleful stars and bitter winds combine The crop to ravage; while the greedy fowl Snatch the strown seeds; and grass with stubborn roots, And thorn and darnel plague the ripening grain."

Metamorposes, 5, 486.