What is a clever saying that means, 'It's impossible to stop natural phenomena? [closed]

What is a popular-refrain that means it is pointless to try and stop a naturally occuring phenomenon?


It's bows and arrows against the lightning

Of course, this presumes you are speaking of an unnatural and/or man-made opposition.

From H.G. Wells' The War of the World.
Based on online search results, its use seems to be rare, and Ngram results show it peaked around the time of its publication, and only started gaining more use in the 2010's.
Despite this idiom's obscurity I mention it since its meaning is evident, and it is clever and poetic.


Job 38:31 is quite well known; there are over 350 000 hits on Google for a search for << bind + Pleiades + cords + Orion >> (trying to include most versions). From BibleHub:

  • Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion? [English Standard Version]

  • Can you direct the movement of the stars — binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion? [New Living Translation] [less pithy, less memorable / quoted, but clearer]

God is in this passage answering Job's complaint about his suffering so unfairly by pointing out his powerlessness to understand and control the mechanics of how Creation works, never mind his powerlessness to understand, accept, and take the steps necessary to bring about ultimate perfection.