Commentary for Bava Kamma 118:3
אמר להו האי מאן דקץ כופרא מאי משלם אמרו ליה משלם דמי כופרא והא הוו תמרי א"ל משלם דמי תמרי אמר להו והא לאו תמרי שקל מיניה
Considering this to be a piece of arrogance on his part they brought him and put him in prison. He said to them, 'I am a great man!' They asked him: 'How can we tell?' He replied, 'Either you ask me a legal point or let me ask you one.' They said to him: '[We would prefer] you to ask.' He then said to them: 'If a man cuts a date-flower, what payment should he have to make?' — They answered him: 'The payment will be for the value of the date-flower.' 'But would it not have grown into dates?'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Why then not pay for actual dates of which the owner was deprived? ');"><sup>3</sup></span>
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