"That old bald cheater, Time."

Ben Jonson Literature See all quotes by Ben Jonson →

React to this quote

More by Ben Jonson

“He is a narrow-minded man, that affects a triumph in any glorious study; but to triumph in a lie, and a lie themselves have forged, is frontless. Folly often goes beyond her bounds; but Impudence knows none.”

“I will eat exceedingly, and prophesy.”

“Have paid scot and lot there any time this eighteen years.”

“It is an art to have so much judgment as to apparel a lie well, to give it a good dressing.”

“Of all wild beasts preserve me from a tyrant; and of all tame, a flatterer.”

“Talking and eloquence are not the same: to speak, and to speak well, are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks...”

Resonant Thoughts

"Of course, there is one great virtue in size; and of course, London is the greatest show on earth, for never have so many human characters been gathered together in one place. Here, in a day, you can…"

— Laurie Lee

Literature1914–1997

#time

"When she did finally fall asleep it was the restless sleep of the night watchman continuously aware of danger and of the treacheries of time seeking to cheat her by permitting clocks to strike the pas…"

— Anaïs Nin

Literature1924–1940

#time

"I saw that for a long time I had not liked people and things, but only followed the rickety old pretense of liking."

— F. Scott Fitzgerald

Literature1896–1940

#time

"Iron John, a short work of psychological, literary and anthropological speculation by the poet Robert Bly, dominated the New York Times best-seller list for nearly a year and made, as we shall see, a …"

— Martin Amis

Literature1949–2023

#time