“He that will not whan he may,
Whan he would, he shall haue nay.”
He that will not when he may,
When he would, he shall have nay.
Part I, chapter 3.
Proverbs (1546)
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John Heywood 139
English writer known for plays, poems and a collection of p… 1497–1580Related quotes

“Whan the sunne shinth make hay, whiche is to say,
Take time whan time comth, lest time steale away.”
When the sun shines make hay, which is to say,
Take time when time comes, lest time steal away.
Part I, chapter 3.
Proverbs (1546)

Source: The book of the husbandry. (1523/1882), p. 42; Cited in footnote of Varro's Rerum Rusticarum Libri Tres https://archive.org/stream/cu31924062805209#page/n105/mode/2up/search/husbandry, A Virginia farmer (translator) (1913). p. 85.

“6303. He that speaks the Thing he should not,
Shall hear the Thing he would not.”
Introductio ad prudentiam: Part II (1727), Gnomologia (1732)

“778. He that doth what he should not shall feele what he would not.”
Jacula Prudentum (1651)

Levon
Song lyrics, Madman Across the Water (1971)