“Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise.”

— William Shakespeare , King Lear

Source: King Lear

Last update Sept. 28, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise." by William Shakespeare?

William Shakespeare 699

English playwright and poet 1564–1616

Related quotes

“2462. Thou canst scarcely be truly wise till thou hast been deceived. Thy own Errors will teach thee more Prudence, than the grave Precepts, and even Examples of others.”

Thomas Fuller (writer) (1654–1734) British physician, preacher, and intellectual

Introductio ad prudentiam: Part II (1727)

“St. Augustine confesses that he himself had been formerly in a similar mistake. 'I was once,' says he, 'a Pelagian in my principles; I thought that faith towards God was not the gift of God, but that we procured it by our own powers, and that then, through the use of it, we obtain the gifts of God; I never supposed that the preventing grace of God was the proper cause of our faith, till my mind was struck in a particular manner by the apostle's argument and testimony: What hast thou that thou hast not received, and if thou hast received it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?”

Thomas Bradwardine (1300–1349) Theologian; Archbishop of Canterbury

In this whole business I follow the steps of Augustine.
De causa Dei contra Pelagium

“Remember, O Menestratus, that, being a mortal endowed with a circumscribed life, thou hast in thy soul ascended, till thou hast seen endless time, and the infinity of things; and what is to be, and what has been.”

Metrodorus of Lampsacus (the younger) (-331–-278 BC) ancient Greek Epicurean philosopher

Attributed to Metrodorus by Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, V, 14, as translated by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, Clement of Alexandria, vol. II, in Ante-Nicene Christian Library: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325, vol. XII, 1869, p. 300 https://archive.org/details/antenicenechris05donagoog/page/n314.

“Dost thou think to live till his old doublet will make thee a new truss?”

Thomas Kyd book The Spanish Tragedy

Act III, sc. vi
The Spanish Tragedy (1592)

“Wait, wait, till thou hast heard this tale of mine,
Then shalt thou think them devilish or divine.”

William Morris (1834–1896) author, designer, and craftsman

The Earthly Paradise (1868-70), The Lady of the Land
Context: A queen I was, what Gods I knew I loved,
And nothing evil was there in my thought,
And yet by love my wretched heart was moved
Until to utter ruin I was brought!
Alas! thou sayest our gods were vain and nought,
Wait, wait, till thou hast heard this tale of mine,
Then shalt thou think them devilish or divine.

“If thou intend to do any good; tarry not till to-morrow! for thou knowest not what may chance thee this night.”

Pythagoras (-585–-495 BC) ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher

The Sayings of the Wise (1555)

“Conquer thyself, till thou hast done this, thou art but a slave; for it is almost as well to be subjected to another's appetite as to thine own.”

Richard Francis Burton (1821–1890) British explorer, geographer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, lin…

As quoted in The New Dictionary of Thoughts : A Cyclopedia of Quotations from the Best Authors of the World, Both Ancient and Modern, Alphabetically Arranged by Subjects (1957) by Tryon Edwards, p. 510

“Do nothing till thou hast well considered the end of it.”

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) Theologician from Wales

Proverbs 7.
Commentaries

“Thou dost but court cold rain, till rain turns fire.”

Henry Vaughan (1621–1695) Welsh author, physician and metaphysical poet

"The Rainbow".
Silex Scintillans (1655)
Context: I will on thee as on a comet look,
A comet, the sad world's ill-boding book;
Thy light as luctual and stain'd with woes
I'll judge, where penal flames sit mixt and close.
But though some think thou shin'st but to restrain
Bold storms, and simply dost attend on rain;
Yet I know well, and so our sins require,
Thou dost but court cold rain, till rain turns fire.

“Acquaint thyself with God, if thou would'st taste
His works. Admitted once to his embrace,
Thou shalt perceive that thou was blind before:
Thine eye shall be instructed; and thine heart
Made pure shall relish with divine delight
Till then unfelt, what hands divine have wrought.”

William Cowper The Task

Source: The Task (1785), Book V, The Winter Morning Walk, Line 779.

“Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

William Shakespeare 699

Related quotes

Related topics