The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine.
Not heaven itself upon the past has power;
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
Bk. III, Ode 29, ll. 69–72
“

Be fair, or foul, or rain, or shine,
The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine.
Not heaven itself upon the past has power;
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour.

— John Dryden

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Be fair, or foul, or rain, or shine,
The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine.
Not heaven itself upon the past has power;
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour." in the context of "Bk. III, Ode 29, ll. 69–72" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "John Dryden" (Quotes, Imitation of Horace (1685)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#John Dryden#possessed#powerbut#heaven#itself#shine#spite#fair#foul#rain#joys#fate
John Dryden

About John Dryden

John Dryden (19 August O.S. 9 August 1631 – 12 May O.S. 1 May 1700) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate.