John Milton, On Time (1633–34)
“

Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race: Call on the lazy leaden-stepping Hours, Whose speed is but the heavy plummet's pace; And glut thyself with what thy womb devours, Which is no more than what is false and vain, And merely mortal dross.

— John Milton on Time

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race: Call on the lazy leaden-stepping Hours, Whose speed is but the heavy plummet's pace; And glut thyself with what thy womb devours, Which is no more than what is false and vain, And merely mortal dross." in the context of "John Milton, On Time (1633–34)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Time" (M: [[File:Patrick Stewart by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg|thumb|There are moments in our lives we fear to relive and others we long to repeat. While time cannot give us second chances, maybe people can. ~ Jean-Luc Picard ]]) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
John Milton

About John Milton

John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval, and is most famous for his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), written in blank verse.