--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you succeed not, cast not away the…" description: "\"If you succeed not, cast not away the quills yet, nor scratch the wainscot, beat not the poor desk, but bring all to the forge and file again; turn it ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-jonson-1371_beats_if-you-succeed-not-cast-not-away-the-qui_2166147.png" --- # If you succeed not, cast not away the quills yet, nor… ![“If you succeed not, cast not away the quills yet, nor scratch the wainscot, beat not the poor desk, but bring all to the forge and file again; turn it new.” quote by Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-jonson-1371_beats_if-you-succeed-not-cast-not-away-the-qui_2166147.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-jonson-1371_beats_if-you-succeed-not-cast-not-away-the-qui_2166147.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-jonson-1371_beats_if-you-succeed-not-cast-not-away-the-qui_2166147.png) > “If you succeed not, cast not away the quills yet, nor scratch the wainscot, beat not the poor desk, but bring all to the forge and file again; turn it new.” [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When failure occurs, keep trying, refine your work, and start anew. **In simple terms:** Persist and improve after setbacks. Key Takeaway Never give up; keep refining. Themes perseverance creativity resilience craft Mood inspirational practical Type creative motivational When to use this quote - artistic projects - business ventures - skill development Key Concepts iteration learning innovation Questions to Reflect On - What can you rebuild after a setback? - How does iteration improve your work? A Different Perspective Perseverance alone may not guarantee success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) ## Related quotes > [“God has given you the principle and the power to make permanent changes in your life and circumstances. Once you learn how, not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-has-given-you-the-principle-and-the-power-to-make-permanent/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'll turn over a new leaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/i-ll-turn-over-a-new-leaf/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Never turn down a new opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecile-richards/never-turn-down-a-new-opportunity/) [Cecile Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecile-richards/) > [For Europe, for ourselves and for humanity, comrades, we must turn over a new leaf, we must work out new concepts, and try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/for-europe-for-ourselves-and-for-humanity-comrades-we-must-turn-over/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [“I mean to turn over a new leaf, and try to grow up "'spectable”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-alger-jr/i-mean-to-turn-over-a-new-leaf-and-try-to-grow-up-spectable/) Horatio Alger Jr > [If you're in a relationship with your old mindset, turn over a new leaf, if you're just entering a new one, have an opened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola-http-wwwamoreloveforlifecom/if-you-re-in-a-relationship-with-your-old-mindset-turn-over-a-new/) Kemmy Nola Http://wwwamoreloveforlifecom > [Turn over a new leaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/turn-over-a-new-leaf/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [You can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/you-can-turn-over-a-new-leaf-every-hour-if-you-choose/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [Surround yourself with good people and turn over a new leaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/surround-yourself-with-good-people-and-turn-over-a-new-leaf/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's what I've always done since day one though, immediately turn down new offers of work by being dramatic and protesting that I've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhod-gilbert/it-s-what-i-ve-always-done-since-day-one-though-immediately-turn-down/) [Rhod Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhod-gilbert/) > [Feathers shall raise men even as they do birds towards heaven :- That is by letters written with their quills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/feathers-shall-raise-men-even-as-they-do-birds-towards-heaven-that-is/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [He writes so well he makes me feel like putting my quill back in my goose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/he-writes-so-well-he-makes-me-feel-like-putting-my-quill-back-in-my/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [Thoth, Hermes, the stylus, the palette, the pen, the quill endure, though our books are a floor of smouldering ash under our feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-doolittle/thoth-hermes-the-stylus-the-palette-the-pen-the-quill-endure-though/) [Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-doolittle/) > [When you have committed enough words to paper, you feel you have a spine stiff enough to stand up in the wind. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/when-you-have-committed-enough-words-to-paper-you-feel-you-have-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) ## More by Ben Jonson > [Soul of the Age! The applause! delight! the wonder of our stage! My Shakespeare, rise; I will not lodge thee by Chaucer, or Spenser,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/soul-of-the-age-the-applause-delight-the-wonder-of-our-stage-my/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Ambition, like a torrent, never looks back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/ambition-like-a-torrent-never-looks-back/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Heaven prepares good men with crosses; but no ill can happen to a good man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/heaven-prepares-good-men-with-crosses-but-no-ill-can-happen-to-a-good/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The dignity of truth is lost with much protesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/the-dignity-of-truth-is-lost-with-much-protesting/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [True melancholy breeds your perfect fine wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/true-melancholy-breeds-your-perfect-fine-wit/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Leave a kiss but in the cup, and I'll not look for wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/leave-a-kiss-but-in-the-cup-and-i-ll-not-look-for-wine/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [All discourses but my own afflict me; they seem harsh, impertinent, and irksome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/all-discourses-but-my-own-afflict-me-they-seem-harsh-impertinent-and/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [“drink to the cause, and pure vapours”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/drink-to-the-cause-and-pure-vapours/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Spread yourself upon his bosom publicly, whose heart you would eat in private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/spread-yourself-upon-his-bosom-publicly-whose-heart-you-would-eat-in/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [That old bald cheater, Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/that-old-bald-cheater-time/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Rich apparel has strange virtues; it makes him that hath it without means esteemed for an excellent wit; he that enjoys it with means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/rich-apparel-has-strange-virtues-it-makes-him-that-hath-it-without/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Each petty hand Can steer a ship becalm'd; but he that will Govern and carry her to her ends, must know His tides, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/each-petty-hand-can-steer-a-ship-becalm-d-but-he-that-will-govern-and/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The way to rise is to obey and please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/the-way-to-rise-is-to-obey-and-please/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The covetous man never has money. The prodigal will have none shortly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/the-covetous-man-never-has-money-the-prodigal-will-have-none-shortly/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Fortune, that favors fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/fortune-that-favors-fools/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) [Explore all 249 Ben Jonson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) ## More Beats quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Certainly these are not easy times. But history does not contain very many easy times. Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [I usually write from the rhythm section...If a drummer got a funky beat on some things - like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-usually-write-from-the-rhythm-section-if-a-drummer-got-a-funky-beat/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [If you don't like club beats take a HIT OF E and you will love the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/if-you-don-t-like-club-beats-take-a-hit-of-e-and-you-will-love-the/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [Every pitcher can beat you, it doesn't matter how good you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-bonds/every-pitcher-can-beat-you-it-doesn-t-matter-how-good-you-are/) [Barry Bonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-bonds/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [Practice to beat the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-bennett/practice-to-beat-the-best/) [Dick Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-bennett/) > [I don't know about the rest of the world, but I know in our region everyone is gunning to beat us. We have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/landon-donovan/i-don-t-know-about-the-rest-of-the-world-but-i-know-in-our-region/) [Landon Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/landon-donovan/) > [Grand business plans are all very well, but nothing beats dipping your toe in the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-bilimoria-karan-bilimoria/grand-business-plans-are-all-very-well-but-nothing-beats-dipping-your/) Baron Bilimoria Karan Bilimoria > [Let a man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim: Attacking is the only secret. Dare and the world yields,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/let-a-man-who-has-to-make-his-fortune-in-life-remember-this-maxim/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Imagine if you were a drummer, and you accidentally picked up two magic wands instead of sticks. There you are, keeping the beat, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/imagine-if-you-were-a-drummer-and-you-accidentally-picked-up-two/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I don't like small birds. They hop around so merrily outside my window, looking so innocent. but I know that secretly, they're watching my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-like-small-birds-they-hop-around-so-merrily-outside-my-window/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 3,311 Beats quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you succeed not, cast not away the quills yet, nor scratch the wainscot, beat not the poor desk, but bring all to the forge and file again; turn it new.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Jonson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/if-you-succeed-not-cast-not-away-the-quills-yet-nor-scratch-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beats" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/if-you-succeed-not-cast-not-away-the-quills-yet-nor-scratch-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-jonson-1371_beats_if-you-succeed-not-cast-not-away-the-qui_2166147.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-jonson-1371_beats_if-you-succeed-not-cast-not-away-the-qui_2166147.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-jonson-1371_beats_if-you-succeed-not-cast-not-away-the-qui_2166147.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you succeed not, cast not away the quills yet, nor scratch the wainscot, beat not the poor desk, but…” — Ben Jonson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ben Jonson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you succeed not, cast not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/if-you-succeed-not-cast-not-away-the-quills-yet-nor-scratch-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/if-you-succeed-not-cast-not-away-the-quills-yet-nor-scratch-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```