--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing great is produced suddenly, since…" description: "\"Nothing great is produced suddenly, since not even the grape or the fig is. If you say to me now that you want a fig, I will answer to you that it requ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb1/epictetus-413_answers_nothing-great-is-produced-suddenly-since_2724936.jpg" --- # Nothing great is produced suddenly, since not even the… ![“Nothing great is produced suddenly, since not even the grape or the fig is. If you say to me now that you want a fig, I will answer to you that it requires time: let it flower first, then put forth fruit, and then ripen.” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb1/epictetus-413_answers_nothing-great-is-produced-suddenly-since_2724936.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb1/epictetus-413_answers_nothing-great-is-produced-suddenly-since_2724936.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb1/epictetus-413_answers_nothing-great-is-produced-suddenly-since_2724936.jpg) > “Nothing great is produced suddenly, since not even the grape or the fig is. If you say to me now that you want a fig, I will answer to you that it requires time: let it flower first, then put forth fruit, and then ripen.” [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great things need time to develop, like fruit that must flower before ripening. **In simple terms:** Patience yields results. Key Takeaway Allow processes to mature naturally. Themes patience growth time process Mood calm encouraging Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - skill mastery - creative projects Key Concepts fruit metaphor natural development Questions to Reflect On - What are you rushing? - How can you cultivate patience? A Different Perspective Impatience can lead to premature actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruit/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. 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If you tell me that you desire a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/no-great-thing-is-created-suddenly-any-more-than-a-bunch-of-grapes-or/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/nothing-great-is-created-suddenly-any-more-than-a-bunch-of-grapes-or-2/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [First, I emptied the closets of your clothes, threw out the bowl of fruit, bruised from your touch, left empty the jars you bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/first-i-emptied-the-closets-of-your-clothes-threw-out-the-bowl-of/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [To eat figs off the tree in the very early morning, when they have been barely touched by the sun, is one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-david/to-eat-figs-off-the-tree-in-the-very-early-morning-when-they-have/) [Elizabeth David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-david/) > [Democracy is the fig leaf of elitism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/democracy-is-the-fig-leaf-of-elitism/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [The man who is ostentatious of his modesty is twin to the statue that wears a fig-leaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-man-who-is-ostentatious-of-his-modesty-is-twin-to-the-statue-that/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“This year, of course, being 1936, there would be no figs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/this-year-of-course-being-1936-there-would-be-no-figs/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [Here is a rural fellow that will not be denied your Highness' presence: he brings you figs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/here-is-a-rural-fellow-that-will-not-be-denied-your-highness-presence/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I am once more seated under my own vine and fig tree ... and hope to spend the remainder of my days in peaceful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/i-am-once-more-seated-under-my-own-vine-and-fig-tree-and-hope-to/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Shebna scraped the tablet clean and began drawing circles in the soft clay. 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As for the tradesman, he understands nothing of sailors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/in-all-lands-sailors-form-a-race-apart-they-profess-a-congenital/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [When you get honest with God, you can exchange the fig leaves you used to cover your sin with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-hunt/when-you-get-honest-with-god-you-can-exchange-the-fig-leaves-you-used/) [Johnny Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-hunt/) ## More by Epictetus > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/practice-yourself-for-heaven-s-sake-in-little-things-and-then-proceed/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/do-not-laugh-much-or-often-or-unrestrainedly/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-not-disturbed-by-what-happens-to-us-but-by-our-thoughts-about/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/don-t-be-prideful-with-any-excellence-that-is-not-your-own/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. 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