--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a work appears to be ahead of its…" description: "\"When a work appears to be ahead of its time, it is only the time that is behind the work.\" — Jean Cocteau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/jean-cocteau-1181_time_when-a-work-appears-to-be-ahead-of-its-t_2038678.jpg" --- # When a work appears to be ahead of its time, it is only… ![“When a work appears to be ahead of its time, it is only the time that is behind the work.” quote by Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/jean-cocteau-1181_time_when-a-work-appears-to-be-ahead-of-its-t_2038678.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/jean-cocteau-1181_time_when-a-work-appears-to-be-ahead-of-its-t_2038678.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/jean-cocteau-1181_time_when-a-work-appears-to-be-ahead-of-its-t_2038678.jpg) > “When a work appears to be ahead of its time, it is only the time that is behind the work.” [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Works ahead of their era seem out of place until society catches up. **In simple terms:** Time catches up to visionary work. Key Takeaway Create without fearing being misunderstood. Themes innovation timelessness artistic vision Mood optimistic reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artistic creation - technological invention - social reform - fashion trends Key Concepts cultural lag future relevance Questions to Reflect On - What ideas do you have that feel ahead of their time? - How can you nurture them despite current indifference? A Different Perspective Premature ideas may be dismissed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I'm surprised when the work appears beautiful, and very pleased. 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People will say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” They won’t see the years of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/ironically-really-good-work-often-appears-to-be-effortless-people/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [I believe I was ahead of my time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ike-turner/i-believe-i-was-ahead-of-my-time/) [Ike Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ike-turner/) > [“Nothing comes ahead of its time, and nothing has ever happened that didn't need to happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/nothing-comes-ahead-of-its-time-and-nothing-has-ever-happened-that/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [“It is better to be ahead of your time than to lag behind your generation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/it-is-better-to-be-ahead-of-your-time-than-to-lag-behind-your/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [The best way to keep something bad from happening is to see it ahead of time... and you can't see it if you refuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/the-best-way-to-keep-something-bad-from-happening-is-to-see-it-ahead/) [William S. 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It's better to be one of the first at a function as opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-coulthard/i-like-to-be-on-time-preferably-ahead-of-time-it-s-better-to-be-one/) [David Coulthard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-coulthard/) > [When you watch chess, you don't see the four hours that the player spends preparing for a match ahead of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hikaru-nakamura/when-you-watch-chess-you-don-t-see-the-four-hours-that-the-player/) [Hikaru Nakamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hikaru-nakamura/) > [To be successful be ahead of your time, but only a little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/to-be-successful-be-ahead-of-your-time-but-only-a-little/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [My music is a little ahead of its time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kodie-shane/my-music-is-a-little-ahead-of-its-time/) [Kodie Shane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kodie-shane/) > [Skepticism is not a position that you stake out ahead of time and stick to no matter what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/skepticism-is-not-a-position-that-you-stake-out-ahead-of-time-and/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [Im so ahead of my time my parents havent met yet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-l/im-so-ahead-of-my-time-my-parents-havent-met-yet/) [Big L](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-l/) > [“It's not that I'm ahead of my time, it's more that the world is running late”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-stern/it-s-not-that-i-m-ahead-of-my-time-it-s-more-that-the-world-is/) [Josh Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-stern/) > [... the art of politics is to be ahead of your time--about six months will do it. Any more than that, and people forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-art-of-politics-is-to-be-ahead-of-your-time-about-six-months-will/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## More by Jean Cocteau > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I am happy to exhibit, but not to put myself on exhibition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-am-happy-to-exhibit-but-not-to-put-myself-on-exhibition/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Love is mainly an affair of short spasms. If these spasms disappoint us, love dies. It is very seldom that it weathers the experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/love-is-mainly-an-affair-of-short-spasms-if-these-spasms-disappoint/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I believe in luck: how else can you explain the success of those you dislike?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-believe-in-luck-how-else-can-you-explain-the-success-of-those-you/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I have a piece of great and sad news to tell you: I am dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-have-a-piece-of-great-and-sad-news-to-tell-you-i-am-dead/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Fight any instinct to be humorless, for humorlessness is the worst of all absurdities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/fight-any-instinct-to-be-humorless-for-humorlessness-is-the-worst-of/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Lying is the only art form that the public sanctions and instinctively prefers to reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/lying-is-the-only-art-form-that-the-public-sanctions-and/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [The dead drug leaves a ghost behind. At certain hours it haunts the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/the-dead-drug-leaves-a-ghost-behind-at-certain-hours-it-haunts-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [“Vivre est une chute horizontale”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/vivre-est-une-chute-horizontale/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I expect a black silence that is almost as violent as laughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-expect-a-black-silence-that-is-almost-as-violent-as-laughter/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [My method is simple: not to bother about poetry. It must come of its own accord. Merely whispering its name drives it away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/my-method-is-simple-not-to-bother-about-poetry-it-must-come-of-its/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [If a poet has a dream, it is not of becoming famous, but of being believed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/if-a-poet-has-a-dream-it-is-not-of-becoming-famous-but-of-being/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Lack of manners is the sign of a hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/lack-of-manners-is-the-sign-of-a-hero/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [What the public criticizes in you, cultivate. It is you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-the-public-criticizes-in-you-cultivate-it-is-you/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Here I am trying to live, or rather, I am trying to teach the death within me how to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/here-i-am-trying-to-live-or-rather-i-am-trying-to-teach-the-death/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) [Explore all 255 Jean Cocteau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) ## More Ahead quotes > [Anybody who thinks that they should lead the country should go ahead and put their hat in the ring. I am not among them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-schatz/anybody-who-thinks-that-they-should-lead-the-country-should-go-ahead/) [Brian Schatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-schatz/) > [If I have a problem with somebody, I go ahead and say what's on my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-hulkenberg/if-i-have-a-problem-with-somebody-i-go-ahead-and-say-what-s-on-my-mind/) [Nico Hulkenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-hulkenberg/) > [I once invested in a risky business. Quite a few people warned me not to do so, but I still went ahead and invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-rode/i-once-invested-in-a-risky-business-quite-a-few-people-warned-me-not/) [Gautam Rode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-rode/) > [“What lies behind us is nothing compared to what lies within us and ahead of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/what-lies-behind-us-is-nothing-compared-to-what-lies-within-us-and/) [Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/) > [In Life, We May Never Get The Same Opportunity Again, But There's Always Something Better Ahead...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/in-life-we-may-never-get-the-same-opportunity-again-but-there-s/) Pacifiersucker > [Makeup is only fun if it's occasional and capricious - just like it's a treat to have an empty day ahead, but it wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-coren-mitchell/makeup-is-only-fun-if-it-s-occasional-and-capricious-just-like-it-s-a/) [Victoria Coren Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-coren-mitchell/) > [There is no such thing as disposable time if you want to stay ahead of the game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-such-thing-as-disposable-time-if-you-want-to-stay-ahead/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm the kind of guy who comes home and checks scores for everything. I'm a sports fan in general, so I pretty much keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chadwick-boseman/i-m-the-kind-of-guy-who-comes-home-and-checks-scores-for-everything-i/) [Chadwick Boseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chadwick-boseman/) > [People are flying you places in business class. Everyone wants to take pictures of you and find out information about you. It's a freak-out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yolandi-visser/people-are-flying-you-places-in-business-class-everyone-wants-to-take/) [Yolandi Visser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yolandi-visser/) > [I wasn't putting my all into it and I was still managing to score goals, and that gave me something to dream about, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gray/i-wasn-t-putting-my-all-into-it-and-i-was-still-managing-to-score/) [Andre Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gray/) > [There's no limit to what you can accomplish, but there's always someone one step ahead of you, so it's a constant uphill battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-mary-stewart/there-s-no-limit-to-what-you-can-accomplish-but-there-s-always/) [Catherine Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-mary-stewart/) > [I was never bothered about my position in the industry. If I had believed in it, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to get ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-was-never-bothered-about-my-position-in-the-industry-if-i-had/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [I don't want to look too far ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jofra-archer/i-don-t-want-to-look-too-far-ahead/) [Jofra Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jofra-archer/) > [“one who takes the first step always remains one step ahead”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabi-shaheen/one-who-takes-the-first-step-always-remains-one-step-ahead/) Rabi Shaheen > [I am not interested to sing in Bollywood. I sing for only those actors whom I admire. I sing free of cost for them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-honey-singh/i-am-not-interested-to-sing-in-bollywood-i-sing-for-only-those-actors/) [Yo Yo Honey Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-honey-singh/) Browse all 1,773 Ahead quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When a work appears to be ahead of its time, it is only the time that is behind the work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean Cocteau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/when-a-work-appears-to-be-ahead-of-its-time-it-is-only-the-time-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ahead" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/when-a-work-appears-to-be-ahead-of-its-time-it-is-only-the-time-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/jean-cocteau-1181_time_when-a-work-appears-to-be-ahead-of-its-t_2038678.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/jean-cocteau-1181_time_when-a-work-appears-to-be-ahead-of-its-t_2038678.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/jean-cocteau-1181_time_when-a-work-appears-to-be-ahead-of-its-t_2038678.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When a work appears to be ahead of its time, it is only the time that is behind the work.” — Jean Cocteau", "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": "Jean Cocteau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When a work appears to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/when-a-work-appears-to-be-ahead-of-its-time-it-is-only-the-time-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/when-a-work-appears-to-be-ahead-of-its-time-it-is-only-the-time-that/#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 } } ] } ```