--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Time is a strange thing. It is a…" description: "\"Time is a strange thing. It is a whimsical tyrant, which in every century has a different face for all that one says and does.\" — Johann Wolfgang von G..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_century_time-is-a-strange-thing-it-is-a-whimsica_2456942.jpg" --- # Time is a strange thing. It is a whimsical tyrant, which… ![“Time is a strange thing. It is a whimsical tyrant, which in every century has a different face for all that one says and does.” quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_century_time-is-a-strange-thing-it-is-a-whimsica_2456942.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_century_time-is-a-strange-thing-it-is-a-whimsica_2456942.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_century_time-is-a-strange-thing-it-is-a-whimsica_2456942.jpg) > “Time is a strange thing. It is a whimsical tyrant, which in every century has a different face for all that one says and does.” [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time is unpredictable and powerful, shaping human actions differently across eras. **In simple terms:** Time is unpredictable and powerful. Key Takeaway Respect time’s influence. Themes philosophy temporal perception human nature Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal planning - historical analysis - creative work Key Concepts existentialism history psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does perception of time affect decisions? - Can we harness time’s whims? A Different Perspective Time’s nature can’t be fully controlled. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Strange things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-things/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tyrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrants/) [Whimsical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whimsical/) ## Related quotes > [On the basis of my historical experience, I fully believe that mathematics of the 25th century will be as different from that of today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sarton/on-the-basis-of-my-historical-experience-i-fully-believe-that/) [George Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sarton/) > [Time is so strange and life is twice as strange. You must promise me not to live to be too old, William. It if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/time-is-so-strange-and-life-is-twice-as-strange-you-must-promise-me/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Time is so strange, and life is twice as strange. The cogs miss, the wheels turn, and lives interlace too early or too late.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/time-is-so-strange-and-life-is-twice-as-strange-the-cogs-miss-the/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Time is so strange and life is twice as strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/time-is-so-strange-and-life-is-twice-as-strange/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Time is strange. A moment can be as short as a breath, or as long as eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-is-strange-a-moment-can-be-as-short-as-a-breath-or-as-long-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Time is a strange thing, Jitterbug. On one hand, time is free, yet on the other, it’s priceless. You never really own it, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fenton/time-is-a-strange-thing-jitterbug-on-one-hand-time-is-free-yet-on-the/) [Richard Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fenton/) > [“The more you read within a balanced life, the more time you have. Strange but true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-o-brien/the-more-you-read-within-a-balanced-life-the-more-time-you-have/) [Mark O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-o-brien/) > [Time's a strange fellow; more he gives than takes (and he takes all](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/time-s-a-strange-fellow-more-he-gives-than-takes-and-he-takes-all/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [“Time is, indeed, a strange and wondrous thing. It has no beginning or end, it seems. 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Same situation, just different faces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/she-finds-love-in-all-the-wrong-places-same-situation-just-different/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“The human race is the biggest mass murderer of all time. Think about it: we’re hard-coded to survive. Even our ancient ancestors were driven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-riddle/the-human-race-is-the-biggest-mass-murderer-of-all-time-think-about/) [A.G. Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-riddle/) > [And if I can't be with you I would rather have a different face And if I can't be near you I would rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rather-have-a-different-face-and/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [Life is like the dice that, falling, still show a different face. So life, though it remains the same, is always presenting different aspects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-sanchez/life-is-like-the-dice-that-falling-still-show-a-different-face-so/) [Alexis Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-sanchez/) ## More by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [All lyrical work must, as a whole, be perfectly intelligible, but in some particulars a little unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-lyrical-work-must-as-a-whole-be-perfectly-intelligible-but-in/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-easier-to-perceive-error-than-to-find-truth-for-the-former-lies/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There is no patriotic art and no patriotic science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/there-is-no-patriotic-art-and-no-patriotic-science/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The connoisseur of art must be able to appreciate what is simply beautiful, but the common run of people is satisfied with ornament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-connoisseur-of-art-must-be-able-to-appreciate-what-is-simply/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Let us not dream that reason can ever be popular. Passions, emotions, may be made popular; but reason remains ever the property of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/let-us-not-dream-that-reason-can-ever-be-popular-passions-emotions/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Our foibles are really what make us lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/our-foibles-are-really-what-make-us-lovable/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Instruction does much, but encouragement everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/instruction-does-much-but-encouragement-everything/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Giving is the business of the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/giving-is-the-business-of-the-rich/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Just begin and the mind grows heated; continue, and the task will be completed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/just-begin-and-the-mind-grows-heated-continue-and-the-task-will-be/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I look upon all four Gospels as thoroughly genuine, for there shines forth from them the reflected splendor of a sublimity proceeding from Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-look-upon-all-four-gospels-as-thoroughly-genuine-for-there-shines/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Whatever we may say against collections, which present authors in a disjointed form, they nevertheless bring about many excellent results. We are not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/whatever-we-may-say-against-collections-which-present-authors-in-a/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) [Explore all 2,052 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 5,406 Century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Time is a strange thing. 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