--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back…" description: "\"“Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts alms for oblivion, A great-sized monster of ingratitudes: Those scraps are good deeds past; ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/shakespeare-william-34164_love_time-hath-my-lord-a-wallet-at-his-back-w_759294.jpg" --- # Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts… ![“Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts alms for oblivion, A great-sized monster of ingratitudes: Those scraps are good deeds past; which are devour'd As fast as they are made, forgot as soon As done: perseverance, dear my lord, Keeps honour bright: to have done is to hang Quite…” quote by Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/shakespeare-william-34164_love_time-hath-my-lord-a-wallet-at-his-back-w_759294.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/shakespeare-william-34164_love_time-hath-my-lord-a-wallet-at-his-back-w_759294.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/shakespeare-william-34164_love_time-hath-my-lord-a-wallet-at-his-back-w_759294.jpg) > ““Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts alms for oblivion, A great-sized monster of ingratitudes: Those scraps are good deeds past; which are devour'd As fast as they are made, forgot as soon As done: perseverance, dear my lord, Keeps honour bright: to have done is to hang Quite out of fashion, like a rusty mail In monumental mockery. Take the instant way; For honour travels in a strait so narrow, Where one but goes abreast: keep then the path; For emulation hath a thousand sons That one by one pursue: if you give way, Or hedge aside from the direct forthright, Like to an enter'd tide, they all rush by And leave you hindmost; Or like a gallant horse fall'n in first rank, Lie there for pavement to the abject rear, O'er-run and trampled on: then what they do in present, Though less than yours in past, must o'ertop yours; For time is like a fashionable host That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand, And with his arms outstretch'd, as he would fly, Grasps in the comer: welcome ever smiles, And farewell goes out sighing. O, let not virtue seek Remuneration for the thing it was; For beauty, wit, High birth, vigour of bone, desert in service, Love, friendship, charity, are subjects all To envious and calumniating time.”” [Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time erodes deeds and reputation; stay true and persistent. **In simple terms:** Time destroys glory; stay steadfast. Key Takeaway Maintain integrity despite changing fortunes. Themes transience virtue reputation time perseverance Mood contemplative melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - career ambition - artistic creation - public recognition - ethical decisions - historical reflection Key Concepts impermanence honor legacy human ambition Questions to Reflect On - What does true honor look like today? - How can we preserve virtue in a fast‑changing world? A Different Perspective The language is archaic and may obscure meaning; modern relevance varies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-deeds/) [Honour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honour/) [Honour Travels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honour-travels-3785373/) [Keeps Honour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeps-honour-669096/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Hath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-hath-3018916/) [Way Honour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-honour-5890737/) ## Related quotes > [Perseverance, my dear Lord. Keeps honour bright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/perseverance-my-dear-lord-keeps-honour-bright/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Honour travels in a strait so narrow Where one but goes abreast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/honour-travels-in-a-strait-so-narrow-where-one-but-goes-abreast/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Behold now, let the Dead and Living meet! Across the gulf of Time they still are one. Time hath no power against Identity, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rider-haggard/behold-now-let-the-dead-and-living-meet-across-the-gulf-of-time-they/) [H. Rider Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rider-haggard/) > [There was never anything so well devised by men which in continuance of time hath not been corrupted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cranmer/there-was-never-anything-so-well-devised-by-men-which-in-continuance/) [Thomas Cranmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cranmer/) > [Time hath a taming hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henry-newman/time-hath-a-taming-hand/) [John Henry Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henry-newman/) > [Happy those Who in the after-days shall live, when Time Hath spoken, and the multitude of years Taught wisdom to mankind!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/happy-those-who-in-the-after-days-shall-live-when-time-hath-spoken/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [What Time hath scanted men in hair, he hath given them in wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/what-time-hath-scanted-men-in-hair-he-hath-given-them-in-wit/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [One mistake can wash out your thousands of good deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-demdam/one-mistake-can-wash-out-your-thousands-of-good-deeds/) [Catherine Demdam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-demdam/) > [“What is the present if not the graveyard of the past where, for each of our deeds we dig a grave. Everything we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mladen-or-evi/what-is-the-present-if-not-the-graveyard-of-the-past-where-for-each/) [Mladen Đorđević](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mladen-or-evi/) > [The church is never a place to show off. Do your good deeds quietly. Serve; don't seek to be seen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/the-church-is-never-a-place-to-show-off-do-your-good-deeds-quietly/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Our Soul is a spark of the Divine. It is pure and perfect. Evil deeds merely obstruct our vision of the true nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/our-soul-is-a-spark-of-the-divine-it-is-pure-and-perfect-evil-deeds/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [When Allah puts barakah (His blessings) in something, it will come beyond your expectations- never underestimate the power of one good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-allah-puts-barakah-his-blessings-in-something-it-will-come/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [“What if I believed that God Himself was the One who decreed I would be a quiet person? What if I believed that God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-rajnus/what-if-i-believed-that-god-himself-was-the-one-who-decreed-i-would/) [Julie Rajnus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-rajnus/) ## More by Shakespeare, William > [“Show me a man that is not passion's slave and I will wear him in my heart's core.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/show-me-a-man-that-is-not-passion-s-slave-and-i-will-wear-him-in-my/) [Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) > [“Mongst all foes that a friend should be the worst”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/mongst-all-foes-that-a-friend-should-be-the-worst/) [Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) > [“Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave My heart into my mouth: I love your majesty According to my bond; no more nor less.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/unhappy-that-i-am-i-cannot-heave-my-heart-into-my-mouth-i-love-your/) [Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) > [“Why, the wrong is but a wrong i'th'world; and having the world for your labour, 'tis a wrong in your own world, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/why-the-wrong-is-but-a-wrong-i-th-world-and-having-the-world-for-your/) [Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) > [“How darkly and how deadly dost thou speak! Your eyes do menace me. Why look you pale? Who sent you hither? Wherefore do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/how-darkly-and-how-deadly-dost-thou-speak-your-eyes-do-menace-me-why/) [Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) > [“We defy augury. There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/we-defy-augury-there-is-special-providence-in-the-fall-of-a-sparrow/) [Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) > [ “I pray you school yourself. \[MacBeth, Act 1V, Scene 2\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/i-pray-you-school-yourself-macbeth-act-1v-scene-2/) [Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) > [“O, that way madness lies; let me shun that; No more of that. -King Lear Act 3, scene 4, 17–22”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/o-that-way-madness-lies-let-me-shun-that-no-more-of-that-king-lear/) [Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) > [ “CLAUDIO: \[...\]for beauty is a witch Against whose charms faith melteth into blood.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/claudio-for-beauty-is-a-witch-against-whose-charms-faith-melteth-into/) [Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) > [“Would the fountain of your mind were clear again, that I might water an ass at it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/would-the-fountain-of-your-mind-were-clear-again-that-i-might-water/) [Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) > [“I will do such things,-- What they are, yet I know not: but they shall be The terrors of the earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/i-will-do-such-things-what-they-are-yet-i-know-not-but-they-shall-be/) [Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) > [“silence is not a langauge, its a weapon to make your dear one to feel”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/silence-is-not-a-langauge-its-a-weapon-to-make-your-dear-one-to-feel/) [Shakespeare, William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) [Explore all 13 Shakespeare, William quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/) ## More Good deeds quotes > [“What if I believed that God Himself was the One who decreed I would be a quiet person? What if I believed that God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-rajnus/what-if-i-believed-that-god-himself-was-the-one-who-decreed-i-would/) [Julie Rajnus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-rajnus/) > [When Allah puts barakah (His blessings) in something, it will come beyond your expectations- never underestimate the power of one good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-allah-puts-barakah-his-blessings-in-something-it-will-come/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Our Soul is a spark of the Divine. It is pure and perfect. Evil deeds merely obstruct our vision of the true nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/our-soul-is-a-spark-of-the-divine-it-is-pure-and-perfect-evil-deeds/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The church is never a place to show off. Do your good deeds quietly. Serve; don't seek to be seen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/the-church-is-never-a-place-to-show-off-do-your-good-deeds-quietly/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“What is the present if not the graveyard of the past where, for each of our deeds we dig a grave. Everything we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mladen-or-evi/what-is-the-present-if-not-the-graveyard-of-the-past-where-for-each/) [Mladen Đorđević](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mladen-or-evi/) > [One mistake can wash out your thousands of good deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-demdam/one-mistake-can-wash-out-your-thousands-of-good-deeds/) [Catherine Demdam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-demdam/) > [We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/we-are-not-to-preach-the-doing-of-good-things-good-deeds-are-not-to/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Every time you do a good deed you shine the light a little farther into the dark. And the thing is, when you're gone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/every-time-you-do-a-good-deed-you-shine-the-light-a-little-farther/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [I learned to read from Mrs. Augusta Baker, the children's librarian. ... If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-learned-to-read-from-mrs-augusta-baker-the-children-s-librarian-if/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Steal a chicken if you get a chance, Huck, because if you don't want it, someone else does and a good deed ain't never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/steal-a-chicken-if-you-get-a-chance-huck-because-if-you-don-t-want-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [True value lies in the good deeds that you put forward for the Hereafter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmad-bashir/true-value-lies-in-the-good-deeds-that-you-put-forward-for-the/) [Ahmad Bashir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmad-bashir/) > [Verily the kindness that gazes upon itself in a mirror turns to stone, and a good deed that calls itself by tender names becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/verily-the-kindness-that-gazes-upon-itself-in-a-mirror-turns-to-stone/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Let a good person do good deeds with the same zeal that an evil person does bad ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholom-rokeach/let-a-good-person-do-good-deeds-with-the-same-zeal-that-an-evil/) [Sholom Rokeach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholom-rokeach/) [Browse all 533 Good deeds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-deeds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts alms for oblivion, A great-sized monster of ingratitudes: Those scraps are good deeds past; which are devour'd As fast as they are made, forgot as soon As done: perseverance, dear my lord, Keeps honour bright: to have done is to hang Quite out of fashion, like a rusty mail In monumental mockery. Take the instant way; For honour travels in a strait so narrow, Where one but goes abreast: keep then the path; For emulation hath a thousand sons That one by one pursue: if you give way, Or hedge aside from the direct forthright, Like to an enter'd tide, they all rush by And leave you hindmost; Or like a gallant horse fall'n in first rank, Lie there for pavement to the abject rear, O'er-run and trampled on: then what they do in present, Though less than yours in past, must o'ertop yours; For time is like a fashionable host That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand, And with his arms outstretch'd, as he would fly, Grasps in the comer: welcome ever smiles, And farewell goes out sighing. O, let not virtue seek Remuneration for the thing it was; For beauty, wit, High birth, vigour of bone, desert in service, Love, friendship, charity, are subjects all To envious and calumniating time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shakespeare, William" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/time-hath-my-lord-a-wallet-at-his-back-wherein-he-puts-alms-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Good deeds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/time-hath-my-lord-a-wallet-at-his-back-wherein-he-puts-alms-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/shakespeare-william-34164_love_time-hath-my-lord-a-wallet-at-his-back-w_759294.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/shakespeare-william-34164_love_time-hath-my-lord-a-wallet-at-his-back-w_759294.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/shakespeare-william-34164_love_time-hath-my-lord-a-wallet-at-his-back-w_759294.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts alms for oblivion, A great-sized monster of…” — Shakespeare, William", "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": "Shakespeare, William", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-william/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Time hath, my lord, a wallet...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/time-hath-my-lord-a-wallet-at-his-back-wherein-he-puts-alms-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-william/time-hath-my-lord-a-wallet-at-his-back-wherein-he-puts-alms-for/#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 } } ] } ```