--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Time is not a great artist but weakens…" description: "\"Time is not a great artist but weakens all he touches.\" — William Hogarth" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/william-hogarth-42014_art_time-is-not-a-great-artist-but-weakens-a_2879828.jpg" --- # Time is not a great artist but weakens all he touches. ![“Time is not a great artist but weakens all he touches.” quote by William Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/william-hogarth-42014_art_time-is-not-a-great-artist-but-weakens-a_2879828.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/william-hogarth-42014_art_time-is-not-a-great-artist-but-weakens-a_2879828.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/william-hogarth-42014_art_time-is-not-a-great-artist-but-weakens-a_2879828.jpg) > “Time is not a great artist but weakens all he touches.” [William Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hogarth/) ## 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 all, diminishing beauty and strength, reminding us of mortality. **In simple terms:** Time weakens everything. Key Takeaway Respect time’s limits. Themes mortality impermanence reflection Mood melancholic contemplative Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - aging - legacy planning - art appreciation - mindfulness Key Concepts philosophy of time human condition Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor fleeting moments? - What legacies do you wish to leave? A Different Perspective May cause fatalism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Weakens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-weakens-3984735/) [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Great artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-artist/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-great-240690/) [Weakens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakens/) [Weakens Touches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakens-touches-3984736/) ## Related quotes > [Time is the great art of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/time-is-the-great-art-of-man/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I think we need great artists making great work - women, men, whoever. 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Art is first appearances, then meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-cannot-be-convinced-that-great-artists-are-moralists-art-is-first/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) [Fernando Bujones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-bujones/) > [There are so many great artists, I think, who kind of suffer from being icons, legends, acknowledged masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/there-are-so-many-great-artists-i-think-who-kind-of-suffer-from-being/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) ## More by William Hogarth > [I have generally found that persons who had studied painting least were the best judges of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hogarth/i-have-generally-found-that-persons-who-had-studied-painting-least/) [William Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hogarth/) > [I think it is owing to the good sense of the English that they have not painted better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hogarth/i-think-it-is-owing-to-the-good-sense-of-the-english-that-they-have/) [William Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hogarth/) > [Straight lines vary only in length, and therefore are least ornamental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hogarth/straight-lines-vary-only-in-length-and-therefore-are-least-ornamental/) [William Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hogarth/) > [ I had rather, if cruelty has been prevented by the four prints \[The Four Stages of Cruelty\], be maker of them than of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hogarth/i-had-rather-if-cruelty-has-been-prevented-by-the-four-prints-the/) [William Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hogarth/) > [I turned my thoughts to a still more novel mode... to compose pictures on canvas similar to representations on the stage... my picture is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hogarth/i-turned-my-thoughts-to-a-still-more-novel-mode-to-compose-pictures/) [William Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hogarth/) > [The serpentine line, or the line of grace, by its waving and winding at the same time different ways, leads the eye in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hogarth/the-serpentine-line-or-the-line-of-grace-by-its-waving-and-winding-at/) [William Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hogarth/) > [All the world is competent to judge my pictures except those who are of my profession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hogarth/all-the-world-is-competent-to-judge-my-pictures-except-those-who-are/) [William Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hogarth/) > [Simplicity, without variety, is wholly insipid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hogarth/simplicity-without-variety-is-wholly-insipid/) [William Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hogarth/) > [I know no such thing as genius, — genius is nothing but labor and diligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hogarth/i-know-no-such-thing-as-genius-genius-is-nothing-but-labor-and/) [William Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hogarth/) [Explore all 10 William Hogarth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hogarth/) ## More Art quotes > [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/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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