--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have seen better faces in my time Than…" description: "\"I have seen better faces in my time Than stands on any shoulder that I see Before me at this instant.\" — William Shakespeare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/william-shakespeare-4_faces_i-have-seen-better-faces-in-my-time-than_1848400.jpg" --- # I have seen better faces in my time Than stands on any… ![“I have seen better faces in my time Than stands on any shoulder that I see Before me at this instant.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/william-shakespeare-4_faces_i-have-seen-better-faces-in-my-time-than_1848400.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/william-shakespeare-4_faces_i-have-seen-better-faces-in-my-time-than_1848400.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/william-shakespeare-4_faces_i-have-seen-better-faces-in-my-time-than_1848400.jpg) > “I have seen better faces in my time Than stands on any shoulder that I see Before me at this instant.” [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker admires a person whose presence surpasses all others he has encountered. **In simple terms:** Someone stands out above all others. Key Takeaway Recognize true excellence when you see it. Themes admiration excellence comparison Mood reflective respectful Type literary observational When to use this quote - meeting a mentor - evaluating talent - celebrating achievement Key Concepts human nature leadership recognition Questions to Reflect On - Who truly inspires you? - How do you measure greatness? A Different Perspective The quote may exaggerate, overlooking flaws. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“I shall do better amongst other faces; and these familiar ones, it need hardly be said, will do just as well without me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/i-shall-do-better-amongst-other-faces-and-these-familiar-ones-it-need/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [We have seen better days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/we-have-seen-better-days/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“True it is that we have seen better days. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/true-it-is-that-we-have-seen-better-days/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A finished product is one that has already seen its better days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-linkletter/a-finished-product-is-one-that-has-already-seen-its-better-days/) [Art Linkletter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-linkletter/) > [“Tired of my own company, I suppose, now I've seen so much better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/tired-of-my-own-company-i-suppose-now-i-ve-seen-so-much-better/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [I've seen better days, I've also seen worse but the only thing I can't bear to see is my mother's tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usman-ismaheel/i-ve-seen-better-days-i-ve-also-seen-worse-but-the-only-thing-i-can-t/) [Usman Ismaheel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usman-ismaheel/) > [If all the world must see the world As the world the world hath seen, Then it were better for the world That the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-godfrey-leland/if-all-the-world-must-see-the-world-as-the-world-the-world-hath-seen/) [Charles Godfrey Leland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-godfrey-leland/) > [Some truths are seen better through tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/some-truths-are-seen-better-through-tears/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [I've seen better coverage at an Alan Keyes press conference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/i-ve-seen-better-coverage-at-an-alan-keyes-press-conference/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [Before the curing of a strong disease, Even in the instant of repair and health, The fit is strongest. Evils that take leave, On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/before-the-curing-of-a-strong-disease-even-in-the-instant-of-repair/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Let's take the instant by the forward top; For we are old, and on our quick'st decrees The inaudible and noiseless foot of Time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-s-take-the-instant-by-the-forward-top-for-we-are-old-and-on-our/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Hear my soul speak. Of the very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly at your service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/hear-my-soul-speak-of-the-very-instant-that-i-saw-you-did-my-heart/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I was too young that time to value her, But now I know her. If she be a traitor, Why, so am I. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-was-too-young-that-time-to-value-her-but-now-i-know-her-if-she-be-a/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100%](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-and-i-know-in-my-time-there-will-be-a/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) ## More by William Shakespeare > [Let us kill all lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-kill-all-lawyers/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. Julius Caesar (2.1.248-251)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-no-figures-nor-no-fantasies-which-busy-care-draws-in-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Omittance is no quittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/omittance-is-no-quittance/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Yes, madam: yet I cannot choose but laugh, To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.' And yet, I warrant, it had upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yes-madam-yet-i-cannot-choose-but-laugh-to-think-it-should-leave/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-take-thee-at-thy-word-call-me-but-love-and-i-ll-be-new-baptized/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Explore all 5,604 William Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More Faces quotes > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [His fingertips slid down from my face, lightly stroking the line of my neck, down toward my shoulder. Everywhere he touched, a trail of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/his-fingertips-slid-down-from-my-face-lightly-stroking-the-line-of-my/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [I've seen every one, from Motley Crue to John Denver, with tears running down my face. I had no idea everyone had such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-nicks/i-ve-seen-every-one-from-motley-crue-to-john-denver-with-tears/) [Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-nicks/) > [So," I said. "Seems you're going to be stuck with me for a while." He smiled. A real smile that lit up his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/so-i-said-seems-you-re-going-to-be-stuck-with-me-for-a-while-he/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [If enough money is involved and enough people believe that two plus two equals five the media will report the story with a straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-enough-money-is-involved-and-enough-people-believe-that-two-plus/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Here comes old Rosie she's looking mighty fine, here comes hot Nancy she's steppin' right on time. There go the street lights bringing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-seger/here-comes-old-rosie-she-s-looking-mighty-fine-here-comes-hot-nancy/) [Bob Seger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-seger/) > [A face is too slight a foundation for happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/a-face-is-too-slight-a-foundation-for-happiness/) [Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/) > [ That's probably why my face was looking so crazy when I was crying \[in "Hardball"\] because it was some real. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-b-jordan/that-s-probably-why-my-face-was-looking-so-crazy-when-i-was-crying-in/) [Michael B. Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-b-jordan/) > [Are we fighting?" I asked Morelli. "No. Were discussing." "Are you sure?" "Am I yelling?" Morelli asked. "Is my face purple? Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) [Browse all 13,128 Faces quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have seen better faces in my time Than stands on any shoulder that I see Before me at this instant.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-have-seen-better-faces-in-my-time-than-stands-on-any-shoulder-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Faces" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-have-seen-better-faces-in-my-time-than-stands-on-any-shoulder-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/william-shakespeare-4_faces_i-have-seen-better-faces-in-my-time-than_1848400.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/william-shakespeare-4_faces_i-have-seen-better-faces-in-my-time-than_1848400.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/william-shakespeare-4_faces_i-have-seen-better-faces-in-my-time-than_1848400.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have seen better faces in my time Than stands on any shoulder that I see Before me at this instant.” — William Shakespeare", "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": "William Shakespeare", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have seen better faces in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-have-seen-better-faces-in-my-time-than-stands-on-any-shoulder-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-have-seen-better-faces-in-my-time-than-stands-on-any-shoulder-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 } } ] } ```