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I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.
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“I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.”

William Shakespeare

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Source
Richard II
Date
c. 1595
Local voice
Fictional character · King Richard II
Meaning

Meaning of “I wasted time, and now doth time waste…”

Time ignored earlier becomes painfully visible later, when opportunities narrow and delay can no longer be recovered.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Richard II, Act V, Scene V in the represented 1921 Yale edition. Richard's 'I wasted time, and now doth time waste me' occurs in the prison soliloquy as he compares broken musical time with his ruined political life. The First Folio facsimile numbers the corresponding prison scene differently, so the Yale route is used to preserve this collection's modern scene numbering.

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Speaker context

Why the local voice matters

Richard speaks while imprisoned in Richard II, Act 5, Scene 5.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

DeepLifeLife AdviceLife Is ShortLife LessonsMeaning of Life Quotes About What Makes Life MatterPresent MomentRegretShortTimeProcrastinationWords of Wisdom: Practical & Philosophical Counsel
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“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

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The verse places change inside a larger rhythm of seasons and purposes, making it useful for thinking about acceptance when one phase of life gives way to another.

Source details

Ecclesiastes 3:1 in the King James Version, opening the sequence of contrasting times and seasons.

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There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.
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“There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.”

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Meaning & context

Mortality cannot be eliminated, so the practical answer is to make conscious use of the finite span between beginning and end.

Source details

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The course of life is fixed, and nature admits of its being run but in one way, and only once.
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“The course of life is fixed, and nature admits of its being run but in one way, and only once.”

Cicero · Cato on Old Age · 44 BCE
Voice: Dialogue speaker · Marcus Cato (Cato the Elder)
Meaning & context

Each stage of life occurs only once, so wisdom includes accepting its appropriate strengths instead of endlessly trying to restore an earlier stage.

Source details

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The life we receive is not short, but we make it so.
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“The life we receive is not short, but we make it so.”

Seneca · On the Shortness of Life · c. 49
Meaning & context

Seneca shifts responsibility from nature to the way a person spends attention and time: life feels shortened when it is repeatedly surrendered to distraction.

Source details

On the Shortness of Life, Chapter I; sentence from Seneca’s argument that life is ample when ordered well.

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