“How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth, stol'n on his wing my three-and-twentieth year!”

— John Milton, "On His Having Arrived at the Age of Twenty-three" (1631)

About John Milton

1608 – 1674

English poet and polemicist, author of the epic 'Paradise Lost' (1667).

“A grateful mind by owing owes not, but still pays, at once indebted and discharged.”

“Man hath his daily work of body or mind appointed.”

“They also serve who only stand and wait.”

“The older I grow, the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.”

“The instructions of an old man are precious.”

“Old age deprives the intelligent man only of qualities useless to wisdom.”

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.”

“I call upon you, young men, to obey your heart, and be the nobility of this land.”

“The young have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations.”