“Οὐδέν, ἔφη, τῶν μεγάλων ἄφνω γίνεται, ὅπου γε οὐδ᾿ ὁ βότρυς …”

“Οὐδέν, ἔφη, τῶν μεγάλων ἄφνω γίνεται, ὅπου γε οὐδ᾿ ὁ βότρυς οὐδὲ σύκον. ἄν μοι νῦν λέγῃς ὅτι 'θέλω σύκον', ἀποκρινοῦμαί σοι ὅτι 'χρόνου δεῖ'. ἄφες ἀνθήσῃ πρῶτον, εἶτα προβάλῃ τὸν καρπόν, εἶτα πεπανθῇ.”

— Epictetus

Verification

Attributed

Recorded by a reliable secondary source; exact wording may differ.

Imported from Wikiquote; not yet checked by QuoteQuest against the original source.

Source

Title: Wikiquote: Epictetus
Type: reference · Secondary source
Held by: Wikiquote

View source at Wikiquote

Context

No thing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.

Cite this source

Epictetus. (n.d.). Wikiquote: Epictetus. Wikiquote. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Epictetus

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Provenance: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA)