proverb · Words worth keeping
Time builds castles, and time destroys them.
Time builds castles, and time destroys them.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Time building and destroying castles gives the same force a role in creation and loss. It contrasts development with impermanence.
What the words are saying
The paired verbs make a substantial achievement seem subject to later change. A useful reading considers the work and conditions behind both development and decline instead of attributing every event to time alone. No castle history, cause of destruction or timetable is established by the general image.
Everyday example
A reader considers both the effort that produced an institution and the changes that may affect its future.
When to use it
Use it to discuss development and change with actual causes still examined.
What it does not mean
Time alone does not explain a specific creation or loss, and no destruction schedule is supplied.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 862; PDF page 121
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.