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Time is money

Posted by ESC on September 04, 2001

In Reply to: Time and money posted by kevin on September 04, 2001

: What is the meaning and origin of the phrase: time is money

TIME IS MONEY - "While this familiar maxim may seem like an invention of our hectic and impersonal modern society, it actually comes to us from the ancient Greeks. Antiphon, an orator who wrote speeches for defendants in court cases, recorded the earliest known version of the saying in 'Maxim' (c. 430 BC) as 'The most costly outlay is time.' Centuries later, the notion of time's value appeared in English as 'Tyme is precious,' which was included in Sir Thomas Wilson's 'A Discourse Upon Vsurye' and John Fletcher's 'The Chances' . A century after Fletcher, Benjamin Franklin rendered the exact working of the current version in 'Advice to a Young Tradesman' , and the saying afterward came into wide use." From Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New; by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner (Avon Books, New York, 1993).

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