A small amber glass hourglass containing a pale curled swirl on a charcoal and amber background.

Original artwork, not a still

John Steinbeck

Time is the only critic without ambition.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Steinbeck gives time a surprising job as a critic. Unlike human critics, it has no career to boost and no grudge to settle. It simply keeps passing, and whatever survives its verdict does so without anyone's ambition behind it.

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