Time is the wisest counsellor of all.

Attributed to the Athenian statesman Pericles, the line expresses a pragmatic political insight: time—through unfolding consequences, delayed information, and the cooling of passions—often gives better guidance than immediate impulse or partisan advice. It suggests that patience can function as a form of wisdom, because events themselves test plans and reveal what is sustainable. In civic life, the saying also implies that hasty decisions made under fear, anger, or ambition are especially prone to error; allowing time to pass can clarify motives and options. More broadly, it frames “time” as an impartial judge whose lessons are learned through experience rather than rhetoric.