Trust has to be earned, and should come only after the passage of time.

The line frames trust not as a default entitlement but as a moral and practical achievement—something demonstrated through consistent behavior over time. By tying trust to “the passage of time,” it emphasizes durability: character is verified through repeated choices, not single gestures or persuasive words. The quote also implies a caution against premature intimacy or credulity, suggesting that healthy relationships—personal, professional, or civic—require evidence and patience. In this sense, it functions as advice about boundaries and judgment: trust is valuable precisely because it is costly to obtain and easy to lose, so it should be granted deliberately rather than impulsively.