Time is a gentleman — time eventually reveals the truth, rights wrongs, and rewards patience. The most reliable judge of anything is time itself.
The Milanese expression galantom (galantuomo — a man of honour, a gentleman of his word) applied to time suggests that time has the character of an upright merchant: it pays what it owes, it does not cheat, it delivers what was promised. This is a distinctly mercantile metaphor — in a city built on contracts and credit, the man who paid his debts on time was the foundation of the whole system. Time, in this proverb, is imagined as the most reliable of all debtors. The saying is used as consolation for those who have been wronged, as encouragement for those whose merits have not yet been recognised, and as a warning to the dishonest that the bill will eventually arrive. It is one of the most optimistic of Milanese proverbs, expressing a confidence — possibly tested by experience — that the universe is ultimately just.',
Milanese proverb using the mercantile metaphor of time as a reliable debtor. The galantuomo was the man of honour who paid his debts — applied to time it suggests cosmic justice.
A Milanese journalist fired for an accurate but unpopular article
— Ti hanno licenziato per quella storia. — El temp l'è galantom. Tra cinque anni tutti sapranno che avevo ragione.
— They fired you for that story. — Time is a gentleman. In five years everyone will know I was right.
A Lombard artisan whose work was initially rejected
I galleristi non volevano i miei pezzi. El temp l'è galantom — adesso sono nei musei.
The gallery owners did not want my pieces. Time is a gentleman — now they are in museums.
An elderly man reflecting on a long feud
Non mi sono mai vendicato di quello che mi aveva fatto. El temp l'è galantom — ha perso tutto senza che io facessi niente.
I never took revenge for what he did to me. Time is a gentleman — he lost everything without me doing anything.
A young Milanese professional passed over for promotion
— Non ti hanno promosso di nuovo. — El temp l'è galantom. Lavoro bene e qualcuno lo vedrà.
— They did not promote you again. — Time is a gentleman. I work well and someone will see it.