mills of the gods grind slowly

Idioms  

1. One's destiny is inevitable even if it takes considerable time to arrive. For example, I'm sure he'll be wealthy one day, though the mills of the gods grind slowly. This expression comes from ancient Greek, translated as “The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind small.” In English it appeared in George Herbert's Jacula Prudentum (1640) as “God's mill grinds slow but sure.”

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Example Sentences

This was not immediately apparent, however, for, as they also often say in Hollywood, the mills of the gods grind slowly.

From Time Magazine Archive

"The mills of the gods grind slowly," Mr. Rankin; "but they grind exceeding small."

From Captain Brassbound's Conversion by Shaw, Bernard

The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they most generally get there with both feet.

From Remarks by Nye, Bill

Who said the mills of the gods grind slowly?

From Down the Yellowstone by Freeman, Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome)

Though the mills of the gods grind slowly, Yet they grind exceeding small.

From The Price of the Prairie A Story of Kansas by McCarter, Margaret Hill