Rome wasn't built in a day

[Loosehead]

What is the origin of this phrase? who first said it?

[Quizmonster]

John Heywood (1497 - 1580), the English dramatist first said: "Rome was not built in one day."

[badboy4life]

and do you know what he was right mustve taken 'em ages

[Whickerman]

I reckon it was the contractor. He quoted by the hour, and got an open ended contract

[geo0939]

A bricklayer I knew once used this as a response to being told that he hadn't laid enough bricks in a day. His employers reply was "thats because they didn't have cement mixers back then".