There is a time for long tales, but there is also a time for sleep.

[Ὥρη μὲν πολέων μύθων, ὥρη δὲ καὶ ὕπνου.]

Homer (fl. 7th-8th C. BC) Greek author

The Odyssey [Ὀδύσσεια], Book 11, l. 379 (11.379) [Odysseus] (c. 700 BC) [tr. Rieu (1946)]
    (Source)

On being asked by King Alcinoüs to continue his tale of journeying to the Land of the Dead. Original Greek. Alternate translations:

• '“Most eminent king,” said he, “times all must keep, / There’s time to speak much, time as much to sleep.' [tr. Chapman (1616)]
• "There is a time for talk, a time for rest." [tr. Hobbes (1675), l. 362]
• "Since yet the early hour of night allows / Time for discourse, and time for soft repose." [tr. Pope (1725)]
• "The time suffices yet / For converse both and sleep." [tr. Cowper (1792), l. 460-61]
• "Night is the time for converse, night for rest." [tr. Worsley (1861), st. 54]
• "A time there is for speech / Howe'er prolong'd: a time, too, for repose." [tr. Musgrave (1869), l. 585]
• "A time there is for tales -- and a time for sleep!" [tr. Bigge-Wither (1869), l. 378]
• "There is a time for many words and there is a time for sleep." [tr. Butcher/Lang (1879)]
• "Time is for words abundant, and time for sleep maybe." [tr. Morris (1887)]
• "There is a time for stories and a time for sleep." [tr. Palmer (1891)]
• "There is a time for making speeches, and a time for going to bed." [tr. Butler (1898)]
• "There is a time for many words and there is a time also for sleep." [tr. Murray (1919)]
• "Surely there is a time for long speaking and a time for sleep." [tr. Lawrence (1932)]
• "There is a time for story telling; there is also a time for sleep." [tr. Fitzgerald (1961)]
• "There is a time for many words, and a time for sleeping." [tr. Lattimore (1965)]
• "It's true that there's still time for tales and talk, / yet there is, too, a time for sleep." [tr. Mandelbaum (1990)]
• "There is a time for many words, a time for sleep as well." [tr. Fagles (1996)]
• "There is a time for words and a time for sleep." [tr. Lombardo (2000), l. 389]
• "There is a time for long tales, but there is also a time for sleep." [tr. DCH Rieu (2002)]
• "There is a time for long tales, and there is a time for sleep." [tr. Verity (2016)]
• "It is a time for many tales, but also a time for sleep." [tr. Wilson (2017)]
• "There's a time for long stories, and a time for sleep." [tr. Green (2018)]
• "There’s a time / for many stories and a time for sleep." [tr. Johnston (2019), l. 477-78]