“Thou hast the keys of Paradise, oh just, subtle, and mighty opium!”
Thomas De Quincey book Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
Pt. II.
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1822-1856)
A collection of quotes on the topic of haste, god, doing, making.
“Thou hast the keys of Paradise, oh just, subtle, and mighty opium!”
Thomas De Quincey book Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
Pt. II.
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1822-1856)
Marcus Aurelius book Meditations
Meditations. iv. 17.
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
“Go Placidly, Amid the noise and Haste & Remember what peace there may be in silence…”
Max Ehrmann (1872–1945) American writer, poet, and attorney
Source: Desiderata: A Poem for a Way of Life
“Thou hast made us for Thyself, and the heart never resteth till it findeth rest in Thee.”
Aurelius Augustinus (354–430) early Christian theologian and philosopher
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 515
Dante Alighieri book Paradiso
Canto XXII, lines 16–18 (tr. Longfellow).
The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321), Paradiso
“Thou hast committed—
Fornication: but that was in another country;
And besides, the wench is dead.”
Christopher Marlowe The Jew of Malta
Friar Barnardine and Barabas, Act IV, scene i
The Jew of Malta (c. 1589)
John Locke book Some Thoughts Concerning Education
Sec. 107
Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693)
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
Canto II
1840s, My Childhood's Home I See Again (1844 - 1846)
“Manuscript: something submitted in haste and returned at leisure.”
Oliver Herford (1863–1935) American writer
Speaker's Handbook of Epigrams and Witticisms (1955), p. 187.
Attributed
“Love the little trade which thou hast learned, and be content therewith.”
Marcus Aurelius book Meditations
IV, 31
Meditations (c. 121–180 AD), Book IV
Lewis Carroll (1832–1898) English writer, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer
Four Riddles, no. II
Rhyme? and Reason? (1883)
“With that truncheon thou hast slain a good knight, and now it sticketh in thy body.”
Thomas Malory book Le Morte d'Arthur
Book II, ch. 14
Le Morte d'Arthur (c. 1469) (first known edition 1485)
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Renaissance polymath
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1883), XIX Philosophical Maxims. Morals. Polemics and Speculations.
John Locke book Some Thoughts Concerning Education
Sec. 115
Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693)
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Renaissance polymath
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1883), XIX Philosophical Maxims. Morals. Polemics and Speculations.
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
1860s, First Inaugural Address (1861)
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
Manuscript poem, as a teenager (ca. 1824–1826), in "Lincoln as Poet" at Library of Congress : Presidents as Poets http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/prespoetry/al.html, as published in The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (1953) edited by Roy. P. Basler, Vol. 1 <br class="br">1820s
“Oh, Diamond! Diamond! thou little knowest what mischief thou hast done!”
Isaac Newton (1643–1727) British physicist and mathematician and founder of modern classical physics
This is from an anecdote found in St. Nicholas magazine, Vol. 5, No. 4, (February 1878) http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15331/15331-h/15331-h.htm :<br>Sir Isaac Newton had on his table a pile of papers upon which were written calculations that had taken him twenty years to make. One evening, he left the room for a few minutes, and when he came back he found that his little dog "Diamond" had overturned a candle and set fire to the precious papers, of which nothing was left but a heap of ashes.
“The resurrection is
In spirit done in thee,
As soon as thou from all
Thy sins hast set thee free.”
Angelus Silesius (1624–1677) German writer
The Cherubinic Wanderer
Ali book Nahj al-Balagha
Nahj al-Balagha
“Haste is universal because everyone is in flight from himself.”
Friedrich Nietzsche Untimely Meditations
trans. Hollingdale (1983), “Schopenhauer as educator,” p. 158
Untimely Meditations (1876)
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Renaissance polymath
Of the lightning in clouds.
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1883), XIX Philosophical Maxims. Morals. Polemics and Speculations.
Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright
Source: Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605–1615), Part I, Book III, Ch. 11.
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Renaissance polymath
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1883), XIV Anatomy, Zoology and Physiology
Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) German poet, journalist, essayist, and literary critic
Lyrical Intermezzo, 57; in Poems of Heinrich Heine: Three Hundred and Twenty-five Poems (1917) Selected and translated by Louis Untermeyer, p. 73
Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) American author, poet, editor and literary critic
" Sonnet. To Science http://library.thinkquest.org/11840/Poe/science.html", l. 12-14 (1829).
Thomas Bradwardine (1300–1349) Theologian; Archbishop of Canterbury
Sample of Bradwardine devotional writing quoted by James Burnes, The Church of England Magazine under the superintendence of clergymen of the United Church of England and Ireland Vol. IV (January to June 1838)
James Macpherson (1736–1796) Scottish writer, poet, translator, and politician
"Carric-thura"
The Poems of Ossian
Pope Francis (1936) 266th Pope of the Catholic Church
Section 288
2010s, 2013, Evangelii Gaudium · The Joy of the Gospel
Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist
The Mask
Heath's book of Beauty, 1833 (1832)
Augustus (-63–14 BC) founder of Julio-Claudian dynasty and first emperor of the Roman Empire
As quoted in Houghton, Mifflin, Familiar Short Sayings of Great Men (1882), p. 25
Variant translations: "Hurry slowly"; or, "Hasten slowly." Originally quoted in Greek, in Suetonius, II. Augustus, section 25, but better known in the Latin form, as reported in Chambers Dictionary of Quotations (1997), p. 50
Theodoret (393–458) Syrian bishop
Ecclesiastical History, Book III, Ch. 20 (c. 429); this is usually accepted as the origin of the spurious tradition of the last words of Julian being "Thou hast won, O Galilean." No mention of such a declaration occurs in the accounts of any earlier writers, even those most hostile to Julian.
Context: Julian’s folly was yet more clearly manifested by his death. He crossed the river that separates the Roman Empire from the Persian, brought over his army, and then forthwith burnt his boats, so making his men fight not in willing but in forced obedience. The best generals are wont to fill their troops with enthusiasm, and, if they see them growing discouraged, to cheer them and raise their hopes; but Julian by burning the bridge of retreat cut off all good hope. A further proof of his incompetence was his failure to fulfil the duty of foraging in all directions and providing his troops with supplies. Julian had neither ordered supplies to be brought from Rome, nor did he make any bountiful provision by ravaging the enemy’s country. He left the inhabited world behind him, and persisted in marching through the wilderness. His soldiers had not enough to eat and drink; they were without guides; they were marching astray in a desert land. Thus they saw the folly of their most wise emperor. In the midst of their murmuring and grumbling they suddenly found him who had struggled in mad rage against his Maker wounded to death. Ares who raises the war-din had never come to help him as he promised; Loxias had given lying divination; he who glads him in the thunderbolts had hurled no bolt on the man who dealt the fatal blow; the boasting of his threats was dashed to the ground. The name of the man who dealt that righteous stroke no one knows to this day. Some say that he was wounded by an invisible being, others by one of the Nomads who were called Ishmaelites; others by a trooper who could not endure the pains of famine in the wilderness. But whether it were man or angel who plied the steel, without doubt the doer of the deed was the minister of the will of God. It is related that when Julian had received the wound, he filled his hand with blood, flung it into the air and cried, "Thou hast won, O Galilean." Thus he gave utterance at once to a confession of the victory and to a blasphemy. So infatuated was he.
Joseph Addison (1672–1719) politician, writer and playwright
Queen Elinor in Rosamond (c. 1707), Act III, sc. ii.
Context: Every star, and every pow'r,
Look down on this important hour:
Lend your protection and defence
Every guard of innocence!
Help me my Henry to assuage,
To gain his love or bear his rage.
Mysterious love, uncertain treasure,
Hast thou more of pain or pleasure!
Chill'd with tears,
Kill'd with fears,
Endless torments dwell about thee:
Yet who would live, and live without thee!
“Since Thou hast regarded me,
Grace and beauty hast Thou given me.”
John of the Cross (1542–1591) Spanish mystic and Roman Catholic saint
Spiritual Canticle of The Soul and The Bridegroom
Context: Despise me not,
For if I was swarthy once
Thou canst regard me now;
Since Thou hast regarded me,
Grace and beauty hast Thou given me. ~ 33
John of the Cross (1542–1591) Spanish mystic and Roman Catholic saint
Spiritual Canticle of The Soul and The Bridegroom
“Thus grief still treads upon the heels of pleasure;
Married in haste, we may repent at leisure.”
William Congreve The Old Bachelor
Act V, scene viii. Compare: "Who wooed in haste, and means to wed at leisure", William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Act iii, scene 2
The Old Bachelor (1693)
Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War
Book III, 3.42-[1] (Speech of Diodotus..).
History of the Peloponnesian War, Book III
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
1860s, First State of the Union address (1861)
Context: The war continues. In considering the policy to be adopted for suppressing the insurrection I have been anxious and careful that the inevitable conflict for this purpose shall not degenerate into a violent and remorseless revolutionary struggle. I have therefore in every case thought it proper to keep the integrity of the Union prominent as the primary object of the contest on our pan, leaving all questions which are not of vital military importance to the more deliberate action of the Legislature. In the exercise of my best discretion I have adhered to the blockade of the ports held by the insurgents, instead of putting in force by proclamation the law of Congress enacted. at the late session for closing those ports. So also, obeying the dictates of prudence, as well as the obligations of law, instead of transcending I have adhered to the act of Congress to confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes. If a new law upon the same subject shall be proposed, its propriety will be duly considered. The Union must be preserved, and hence all indispensable means must be employed. We should not be in haste to determine that radical and extreme measures, which may reach the loyal as well as the disloyal, are indispensable.
Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814) German philosopher
Source: The Way Towards The Blessed Life or the Doctrine of Religion 1806, P. 3
Voltaire (1694–1778) French writer, historian, and philosopher
The most surprising circumstance is that this letter, though written by an obscure person, was so happy in its effect as to put a stop to the persecution.
The History of the Quakers (1762)
Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian American inventor
I cannot begin to describe my emotions. Pygmalion seeing his statue come to life could not have been more deeply moved. A thousand secrets of nature which I might have stumbled upon accidentally, I would have given for that one which I had wrested from her against all odds and at the peril of my existence …
On the Invention of the Induction Motor
My Inventions (1919)
“Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it.”
Sören Kierkegaard (1813–1855) Danish philosopher and theologian, founder of Existentialism
Swenson, 1959, p. 28
1840s, Either/Or (1843)
“I am always in haste, but never in a hurry.”
John Wesley (1703–1791) Christian theologian
As quoted in the "Saturday Review" (28 November 1874)
General sources
Source: John Wesley's Sermons: An Anthology
“Hate is by far the greatest pleasure; men love in haste, but detest in leisure.”
George Gordon Byron (1788–1824) English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement
Harriet Beecher Stowe book Uncle Tom's Cabin
Ch 36 Emmeline and Cassy
Source: Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)
Emily Dickinson book The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
Love, p. 172
Collected Poems (1993)
Source: The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
“Never do I deceive you, Hastings. I only permit you to deceive yourself.”
Agatha Christie book The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Hercule Poirot’s Early Cases (1974)
Source: The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Henry David Thoreau book Walden ou la vie dans les bois
Walden (1854)
Context: A living dog is better than a dead lion. Shall a man go and hang himself because he belongs to the race of pygmies, and not be the biggest pygmy that he can? Let every one mind his own business, and endeavor to be what he was made. Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.<!--pp.366-367
“Art is the means we have of undoing the damage of haste. It's what everything else isn't.”
Theodore Roethke (1908–1963) American poet
Poetry and Craft (1965)
Source: On Poetry and Craft: Selected Prose
“Be still my heart; thou hast known worse than this.”
Variant: Be strong, saith my heart; I am a soldier;
I have seen worse sights than this.
Source: The Odyssey
Richard Baxter (1615–1691) English Puritan church leader, poet, and hymn-writer
The Saints' Everlasting Rest (1650), "The Nature of the Saints' Rest"
“Friend Ralph, thou hast
Outrun the constable at last.”
Samuel Butler (poet) (1612–1680) poet and satirist
Canto III, line 1367
Source: Hudibras, Part I (1663–1664)
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938) German painter, sculptor, engraver and printmaker
In a letter to Curt Valentin, 1937; as quoted in Expressionism, de:Wolf-Dieter Dube; Praeger Publishers, New York, 1973, p. 38
1930's
Torquato Tasso (1544–1595) Italian poet
Canto IV, stanza 39 (tr. Fairfax)
Gerusalemme Liberata (1581)
F. Anstey (1856–1934) English novelist and journalist
Source: The Brass Bottle (1900), Chapter 14, “Since There’s No Help, Come, Let Us Kiss and Part!”
Thomas Bradwardine (1300–1349) Theologian; Archbishop of Canterbury
In this whole business I follow the steps of Augustine.
De causa Dei contra Pelagium
““Better to make haste slowly than not at all,” said Amnir sententiously.”
Leigh Brackett (1915–1978) American novelist and screenwriter
Source: The Ginger Star (1974), Chapter 11 (p. 74)
Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895) English biologist and comparative anatomist
1860s, On a Piece of Chalk (1868)
Thomas Carlyle book On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History
Thomas Carlyle, "On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History" (1841), pg. 64-67
1840s
Hastings Banda (1898–1997) First president of Malawi
BBC Training "Interviews from hell" http://www.bbctraining.com/modules/2604/hell2.html. BBC INFAX http://open.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/programme/SX+28015_9 <br class="br">BBC Interview, 21 June 1962
“1887. Think thyself happy if thou hast one true Friend; never think of finding another.”
Thomas Fuller (writer) (1654–1734) British physician, preacher, and intellectual
Introductio ad prudentiam: Part II (1727)
John Napier (1550–1617) Scottish mathematician
A Plaine Discovery of the Whole Revelation of St. John (1593)
Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher
1840s, Past and Present (1843)
Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist
The Golden Violet - The Wreath
The Golden Violet (1827)
“O star-eyed Science! hast thou wandered there,
To waft us home the message of despair?”
Thomas Campbell (1777–1844) British writer
Part II, line 325
Pleasures of Hope (1799)
“The party that negotiates in haste is often at a disadvantage.”
Howard Raiffa (1924–2016) American academic
Part I, Chapter 1, Some organizing Questions, p. 16.
The Art and Science of Negotiation (1982)
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) Russian politician, led the October Revolution
Letter to Comrade Molotov for the Politburo (19 March 1922) http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/soviet.exhibit/ae2bkhun.html <br class="br">Variant translation: <br class="br">It is precisely now and only now, when in the starving regions people are eating human flesh, and hundreds if not thousands of corpses are littering the roads, that we can (and therefore must) carry out the confiscation of church valuables. … I come to the categorical conclusion that precisely at this moment we must give battle to the Black Hundred clergy in the most decisive and merciless manner and crush its resistance with such brutality that it will not forget it for decades to come. The greater the number of representatives of the reactionary clergy and reactionary bourgeoisie we succeed in executing for this reason, the better. <br class="br">As translated in The Unknown Lenin : From the Secret Archive (1996) edited by Richard Pipes, pp. 152-4 <br class="br">1920s
“I don't know if the member of Prince Edward-Hastings thinks he's on camera, but he's not.”
Pierre Trudeau (1919–2000) 15th Prime Minister of Canada
Comment in the House of Commons in response to the heckling of George Hees, October 17, 1977 (this particular Question Period was the first to be televised, prompting Trudeau's remark. In actuality, John Raymond Ellis was the Prince Edward-Hastings MP.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2kRv0kW5Oc#t=6m51s
Báb (1819–1850) Iranian prophet; founder of the religion Bábism; venerated in the Bahá'í Faith
Tablet to the First Letter of the Living
“Hast thou named all the birds without a gun;
Loved the wood-rose, and left it on its stalk.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
Forbearance http://www.emersoncentral.com/poems/forebearance.htm <br class="br">1840s, Poems (1847)
“Thou hast no right to bliss.”
Matthew Arnold book Empedocles on Etna
Act I, sc. ii
Empedocles on Etna (1852)