It was only after I was well into adulthood that I heard this saying. It came from a client of the generation ahead of me, and we must have been talking about getting things done. I have long forgotten the details of the conversation, other than the saying itself and the click of the light bulb turning on in my brain.
Here is blog post that discusses this adage in a helpful way.
The matter of not rushing things has been the subject of previous posts of mine recently (here and here) as I have been reading from the Adages of Erasmus.
Showing posts with label Adages. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adages. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Sat Cito, Si Sat Bene: It Is Done Soon Enough If It Is Done Well Enough
In Erasmus' essay on Festina Lente, he writes that one of the uses of the adage "Festina Lente," which means "Make Haste Slowly,"
is to point out that precipitate action should be avoided in everything, that hastiness is a fault to which some natures are especially prone, and to them any delay at all seems protracted. This kind of hurry has companions: error and repentance, according to that line celebrated among the Greeks,
"Hasty action is the cause of many ills"
Such people should have the noble maxim of Cato [sat cito, si sat bene] dinned into their ears, "It is done soon enough if it is done well enough . . . "
is to point out that precipitate action should be avoided in everything, that hastiness is a fault to which some natures are especially prone, and to them any delay at all seems protracted. This kind of hurry has companions: error and repentance, according to that line celebrated among the Greeks,
"Hasty action is the cause of many ills"
Such people should have the noble maxim of Cato [sat cito, si sat bene] dinned into their ears, "It is done soon enough if it is done well enough . . . "
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