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Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
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“Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.”

Ecclesiastes

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Source
King James Bible — Ecclesiastes 7:9
Date
1611
English wording
King James Version translation committees · from Biblical Hebrew / Aramaic / Koine Greek
Meaning

Meaning of “Be not hasty in thy spirit to be…”

The warning treats speed itself as part of the danger of anger: delay creates room for judgment before emotion hardens into conduct.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Ecclesiastes 7:9 in the King James Version.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

AngerCalmDiscipline Quotes About Habits, Practice & ConsistencyForgivenessPatiencePeaceSelf-Control Quotes About Restraint & JudgmentShortUnderstandingWisdom Quotes About Judgment & Living Well
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The greatest remedy for anger is delay.
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“The greatest remedy for anger is delay.”

Seneca · Of Anger, Book II · c. 45
Meaning & context

Delay interrupts the first impulse of anger and gives judgment time to test whether the perceived offence deserves the reaction it initially provoked.

Source details

On Anger, Book II, section XXIX, Aubrey Stewart’s public-domain translation in Minor Dialogues, cross-checked against Project Gutenberg #64576 and the complete Wikisource Book II transcription. “The greatest remedy for anger is delay” opens Seneca’s practical argument that postponement lets judgment test an offence and can allow anger to subside. It is Roman Stoic moral philosophy rather than modern psychotherapy or clinical anger-management evidence.

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When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, an hundred.
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“When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, an hundred.”

Thomas Jefferson · Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Jefferson Smith, February 21, 1825 · 1825
Meaning & context

Jefferson’s practical rule inserts a deliberate delay between anger and speech, giving judgment time to return before emotion becomes an irreversible response.

Source details

Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Jefferson Smith, February 21, 1825, Founders Online / National Archives. The sentence is item 10 in a short list of “canons of conduct” sent to his namesake relative; the archive currently labels the transcription an Early Access document rather than a final authoritative edition.

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