What does this quote mean?

“Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

Good judgment starts by hearing more quickly than speaking or reacting, especially when anger is close to the surface.

Source note: James 1:19 in the King James Version, pairing readiness to listen with restraint in speech and anger.

“A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.”

Anger spreads beyond the person feeling it: an uncontrolled response can create conflict, while restraint can reduce conflict for everyone involved.

Source note: Proverbs 15:18 in the King James Version.

“The greatest remedy for anger is delay.”

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

Source note: On Anger, Book II, section 29.

“Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.”

Speed without judgment can undermine the very goal a person is pursuing, so patience becomes part of effective action.

Source note: Act 2, Scene 3; Friar Laurence urges Romeo to move with greater care.

“For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

Anger is not automatically justified by intensity; the verse separates human wrath from the moral outcome a person may claim to be pursuing.

Source note: James 1:20 in the King James Version, immediately following the instruction to be slow to wrath.

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

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

Source note: 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.