Source identified
“Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.”
Voice: Fictional character · Friar Laurence
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.
Source identified
“He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.”
Answering before listening mistakes speed for competence; understanding requires enough restraint to hear the matter before judging it.
Source note: Proverbs 18:13 in the King James Version.
Source identified
“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.
Source identified
“For of course rashness is the note of youth, prudence of old age.”
Voice: Dialogue speaker · Marcus Cato (Cato the Elder)
The contrast assigns different characteristic strengths to stages of life, valuing experience for the restraint and judgment it can develop.
Source note: Cato on Old Age, Shuckburgh translation.
Source identified
“A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.”
Immediate expression is not always honesty or wisdom; restraint can protect judgment from being replaced by whatever emotion arrives first.
Source note: Proverbs 29:11 in the King James Version.
Source identified
“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.