Erasmus on Festina Lente

Here is what Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466–1536) has to say about Festina Lente in his book Adagia (Sayings or Maxims) from Book II, 1:1:

Speude bradeos, i.e., festina lente, “Make haste slowly.” This charming proverb appears at first glance a riddle, because it is made up of words which contradict each other. It is therefore to be classed with those which express their meaning through enantiosin, that is, contrariety, as we explained in the beginning of the Adages. Of this genus is the saying dusdaimon eudaimonia, unfortunate good fortune. Nor does it seem a groundless conjecture that our present proverb was created from a phrase which appears in Aristophanes’ Knights: speude tacheos, hasten hastily, so that the person who made the allusion, whoever he was, converted the anadiaplosin, or doubling, into contrariety, enantiosin. The apt and absolute brevity of the phrase gives a superlative grace to the rhetorical figuration and to the humor of the allusion, a gem-like grace that seems to me to be especially beautiful in proverbs, and to make them gem-like marvels of price.

If you weigh carefully the force and the sentiment of our proverb, its succinct brevity, how fertile it is, how serious, how beneficial, how applicable to every activity of life, you will easily come to the opinion that among the huge number of sayings you will find none of greater dignity. Speude bradeos ought to be carved on columns. It ought to be written on the archways of churches, and indeed in letters of gold. It ought to be painted on the gates of great men’s palaces, engraved on the rings of cardinals and primates, and chased on the scepters of kings. To go further, it ought to be seen on all monuments everywhere, published abroad and multiplied so that everyone will know it and it will be before every mortal eye, and there will be no one who doesn’t hold it of greatest use—especially princes, and to those to whom, to quote Homer:

Laoi t’ epitetraphatai kai tossa memele

 [“The people are entrusted, and the care of much.”]

You can read this passage and more by following this link: Adagia

You may also enjoy this overview of Festina Lente: Festina Lente on Wikipedia.