Skip to content

Hasten then, but full slowly: don’t lose heart of grace;
And your work twenty times on the easel replace.
Be continually polishing; polish again;
Add something to this part; through that draw your pen.

— Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux

Another quote →

Source and credibility

Wikiquote does not flag this quote as disputed or misattributed.

Source: L’Art Poétique 1, 171
Source quality: Weak source Only a web link, a social media post, or a bare page number with no work named.

More by Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux

A fool always finds one still more foolish to admire him.

The Art of Poetry (1674)

Virtue alone is the unerring sign of a noble soul.

Satires (1716)

Often the fear of one evil leads us into a worse.

The Art of Poetry (1674)

Let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace.

Épitres (1701)

That which is repeated too often becomes insipid and tedious.

The Art of Poetry (1674)

Can such bitterness enter into the heart of the devout?

Le Lutrin (1683)

Trouble rides behind and gallops with him.

Épitres (1701)

Un fat quelquefois ouvre un avis important.

The Art of Poetry (1674)

All Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux quotes →

More quotes by Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux

Honor is like an island, rugged and without a beach; once we have left it, we can never return.

Satires (1716)

Time flies and draws us with it. The moment in which I am speaking is already far from me.

Épitres (1701)

Hasten slowly, and without losing heart,
Put your work twenty times upon the anvil.

The Art of Poetry (1674)

Happy the poet who with ease can steer
From grave to gay, from lively to severe.

The Art of Poetry (1674)

Every age has its pleasures, its style of wit, and its own ways.

The Art of Poetry (1674)

All Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.