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

— Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux The Art of Poetry (1674)

Hâtez-vous lentement ; et, sans perdre courage,
Vingt fois sur le métier remettez votre ouvrage.

Original text (French)

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Work

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)

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)

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

The Art of Poetry (1674)

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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.