Fair and softly go far in a day.
Meaning: Steady, moderate effort sustains progress better than rushed, forceful action that exhausts itself quickly.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Pas à pas on va bien loin (literally: Fair and softly goes far)
- Spanish: Poco a poco se anda lejos (literally: Little by little one goes far)
- Japanese: 急がば回れ (Isogaba maware) (literally: If you are in a hurry, take the roundabout way)
- German: Eile mit Weile (literally: Haste with leisure)
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