"Haste Makes Waste" - Words to Live By

You may be familiar with the phrase, “Haste makes waste,” an old adage that warns of rushing through a task, as it will only lead to a garbage result. I heard this often growing up, and while the brevity of the phrase and the fact that it rhymes made it incredibly easy to remember and almost enjoyable to recite, I admit I never came to fully understand its meaning.

To which you might be saying, “but Pseudo, you just said it meant not to act hurriedly because that yields poor outcomes,” to which I would reply, “Wow, yes, that was an excellent restatement of what I just said……Wait, You’re not just pretending to listen? And you get how words and conversations work? Uh, did we just become best friends?!…"

Well, in that case, I suppose I should rephrase that and say, ‘I presumed I understood the depth of that statement as it was presented.’”

But that changed recently when I was lost in a rabbit-hole research endeavor and stumbled upon an expanded version that sounded like it was closer to, if not The, original English phrasing of the proverb.

“The greater haste we make, the less will be our speed."

When I read that, it made me think of the story about The Tortoise and The Hare, which I had never paralleled with “haste makes waste.” But this phrasing and perhaps the use of the word speed prompted my memory of the fable.

Having first heard the tale around 5 years old or so, I initially walked away with the lesson don’t take a nap in the middle of a race, which, you know, I didn’t need an elaborate story with talking animals to teach me, and that was probably one of my first moments of questioning the intelligence of those around me and the validity of public schools. But as I got older and I reflected upon the tale again, I landed on a revised lesson about not procrastinating lest others pass you by and steal your glory.

And I suppose that could serve as a decent interpretation and moral received…That is, if I had actually heeded the message. But anyway, that’s not the point of this pseudo-story.

So there I was, trekking through the surprisingly captivating read, The Chemical Treatise of Thomas Norton, Crede Mihi, or Believe Me, The Ordinal of Alchemy, and just as I began settling into yet another cautionary lecture by Thomas preempting what I went in thinking was the real meat-and-potatoes content of the literature, I was gifted this little beauty. And I was so taken by the passage in which it was noted and how it was communicated that I wanted to share it with you.

While the title doesn’t roll off the tongue, and the antiquated syntax and intentionally coded diction might trip you up at times, this publication is beautifully written, in my opinion, and makes for an enjoyable read. In fact, Thomas Norton is remembered as an alchemist and an English poet, and this manuscript is described as an alchemical poem.

For context, Thomas is explaining the various hardships and challenges one will face when in pursuit of mastering alchemy. After sharing stories of sorcerers past who failed to properly devote themselves to the craft or pursued it with inappropriate intentions and their consequential fall to ruins, he continues:

“If your mind is devoted to virtue, the Devil will do his utmost to frustrate your search by one or the other of three stumbling blocks, namely, haste, despair, or deception. For he is afraid of the good works which you may do if you succeed in mastering this secret. The first danger lies in undue haste, which destroys and mars the work of many. All authors who have written about this Art, agree in saying, like the author of the little book of "The Philosopher's Feast," that undue haste is of the Devil. Hence he will the soonest make an end who tarries a little at the beginning; and those who act otherwise will discover to their cost the truth of the proverb which says that: "The greater haste we make, the less will be our speed." For he who is in a hurry will complete his work neither in a month, nor yet in a year; and in this Art it will always be true that the man who is in a hurry will never be without matter of complaint. Rest assured also that haste will precipitate you from the pinnacle of truth. It is the Devil's subtlest device to ensnare us; for this haste is an ignis-fatuus by which he causes us to wander from the right path. The man who has found grace stoutly sets his face against hurry; he does so as a matter of habit, for in a moment of time haste may mar your whole work. Therefore be on your guard against hurry, accounting it as a device of the Devil. Time will not allow me to caution you with sufficient vehemence of feeling against habits of hurried work. Many pierce themselves through with sharp sorrows, because they are always in a hurry, and full of impatience to reach the goal, which comes about through the temptation of Satan. I will say no more about hurry, but blessed is he who possesses patience.”

This then brought another adage to mind: “Patience is a virtue.” Yet another phrase I heard often growing up. Except this one pissed me off whenever I heard it because my dad only ever said it to me when I was extremely frustrated waiting on the family or otherwise feeling like my time was being wasted. And he never explained what the hell that was supposed to mean or how it might help me relax, which pissed me off even more. I mean, for Pete’s sake, I didn’t even know what virtue meant for years, I thought he was saying “avertchew” like one word, and thinking about it now, I’m not sure if he could properly define it for me if I asked, even today. But again, I digress.

The point was that I finally related “Haste Makes Waste” with “Patience is a Virtue,” connecting them via a re–revised understanding of the Tortoise and The Hare ---and it was a mini-revelation moment for me. And, frankly, I think these are lessons we should all give mind to these days.

I, myself, recently have been guilty of trying to rush through something after I felt frustrated by how long the task was taking, rationalizing since I had devoted enough time providing 110% that what I produced would still be “good enough.” (And I despise “good enough.”) Yet, in hindsight, I’ve done this repeatedly in life without realizing it. Or should I say, I’ve allowed the rationalization I created to convince me that I essentially was making the right choice in quitting, thus resulting in “good enough...” which, as it turns out, was not good enough.

Because I know now if I had fully committed myself through the entire ordeal, I would have come out of it a better person, or, at least, I might have reached this point in my ascension sooner.

… Perhaps. That’s the theory, anyway. Because, as they say, what doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger, right?

Or is it all a measured checklist quest we assigned to ourselves before entering this avatar?

Oh, who knows, right?

We’re all here to…for…you know, something…

...So do it! But do it properly, do it for the right reasons, and do it in good time. 

Anyway, that’s all I really wanted to share for now, and I’ll leave it to you to ponder.

Pseudo says: Take your time! It’s only a made-up concept constructed for this plane of existence anyway, so you’ll be fine.

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