Festina lente

The Latin phrase Festina lente – English translation 'Hasten slowly'- is an oxymoron, i.e., (superficially) self-contradictory. The first word, festina, ('hasten') means 'go quickly' while the second word, lente, means 'slowly'; and so the entire phrase translates literally as 'go quickly slowly'. However, the meaning of the expression is clear: it advises against haste: it tells us not to rush into an enterprise without first giving the matter proper thought or, once we have embarked on an enterprise, not to rush to complete it too quickly; we should always 'take our time'.

In English the idiomatic expression which corresponds most closely to Festina lente is 'More haste less speed'.

Festina lente is a translation of the Greek σπεῦδε βραδέως (speude bradeōs), a phrase which the historian Suetonius (c70-140CE) says was one of the favourite expressions of the first Roman emperor, Augustus (63 BCE-14 CE, reigned 27 BCE-14 CE).