short story
by Isaac Asimov
. It was published in the February 1958 issue of Future Science Fiction
, after having been twice rejected by other outlets. It was subsequently included in the collections Have You Seen These? in 1974 and Buy Jupiter and Other Stories
in 1975. It runs to less than two pages in paperback
.
As the people of Earth develop atomic power, they are recorded as having achieved maturity by the Galactic keeper of records.
Festina lente.
Ther nis no werkman, whatsoevere he be, That may bothe werke wel and hastily.
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is on the contrary born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. When we do not do the one thing that we ought to do, we have no time for anything else—we are the busiest people in the world.
Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry.
Haste makes waste.