Mae West? Gypsy Rose Lee? Ann Richards? Emma Bullet? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: Activities such as growing a garden, consuming a savory dish, and dancing a striptease are best when performed slowly. An adage embodies this idea:
If it is worth doing then it is worth doing slowly.
This saying has been attributed to the movie star Mae West, the ecdysiast Gypsy Rose Lee, the politician Ann Richards, and others. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1896 journalist Emma Bullet published a piece in “The Brooklyn Daily Eagle” of New York. She discussed traveling the world, and she criticized the strategy of visiting a series of locations very quickly. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
I have always been an enemy of the latter way of taking a rapid view of things, for what is worth doing at all is worth doing slowly and well, and I have deemed it more profitable to give one’s own well pondered judgment of a small corner of the world than to give other people’s opinion of the universe.
The passage above was the earliest close match located by QI. Based on this citation Emma Bullet helped to popularize the adage, and she may have created it. However, there is a significant chance that earlier citations will be uncovered in the future.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Lord Chesterfield (Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield) wrote a famous series of letters to his son regarding proper manners and etiquette in the United Kingdom. A 1746 letter included a statement that is now a popular adage:2
There is no surer sign in the world of a little, weak mind, than inattention. Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well; and nothing can be done well without attention.
In 1896 Emma Bullet published an instance of the adage under examination in “The Brooklyn Daily Eagle” as mentioned previously.
In 1916 Byron E. Cooney published an instance in “The Montana American” newspaper of Butte, Montana:3
Anything that is worth doing, is worth doing slowly,—is worth doing after mature consideration and not in a whirlwind, either literal or figurative.
In 1918 “Marconi Service News” printed an article by Clarence Cisin which contained the following passage:4
Most of the people in Genoa feel that anything that is worth doing is worth doing slowly. And they do it—slowly, They are behind the times in almost everything. As far as they are concerned, modern efficiency, is something that is mixed in a drink. They are, however, very hospitable and courteous, with a decided leaning toward cafés, moustaches, cigarettes, and drinks.
In 1923 “The Strand Magazine” of London published a short story titled “It All Takes Time” by Stacy Aumonier which included the adage:5
Johnny Cantallow was a young man who lived up to the theory that anything that’s worth doing at all is worth doing slowly. It is a gardener’s secret. Gardeners have discovered a degree of progression that makes plumbers appear to move like greyhounds.
Gypsy Rose Lee died in 1970. Ten years later she received credit for the saying in the book “Time Is Money! The Key to Managerial Success” by Ross A. Webber which stated the following:6
Gypsy Rose Lee once observed, “Anything that is worth doing well is worth doing slowly.”
Mae West died in 1980. In 1986 “The Boston Globe” reported that Texas politician Ann Richards had delivered a speech during which she attributed the saying to West:7
Texas’ Richards, who won re-election with the biggest vote in her state’s history, keynoted the conference. “Mae West said that anything worth doing well is worth doing slowly,” she drawled. “Well, Lord knows we have been making slow progress long enough, so we must be doing something well.”
In 1987 “The Chronicle of Higher Education” reported on a meeting of educators during which the adage was employed by a speaker:8
Haskell Rhett, vice-president for student-assistance services at the College Board, concluded by suggesting that states heed the philosophy of the renowned Hollywood siren Mae West: “Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.”
Also in 1987 the book “So You Have To Give a Speech!” by Margaret Ryan contained the following passage:9
Another speechwriter I know, who had to explain why a product announced years before was just now being introduced, quoted Gypsy Rose Lee, “Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.”
In 2000 “Random House Webster’s Wit & Humor Quotationary” included the following entry:10
GYPSY ROSE LEE (1914—1970). American burlesque entertainer
If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing slowly—very slowly.
In conclusion, the earliest instance located by QI was written by journalist Emma Bullet in 1896. She wrote “What is worth doing at all is worth doing slowly and well”. The word “well” echoed the older saying from Lord Chesterfield. In 1916 Byron E. Cooney wrote “Anything that is worth doing, is worth doing slowly”. Future researchers may discover earlier citations. Mae West and Gypsy Rose Lee have received credit for this saying, but the supporting evidence is weak.
Image Notes: Illustration of watering plants in a garden from Markus Spiske at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to the anonymous person whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration.
- 1896 September 20, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Ostende and Nuremberg by Emma Bullet, Quote Page 23, Column 2, Brooklyn, New York. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1774, The Life of The Late Lord Chesterfield: Or, The Man of the World, Including Speeches, Essays, Poems, and the Substance of the System of Education Delivered in a Series of Letters to His Son, (Letters Written by Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, to His Son, Philip Stanhope), Letter dated March 10, 1746, Start Page 94, Quote Page 94, Printed for H. Sauders, W. Sleater, D. Chamberlaine, and etc., Dublin, Ireland. (Google Books full view) link ↩︎
- 1916 November 24, The Montana American, Y.M.C.A. Movement in Butte by Byron E. Cooney, Quote Page 15, Column 1, Butte, Montana. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1918 March, Marconi Service News, Volume 3, Submarine a la Mode: In the Mediterranean by Clarence Cisin (Reprinted by permission of Leslie’s Weekly, Start Page 2, Quote Page 11, Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, New York. link (Google Books Full View) ↩︎
- 1923 October, The Strand Magazine, Volume 66, It All Takes Time by Stacy Aumonier, Start Page 404, Quote Page 404, Column 1, George Newnes, London. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1980 Copyright, Time Is Money! The Key to Managerial Success by Ross A. Webber, Chapter 5: Expanding Discretionary Time, Quote Page 56, The Free Press: A Division of Macmillan Publishing Company, New York. (Internet Archive; verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1986 May 1, The Boston Globe, On board for unity (continuation title: Women mix business and politics on the Mississippi Queen) by Kay Longcope (Globe Staff), Quote Page 82, Column 2, Boston. Massachusetts. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1987 July 22, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Politicians, Schoolteachers, and Education Officials Air Ideas at Commission Sessions, but Consensus Is a Rare Commodity (Continuation title: Consensus Is a Rare Commodity at Meeting of State Education Leaders) by Carolyn J. Mooney, Start Page 15, Quote Page 17, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington D.C. (Internet Archive; Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1987, So You Have To Give a Speech! by Margaret Ryan, Chapter 5: Preparing a Draft, Quote Page 60, Franklin Watts, New York. (Internet Archive; Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 2000, Random House Webster’s Wit & Humor Quotationary, Edited by Leonard Roy Frank, Person: Gypsy Rose Lee, Quote Page 153, Random House, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎