WIST Quotations

Shakespeare, William -- Macbeth, Act 1, sc. 7, l. 1ff (1.7.1-2) (1606)

Dave — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 14:09:27 +0000

MACBETH: If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well
It were done quickly.

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English dramatist and poet
Macbeth, Act 1, sc. 7, l. 1ff (1.7.1-2) (1606)

Chesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son, #190 (20 Aug 1749)

Dave — Thu, 01 May 2014 12:35:00 +0000

Whoever is in a hurry shows that the thing he is about is too big for him.

Lord Chesterfield (1694–1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #190 (20 Aug 1749)

Keough, Hugh E. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

It may be that the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong — but that’s the way to bet.

Hugh E. Keough (1864–1912) Canadian-American sports journalist
(Attributed)

Variants:

"The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; but the betting is best that way."
"To be sure the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; but it is ninety-nine times in a hundred."

Also attributed to Damon Runyon, Franklin Pierce Adams, Grantland Rice, and Burns Mantle, all of of whom in turn credited Keough. The saying itself, a take-off on Ecclesiastes 9:11, has a number of antecedents: see here for more background.