
- . . . adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience. [Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Education“]
- Every man must patiently bide his time. He must wait — not in listless idleness but in constant, steady, cheerful endeavors, always willing and fulfilling and accomplishing his task, that when the occasion comes he may be equal to the occasion. [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Hyperion, Book I, Chapter VIII]
- Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them — every day begin the task anew. [St. Francis de Sales]
- How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees? [William Shakespeare, “Othello,” Act II, Scene III]
- I have little patience with scientists who take a board of wood, look for its thinnest part, and drill a great number of holes where drilling is easy. [Albert Einstein]
- Let me look upward into the branches of the flowering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. [Wilferd A. Peterson]
- Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily. [Johann Friedrich von Schiller]
- Patience is power; with time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown. [Chinese proverb]
- Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow — that is patience. [source unknown]
- Patience is passion tamed. [Lyman Abbott]
- The principle part of faith is patience. [George MacDonald]
- The patient man shows much good sense, but the quick-tempered man displays folly at its height. [The Bible, Proverbs 14:29]
Patience is humility in the dimension of time.
Real
True Narratives
Visual representations:
Technical and Analytical Readings
- The Dalai Lama, Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective (Snow Lion Publications, 1997).
- M.J. Ryan, The Power of Patience: How to Slow the Rush, and Enjoy More Happiness, Success, and Peace of Mind Every Day (Crown Archetype, 2003).
- Paul Roberts, The Impulse Society: America in the Age of Instant Gratification (Bloomsbury, 2014): “Paul Roberts thinks a society that wants it now is untenable, and he has written a prophecy to tell us why.”
Imaginary
Visual Arts
- Balthus, Patience (1955)
- Georges Braque, La Patience (The Patience) (1942)
Music: songs and other short pieces
- The Supremes, You Can't Hurry Love
- Nawang Khechog, The Power of Morality and Patience
Film and Stage
- Sense and Sensibility: if we can accept the premise of Victorian sensibilities about pre-marital commitment [they had mastered (perpetually?) delayed gratification], this story contains a tear-jerking vision of patience, a feminine version of the denouement in Brahms’ Symphony No. 1.
- The Patience Stone: a Afghani woman tends in virtual solitude to her wounded and comatose husband
- Whisky Galore! (Tight Little Island), a droll treatment of delayed gratification
Music: Composers, artists, and major works
Compositions:
Albums:
- Megumi Yonezawa, Masa Kamaguchi, Ken Kobayashi, “Boundary”: “Throughout the recording, the group operates with exquisite patience, pushing the music forward with tender consideration, primarily driven by Yonezawa’s unsentimental lyricism and effective use of space . . .” [Peter Margasak, Downbeat magazine, June 2018 issue, p. 64.]