--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Evil deeds do not prosper; the slow man…" description: "\"Evil deeds do not prosper; the slow man catches up with the swift.\" — Homer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/homer-357_deeds_evil-deeds-do-not-prosper-the-slow-man-c_2536717.png" --- # Evil deeds do not prosper; the slow man catches up with… ![“Evil deeds do not prosper; the slow man catches up with the swift.” quote by Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/homer-357_deeds_evil-deeds-do-not-prosper-the-slow-man-c_2536717.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/homer-357_deeds_evil-deeds-do-not-prosper-the-slow-man-c_2536717.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/homer-357_deeds_evil-deeds-do-not-prosper-the-slow-man-c_2536717.png) > “Evil deeds do not prosper; the slow man catches up with the swift.” [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Evil acts fail; the patient eventually overtakes the swift. **In simple terms:** Patience beats rashness. Key Takeaway Practice patience, avoid hasty wrongdoing. Themes justice patience karma Mood reflective serious Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - conflict resolution - career advancement - personal growth - legal disputes - sports competition Key Concepts ethics mythology fate Questions to Reflect On - Will patience always lead to justice? - How to balance patience with decisive action? A Different Perspective Patience may be seen as passivity in urgent crises. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Catches Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catches-swift-1395009/) [Deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Prosper Slow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prosper-slow-1395008/) [Slow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow/) [Slow Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow-man-505416/) [Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swift/) ## Related quotes > [For the gods, though slow to see, see well, whenever a man casting aside worship turns folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/for-the-gods-though-slow-to-see-see-well-whenever-a-man-casting-aside/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“Uncle Pumblechook: a large hard-breathing middle-aged slow man, with a mouth like a fish, dull staring eyes, and sandy hair standing upright on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/uncle-pumblechook-a-large-hard-breathing-middle-aged-slow-man-with-a/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [However old-fashioned and right-wing this may sound, the American genius for language lies in understatement, in saying things simply, pointedly and quickly, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/however-old-fashioned-and-right-wing-this-may-sound-the-american/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [There is nothing more dread and more shameless than a woman who plans such deeds in her heart as the foul deed which she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/there-is-nothing-more-dread-and-more-shameless-than-a-woman-who-plans/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [By mutual confidence and mutual aid - great deeds are done, and great discoveries made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/by-mutual-confidence-and-mutual-aid-great-deeds-are-done-and-great/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [The blade itself incites to deeds of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-blade-itself-incites-to-deeds-of-violence/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Be both a speaker of words and a doer of deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/be-both-a-speaker-of-words-and-a-doer-of-deeds/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [I'm like the male Taylor Swift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-simpson/i-m-like-the-male-taylor-swift/) [Cody Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-simpson/) > [Every musician writes about past relationships. And other than that, I can promise you, I have very little in common with Taylor Swift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-odell/every-musician-writes-about-past-relationships-and-other-than-that-i/) [Tom Odell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-odell/) > [My godchildren went to see Taylor Swift in concert and got to meet her. They literally ran toward her and hugged her, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-dockery/my-godchildren-went-to-see-taylor-swift-in-concert-and-got-to-meet/) [Michelle Dockery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-dockery/) > [The bone marrow transplant procedure itself can be dangerous, but it is swift, which makes it feel strangely anti-climactic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/the-bone-marrow-transplant-procedure-itself-can-be-dangerous-but-it/) [Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/) > [As the First World War made painfully clear, when politicians and generals lead nations into war, they almost invariably assume swift victory, and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-hochschild/as-the-first-world-war-made-painfully-clear-when-politicians-and/) [Adam Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-hochschild/) > [“One too like thee: tameles, and Swift, and proud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/one-too-like-thee-tameles-and-swift-and-proud/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“Those swift to think are not always secure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-swift-to-think-are-not-always-secure/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Pop is everything from Kanye West to Taylor Swift, it's all pop to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/pop-is-everything-from-kanye-west-to-taylor-swift-it-s-all-pop-to-me/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) ## More by Homer > [He knew the things that were and the things that would be and the things that had been before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/he-knew-the-things-that-were-and-the-things-that-would-be-and-the/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Few sons are like their fathers--most are worse, few better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/few-sons-are-like-their-fathers-most-are-worse-few-better/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/sing-in-me-muse-and-through-me-tell-the-story-of-that-man-skilled-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Hateful to me as are the gates of hell, Is he who, hiding one thing in his heart, Utters another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/hateful-to-me-as-are-the-gates-of-hell-is-he-who-hiding-one-thing-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“And Zeus said: “Hera, you can choose some other time for paying your visit to Oceanus — for the present let us devote ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/and-zeus-said-hera-you-can-choose-some-other-time-for-paying-your/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all, that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers, never touching the earth, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ruin-eldest-daughter-of-zeus-she-blinds-us-all-that-fatal-madness-she/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Scepticism is as much the result of knowledge, as knowledge is of scepticism. To be content with what we at present know, is, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/scepticism-is-as-much-the-result-of-knowledge-as-knowledge-is-of/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Boy, everyone is stupid except me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/boy-everyone-is-stupid-except-me/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“With that the dream departed, leaving him there, his heart racing with hopes that would not come to pass. He thought he would take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/with-that-the-dream-departed-leaving-him-there-his-heart-racing-with/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/tell-me-o-muse-of-that-ingenious-hero-who-travelled-far-and-wide/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Ah, beer, my one weakness. My Achille's heel, if you will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ah-beer-my-one-weakness-my-achille-s-heel-if-you-will/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [My life is more to me than all the wealth of Ilius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/my-life-is-more-to-me-than-all-the-wealth-of-ilius/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Being popular is the most important thing in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/being-popular-is-the-most-important-thing-in-the-world/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Urge him with truth to frame his fair replies And sure he will for Wisdom never lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/urge-him-with-truth-to-frame-his-fair-replies-and-sure-he-will-for/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) [Explore all 639 Homer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## More Deeds quotes > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When Allah puts barakah (His blessings) in something, it will come beyond your expectations- never underestimate the power of one good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-allah-puts-barakah-his-blessings-in-something-it-will-come/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [Time often serves to justify a deed which seems at first unjustifiable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-p-ryan/time-often-serves-to-justify-a-deed-which-seems-at-first-unjustifiable/) [Donald P. Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-p-ryan/) > [When deeds speak, words are nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/when-deeds-speak-words-are-nothing/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Somehow, what's in our hearts, good or bad is eventually translated into words and deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/somehow-what-s-in-our-hearts-good-or-bad-is-eventually-translated/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [Honest people don't hide their deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/honest-people-don-t-hide-their-deeds/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [Mechanical instruments, potentially a vehicle of rational human purposes, are scarcely a blessing when they enable the gossip of the village idiot and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/mechanical-instruments-potentially-a-vehicle-of-rational-human/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [Tis e'er the wont of simple folk to prize the deed and o'erlook the motive, and of learned folk to discount the deed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/tis-e-er-the-wont-of-simple-folk-to-prize-the-deed-and-o-erlook-the/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds makes ill deeds done!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/how-oft-the-sight-of-means-to-do-ill-deeds-makes-ill-deeds-done/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A nation of character is filled with citizens who gradually build lives based on the living awareness that their deeds are judged by eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/a-nation-of-character-is-filled-with-citizens-who-gradually-build/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Alas, you don't need monsters for monstrous deeds to be accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/alas-you-don-t-need-monsters-for-monstrous-deeds-to-be-accomplished/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [I rejoice that the reign of Christ is such, while it thrills the soul with emotions, and opens before the highest intellect the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-simpson/i-rejoice-that-the-reign-of-christ-is-such-while-it-thrills-the-soul/) [Matthew Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-simpson/) > [The final estimate of men shows that history cares not an iota for the rank or title a man has borne, or the office…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/the-final-estimate-of-men-shows-that-history-cares-not-an-iota-for/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) > [The World's a Printing-House, our words, our thoughts, Our deeds, are characters of several sizes. Each soul is a Compos'tor, of whose faults The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/the-world-s-a-printing-house-our-words-our-thoughts-our-deeds-are/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) [Browse all 2,029 Deeds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Evil deeds do not prosper; the slow man catches up with the swift.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Homer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/evil-deeds-do-not-prosper-the-slow-man-catches-up-with-the-swift/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Deeds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/evil-deeds-do-not-prosper-the-slow-man-catches-up-with-the-swift/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/homer-357_deeds_evil-deeds-do-not-prosper-the-slow-man-c_2536717.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/homer-357_deeds_evil-deeds-do-not-prosper-the-slow-man-c_2536717.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/homer-357_deeds_evil-deeds-do-not-prosper-the-slow-man-c_2536717.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Evil deeds do not prosper; the slow man catches up with the swift.” — Homer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Homer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Evil deeds do not prosper; the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/evil-deeds-do-not-prosper-the-slow-man-catches-up-with-the-swift/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/evil-deeds-do-not-prosper-the-slow-man-catches-up-with-the-swift/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```