--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hurry ruins saints as well as artists…" description: "\"Hurry ruins saints as well as artists. They want quick success, and they are in such a hurry to get it that they cannot take time to be true to themsel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/thomas-merton-231_arguing_hurry-ruins-saints-as-well-as-artists-th_3138262.jpg" --- # Hurry ruins saints as well as artists. They want quick… ![“Hurry ruins saints as well as artists. They want quick success, and they are in such a hurry to get it that they cannot take time to be true to themselves. And when the madness is upon them, they argue that their very haste is a species of integrity.” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/thomas-merton-231_arguing_hurry-ruins-saints-as-well-as-artists-th_3138262.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/thomas-merton-231_arguing_hurry-ruins-saints-as-well-as-artists-th_3138262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/thomas-merton-231_arguing_hurry-ruins-saints-as-well-as-artists-th_3138262.jpg) > “Hurry ruins saints as well as artists. They want quick success, and they are in such a hurry to get it that they cannot take time to be true to themselves. And when the madness is upon them, they argue that their very haste is a species of integrity.” [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage warns that rushing for success leads both saints and artists to lose authenticity, mistaking haste for integrity. **In simple terms:** Hurry destroys true self‑expression. Key Takeaway Embrace patience over speed. Themes spirituality creativity authenticity integrity Mood contemplative inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - artistic development - spiritual practice Key Concepts rush culture self‑identity ethical paradox Questions to Reflect On - How does speed affect your creative process? - What practices help you stay true to yourself under pressure? A Different Perspective It may ignore contexts where rapid action is necessary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argue Haste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argue-haste-5580784/) [Arguing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arguing/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Being true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/) [Haste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haste/) [Hurry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurry/) [Hurry Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurry-ruins-2230160/) [Hurry Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurry-time-630187/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) [Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saint/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Take time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/take-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [Hurry ruins saints as well as artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/hurry-ruins-saints-as-well-as-artists/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Hurry? I have no time to hurry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/hurry-i-have-no-time-to-hurry/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [When you expect the world to end at any moment, you know there is no need to hurry. You take your time, you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-you-expect-the-world-to-end-at-any-moment-you-know-there-is-no/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I have the feeling that we are in such a hurry that we do not have time to look at one another and smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/i-have-the-feeling-that-we-are-in-such-a-hurry-that-we-do-not-have/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [God is never in a hurry, but he is always on time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/god-is-never-in-a-hurry-but-he-is-always-on-time/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [“Never hurry, time is worth billion dollars. Pay respect to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aabid-ahmed/never-hurry-time-is-worth-billion-dollars-pay-respect-to-it/) [Aabid Ahmed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aabid-ahmed/) > [“But I want it done now, " said Miss Ophelia. What's your hurry?" Because now is the only time there ever is to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/but-i-want-it-done-now-said-miss-ophelia-what-s-your-hurry-because/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [“HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/hurry-up-please-it-s-time-hurry-up-please-it-s-time/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [No hurry. Take all the time you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/no-hurry-take-all-the-time-you-have/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [What's your hurry?" Because now is the only time there ever is to do a thing in," said Miss Ophelia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/what-s-your-hurry-because-now-is-the-only-time-there-ever-is-to-do-a/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [Hurry up, please, its time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/hurry-up-please-its-time/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [There is no hurry. Time means nothing to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-no-hurry-time-means-nothing-to-you/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/though-i-am-always-in-haste-i-am-never-in-a-hurry/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [Hurry up and learn patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-smith/hurry-up-and-learn-patience/) [Wes Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-smith/) > [If you must be in a hurry, then let it be according to the old adage, and hasten slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/if-you-must-be-in-a-hurry-then-let-it-be-according-to-the-old-adage/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) ## More by Thomas Merton > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of true humility and its power in the spiritual life. For the beginning of humility is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-almost-impossible-to-overestimate-the-value-of-true-humility/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [We are not perfectly free until we live in pure hope. For when our hope is pure, it no longer trusts exclusively in human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-are-not-perfectly-free-until-we-live-in-pure-hope-for-when-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The desire to kill is like the desire to attack another with an ingot of red -hot iron: I have to pick up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-desire-to-kill-is-like-the-desire-to-attack-another-with-an-ingot/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [To enter into the realm of contemplation one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-enter-into-the-realm-of-contemplation-one-must-in-a-certain-sense/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The mission of Christian humility in social life is not merely to edify, but to keep minds open to many alternatives. The rigidity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-mission-of-christian-humility-in-social-life-is-not-merely-to/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/peace-cannot-be-built-on-exclusivism-absolutism-and-intolerance-but/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one-is-responding-to-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Love winter when the plant says nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-winter-when-the-plant-says-nothing/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and applause of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-logic-of-worldly-success-rests-on-a-fallacy-the-strange-error/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“The wisdom of the flesh is a judgement that the ordinary ends of our natural appetites are the goods to which the whole of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-wisdom-of-the-flesh-is-a-judgement-that-the-ordinary-ends-of-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I will no longer wound myself with the thoughts and questions that have surrounded me like thorns: that is a penance You do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-will-no-longer-wound-myself-with-the-thoughts-and-questions-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If you write for God you will reach many men and bring them joy. If you write for men--you may make some money and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-write-for-god-you-will-reach-many-men-and-bring-them-joy-if/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Contemplation means rest, suspension of activity, withdrawal into the mysterious interior solitude in which the soul is absorbed in the immense and fruitful silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/contemplation-means-rest-suspension-of-activity-withdrawal-into-the/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) [Explore all 851 Thomas Merton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## More Arguing quotes > [I do wish you wouldn't argue with me when I'm knitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-durrell/i-do-wish-you-wouldn-t-argue-with-me-when-i-m-knitting/) [Gerald Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-durrell/) > [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you disagree with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/it-s-fine-to-talk-about-politics-with-people-you-agree-with-but-it-is/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [When Eudæmonidas heard a philosopher arguing that only a wise man can be a good general, "This is a wonderful speech," said he; "but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/when-eud-monidas-heard-a-philosopher-arguing-that-only-a-wise-man-can/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Fasting is required, staying away from fighting and arguing and bombing of masjids is still going on. Hatred is still manifested between Sunni and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/fasting-is-required-staying-away-from-fighting-and-arguing-and/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [The problem for the Left, however, is that the moment it stops painting the Right as vile, it has to argue the issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/the-problem-for-the-left-however-is-that-the-moment-it-stops-painting/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-argue-with-a-person-who-has-renounced-the-use-of-reason-is-like/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [You can argue that the Terminator movies reboot their world each time they go back in time, but that doesn't negate the value of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hayter/you-can-argue-that-the-terminator-movies-reboot-their-world-each-time/) [David Hayter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hayter/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I'm a very serious person, but I don't take myself very seriously and I would rather laugh all day than argue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/i-m-a-very-serious-person-but-i-don-t-take-myself-very-seriously-and/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) > [These eyes, tho' clear To outward view of blemish or of spot, Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot, Nor to their idle orbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/these-eyes-tho-clear-to-outward-view-of-blemish-or-of-spot-bereft-of/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [There's crucial distinction that has to be drawn between the Shari'a, which is this hugely expansive vision of cosmic order that I've been describing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/there-s-crucial-distinction-that-has-to-be-drawn-between-the-shari-a/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [Only fools argue whether to eat meat or not. They don't understand truth nor do they meditate on it. Who can define what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/only-fools-argue-whether-to-eat-meat-or-not-they-don-t-understand/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [The surest sign that you haven't any sense is to argue with one who hasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/the-surest-sign-that-you-haven-t-any-sense-is-to-argue-with-one-who/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) [Browse all 1,908 Arguing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arguing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hurry ruins saints as well as artists. They want quick success, and they are in such a hurry to get it that they cannot take time to be true to themselves. 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