“One could never chase a fly by acting suddenly without sagacity.”
Rushing into action the instant a goal appears in sight is recklessness, not resolve — real success needs cunning, not haste.
— Traditional Benin Wisdom, Benin
Source: Traditional Fon proverb (Benin), in Biao & Atidegla (eds.), "Proverbes du Bénin / Benin Proverbs," Globethics.net Praxis Series No. 3, 2015 (distinct from the African Manners Fon collection used in entries 21-23/31-35)
More Proverbs from Benin
Silence is an attribute of the dead; he who is alive speaks.
Living, engaged people communicate; withdrawing into silence is a kind of death.
Anyone who sees beauty and does not look at it will soon be poor.
Failing to notice and appreciate the good things in life leads to a poorer existence.
Work is the medicine for poverty.
Labor and effort are the true remedy for hardship and want.
The world is a journey; the afterworld is home.
Earthly life is temporary travel, while the true, lasting home lies beyond it.
A great affair covers up a small matter.
A major issue easily overshadows and hides a lesser one.
Anyone who plants a tree before they die has not lived in vain.
Leaving something lasting behind gives a life meaning and purpose.