Rien ne sert de courir; il faut partir à point. — Jean de La Fontaine | Printable Wall Art

“Rien ne sert de courir; il faut partir à point.”
“There is no use running; one must leave on time.”

Words by Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695) — French poet and fabulist, author of the Fables.

About this quote

Rushing at the last minute cannot compensate for a lack of preparation or a late start. Success requires steady effort, foresight, and proper timing rather than desperate bursts of speed. Planning ahead and maintaining a calm, consistent pace will always produce better results than panicked exertion when time has already run out.

This moral opens Jean de La Fontaine's 1668 fable, Le Lièvre et la Tortue. Adapted from Aesop, the French verse tradition modernised the story of the steadfast tortoise beating the overly confident hare.

People often hang this print in a hallway or study as a gentle daily reminder to manage time wisely.

What you get

An instant digital download. Choose your design and size at checkout — 19 typographic designs and 8 print sizes are available for this quote.

• Print-ready PDF with fully embedded vector type — sharp at any scale
• Exact trim size, no cropping required
• Print at home, at a local print shop, or upload to an online printer
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Sizes available

5" x 7" · 8" x 10" · 11" x 14" · 12" x 16" · 16" x 20" · 18" x 24" · 24" x 36" · A4 (21 x 29.7 cm)

Designs available

Atelier Serif · Quiet Garamond · Studio Left · Gallery Rule · Midnight Serif · Editorial Left Serif · Modern Sans Calm · Letterpress Caps · Poster Condensed · Script Whisper · Manuscript Italic · Asymmetric Left · Minimal Unsigned · Charcoal Sans · Gallery Frame · Soft Serif Right · Statement Serif · Night Script · Tracked Caps Unsigned

Digital product. Colours may vary slightly between screens and printers. Frames and props are not included.