Urn holder of Publius Nonius Zethus 01 - Vatican museum

The proverbial expression of the ''mills of God grinding slowly'' refers to the notion of slow but certain divine retribution.

Ancient Greek usage

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

(1st century CE) alludes to the metaphor as a then-current adage in his ''

Moralia The ''Moralia'' ( grc, Ἠθικά ''Ethika''; loosely translated as "Morals" or "Matters relating to customs and mores") is a group of manuscripts dating from the 10th–13th centuries, traditionally ascribed to the 1st-century Greek scholar Pl ...

'' (''De sera numinis vindicta'' "On the Delay of Divine Vengeance"): :"Thus, I do not see what use there is in those mills of the gods said to grind so late as to render punishment hard to be recognized, and to make wickedness fearless." Plutarch no doubt here makes reference to a hexameter by an unknown poet, cited by sceptic philosopher

Sextus Empiricus Sextus Empiricus ( grc-gre, Σέξτος Ἐμπειρικός, ; ) was a Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher and Empiric school physician. His philosophical works are the most complete surviving account of ancient Greek and Roman Pyrrhonism, and bec ...

(2nd century) in his ''Adversus Grammaticos'' as a popular adage: : :"The millstones of the gods grind late, but they grind fine." The same expression was invoked by

Celsus Celsus (; grc-x-hellen, Κέλσος, ''Kélsos''; ) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. His literary work, ''The True Word'' (also ''Account'', ''Doctrine'' or ''Discourse''; Greek: grc-x-hellen, Λόγ� ...

in his (lost) '' True Discourse''. Defending the concept of ancestral fault, Celsus reportedly quoted "a priest of Apollo or of Zeus": : :'The mills of the gods grind slowly', he says, even 'To children's children, and to those who are born after them.' The Sibylline Oracles (c. 175) have ''Sed mola postremo pinset divina farinam'' ("but the divine mill will at last grind the flour").

In 16th and 17th century Europe

The proverb was in frequent use in the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

, often in the Latin translation ''Sero molunt deorum molae'' due to

Erasmus of Rotterdam Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...

(''

Adagia ''Adagia'' (singular ''adagium'') is the title of an annotated collection of Greek and Latin proverbs, compiled during the Renaissance by Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus. Erasmus' collection of proverbs is "one of the most monume ...

'', 1500), but also in German translation. The expression was anthologised in English translation by

George Herbert George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devoti ...

in his collection of proverbs entitled ''Jacula Prudentum'' (1652), as "God's mill grinds slow but sure" (no. 743). German epigrammatist

Friedrich von Logau Friedrich von Logau (January 1605 – 24 July 1655) was a German poet and epigrammatist of the Baroque era. Life He was born the son of Georg von Logau, estate owner in Brockut near Nimptsch in Silesia (present-day Niemcza, Poland). His fathe ...

, in his ''Sinngedichte'' (c. 1654), composed an extended variant of the saying under the title "Göttliche Rache" (divine retribution), :' translated into English by

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...

("Retribution", ''Poetic Aphorisms'', 1846): :''Though the mills of God grind slowly; Yet they grind exceeding small;'' :''Though with patience He stands waiting, With exactness grinds He all.''

Modern usage

Arthur Conan Doyle alluded to the proverb in his very first Sherlock Holmes adventure, ''

A Study in Scarlet ''A Study in Scarlet'' is an 1887 detective novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become the most famous detective duo in literature. The book's title der ...

''. The allusion is found in the fourth chapter of the second part, in a scene in which the character John Ferrier is confronted by two of the Mormon characters: :. . . Both of them nodded to Ferrier as he entered, and the one in the rocking-chair commenced the conversation. :“Maybe you don’t know us,” he said. “This here is the son of Elder Drebber, and I’m Joseph Stangerson, who travelled with you in the desert when the Lord stretched out His hand and gathered you into the true fold.” :“As He will all the nations in His own good time,” said the other in a nasal voice; “''He grindeth slowly but exceeding small.''” John Ferrier bowed coldly. He had guessed who his visitors were. . . . Arthur Conan Doyle, ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1886) (emphasis added). The proverb was used by Agatha Christie in her novel ''

Hercule Poirot's Christmas ''Hercule Poirot's Christmas'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 19 December 1938 (although the first edition is copyright dated 1939). It retailed at seve ...

'', as a person quoted it when they saw the corpse of a man who had lived an evil life. It was also referred to by

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

in the novel ''

The Moon and Sixpence ''The Moon and Sixpence'' is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, first published on 15 April 1919. It is told in episodic form by a first-person narrator providing a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Stric ...

'' wherein it is used, somewhat piously, by a family member to imply a certain justice in the demise of the central character Charles Strickland, During the Second World War, both

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

and Franklin Roosevelt quoted Longfellow when promising retribution for the extermination of the Jews.

Ancient Greek usage

In 16th and 17th century Europe

Modern usage

References

Further reading

See also