Where does “善は急げ” come from?

善は急げ (Japanese) comes from Japanese は, from Old Japanese は.

善は急げ (Japanese): make hay while the sun shines, strike while the iron is hot, act on an opportunity promptly

Definitions

  1. make hay while the sun shines, strike while the iron is hot, act on an opportunity promptly

Ancestry of “善は急げ”, step by step

善は急げ traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese は

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseはwhat about, where is; Inserted between two verbs...
2Old Japaneseは—

via Japanese 善

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese善good
2Middle Chinese善—
Every word from Old Japanese は →Every word from Japanese は →