The United States has very large power in the world today. And the partner of power — the corollary — is responsibility. It is our high task to use our power with a sure hand and a steady touch — with the self-restraint that goes with confident strength. The purpose of our power must never be lost in the fact of our power — and the purpose, I take it, is the promotion of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-08-27), “The Nature of Patriotism,” American Legion Convention, Madison Square Garden, New York City
(Source)
Quotations about:
self-restraint
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
Do not forget you are like the rest of the world, and faulty yourself in a great many instances: that though you may forbear from some errors, it is not for want of inclination, and that nothing but cowardice, vanity, or some such base principle hinders you from sinning.
[καὶ αὐτὸς πολλὰ ἁμαρτάνεις καὶ ἄλλος τοιοῦτος εἷ: καὶ εἴ τινων δὲ ἁμαρτημάτων ἀπέχῃ, ἀλλὰ τήν γε ἕξιν ἐποιστικὴν ἔχεις, εἰ καὶ διὰ δειλίαν ἢ δοξοκοπίαν ἢ τοιοῦτό τι κακὸν ἀπέχῃ τῶν ὁμοίων ἁμαρτημάτων.]
Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 11, ch. 18 (11.18) (AD 161-180) [tr. Collier/Zimmern (1887)]
(Source)
Marcus' 4th point to remember when aggravated by another's actions.
(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:Thou thyself doest transgress in many things, and art even such another as they are. And though perchance thou doest forbear the very act of some sins, yet hast thou in thyself an habitual disposition to them, but that either through fear, or vainglory, or some such other ambitious foolish respect, thou art restrained.
[tr. Casaubon (1634), 11.16]Don't forget you are like the rest of the World, and Faulty your self in a great many Instances; That tho' you may forbear running Riot in some Cases, 'tis not for want of an Inclination: And that nothing but Cowardize, Vanity, or some such scandalous Principle, hinders you from breaking out.
[tr. Collier (1701)]You have many faults of your own, and are much such another. And, that, though you abstain from some such crimes, yet you have a like strong inclination; however from fear, or concern about your character, you abstain from them.
[tr. Hutcheson/Moor (1742)]Reflect that you yourself are guilty of many faults, and are in many respects like those that offend you. And though you abstain from some vicious acts, you have an habitual inclination to commit them, but are restrained by fear, a regard to character, or some other less virtuous motive, from further indulgence in them.
[tr. Graves (1792)]Consider that thou also doest many things wrong, and that thou art a man like others; and even if thou dost abstain from certain faults, still thou hast the disposition to commit them, though either through cowardice, or concern about reputation, or some such mean motive, thou dost abstain from such faults.
[tr. Long (1862)]You are like others, and often do wrong yourself. Even if you abstain from some forms of wrong, all the same you have the bent for wrongdoing, though cowardice or desire for popularity, or some other low motive keeps you from wrong of that kind.
[tr. Rendall (1898)]You yourself do often sin, and are no better than another. And, if you abstain from certain sins, still you have the disposition to commit them, even if through cowardice, fear for your character, or other meanness, you hold back.
[tr. Hutcheson/Chrystal (1902)]Thou too doest many a wrong thing thyself and art much as others are, and if thou dost refrain from certain wrong-doings, yet hast thou a disposition inclinable thereto even supposing that through cowardice or a regard for thy good name or some such base consideration thou dost not actually commit them.
[tr. Haines (Loeb) (1916)]You yourself also often do wrong and are another such as they are, and that, even if you do abstain from some kinds of wrong action, at all events you have at least a proclivity to them, though cowardice or tenderness for your good name or some similar bad motive keeps you from offences like theirs.
[tr. Farquharson (1944)]You yourself offend in various ways, and are no different from them. You may indeed avoid certain faults, yet the inclination is there nevertheless, even if cowardice or a regard for your reputation or some such ignoble motive has restrained you from imitating their misdeeds.
[tr. Staniforth (1964)]You for your own part also commit many wrongs, and are just the same as they are; and that even if you do refrain from certain kinds of wrongdoing, you have at least the inclination to commit such wrongs, even if cowardice, or concern for your reputation, or some other vice of that kind, saves you from actually committing them.
[tr. Hard (1997 ed.)]You've made enough mistakes yourself. You're just like them. Even if there are some you've avoided, you have the potential. Even if cowardice has kept you from them. Or fear of what people would say. Or some equally bad reason.
[tr. Hays (2003)]You yourself have many faults and are no different from them. If you do refrain from some wrongs you still have the proclivity to them, even if your restraint from wrongs like theirs is due to the fear or pursuit of public opinion, or some other such poor motive.
[tr. Hammond (2006)]Remember that you yourself are often mistaken, and so you are just like them; also that, even if you manage to refrain from doing some wrongs, you nevertheless have it in you to do such things, were it not for the fact that fear, thirst for reputation, or some other unworthy motive keeps you from doing what they do.
[tr. Needleman/Piazza (2008)]Consider that you for your own part also commit many wrongs, and are just the same as they are; and that even if you do refrain from certain kinds of wrongdoing, you have at least the inclination to commit such wrongs, even if cowardice, or concern for your reputation, or some other vice of that kind, saves you from actually committing them.
[tr. Hard (2011 ed.)]
CREON: A woman of hot temper — and a man the same —
Is a less dangerous enemy than one quiet and clever.[ΚΡΈΩΝ: Γυνὴ γὰρ ὀξύθυμος, ὡς δ᾽ αὔτως ἀνήρ,
ῥᾴων φυλάσσειν ἢ σιωπηλὸς σοφή.]Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Medea [Μήδεια], l. 319ff (431 BC) [tr. Vellacott (1963)]
(Source)
Expressing his mistrust of how reasonably, if tragically, Medea is presenting herself.
(Source (Greek)). Other translations:For 'gainst those
Of hasty tempers with more ease we guard.
Or men or women, than the silent foe
Who acts with prudence.
[tr. Wodhull (1782)]A woman, or a man, whose fiery spirit
Flames out with anger, puts us on our guard,
More than the prudent calmness that conceals
Its hate in silence.
[tr. Potter (1814)]For a woman passionate, yea and a man,
Is easier warded than a silent plotter.
[tr. Webster (1868)]For cunning woman, and man likewise, is easier to guard against when quick-tempered than when taciturn.
[tr. Coleridge (1891)]For a woman that is quick to anger, and a man likewise, is easier to guard against, than one that is crafty and keeps silence.
[tr. Buckley (1892)]The vehement-hearted woman -- yea, or man --
Is easier watched-for than the silent-cunning.
[tr. Way (Loeb) (1894)]A woman quick of wrath, aye, or a man,
Is easier watching than the cold and still.
[tr. Murray (1906)]A sharp-tempered woman, or, for that matter, a man,
Is easier to deal with than the clever type
Who holds her tongue.
[tr. Warner (1944)]A woman, just like a man, who is quick to wrath
Is easier guarded than one wise and silent.
[tr. Podlecki (1989)]A hot-tempered woman -- and a hot-tempered man likewise -- is easier to guard against than a clever woman who keeps her own counsel.
[tr. Kovacs (1994)]A woman who is hot-tempered, and likewise a man, is easier to guard against than one who is clever and controls her tongue.
[tr. Davie (1996)]You’re too silent now and whilst it is easy to protect oneself from a hot-headed man or woman, it is impossible to do so when the woman is scheming and silent.
[tr. Theodoridis (2004)]For a quick-tempered woman -- the same goes for a man --
is easier to guard against than a silent clever one.
[tr. Luschnig (2007)]Passionate people, women as well as men,
are easier to protect oneself against,
than someone clever who keeps silent.
[tr. Johnston (2008)]It is easier to guard against a hot-headed woman, or a man, than against one who is scheming and silent.
[ed. Taplin (2016)]A woman of sharp temper or indeed a man is easier to guard against than one who's clever and stays silent.
[tr. Ewans (2022)]For a woman with a sharp thūmos, and likewise a man, is easier to guard against than a sophē one who is silent.
[tr. Coleridge / Ceragioli / Nagy / Hour25]
I have often thought if the minds of men were laid open, we should see but little difference between that of the wise man and that of the fool. There are infinite reveries, numberless extravagances, and a perpetual train of vanities which pass through both. The great difference is, that the first knows how to pick and cull his thoughts for conversation, by suppressing some, and communicating others; whereas the other lets them all indifferently fly out in words.
Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Essay (1711-11-17), The Spectator, No. 225
(Source)
NURSE: Terrible is the temperament of royalty,
Who are rarely controlled, always imperious;
It is hard for them to give up their wrath.
To get used to living like everybody else
Is better.[ΤΡΟΦΌΣ: δεινὰ τυράννων λήματα καί πως
ὀλίγ᾽ ἀρχόμενοι, πολλὰ κρατοῦντες
χαλεπῶς ὀργὰς μεταβάλλουσιν.
τὸ γὰρ εἰθίσθαι ζῆν ἐπ᾽ ἴσοισιν
κρεῖσσον.]Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Medea [Μήδεια], l. 119ff (431 BC) [tr. Podlecki (1989)]
(Source)
(Source (Greek)). Other translations:For the souls
Of Kings are prone to cruelty, so seldom
Subdued, and over others wont to rule,
That it is difficult for such to change
Their angry purpose. Happier I esteem
The lot of those who still are wont to live
Among their equals.
[tr. Wodhull (1782)]Kings have a fiery quality of soul,
Accustom'd to command, if once they feel
control, though small, their anger blazes out
Not easily extinguish'd: hence I deem
An equal mediocrity of life
More to be wish'd.
[tr. Potter (1814)]Dread are the humours of princes: as wont
To be ruled in few things and in many to lord,
It is hard to them to turn from their wrath.
But to lead one's life in the level ways
Is best.
[tr. Webster (1868)]Strange are the tempers of princes, and maybe because they seldom have to obey, and mostly lord it over others, change they their moods with difficulty. 'Tis better then to have been trained to live on equal terms.
[tr. Coleridge (1891)]Dreadful are the dispositions of tyrants, and somehow in few things controlled, in most absolute, they with difficulty lay aside their passion. The being accustomed then to live in mediocrity of life is the better.
[tr. Buckley (1892)]Ah princes -- how fearful their moods are! --
Long ruling, unschooled to obey, --
Unforgiving, unsleeping their feuds are.
Better life's level way.
[tr. Way (Loeb) (1894)]Rude are the wills of princes: yea,
Prevailing alway, seldom crossed,
On fitful winds their moods are tossed:
'Tis best men tread the equal way.
[tr. Murray (1906)]Great people’s tempers are terrible, always
Having their own way, seldom checked,
Dangerous they shift from mood to mood.
How much better to have been accustomed
To live on equal terms with one’s neighbors.
[tr. Warner (1944)]Oh, it's a bad thing
To be born of high race, and brought up wilful and powerful in a great house, unruled
And ruling many: for then if misfortune comes it is unendurable, it drives you mad. I say that poor people
Are happier: the little commoners and humble people, the poor in spirit.
[tr. Jeffers (1946)]The mind of a queen
Is a thing to fear. A queen is used
To giving commands, not obeying them;
And her rage once roused is hard to appease.
To have learnt to live on the common level
Is better.
[tr. Vellacott (1963)]The minds of royalty are dangerous: since they often command and seldom obey, they are subject to violent changes of mood. For it is better to be accustomed to live on terms of equality.
[tr. Kovacs (1994)]They have frightening natures, those of royal blood; because, I imagine, they’re seldom overruled and generally have their way, they do not easily forget a grudge. Better to have formed the habit of living on equal terms with your neighbours.
[tr. Davie (1996)]How afraid I am of these royal rages! It’s so hard for such rages to subside.
Kings and queens have always been spoiled by power. They’re not used to taking orders. No, they’d much rather give them!
Kings and Queens only do what they want and forget about everyone else!
Oh, how much better it is to live a balanced life: to be an equal among equals.
[tr. Theodoridis (2004)]Tyrants’ tempers are insufferable:
they are seldom under control, their power is far-reaching.
It is hard for them to swallow their rages.
To get used to living on terms of equality
is better.
[tr. Luschnig (2007)]The pride of rulers is something to fear --
they often order men, but seldom listen,
and when their tempers change it’s hard to bear.
It’s better to get used to living life
as an equal common person.
[tr. Johnston (2008)]The temperaments of royalty are fearsome;
because they're almost unrestrained
and are so powerful, it is rare
for them to overcome their rage.
To be accustomed to live in equality
is best.
[tr. Ewans (2022)]Terrible / wonderful [deina] are the tempers of turannoi; maybe because they seldom have to obey, and mostly lord it over others, they change their moods with difficulty. It is better then to have been trained to live in equality.
[tr. Coleridge / Ceragioli / Nagy / Hour25]
Almost all of us want to be richer than we are, even if we are very rich indeed. To be sure, there are exceptions; saints, ascetics, those who travel light and will not add even the weight of a wallet, a few whose material ambitions are fully satisfied and who therefore truly want nothing further. But the rest of us want more than we have, and the specially thoughtful sometimes wonder whether there could ever come a time when we didn’t.
The crucial question, though, leaving out of consideration the exempted categories, is: what are we willing to do to increase our wealth?Bernard Levin (1928-2004) British journalist, critic, broadcaster, satirist
Essay (1989-03-23), “Do You Seriously Want to Be Swindled?” The Times, London
Collected in Now Read On (1980).
The best of our fiction is by novelists who allow that it is as good as they can give, and the worst by novelists who maintain that they could do much better if only the public would let them.
J. M. Barrie (1860-1937) Scottish novelist and dramatist [James Matthew Barrie]
Essay (1891-03), “Mr. Kipling’s Stories,” Contemporary Review, Vol. 59
(Source)
My dreams are more amorous than my actions have ever been.
Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], 1805 entry [tr. Auster (1983)]
(Source)
I could not find an analog in other translations of the Pensées.
Patience will tire out ennything but musketoes.
[Patience will tire out anything but mosquitoes.]
Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, ch. 156 “Affurisms: Embers on the Harth” (1874)
(Source)
Self-restraint, self-mastery, common sense, the power of accepting individual responsibility and yet of acting in conjunction with others, courage and resolution — these are the qualities which mark a masterful people. Without them no people can control itself, or save itself from being controlled from the outside.
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris
(Source)
The true source of our sufferings, has been our timidity.
John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Essay (1765-09-30), “A Dissertation on the Canon and the Feudal Law,” No. 3, Boston Gazette
(Source)
PATIENCE, n. A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue.
Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Patience,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)
(Source)
Originally published in the "Cynic's Word Book" column in the New York American (1904-12-26), and the "Cynic's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Examiner (1905-01-03).
JEFF: You’re not ready for the Giggle Loop. […] Basically, it’s like a feedback loop. You’re somewhere quiet. There’s people. It’s a — it’s a solemn occasion. A wedding. No — it’s a minute’s silence for someone who’s died. […] Minute’s silence ticking away. Tick. Tick. Tick. The Giggle Loop begins. Suddenly, out of nowhere, this thought comes into your head: the worst thing I could possibly do during a minute’s silence is laugh. (Overturns an empty beer glass) And as soon as you think that, you almost do laugh, automatic reaction. But you don’t, you control yourself. You’re fine. Whoo — but then you think how terrible it would have been if you’d laughed out loud in the middle of a minute’s silence. And so you nearly do it again, only this time it’s a bigger laugh. (Stacks a beer glass on top of the first one) And then you think how awful this bigger laugh would have been. And so you nearly laugh again, only this time it’s a very big laugh. (Stacks another glass) It’s an enormous laugh! Let this bastard out, and you get whiplash! (Stacks another glass) Suddenly, you’re in the middle of this completely silent room (Stacks another glass) and your shoulders are going like you’re drilling the road! And what do you think of this situation? Oh, dear Christ, you think it’s funny!
Do not do that which you would not have known.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1736 ed.)
(Source)
The wise man preserves a smooth-tempered self-control.
[πρὸς σοφοῦ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς ἀσκεῖν σώφρον᾽ εὐοργησίαν.]
Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Bacchæ [Βάκχαι], l. 641ff [Dionysus/Διόνυσος] (405 BC) [tr. Vellacott (1973)]
(Source)
An ironic statement from Dionysus, of how he will keep his calm and temper in the face of Pentheus' disrespectful fury. In very short order, Dionysus is (calmly) setting up Pentheus' self-destruction through the Bacchantes' frenzy.
(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:For it behoves the wise
To curb the sallies of outrageous ire.
[tr. Wodhull (1809)]For it is the part of a wise man to practice restrained good temper.
[tr. Buckley (1850)]’Tis easy to a wise man To practise self-command.
[tr. Milman (1865)]For a wise man ever knoweth how to keep his passion down.
[tr. Rogers (1872)]For ’tis a wise man’s way to school his temper into due control.
[tr. Coleridge (1891)]For it is the wise man's part to rein his wrath in soberness.
[tr. Way (1898)]For still are the ways of Wisdom, and her temper trembleth not!
[tr. Murray (1902)]Wise men know constraint: our passions are controlled.
[tr. Arrowsmith (1960)]For it is the quality of a wise man to exercise restrained good temper.
[tr. Kirk (1970)]The secret of life is
Balance, tolerance.
[tr. Soyinka (1973)]A wise man should practice pure thought and good temper.
[tr. Neuburg (1988)]A wise man knows restraint. His strength is his detachment.
[tr. Cacoyannis (1982)]For the wise know gentleness is wisdom.
[tr. Blessington (1993)]For it is the part of a wise man to employ a controlled and gentle temper.
[tr. Esposito (1998)]A wise man trains his temper to be good and calm.
[tr. Woodruff (1999)]Because a man
Who is wise has self-control and gentleness of temper.
[tr. Gibbons/Segal (2000)]It is a wise man's part to practice gentleness and self-control.
[tr. Kovacs (2002)]He who would be wise will keep his self-control.
[tr. Teevan (2002)]That is how wise people work, calmly.
[tr. Theodoridis (2005)]A wise man is able to hold his good-nature well tempered.
[tr. Valerie (2005)]After all, a wise man ought to keep his temper.
[tr. Johnston (2008)]He should learn from me the ways of self-control.
[tr. Robertson (2014)]Keep calm and carry on, as the wisest say.
[tr. Pauly (2019)]The wise man has a reasonable temper.
[tr. Behr/Foster (2019)]A sophos man must practice good temper that is moderate [sōphrōn].
[tr. Buckley/Sens/Nagy (2020)]
Etiquette is about all of human social behavior. Behavior is regulated by law when etiquette breaks down or when the stakes are high — violations of life, limb, property, and so on. Barring that, etiquette is a little social contract we make that we well restrain some of our more provocative impulses in return for living more or less harmoniously in a community.
Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
“Polite Company,” interview by Hara Estroff Marano, Psychology Today (1998-03)
(Source)
If all Printers were determin’d not to print any thing till they were sure it would offend no body, there would be very little printed.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
“Apology for Printers,” Philadelphia Gazette (1731-06-10)
(Source)
A psychologist once said that we know little about the conscience except that it is soluble in alcohol.
Thomas Blackburn (1916-1977) British poet.
“The Contemporary Dream,” The London Review (Jan 1959)
(Source)
Sometimes misattributed to John Mortimer.
The tongue is a wild beast; once let loose it is difficult to chain.
[Es fiera la lengua, que si una vez se suelta, es muy dificultosa de poderse volver a encadenar.]
Baltasar Gracián y Morales (1601-1658) Spanish Jesuit priest, writer, philosopher
The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 222 (1647) [tr. Jacobs (1892)]
(Source)
(Source (Spanish)). Alternate translations:
The Tongue is a wild Beast, very hard to be chained again, when once it is let loose. [Flesher ed. (1685)]The tongue is a beast, which once at large, is hard to recapture and to chain.
[tr. Fischer (1937)]The tongue is a wild animal, and once it breaks loose, it is hard to return to its cage.
[tr. Maurer (1992)]
The whole country wants civility. Why don’t we have it? It doesn’t cost anything. No federal funding, no legislation is involved. One answer is the unwillingness to restrain oneself. Everybody wants other people to be polite to them, but they want the freedom of not having to be polite to others.
Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
In “Polite Company,” interview by Hara Estroff Marano, Psychology Today (1998-03)
(Source)
It is in vain to Say that Democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious or less avaricious than Aristocracy or Monarchy. It is not true in Fact and no where appears in history. Those Passions are the same in all Men under all forms of Simple Government, and when unchecked, produce the same Effects of Fraud Violence and Cruelty. When clear Prospects are opened before Vanity, Pride, Avarice or Ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate Phylosophers and the most conscientious Moralists to resist the temptation. Individuals have conquered themselves, Nations and large Bodies of Men, never.
John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1814-12-17) to John Taylor
(Source)
The question I get asked by religious people all the time is, without God, what’s to stop me from raping all I want? And my answer is: I do rape all I want. And the amount I want is zero. And I do murder all I want, and the amount I want is zero. The fact that these people think that if they didn’t have this person watching over them that they would go on killing, raping rampages is the most self-damning thing I can imagine. I don’t want to do that. Right now, without any god, I don’t want to jump across this table and strangle you. I have no desire to strangle you. I have no desire to flip you over and rape you.
Penn Jillette (b. 1955) American stage magician, actor, musician, author
“Penn Jillette Rapes All the Women He Wants To,” Interview by Ron Bennington,Interrobang (30 Apr 2012)
(Source)
I must learn to love the fool in me, the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity, but for my fool.
Theodore Isaac Rubin (1923-2019) American psychiatrist and author
Love Me, Love My Fool (1976)
Sometimes quoted in the second person.
The belief that all higher life is governed by the idea of renunciation poisons our moral life by engendering vanity and egotism. But if we take gratification as our ideal we thereby impose on ourselves a program of self-restraint; for if we claim that we are under the necessity of learning all that we can about reality, and that we learn most through pleasure, we must also admit that we are under the necessity of hearing what our fellow-creatures learn about it and of working out a system by which we will curb our pleasures so that they do not interfere with those of others. If, however, we claim that it is by renunciation that we achieve wisdom, we have no logical reason for feeling any disapproval of conditions that thrust pain and deprivation on others.
Rebecca West (1892-1983) British author, journalist, literary critic, travel writer [pseud. for Cicily Isabel Fairfield]
“Pleasure Be Your Guide,” The Nation, “Living Philosophies” series #10 (25 Feb 1939)
(Source)
Adapted into Clifton Fadiman, I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Certain Eminent Men and Women of Our Time (1952).
Further, a little self-control at the right moment may prevent much subsequent compulsion at the hands of others.
[Daß jedoch ein kleiner, an der rechten Stelle angebrachter Selbstzwang nachmals vielem Zwange von außen vorbeugt.]
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) German philosopher
Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 1, “Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life [Aphorismen zur Lebensweisheit],” ch. 5 “Counsels and Maxims [Paränesen und Maximen],” § 2.15 (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890)]
(Source)
Source (German). Alternate translation:Nevertheless, a little self-restraint applied at the right place afterwards prevents much restraint from without.
[tr. Payne (1974), 2.15]
Let this be one invariable rule of your conduct — Never to show the least symptom of resentment which you cannot to a certain degree gratify, but always to smile, where you cannot strike.
Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #312 (26 Mar 1754)
It is easier to suppress the first Desire than to satisfy all that follow it.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard’s Almanack (1751)
(Source)
Included in his summary piece, "The Way to Wealth" (1757).
Believe not all thou hearest, nor speak all thou believest.
Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 1, # 323 (1725)
(Source)
Anger’s a short frenzy, curb thy Soul,
And check thy rage, which must be rul’d or rule:
Use all thy Art, with all thy force restrain,
And take the strongest Bit, and firmest Rein.[Ira furor brevis est: animum rege; qui nisi paret
imperat; hunc frenis, hunc tu compesce catena.]Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 1, ep. 2 “To Lollius,” l. 62ff (1.2.62) (20 BC) [tr. Creech (1684)]
(Source)
(Source (Latin)). Other translations:Ire is shorte wrathe, rule thow thy moode, if it do not obey,
It rules forthwith, it thou with bitte, it thou with chaine must stay.
[tr. Drant (1567)]Anger id a short madness: Rule thy mind:
Which reigns, if it obeys not: [...]
With chaines, restrain it with an Iron bit.
[tr. Fanshawe; ed. Brome (1666)]Anger's a shorter phrensie. Passion reigns
If't be n't enslav'd, but curb it in with chains.
[tr. "Dr. W."; ed. Brome (1666)]Anger's a shorter madness of the mind;
Subdue the tyrant, and in fetters bind.
[tr. Francis (1747)]'Tis a short madness: calm the rising fit;
Curb it betimes, and tame it to your bit.
[tr. Howes (1845)]Rage is a short madness. Rule your passion, which commands, if it do not obey; do you restrain it with a bridle, and with fetters.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]Wrath is a short-lived madness: curb and bit
Your mind: 'twill rule you, if you rule not it.
[tr. Conington (1874)]Anger is but a short-lived frenzy-fit.
Your passion then with rein and bit subdue;
If you don't master it, 'twill master you.
[tr. Martin (1881)]Anger is a passing madness. Be master of your passions which, unless they obey you, command yuou. Control them by rein and cub.
[tr. Elgood (1893)]Anger is short-lived madness. Rule your passion, for unless it obeys, it gives commands. Check it with bridle -- check it, I pray you, with chains.
[tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]Rule your desires:
If they don't obey, they'll command. Bridle them. Chain them!
[tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]Anger, no matter how brief, is madness. Rule your passions
or they'll rule you; manage them with reins or with a leash.
[tr. Fuchs (1977)]Anger is a transient insanity: check your passion or your passion
Checkmates you. Rule it like an unruly horse -- chain it, if you must.
[tr. Raffel (1983)]A fit of rage
Is a fit of genuine honest-to-goodness madness.
Keep control of your passions. If you don't,
Your passions are sure to get control of you.
Keep control of them, bridle them, keep them in chains.
[tr. Ferry (2001)]Rage is a burst of madness. Restrain your temper: unless it
obeys it will rule you. Keep it in check with bridle and chain.
[tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]Anger’s a brief madness: rule your heart, that unless
It obeys, controls: and check it with bridle and chain.
[tr. Kline (2015)]
