--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tis all in vain to keep a constant pother…" description: "\"Tis all in vain to keep a constant pother About one vice and fall into another.\" — Alexander Pope" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/alexander-pope-235_constant_tis-all-in-vain-to-keep-a-constant-pothe_372261.png" --- # Tis all in vain to keep a constant pother About one vice… ![“Tis all in vain to keep a constant pother About one vice and fall into another.” quote by Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/alexander-pope-235_constant_tis-all-in-vain-to-keep-a-constant-pothe_372261.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/alexander-pope-235_constant_tis-all-in-vain-to-keep-a-constant-pothe_372261.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/alexander-pope-235_constant_tis-all-in-vain-to-keep-a-constant-pothe_372261.png) > “Tis all in vain to keep a constant pother About one vice and fall into another.” [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Changing one flaw often leads to another; beware of swapping vices. **In simple terms:** Fixing one vice may create another. Key Takeaway Address root causes, not symptoms. Themes morality self‑control habits consequences Mood cautionary philosophical Type reflective ethical When to use this quote - addiction recovery - ethical decision‑making - personal growth Key Concepts vices self‑improvement Questions to Reflect On - What underlying pattern links your habits? - How can you break the cycle? A Different Perspective Some vices are interlinked, making change complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constant/) [Constant Pother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constant-pother-3394080/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Pother Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pother-vice-3394081/) [Tis Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tis-vain-3394083/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) [Vain Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain-constant-3394084/) [Vice Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice-fall-3394082/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [If a man doesn't find ease in himself, 'tis in vain to seek it elsewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/if-a-man-doesn-t-find-ease-in-himself-tis-in-vain-to-seek-it-elsewhere/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [In vain sedate reflections we would make When half our knowledge we must snatch, not take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/in-vain-sedate-reflections-we-would-make-when-half-our-knowledge-we/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [To dazzle let the vain design, To raise the thought and touch the heart, be thine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-dazzle-let-the-vain-design-to-raise-the-thought-and-touch-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Dear fatal name! rest ever unreveal'd, Nor pass these lips in holy silence seal'd. Hide it, my heart, within that close disguise, Where mixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/dear-fatal-name-rest-ever-unreveal-d-nor-pass-these-lips-in-holy/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [And not a vanity is given in vain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/and-not-a-vanity-is-given-in-vain/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [If a man wants to get it right, he's looked up to and respected. If a woman wants to get it right, she's difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/if-a-man-wants-to-get-it-right-he-s-looked-up-to-and-respected-if-a/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [It is in vain to expect our prayers to be heard, if we do not strive as well as pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/it-is-in-vain-to-expect-our-prayers-to-be-heard-if-we-do-not-strive/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Don’t be vain because you happen to have talent. You are not responsible for that; it was not of your doing. What you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-casals/don-t-be-vain-because-you-happen-to-have-talent-you-are-not/) [Pablo Casals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-casals/) > [“All this world's glory seemeth vain to me, And all their shows but shadows, saving she.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/all-this-world-s-glory-seemeth-vain-to-me-and-all-their-shows-but/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I admit that these terms and the diagrams connected with them repel some readers, and fill others with the vain imagination that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/i-admit-that-these-terms-and-the-diagrams-connected-with-them-repel/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [In old age our bodies are worn-out instruments, on which the soul tries in vain to play the melodies of youth. But because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/in-old-age-our-bodies-are-worn-out-instruments-on-which-the-soul/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Importunity is a condition of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. We repeat, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/importunity-is-a-condition-of-prayer-we-are-to-press-the-matter-not/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/all-our-efforts-to-defeat-poverty-and-pursue-sustainable-development/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) ## More by Alexander Pope > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [To wake the soul by tender strokes of art, To raise the genius, and to mend the heart; To make mankind, in conscious virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-wake-the-soul-by-tender-strokes-of-art-to-raise-the-genius-and-to/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [A mighty maze! But not without a plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-mighty-maze-but-not-without-a-plan/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Let such teach others who themselves excel, And censure freely who have written well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/let-such-teach-others-who-themselves-excel-and-censure-freely-who/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [For I, who hold sage Homer's rule the best, Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/for-i-who-hold-sage-homer-s-rule-the-best-welcome-the-coming-speed/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Like following life through creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment you detect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/like-following-life-through-creatures-you-dissect-you-lose-it-in-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [When two people compliment each other with the choice of anything, each of them generally gets that which he likes least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/when-two-people-compliment-each-other-with-the-choice-of-anything/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Such labour'd nothings, in so strange a style, Amaze th' unlearn'd and make the learned smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/such-labour-d-nothings-in-so-strange-a-style-amaze-th-unlearn-d-and/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/charms-strike-the-sight-but-merit-wins-the-soul/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I am satisfied to trifle away my time, rather than let it stick by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/i-am-satisfied-to-trifle-away-my-time-rather-than-let-it-stick-by-me/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The greatest advantage I know of being thought a wit by the world is, that it gives one the greater freedom of playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-greatest-advantage-i-know-of-being-thought-a-wit-by-the-world-is/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Then say not Man's imperfect,Heav'n in fault; Say rather, Man's as perfect ashe ought:](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/then-say-not-man-s-imperfect-heav-n-in-fault-say-rather-man-s-as/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [First follow Nature, and your judgment frame By her just standard, which is still the same: Unerring nature, still divinely bright, One clear, unchanged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/first-follow-nature-and-your-judgment-frame-by-her-just-standard/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Who shall decide when doctors disagree, And soundest casuists doubt, like you and me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/who-shall-decide-when-doctors-disagree-and-soundest-casuists-doubt/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) [Explore all 850 Alexander Pope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## More Constant quotes > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-is-for-an-accomplished-latino-an-accomplished-african-american/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [Me mum used to always have the radio on - even now she has it on in every room. Me girlfriend sort of blames…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/me-mum-used-to-always-have-the-radio-on-even-now-she-has-it-on-in/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [As I grow through love, so grows my joy, ever more present, ever more constant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/as-i-grow-through-love-so-grows-my-joy-ever-more-present-ever-more/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Life and death are illusions. We are in a constant state of transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/life-and-death-are-illusions-we-are-in-a-constant-state-of/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [People don't need sudden revelations. They get what they need when they need it, thought by thought by thought. It's a constant thing when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/people-don-t-need-sudden-revelations-they-get-what-they-need-when/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [Fishing is a constant reminder of the democracy of life, of humility, and of human frailty. The forces of nature discriminate for no man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/fishing-is-a-constant-reminder-of-the-democracy-of-life-of-humility/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [It's a constant man-ego-check going on in the streets, in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/it-s-a-constant-man-ego-check-going-on-in-the-streets-in-this-world/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [Research is an organized method of trying to find out what you are going to do after you cannot do what you are doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/research-is-an-organized-method-of-trying-to-find-out-what-you-are/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [I believe it's true that there's good and evil in everyone and it's a constant struggle to have your better angels prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-friedkin/i-believe-it-s-true-that-there-s-good-and-evil-in-everyone-and-it-s-a/) [William Friedkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-friedkin/) > [You're a constant student, as a musician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-bell/you-re-a-constant-student-as-a-musician/) [Joshua Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-bell/) > [Intimacy requires an ability to both merge and be separate, to come together and be apart, like oscillating on a giant swing from oneness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-sophia-kasl/intimacy-requires-an-ability-to-both-merge-and-be-separate-to-come/) [Charlotte Sophia Kasl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-sophia-kasl/) [Browse all 3,025 Constant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constant/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Tis all in vain to keep a constant pother About one vice and fall into another.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander Pope" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/tis-all-in-vain-to-keep-a-constant-pother-about-one-vice-and-fall/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Constant" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/tis-all-in-vain-to-keep-a-constant-pother-about-one-vice-and-fall/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/alexander-pope-235_constant_tis-all-in-vain-to-keep-a-constant-pothe_372261.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/alexander-pope-235_constant_tis-all-in-vain-to-keep-a-constant-pothe_372261.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/alexander-pope-235_constant_tis-all-in-vain-to-keep-a-constant-pothe_372261.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tis all in vain to keep a constant pother About one vice and fall into another.” — Alexander Pope", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexander Pope", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Tis all in vain to keep...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/tis-all-in-vain-to-keep-a-constant-pother-about-one-vice-and-fall/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/tis-all-in-vain-to-keep-a-constant-pother-about-one-vice-and-fall/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```