--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I count him braver who overcomes his…" description: "\"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.\" — Aristotle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f7/aristotle-78_conquers_i-count-him-braver-who-overcomes-his-des_2324540.png" --- # I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who… ![“I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f7/aristotle-78_conquers_i-count-him-braver-who-overcomes-his-des_2324540.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f7/aristotle-78_conquers_i-count-him-braver-who-overcomes-his-des_2324540.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f7/aristotle-78_conquers_i-count-him-braver-who-overcomes-his-des_2324540.png) > “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.” [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Overcoming personal desires is a greater triumph than defeating external foes, as self‑mastery is the toughest challenge. **In simple terms:** Self‑control beats external conquest. Key Takeaway Focus on mastering yourself. Themes self‑mastery inner conflict virtue Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - leadership - habit formation - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophy ethics psychology Questions to Reflect On - What desire limits you most? - How can you practice self‑discipline daily? A Different Perspective Self‑mastery is difficult and may be overlooked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) ## Related quotes > [“The greatest warrior is not he who conquers his enemies, but he who conquers himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sensei-darian-stokes/the-greatest-warrior-is-not-he-who-conquers-his-enemies-but-he-who/) Sensei Darian Stokes > [He who conquers his wrath overcomes his greatest enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/he-who-conquers-his-wrath-overcomes-his-greatest-enemy/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [The greatest victory is over self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-greatest-victory-is-over-self/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The hardest victory is the victory over self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-hardest-victory-is-the-victory-over-self/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [He overcomes a stout enemy who overcomes his own anger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/he-overcomes-a-stout-enemy-who-overcomes-his-own-anger/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“The softest thing in the world dashes against and overcomes the hardest; that which has no (substantial) existence enters where there is no crevice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/the-softest-thing-in-the-world-dashes-against-and-overcomes-the/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [When you break..nothing will repair you other then your self..and when you get defeated nothing will help you to achieve victory Except your will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/my-self/when-you-break-nothing-will-repair-you-other-then-your-self-and-when/) [My Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/my-self/) > [If I want to be great, I have to win the victory over myself...self-d iscipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/if-i-want-to-be-great-i-have-to-win-the-victory-over-myself-self-d/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [There is no finer sensations in life that which comes with victory over one's self. Go forward to a goal of inward achievement, brushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vash-young/there-is-no-finer-sensations-in-life-that-which-comes-with-victory/) [Vash Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vash-young/) > [If I want to be great I have to win the victory over myself... self-discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman-2/if-i-want-to-be-great-i-have-to-win-the-victory-over-myself-self/) [Harry S Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman-2/) > [“He (Anwar Sadat) records that he was almost loathe to leave his prison cell because it was there that he realized that real success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/he-anwar-sadat-records-that-he-was-almost-loathe-to-leave-his-prison/) [Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/) > [Real success is success with self. It's not in having things, but in having mastery, having victory over self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-sadat/real-success-is-success-with-self-it-s-not-in-having-things-but-in/) [Anwar Sadat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-sadat/) > [“We improve ourselves by victory over our self. There must be contests, and you must win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/we-improve-ourselves-by-victory-over-our-self-there-must-be-contests/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“He records that he was almost loathe to leave his prison cell because it was there that he realized that real success is success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/he-records-that-he-was-almost-loathe-to-leave-his-prison-cell-because/) [Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/) > [True victory is self-victory; let that day arrive quickly!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/true-victory-is-self-victory-let-that-day-arrive-quickly/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) ## More by Aristotle > [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The body is at its best between the ages of thirty and thirty-five; the mind is at its best about the age of forty-nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-body-is-at-its-best-between-the-ages-of-thirty-and-thirty-five/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. Now since being alive is spoken of in many ways, even if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ensouled-is-distinguished-from-the-unsouled-by-its-being-alive/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Although it may be difficult in theory to know what is just and equal, the practical difficulty of inducing those to forbear who can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/although-it-may-be-difficult-in-theory-to-know-what-is-just-and-equal/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-true-forms-of-government-therefore-are-those-in-which-the-one-or/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All men by nature desire to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-men-by-nature-desire-to-know/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-persons-ought-to-endeavor-to-follow-what-is-right-and-not-what-is/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Give a man a poisoned fish, you feed him for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/give-a-man-a-fish-you-feed-him-for-a-day-give-a-man-a-poisoned-fish/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The man who confers a favour would rather not be repaid in the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-man-who-confers-a-favour-would-rather-not-be-repaid-in-the-same/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The mother of revolution and crime is poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-mother-of-revolution-and-crime-is-poverty/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Obstinate people can be divided into the opinionated, the ignorant, and the boorish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/obstinate-people-can-be-divided-into-the-opinionated-the-ignorant-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-does-not-consist-in-pastimes-and-amusements-but-in-virtuous/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Explore all 1,545 Aristotle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More Conquers quotes > [He Who Conquers Endures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-who-conquers-endures/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whoever said love conquers all had no idea what their talking about… All you ever gets Is heart broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whoever-said-love-conquers-all-had-no-idea-what-their-talking-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He who gets the better of an irascible temperament conquers his worst enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/he-who-gets-the-better-of-an-irascible-temperament-conquers-his-worst/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [“If you aren't destroying your enemies, it's because you have been conquered and assimilated, you do not even have an idea of who your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/if-you-aren-t-destroying-your-enemies-it-s-because-you-have-been/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Love conquers all difficulties, surmounts all obstacles, and effects what to any other power would be impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/love-conquers-all-difficulties-surmounts-all-obstacles-and-effects/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [My father used to take me to the movies on Saturdays. In 1940, when I was four years old, we encountered 'Flash Gordon Conquers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/my-father-used-to-take-me-to-the-movies-on-saturdays-in-1940-when-i/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [LOVE conquers all. let us too yield to LOVE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/love-conquers-all-let-us-too-yield-to-love/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“The life that conquers is the life that moves with a steady resolution and persistence toward a predetermined goal. Those who succeed are those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-davison/the-life-that-conquers-is-the-life-that-moves-with-a-steady/) W.J.Davison > [“Love conquers all; therefore, let us submit to love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/love-conquers-all-therefore-let-us-submit-to-love/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [The cross is Jesus going into the very lair of death. He goes to meet head-on that which frightens us the most. And what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/the-cross-is-jesus-going-into-the-very-lair-of-death-he-goes-to-meet/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [Your courage conquers it all](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina/your-courage-conquers-it-all/) [Christina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina/) > [It is a mystic maxim that the lower in the scale of evolution a being is placed, the more certainly it responds to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/it-is-a-mystic-maxim-that-the-lower-in-the-scale-of-evolution-a-being/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) > [He who conquers his wrath overcomes his greatest enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/he-who-conquers-his-wrath-overcomes-his-greatest-enemy/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [“Though one may conquer a thousand times a thousand men in battle, he who conquers himself is the greatest warrior.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/though-one-may-conquer-a-thousand-times-a-thousand-men-in-battle-he/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“The greatest warrior is not he who conquers his enemies, but he who conquers himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sensei-darian-stokes/the-greatest-warrior-is-not-he-who-conquers-his-enemies-but-he-who/) Sensei Darian Stokes Browse all 95 Conquers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/i-count-him-braver-who-overcomes-his-desires-than-him-who-conquers/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conquers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/i-count-him-braver-who-overcomes-his-desires-than-him-who-conquers/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f7/aristotle-78_conquers_i-count-him-braver-who-overcomes-his-des_2324540.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f7/aristotle-78_conquers_i-count-him-braver-who-overcomes-his-des_2324540.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f7/aristotle-78_conquers_i-count-him-braver-who-overcomes-his-des_2324540.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is…” — Aristotle", "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": "Aristotle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I count him braver who overcomes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/i-count-him-braver-who-overcomes-his-desires-than-him-who-conquers/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/i-count-him-braver-who-overcomes-his-desires-than-him-who-conquers/#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 } } ] } ```