--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Few men can afford to be angry." description: "\"Few men can afford to be angry.\" — Augustine Birrell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/augustine-birrell-22545_afford_few-men-can-afford-to-be-angry-2089399_2089399.png" --- # Few men can afford to be angry. ![“Few men can afford to be angry.” quote by Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/augustine-birrell-22545_afford_few-men-can-afford-to-be-angry-2089399_2089399.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/augustine-birrell-22545_afford_few-men-can-afford-to-be-angry-2089399_2089399.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/augustine-birrell-22545_afford_few-men-can-afford-to-be-angry-2089399_2089399.png) > “Few men can afford to be angry.” [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Only those with sufficient resources can afford the emotional cost of anger. **In simple terms:** Anger is costly; few can afford it. Key Takeaway Manage emotions to preserve resources. Themes anger resource management emotional cost wealth self-control Mood reflective cautious analytical Type aphilosophical advisory political When to use this quote - high-pressure negotiations - personal conflict - financial stress - leadership decisions Key Concepts emotional economics psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - When is anger justified? - How can anger be channeled productively? A Different Perspective Anger can be a useful signal; suppressing it may have drawbacks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Angry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angry/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [I can't afford to have resentment. I can't afford to be angry. I can't afford these things spiritually or physically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ward/i-can-t-afford-to-have-resentment-i-can-t-afford-to-be-angry-i-can-t/) [Bill Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ward/) > [Strong men can always afford to be gentle. Only the weak are intent on giving as good as they get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/strong-men-can-always-afford-to-be-gentle-only-the-weak-are-intent-on/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [I have so much work to do every day to get back to my normal life that I can't afford to be angry, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bauman/i-have-so-much-work-to-do-every-day-to-get-back-to-my-normal-life/) [Jeff Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bauman/) > [ You cannot be the good all the time — sometimes it is necessary to get angry. \[Vincent Van Gogh\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/you-cannot-be-the-good-all-the-time-sometimes-it-is-necessary-to-get/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [I don't understand perpetually angry people. How can things that make 99% of people happy, make you angry?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-understand-perpetually-angry-people-how-can-things-that-make/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you're angry, you don't have to write a poem dealing with the cause of your anger. But it needs to be an angry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/if-you-re-angry-you-don-t-have-to-write-a-poem-dealing-with-the-cause/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [The only justice is to follow the sincere intuition of the soul, angry or gentle. Anger is just, and pity is just, but judgement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-justice-is-to-follow-the-sincere-intuition-of-the-soul-angry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anger has been ready to be angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/anger-has-been-ready-to-be-angry/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [Never forget what someone says to you when they're angry cause that's when the truth comes out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/never-forget-what-someone-says-to-you-when-they-re-angry-cause-that-s/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“I'm angry that you keep pushing me away when I know you don't want to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-carmack/i-m-angry-that-you-keep-pushing-me-away-when-i-know-you-don-t-want-to/) [Cora Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-carmack/) > [In the 1998 Oscars, I found myself in the bathroom in a stall, next to Tom Selleck. So I leaned over and I said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/in-the-1998-oscars-i-found-myself-in-the-bathroom-in-a-stall-next-to/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) ## More by Augustine Birrell > [Poetry should be vital--either stirring our blood by its divine movements or snatching our breath by its divine perfection. To do both is supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/poetry-should-be-vital-either-stirring-our-blood-by-its-divine/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [It can never be wrong to give pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/it-can-never-be-wrong-to-give-pleasure/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [A poet's soul must contain the perfect shape of all things good, wise and just. His body must be spotless and without blemish, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/a-poet-s-soul-must-contain-the-perfect-shape-of-all-things-good-wise/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [A conventional good read is usually a bad read, a relaxing bath in what we know already. A true good read is surely an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/a-conventional-good-read-is-usually-a-bad-read-a-relaxing-bath-in/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [Libraries are not made, they grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/libraries-are-not-made-they-grow/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [That great dust-heap called 'history'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/that-great-dust-heap-called-history/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [“Libraries are not made; they grow. Good as it is to inherit a library, it is better to collect one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/libraries-are-not-made-they-grow-good-as-it-is-to-inherit-a-library/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [“An ordinary man can...surround himself with two thousand books...and thenceforward have at least one place in the world in which is is possible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/an-ordinary-man-can-surround-himself-with-two-thousand-books-and/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [A great library easily begets affection, which may deepen into love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/a-great-library-easily-begets-affection-which-may-deepen-into-love/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [Friendship is a word, the very sight of which in print makes the heart warm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/friendship-is-a-word-the-very-sight-of-which-in-print-makes-the-heart/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [It is the Mass the matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/it-is-the-mass-the-matters/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [Milton calls the university A stony-hearted step-mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/milton-calls-the-university-a-stony-hearted-step-mother/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [It is pleasant to be admitted into the birth-chamber of a great idea destined to be translated into action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/it-is-pleasant-to-be-admitted-into-the-birth-chamber-of-a-great-idea/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [There are no habits of man more alien to the doctrine of the Communist than those of the collector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/there-are-no-habits-of-man-more-alien-to-the-doctrine-of-the/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [I am far too much in doubt about the present, far too perturbed .about the future, to be otherwise than profoundly reverential about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/i-am-far-too-much-in-doubt-about-the-present-far-too-perturbed-about/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) [Explore all 27 Augustine Birrell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) ## More Afford quotes > [We can't afford any president to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/we-can-t-afford-any-president-to-fail/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [Just because you can afford it doesn't mean you should buy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/just-because-you-can-afford-it-doesn-t-mean-you-should-buy-it/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [I am not a Ph.D. in economics or a doctorate in literature that I can afford to take my singing lightly. Even if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailash-kher/i-am-not-a-ph-d-in-economics-or-a-doctorate-in-literature-that-i-can/) [Kailash Kher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailash-kher/) > [Now I'm having to live with sales of around 50,000 per album - but I'm pretty content with my place in the general scheme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-knopfler/now-i-m-having-to-live-with-sales-of-around-50-000-per-album-but-i-m/) [David Knopfler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-knopfler/) > [I was lucky because I got so successful so early, and when you get successful early, then you can afford to be a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/i-was-lucky-because-i-got-so-successful-so-early-and-when-you-get/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [I have crooked toes from wearing boots that didn't fit me because that's all I could afford as a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lomu/i-have-crooked-toes-from-wearing-boots-that-didn-t-fit-me-because/) [Jonah Lomu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lomu/) > [The most common reason new mothers return to work sooner than they'd like to is because they can't afford to go without their salaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-von-tobel/the-most-common-reason-new-mothers-return-to-work-sooner-than-they-d/) [Alexa Von Tobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-von-tobel/) > [This fatigue can not afford to do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israa-ali/this-fatigue-can-not-afford-to-do/) [ISRAA ALI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israa-ali/) > [A good player is a good player, it's just that we cannot afford signings that do not work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-dyche/a-good-player-is-a-good-player-it-s-just-that-we-cannot-afford/) [Sean Dyche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-dyche/) > [I'm not the most talented writer in the world. I know that. But I also know that I'm disciplined, that I work my butt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-coe/i-m-not-the-most-talented-writer-in-the-world-i-know-that-but-i-also/) [David B. Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-coe/) > [Unfortunately, some people go to a restaurant, and they aren't really there to enjoy themselves. They're there because they think they deserve to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dinicol/unfortunately-some-people-go-to-a-restaurant-and-they-aren-t-really/) Joe Dinicol > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [My earliest memories were when my mom would put me in the plays that she was in because she couldn't afford a babysitter... she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-applegate/my-earliest-memories-were-when-my-mom-would-put-me-in-the-plays-that/) [Christina Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-applegate/) > [In Washington journalists can afford to live almost as well as people who work for a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/in-washington-journalists-can-afford-to-live-almost-as-well-as-people/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I'm a little bit tough because I can't afford to get my heart broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-glanville/i-m-a-little-bit-tough-because-i-can-t-afford-to-get-my-heart-broken/) [Brandi Glanville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-glanville/) Browse all 784 Afford quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Few men can afford to be angry.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Augustine Birrell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/few-men-can-afford-to-be-angry/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afford" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/few-men-can-afford-to-be-angry/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/augustine-birrell-22545_afford_few-men-can-afford-to-be-angry-2089399_2089399.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/augustine-birrell-22545_afford_few-men-can-afford-to-be-angry-2089399_2089399.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/augustine-birrell-22545_afford_few-men-can-afford-to-be-angry-2089399_2089399.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Few men can afford to be angry.” — Augustine Birrell", "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": "Augustine Birrell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Few men can afford to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/few-men-can-afford-to-be-angry/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/few-men-can-afford-to-be-angry/#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 } } ] } ```