--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mischiefs feed / Like beasts, till they…" description: "\"Mischiefs feed / Like beasts, till they be fat, and then they bleed.\" — Ben Jonson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13c/ben-jonson-1371_animals_mischiefs-feed-like-beasts-till-they-be_824635.png" --- # Mischiefs feed / Like beasts, till they be fat, and then… ![“Mischiefs feed / Like beasts, till they be fat, and then they bleed.” quote by Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13c/ben-jonson-1371_animals_mischiefs-feed-like-beasts-till-they-be_824635.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13c/ben-jonson-1371_animals_mischiefs-feed-like-beasts-till-they-be_824635.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13c/ben-jonson-1371_animals_mischiefs-feed-like-beasts-till-they-be_824635.png) > “Mischiefs feed / Like beasts, till they be fat, and then they bleed.” [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excessive indulgence leads to eventual ruin and suffering. **In simple terms:** Too much indulgence causes harm. Key Takeaway Avoid overindulgence. Themes greed consequences excess Mood cautionary reflective Type moral literary When to use this quote - business - personal finance - relationships - health Key Concepts human nature self‑control Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when indulgence becomes harmful? - What limits can you set to prevent excess? A Different Perspective Even moderate excess can become harmful over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beast/) [Beasts Till](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beasts-till-503133/) [Fat Bleed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fat-bleed-503129/) [Fats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fats/) [Feed Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feed-like-503132/) [Like Beasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-beasts-503130/) [Mischief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mischief/) [Mischiefs Feed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mischiefs-feed-503131/) ## Related quotes > [“Sissy didn’t know feeding Mitch would be so enjoyable—except for the expense, of course. He’d pretty much groaned and purred during the whole meal.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-laurenston/sissy-didn-t-know-feeding-mitch-would-be-so-enjoyable-except-for-the/) [Shelly Laurenston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-laurenston/) > [Your baby is your baby and you are free to feed them however you like. Try not to compare your child to others. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wicks/your-baby-is-your-baby-and-you-are-free-to-feed-them-however-you-like/) [Joe Wicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wicks/) > [“They feed you, like, eight times a day, which is why cruise people always look like hairless water buffalo wearing sneakers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/they-feed-you-like-eight-times-a-day-which-is-why-cruise-people/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Those who, like the beasts, have no such Hope, pass their old age shrouded with an inward gloom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-owen/those-who-like-the-beasts-have-no-such-hope-pass-their-old-age/) [Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-owen/) > [Human brutes, like other beasts, find snares and poison in the provision of life, and are allured by their appetites to their destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/human-brutes-like-other-beasts-find-snares-and-poison-in-the/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [People had always seemed to Gertrude rather like the beasts in Animal Farm : all equally detestable, but some more equally detestable than others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/people-had-always-seemed-to-gertrude-rather-like-the-beasts-in-animal/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [In this job it's like beasts of prey in a cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcelo-rios/in-this-job-it-s-like-beasts-of-prey-in-a-cage/) [Marcelo Rios](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcelo-rios/) > [One of the things I like best about Netflix is that they make projects like 'Beasts of No Nation.' It's a film about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wagner-moura/one-of-the-things-i-like-best-about-netflix-is-that-they-make/) [Wagner Moura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wagner-moura/) > [“The primal sin of those like myself, mes amis, is that because we were once people who acted like beasts, we are forever cursed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-files/the-primal-sin-of-those-like-myself-mes-amis-is-that-because-we-were/) [Gemma Files](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-files/) > [We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/we-are-most-like-beasts-when-we-kill-we-are-most-like-men-when-we/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [For men to be tied and led by authority, as it were with a kind of captivity of judgment, and though there be reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hooker/for-men-to-be-tied-and-led-by-authority-as-it-were-with-a-kind-of/) [Richard Hooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hooker/) > [“...one of the wolf-like beasts wraps it's arms around me and howls into my ear, obscuring all other sounds. I lash at the creature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-shan/one-of-the-wolf-like-beasts-wraps-it-s-arms-around-me-and-howls-into/) [Darren Shan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-shan/) > [“People that have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psalms-49-20/people-that-have-wealth-but-lack-understanding-are-like-the-beasts/) [Psalms 49:20](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psalms-49-20/) > [How some dare scorn (as if a fabulous lie) that they should rise whom death to dust doth bind -- and like to beasts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-alexander-1st-earl-of-stirling/how-some-dare-scorn-as-if-a-fabulous-lie-that-they-should-rise-whom/) [William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-alexander-1st-earl-of-stirling/) > [“peoples, like so many beasts, have fallen into the custom of each man thinking only of his own private interests and have reached the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-vico/peoples-like-so-many-beasts-have-fallen-into-the-custom-of-each-man/) [Giambattista Vico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giambattista-vico/) ## More by Ben Jonson > [Soul of the Age! The applause! delight! the wonder of our stage! My Shakespeare, rise; I will not lodge thee by Chaucer, or Spenser,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/soul-of-the-age-the-applause-delight-the-wonder-of-our-stage-my/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Ambition, like a torrent, never looks back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/ambition-like-a-torrent-never-looks-back/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Heaven prepares good men with crosses; but no ill can happen to a good man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/heaven-prepares-good-men-with-crosses-but-no-ill-can-happen-to-a-good/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The dignity of truth is lost with much protesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/the-dignity-of-truth-is-lost-with-much-protesting/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [True melancholy breeds your perfect fine wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/true-melancholy-breeds-your-perfect-fine-wit/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Leave a kiss but in the cup, and I'll not look for wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/leave-a-kiss-but-in-the-cup-and-i-ll-not-look-for-wine/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [All discourses but my own afflict me; they seem harsh, impertinent, and irksome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/all-discourses-but-my-own-afflict-me-they-seem-harsh-impertinent-and/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [“drink to the cause, and pure vapours”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/drink-to-the-cause-and-pure-vapours/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Spread yourself upon his bosom publicly, whose heart you would eat in private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/spread-yourself-upon-his-bosom-publicly-whose-heart-you-would-eat-in/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [That old bald cheater, Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/that-old-bald-cheater-time/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Rich apparel has strange virtues; it makes him that hath it without means esteemed for an excellent wit; he that enjoys it with means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/rich-apparel-has-strange-virtues-it-makes-him-that-hath-it-without/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Each petty hand Can steer a ship becalm'd; but he that will Govern and carry her to her ends, must know His tides, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/each-petty-hand-can-steer-a-ship-becalm-d-but-he-that-will-govern-and/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The way to rise is to obey and please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/the-way-to-rise-is-to-obey-and-please/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The covetous man never has money. The prodigal will have none shortly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/the-covetous-man-never-has-money-the-prodigal-will-have-none-shortly/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Fortune, that favors fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/fortune-that-favors-fools/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) [Explore all 249 Ben Jonson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) ## More Animals quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Mischiefs feed / Like beasts, till they be fat, and then they bleed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Jonson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/mischiefs-feed-like-beasts-till-they-be-fat-and-then-they-bleed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/mischiefs-feed-like-beasts-till-they-be-fat-and-then-they-bleed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13c/ben-jonson-1371_animals_mischiefs-feed-like-beasts-till-they-be_824635.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13c/ben-jonson-1371_animals_mischiefs-feed-like-beasts-till-they-be_824635.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13c/ben-jonson-1371_animals_mischiefs-feed-like-beasts-till-they-be_824635.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mischiefs feed / Like beasts, till they be fat, and then they bleed.” — Ben Jonson", "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": "Ben Jonson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Mischiefs feed / Like beasts, till...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/mischiefs-feed-like-beasts-till-they-be-fat-and-then-they-bleed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/mischiefs-feed-like-beasts-till-they-be-fat-and-then-they-bleed/#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 } } ] } ```