--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He that has energy enough in his…" description: "\"He that has energy enough in his constitution to root out a vice should go a little further, and try to plant a virtue in its place; otherwise he will ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da2/charles-caleb-colton-270_constitution_he-that-has-energy-enough-in-his-constit_2030893.png" --- # He that has energy enough in his constitution to root out… ![“He that has energy enough in his constitution to root out a vice should go a little further, and try to plant a virtue in its place; otherwise he will have his labor to renew. A strong soil that has produced weeds may be made to produce wheat with far less difficulty than it would cost to make it…” quote by Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da2/charles-caleb-colton-270_constitution_he-that-has-energy-enough-in-his-constit_2030893.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da2/charles-caleb-colton-270_constitution_he-that-has-energy-enough-in-his-constit_2030893.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da2/charles-caleb-colton-270_constitution_he-that-has-energy-enough-in-his-constit_2030893.png) > “He that has energy enough in his constitution to root out a vice should go a little further, and try to plant a virtue in its place; otherwise he will have his labor to renew. A strong soil that has produced weeds may be made to produce wheat with far less difficulty than it would cost to make it produce nothing.” [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Removing bad habits and replacing them with good ones is easier than trying to eliminate all problems entirely. **In simple terms:** Replace vice with virtue for lasting change. Key Takeaway Cultivate virtues, not just eliminate vices. Themes self-improvement habit formation virtue ethics Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - education - community leadership Key Concepts Moral philosophy behavioral change Questions to Reflect On - What vice can you replace with a virtue? - How can you sustain new virtues? A Different Perspective Changing habits may be harder than expected. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) [Difficulty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Plant Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant-virtue-3348762/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Produce Wheat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce-wheat-3729511/) [Produced Weeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produced-weeds-3729514/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Soil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soil/) [Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong/) [Strong Soil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-soil-3729513/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Weed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weed/) [Weeds Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weeds-produce-3729512/) [Wheat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheat/) ## Related quotes > [He that has energy enough to root out a vice should go further, and try to plant a virtue in its place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/he-that-has-energy-enough-to-root-out-a-vice-should-go-further-and/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [A weed is a plant whose virtue is not yet known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-weed-is-a-plant-whose-virtue-is-not-yet-known/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Ponder the fact that God has made you a gardener, to root out vice and plant virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/ponder-the-fact-that-god-has-made-you-a-gardener-to-root-out-vice-and/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [The constantly recurring question must be: What shall we unite with and from what shall we separate? The question of coexistence does not enter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/the-constantly-recurring-question-must-be-what-shall-we-unite-with/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [In fact, two slices of whole wheat bread increase blood sugar to a higher level than a candy bar does. And then, after about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-davis/in-fact-two-slices-of-whole-wheat-bread-increase-blood-sugar-to-a/) [William Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-davis/) > [A real farmer. He spent his childhood in the wheat, and his marriage in the hay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/a-real-farmer-he-spent-his-childhood-in-the-wheat-and-his-marriage-in/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [For, behind the scenes, halfway around the world in Mexico, were two decades of aggressive research on wheat that not only enabled Mexico to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-borlaug/for-behind-the-scenes-halfway-around-the-world-in-mexico-were-two/) [Norman Borlaug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-borlaug/) > [There's a long history in the Middle East of "bread intifadas," starting with 1977 in Egypt, when Anwar Sadat tried to lift bread subsidies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annia-ciezadlo/there-s-a-long-history-in-the-middle-east-of-bread-intifadas-starting/) [Annia Ciezadlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annia-ciezadlo/) > [A Song of the good green grass! A song no more of the city streets; A song of farms - a song of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/a-song-of-the-good-green-grass-a-song-no-more-of-the-city-streets-a/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [In the Middle East, bread is so essential to everyday life that word for it in Egyptian Arabic is aish, which means life. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annia-ciezadlo/in-the-middle-east-bread-is-so-essential-to-everyday-life-that-word/) [Annia Ciezadlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annia-ciezadlo/) > [The peace we seek, founded upon decent trust and cooperation among nations, can be fortified not by weapons of war but by wheat and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/the-peace-we-seek-founded-upon-decent-trust-and-cooperation-among/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [Replacing white flour with whole wheat generally makes baked goods denser, drier, and more crumbly because the germ and bran in whole wheat absorbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-saffitz/replacing-white-flour-with-whole-wheat-generally-makes-baked-goods/) [Claire Saffitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-saffitz/) > [If you could understand a single grain of wheat you would die of wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/if-you-could-understand-a-single-grain-of-wheat-you-would-die-of/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [What a country calls its vital economic interests are not the things which enable its citizens to live, but the things which enable it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/what-a-country-calls-its-vital-economic-interests-are-not-the-things/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) ## More by Charles Caleb Colton > [Villainy that is vigilant will be an overmatch for virtue, if she slumber at her post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/villainy-that-is-vigilant-will-be-an-overmatch-for-virtue-if-she/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/to-dare-to-live-alone-is-the-rarest-courage-since-there-are-many-who/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [It is doubtful whether mankind are most indebted to those who like Bacon and Butler dig the gold from the mine of literature, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-doubtful-whether-mankind-are-most-indebted-to-those-who-like/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/none-are-so-fond-of-secrets-as-those-who-do-not-mean-to-keep-them/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Mental pleasures never cloy; unlike those of the body, they are increased by reputation, approved by reflection, and strengthened by enjoyment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/mental-pleasures-never-cloy-unlike-those-of-the-body-they-are/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Ignorance lies at the bottom of all human knowledge, and the deeper we penetrate, the nearer we arrive unto it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/ignorance-lies-at-the-bottom-of-all-human-knowledge-and-the-deeper-we/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Heroism, self-denial, and magnanimity, in all instances where they do not spring from a principle of religion, are but splendid altars on which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/heroism-self-denial-and-magnanimity-in-all-instances-where-they-do/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [We ought not to be over-anxious to encourage innovation in cases of doubtful improvement, for an old system must ever have two advantages over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/we-ought-not-to-be-over-anxious-to-encourage-innovation-in-cases-of/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [We owe almost all our knowledge not to those who have agreed, but to those who have differed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/we-owe-almost-all-our-knowledge-not-to-those-who-have-agreed-but-to/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Metaphysicians have been learning their lessons for the last four thousand years, and it is high time that they should now begin to teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/metaphysicians-have-been-learning-their-lessons-for-the-last-four/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Faith and works are necessary to our spiritual life as Christians, as soul and body are to our natural life as men; for faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/faith-and-works-are-necessary-to-our-spiritual-life-as-christians-as/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [When all moves equally (says Pascal), nothing seems to move as in a vessel under sail; and when all run by common consent into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/when-all-moves-equally-says-pascal-nothing-seems-to-move-as-in-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) [Explore all 778 Charles Caleb Colton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## More Constitution quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. 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We are guardian of rights, and we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/the-judiciary-must-not-take-on-the-coloration-of-whatever-may-be/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [There is not a revolution that succe Women are suffering because they are being excluded. The high military council excluded women from the committee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/there-is-not-a-revolution-that-succe-women-are-suffering-because-they/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“The Court has a special responsibility to ensure that the Constitution works in practice. While education, including the transmission of our civic values from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/the-court-has-a-special-responsibility-to-ensure-that-the/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [The Constitution is very clear on the - on the declaration of war or reacting to international crimes - crimes against nations. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pitts/the-constitution-is-very-clear-on-the-on-the-declaration-of-war-or/) [Joe Pitts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-pitts/) > [Nothing from man's hands, nor law, nor constitution, can be final. Truth alone is final.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/nothing-from-man-s-hands-nor-law-nor-constitution-can-be-final-truth/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [“I am apprehensive, Sir, that in the warmth of my feelings, I may have uttered expressions, which were too vehement. 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