--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Control thy passions lest they take…" description: "\"“Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee. ~ Epictetus”\" — Epictetus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a81/epictetus-413_passions_control-thy-passions-lest-they-take-veng_210782.jpg" --- # Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee. ~… ![“Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee. ~ Epictetus” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a81/epictetus-413_passions_control-thy-passions-lest-they-take-veng_210782.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a81/epictetus-413_passions_control-thy-passions-lest-they-take-veng_210782.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a81/epictetus-413_passions_control-thy-passions-lest-they-take-veng_210782.jpg) > ““Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee. ~ Epictetus”” [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Control your passions or they will dominate you with vengeance. **In simple terms:** Uncontrolled passions lead to self‑destruction. Key Takeaway Master your emotions to avoid self‑harm. Themes self‑control philosophy ethics Mood reflective calm Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - stress management - personal growth - conflict resolution - leadership Key Concepts stoicism emotional regulation inner discipline Questions to Reflect On - What passions need healthier expression? - How can you channel strong emotions constructively? A Different Perspective Complete suppression can cause repression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Control Thy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control-thy-2176085/) [Passions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passions/) [Passions Lest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passions-lest-2176083/) [Thee Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thee-epictetus-2176084/) [Thy Passions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thy-passions-2176082/) ## Related quotes > [Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/control-thy-passions-lest-they-take-vengence-on-thee/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Control thy passions lest they take vengeance on thee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/control-thy-passions-lest-they-take-vengeance-on-thee/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Have thy struggles with thy natural inclinations, restraint of thy passions, and submission to the holy Will of God, ever cost thee a drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rev-fr-ignatius-of-the-side-of-jesus-passionist/have-thy-struggles-with-thy-natural-inclinations-restraint-of-thy/) [Rev. Fr. Ignatius of the Side of Jesus Passionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rev-fr-ignatius-of-the-side-of-jesus-passionist/) > [“All thy passions in the end became virtues, and all thy devils, angels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/all-thy-passions-in-the-end-became-virtues-and-all-thy-devils-angels/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Woman is the lesser man, and all thy passions, match'd with mine, Are as moonlight unto sunlight, and as water unto wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/woman-is-the-lesser-man-and-all-thy-passions-match-d-with-mine-are-as/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [“Check your passions that you may not be punished by them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/check-your-passions-that-you-may-not-be-punished-by-them/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Sam loved to listen to music and make his own songs, to wear soft velvets, to play in the castle kitchen beside the cooks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sam-loved-to-listen-to-music-and-make-his-own-songs-to-wear-soft/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You know, people start things for different reasons. But ultimately it turns into pure passion and one becomes insatiate. There is no end once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhaidev/you-know-people-start-things-for-different-reasons-but-ultimately-it/) [Abhaidev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhaidev/) > [“To say she is only a woman is to say a violin is a piece of wood with strings, and Dante is mere ink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-crown/to-say-she-is-only-a-woman-is-to-say-a-violin-is-a-piece-of-wood-with/) [Bruce Crown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-crown/) > [“When we are passionate about God, we can trust our passions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-raphael-mcmanus/when-we-are-passionate-about-god-we-can-trust-our-passions/) [Erwin Raphael McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-raphael-mcmanus/) > [In tragic life, God wot, No villain need be! Passions spin the plot: We are betrayed by what is false within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-meredith/in-tragic-life-god-wot-no-villain-need-be-passions-spin-the-plot-we/) [George Meredith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-meredith/) > [In music the passions enjoy themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-music-the-passions-enjoy-themselves/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [One declaims endlessly against the passions; one imputes all of man's suffering to them. One forgets that they are also the source of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/one-declaims-endlessly-against-the-passions-one-imputes-all-of-man-s/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [The life of a good man was a continual warfare with his passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/the-life-of-a-good-man-was-a-continual-warfare-with-his-passions/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) ## More by Epictetus > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/practice-yourself-for-heaven-s-sake-in-little-things-and-then-proceed/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/do-not-laugh-much-or-often-or-unrestrainedly/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-not-disturbed-by-what-happens-to-us-but-by-our-thoughts-about/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/don-t-be-prideful-with-any-excellence-that-is-not-your-own/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/you-know-yourself-what-you-are-worth-in-your-own-eyes-and-at-what/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [As a man, casting off worn out garments taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, entereth into ones that are new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/as-a-man-casting-off-worn-out-garments-taketh-new-ones-so-the-dweller/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [If you would improve, submit to be considered wihout sense and foolish with respect to externals. Wish to be considered to know nothing; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-would-improve-submit-to-be-considered-wihout-sense-and-foolish/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“For it is not death or pain that is to be feared, but the fear of pain or death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/for-it-is-not-death-or-pain-that-is-to-be-feared-but-the-fear-of-pain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [What else can I do, a lame old man, but sing hymns to God? If I were a nightingale, I would do the nightingale's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/what-else-can-i-do-a-lame-old-man-but-sing-hymns-to-god-if-i-were-a/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [People are disturbed not by things, but by the view they take of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them-2/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Small-minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/small-minded-people-blame-others-average-people-blame-themselves-the/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/all-philosophy-lies-in-two-words-sustain-and-abstain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) [Explore all 577 Epictetus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## More Passions quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [The life of a good man was a continual warfare with his passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/the-life-of-a-good-man-was-a-continual-warfare-with-his-passions/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [One declaims endlessly against the passions; one imputes all of man's suffering to them. One forgets that they are also the source of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/one-declaims-endlessly-against-the-passions-one-imputes-all-of-man-s/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [In music the passions enjoy themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-music-the-passions-enjoy-themselves/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [In tragic life, God wot, No villain need be! Passions spin the plot: We are betrayed by what is false within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-meredith/in-tragic-life-god-wot-no-villain-need-be-passions-spin-the-plot-we/) [George Meredith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-meredith/) > [“When we are passionate about God, we can trust our passions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-raphael-mcmanus/when-we-are-passionate-about-god-we-can-trust-our-passions/) [Erwin Raphael McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-raphael-mcmanus/) > [“To say she is only a woman is to say a violin is a piece of wood with strings, and Dante is mere ink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-crown/to-say-she-is-only-a-woman-is-to-say-a-violin-is-a-piece-of-wood-with/) [Bruce Crown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-crown/) > [“You know, people start things for different reasons. But ultimately it turns into pure passion and one becomes insatiate. There is no end once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhaidev/you-know-people-start-things-for-different-reasons-but-ultimately-it/) [Abhaidev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhaidev/) > [Sam loved to listen to music and make his own songs, to wear soft velvets, to play in the castle kitchen beside the cooks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sam-loved-to-listen-to-music-and-make-his-own-songs-to-wear-soft/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Working with other artists and sharing your passions is great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leona-lewis/working-with-other-artists-and-sharing-your-passions-is-great/) [Leona Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leona-lewis/) > [My passions are the grapes that I tread out for mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adle/my-passions-are-the-grapes-that-i-tread-out-for-mankind/) [Alfred Adle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adle/) > [“…finally I see that it’s never been me, just a blanket that keeps you warm. Easily tossed along when something flashier or someone prettier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/finally-i-see-that-it-s-never-been-me-just-a-blanket-that-keeps-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [None can be free who is a slave to, and ruled by, his passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pythagoras/none-can-be-free-who-is-a-slave-to-and-ruled-by-his-passions/) [Pythagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pythagoras/) > [“Mevr. Cadzand feared for her son who, with his responsive nature, as sensitive as a hothouse plant, was more exposed. Fortunately religion is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/mevr-cadzand-feared-for-her-son-who-with-his-responsive-nature-as/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [Who then is free? The wise who can command his passions, who fears not want, nor death, nor chains, firmly resisting his appetites and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/who-then-is-free-the-wise-who-can-command-his-passions-who-fears-not/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) [Browse all 510 Passions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee. ~ Epictetus”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Epictetus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/control-thy-passions-lest-they-take-vengence-on-thee-epictetus/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Passions" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/control-thy-passions-lest-they-take-vengence-on-thee-epictetus/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a81/epictetus-413_passions_control-thy-passions-lest-they-take-veng_210782.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a81/epictetus-413_passions_control-thy-passions-lest-they-take-veng_210782.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a81/epictetus-413_passions_control-thy-passions-lest-they-take-veng_210782.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Control thy passions lest they take vengence on thee. ~ Epictetus” — Epictetus", "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": "Epictetus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Control thy passions lest they take...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/control-thy-passions-lest-they-take-vengence-on-thee-epictetus/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/control-thy-passions-lest-they-take-vengence-on-thee-epictetus/#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 } } ] } ```