--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Be not for ever harassed by impotent…" description: "\"Be not for ever harassed by impotent desire.\" — Horace" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/horace-172_desire_be-not-for-ever-harassed-by-impotent-des_1901948.jpg" --- # Be not for ever harassed by impotent desire. ![“Be not for ever harassed by impotent desire.” quote by Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/horace-172_desire_be-not-for-ever-harassed-by-impotent-des_1901948.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/horace-172_desire_be-not-for-ever-harassed-by-impotent-des_1901948.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/horace-172_desire_be-not-for-ever-harassed-by-impotent-des_1901948.jpg) > “Be not for ever harassed by impotent desire.” [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoid being tormented by unfulfilled or powerless desires. **In simple terms:** Don't let weak cravings dominate. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑control. Themes desire self‑control philosophy inner peace Mood thoughtful calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - career ambitions - habit formation Key Concepts Stoicism ancient wisdom psychology Questions to Reflect On - What desires are truly harmful? - How can you transform weak urges into strengths? A Different Perspective Desire can sometimes motivate positive change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ## Related quotes > [“If you love without evoking love in return - if through the vital expression of yourself as a loving person you fail to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/if-you-love-without-evoking-love-in-return-if-through-the-vital/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [It is veneer, rouge, aestheticism, art museums, new theaters, etc. that make America impotent. The good things are football, kindness, and jazz bands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/it-is-veneer-rouge-aestheticism-art-museums-new-theaters-etc-that/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Patriarchy is impotent and qualitatively unable to solve even the most simple problems in the cosmos such as picking up their own socks or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/patriarchy-is-impotent-and-qualitatively-unable-to-solve-even-the/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [“Hope. The activity of the impotent. His was a world of action, of relying on his own wits and ability to create the luck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-stevens/hope-the-activity-of-the-impotent-his-was-a-world-of-action-of/) [Taylor Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-stevens/) > [Words are impotent to describe certain emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/words-are-impotent-to-describe-certain-emotions/) [Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/) > [A picture lives by companionship, expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer. It dies by the same token. It is therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/a-picture-lives-by-companionship-expanding-and-quickening-in-the-eyes/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [“Scarlett kicked the coverlet in impotent rage, trying to think of something bad enough to say. 'God's nightgown!' she cried at last, and felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/scarlett-kicked-the-coverlet-in-impotent-rage-trying-to-think-of/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“Remembering that only a few years ago men, women, and even children, were imprisoned, tortured and burned, for having expressed in an exceedingly mild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/remembering-that-only-a-few-years-ago-men-women-and-even-children/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) > [I'm dead, not impotent. Nasty rumors like that must be squashed before they gain momentum. Feel free to emphasize how very functional I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/i-m-dead-not-impotent-nasty-rumors-like-that-must-be-squashed-before/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [I understand that people believe that they are impotent and can do very little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitali-klitschko/i-understand-that-people-believe-that-they-are-impotent-and-can-do/) [Vitali Klitschko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitali-klitschko/) > [“Too often our visions of the future are dull and impotent like a hammer beating the water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harley-king/too-often-our-visions-of-the-future-are-dull-and-impotent-like-a/) [Harley King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harley-king/) > [...things happen that are out of your control.' Kerrick gave him a tight smile. 'You mean I'm not omnipotent?' 'You're not even semi-potent.' 'Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/things-happen-that-are-out-of-your-control-kerrick-gave-him-a-tight/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [“Make sure that when you touch the other person, all your five senses are working, because sex has a life of its own. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-coehlo/make-sure-that-when-you-touch-the-other-person-all-your-five-senses/) Paolo Coehlo > [Fervor is the weapon of choice for the impotent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/fervor-is-the-weapon-of-choice-for-the-impotent/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [“When the prurient and the impotent attack you, be sure you are right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/when-the-prurient-and-the-impotent-attack-you-be-sure-you-are-right/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More by Horace > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [No verse can give pleasure for long, nor last, that is written by drinkers of water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/no-verse-can-give-pleasure-for-long-nor-last-that-is-written-by/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Fate with impartial hand turns out the doom of high and low; her capacious urn is constantly shaking the names of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/fate-with-impartial-hand-turns-out-the-doom-of-high-and-low-her/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [A word, once sent abroad, flies irrevocably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/a-word-once-sent-abroad-flies-irrevocably/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Natales grate numeras? (Do you count your birthdays with gratitude?)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/natales-grate-numeras-do-you-count-your-birthdays-with-gratitude/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ In a moment comes either death or joyful victory. \[Lat., Horae Momento cita mors venit aut victoria laeta.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/in-a-moment-comes-either-death-or-joyful-victory-lat-horae-momento/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - It is a sweet and becoming thing to die for ones country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/dulce-et-decorum-est-pro-patria-mori-it-is-a-sweet-and-becoming-thing/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ Neither men, nor gods, nor booksellers' shelves permit ordinary poets to exist. \[Lat., Mediocribus esse poetis Non homines, non di, non concessere columnae.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/neither-men-nor-gods-nor-booksellers-shelves-permit-ordinary-poets-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Don't yield to that alluring witch, laziness, or else be prepared to surrender all that you have won in your better moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/don-t-yield-to-that-alluring-witch-laziness-or-else-be-prepared-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Avoid inquisitive persons, for they are sure to be gossips, their ears are open to hear, but they will not keep what is entrusted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/avoid-inquisitive-persons-for-they-are-sure-to-be-gossips-their-ears/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“You may drive out Nature with a pitchfork, yet she still will hurry back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/you-may-drive-out-nature-with-a-pitchfork-yet-she-still-will-hurry/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [There is a proper measure in all things, certain limits beyond which and short of which right is not to be found. Who so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/there-is-a-proper-measure-in-all-things-certain-limits-beyond-which/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Never despair while under the guidance and auspices of Teucer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/never-despair-while-under-the-guidance-and-auspices-of-teucer/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Alas, Postumus, the fleeting years slip by, nor will piety give any stay to wrinkles and pressing old age and untamable death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/alas-postumus-the-fleeting-years-slip-by-nor-will-piety-give-any-stay/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) [Explore all 1,000 Horace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Be not for ever harassed by impotent desire.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Horace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/be-not-for-ever-harassed-by-impotent-desire/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/be-not-for-ever-harassed-by-impotent-desire/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/horace-172_desire_be-not-for-ever-harassed-by-impotent-des_1901948.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/horace-172_desire_be-not-for-ever-harassed-by-impotent-des_1901948.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/979/horace-172_desire_be-not-for-ever-harassed-by-impotent-des_1901948.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Be not for ever harassed by impotent desire.” — Horace", "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": "Horace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Be not for ever harassed by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/be-not-for-ever-harassed-by-impotent-desire/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/be-not-for-ever-harassed-by-impotent-desire/#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 } } ] } ```