--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the excess of all good things is…" description: "\"the excess of all good things is mischievous.\" — Lydia M. Child" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/lydia-m-child-9261_excess_the-excess-of-all-good-things-is-mischie_3221340.png" --- # the excess of all good things is mischievous. ![“the excess of all good things is mischievous.” quote by Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/lydia-m-child-9261_excess_the-excess-of-all-good-things-is-mischie_3221340.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/lydia-m-child-9261_excess_the-excess-of-all-good-things-is-mischie_3221340.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/lydia-m-child-9261_excess_the-excess-of-all-good-things-is-mischie_3221340.png) > “the excess of all good things is mischievous.” [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excess of good can become harmful, turning virtue into vice through overindulgence. **In simple terms:** Too much of a good thing can be bad. Key Takeaway Practice moderation. Themes moderation excess virtue Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - dietary habits - financial spending - media consumption - social interactions Key Concepts balance self‑control Questions to Reflect On - When does abundance become a problem? - How can you recognize the tipping point of excess? A Different Perspective It may not apply when scarcity, the issue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Excess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess/) [Excess Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess-good-878018/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Good thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-thing/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Mischievous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mischievous/) [Things Mischievous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-mischievous-6057181/) ## Related quotes > [In battling evil, excess is good; for he who is moderate in announcing the truth is presenting half-truth. He conceals the other half out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-battling-evil-excess-is-good-for-he-who-is-moderate-in-announcing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Genius has infused itself into nature. It indicates itself by a small excess of good, a small balance in brute facts always favorable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/genius-has-infused-itself-into-nature-it-indicates-itself-by-a-small/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/in-a-culture-that-relentlessly-promotes-avarice-and-excess-as-the/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I guess anything in excess is no good for you, even things that are supposed to be healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/i-guess-anything-in-excess-is-no-good-for-you-even-things-that-are/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [I don't necessarily believe in moderation, but I do believe in the dangers of excess, and that's with some good things too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-hunt/i-don-t-necessarily-believe-in-moderation-but-i-do-believe-in-the/) [Brendan Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-hunt/) > [Nothing is of its nature evil, and nothing is of its nature good. Evil is only excess, good is simply balance. All things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-parsons/nothing-is-of-its-nature-evil-and-nothing-is-of-its-nature-good-evil/) [John Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-parsons/) > [It is a common thing to screw up justice to the pitch of an injury. A man may be over-righteous, and why not over-grateful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-a-common-thing-to-screw-up-justice-to-the-pitch-of-an-injury-a/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [So sometimes things are ahead and sometimes they are behind; Sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily; Sometimes there is strength and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/so-sometimes-things-are-ahead-and-sometimes-they-are-behind-sometimes/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The true secret of natural goodness lies in the recognition of the contending rights of the Pairs of Opposites; there is no such antimony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dion-fortune/the-true-secret-of-natural-goodness-lies-in-the-recognition-of-the/) [Dion Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dion-fortune/) > [I do not admire a virtue like valour when it is pushed to excess, if I do not see at the same time the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/i-do-not-admire-a-virtue-like-valour-when-it-is-pushed-to-excess-if-i/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [We feel neither extreme heat nor extreme cold; qualities that are in excess are so much at variance with our feelings that they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-feel-neither-extreme-heat-nor-extreme-cold-qualities-that-are-in/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Hitler was a vegetarian. Just goes to show, vegetarianism, not always a good thing. Can in some extreme cases lead to genocide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bailey/hitler-was-a-vegetarian-just-goes-to-show-vegetarianism-not-always-a/) [Bill Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bailey/) > [People have one of two extreme reactions to my book. They either throw it across the room, or they rush out and buy 10…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/people-have-one-of-two-extreme-reactions-to-my-book-they-either-throw/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Operation Bluestar was a mischievous blunder, and it should not have been done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subramanian-swamy/operation-bluestar-was-a-mischievous-blunder-and-it-should-not-have/) [Subramanian Swamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subramanian-swamy/) ## More by Lydia M. Child > [Every human being has, like Socrates, an attendant spirit; and wise are they who obey its signals. If it does not always tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/every-human-being-has-like-socrates-an-attendant-spirit-and-wise-are/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [Happiness consists not in having much, but in wanting no more than you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/happiness-consists-not-in-having-much-but-in-wanting-no-more-than-you/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [Home - that blessed word, which opens to the human heart the most perfect glimpse of Heaven, and helps to carry it thither, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/home-that-blessed-word-which-opens-to-the-human-heart-the-most/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [our republican ideas cannot be consistently carried out while women are excluded from any share in the government. ... Any class of human beings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/our-republican-ideas-cannot-be-consistently-carried-out-while-women/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [The eye of genius has always a plaintive expression, and its natural language is pathos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/the-eye-of-genius-has-always-a-plaintive-expression-and-its-natural/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [I do not know how the affair at Canterbury is generally considered; but I have heard individuals of all parties and all opinions speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/i-do-not-know-how-the-affair-at-canterbury-is-generally-considered/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [To everything there is a bright side and a dark side; and I hold it to be unwise, unphilosophic, unkind to others, and unhealthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/to-everything-there-is-a-bright-side-and-a-dark-side-and-i-hold-it-to/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [It is right noble to fight with wickedness and wrong; the mistake is in supposing that spiritual evil can be overcome by physical means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/it-is-right-noble-to-fight-with-wickedness-and-wrong-the-mistake-is/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [Misfortune is never mournful to the soul that accepts it; for such do always see that every cloud is an angel's face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/misfortune-is-never-mournful-to-the-soul-that-accepts-it-for-such-do/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [The boughs of no two trees ever have the same arrangement. Nature always produces individuals; She never produces classes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/the-boughs-of-no-two-trees-ever-have-the-same-arrangement-nature/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [In the first place, the government ought not to be invested with power to control the affections, any more than the consciences of citizens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/in-the-first-place-the-government-ought-not-to-be-invested-with-power/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [That a majority of women do not wish for any important change in their social and civil condition, merely proves that they are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/that-a-majority-of-women-do-not-wish-for-any-important-change-in/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [There was a time when all these things would have passed me by, like the flitting figures of a theatre, sufficient for the amusement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/there-was-a-time-when-all-these-things-would-have-passed-me-by-like/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [That man's best works should be such bungling imitations of Nature's infinite perfection, matters not much; but that he should make himself an imitation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/that-man-s-best-works-should-be-such-bungling-imitations-of-nature-s/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [If we really believed that those who are gone from us were as truly alive as ourselves, we could not invest the subject with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/if-we-really-believed-that-those-who-are-gone-from-us-were-as-truly/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) [Explore all 74 Lydia M. Child quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) ## More Excess quotes > [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/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A too closely watched flower/blossoms the wrong color./Excess attention to the jonquil/turns it gentian. Flowers/need it tranquil to get/their hues right. Some/only open at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/a-too-closely-watched-flower-blossoms-the-wrong-color-excess/) [Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/) > [This isn't a picture filled with wonder and a sense of fun; it's so jaded and crass that I almost wonder if it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-zacharek/this-isn-t-a-picture-filled-with-wonder-and-a-sense-of-fun-it-s-so/) [Stephanie Zacharek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-zacharek/) > [Enjoy the necessities of life but eschew the excesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gardner/enjoy-the-necessities-of-life-but-eschew-the-excesses/) [Ian Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gardner/) > [Most of us try to do too much because we are secretly afraid we will not be able to do anything at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-aster/most-of-us-try-to-do-too-much-because-we-are-secretly-afraid-we-will/) [Rick Aster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-aster/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [I believe that government should confine itself to the public realm and that it should be as stripped down as possible, within reason. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-believe-that-government-should-confine-itself-to-the-public-realm/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [All excess is ill; but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/all-excess-is-ill-but-drunkenness-is-of-the-worst-sort-it-spoils/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [“The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory. He’s got esprit up to here. Right now, he is preparing to carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-deliverator-belongs-to-an-elite-order-a-hallowed-subcategory-he-s/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Well, as you know, we're working through a difficult period in our financial markets right now as we work off some of the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/well-as-you-know-we-re-working-through-a-difficult-period-in-our/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [The saints differ from us in their exuberance, the excess of our human talents. Moderation is not their secret. It is in the wildness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/the-saints-differ-from-us-in-their-exuberance-the-excess-of-our-human/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [Despite the recent conviction of many that we're headed back to inflation, I think deflation remains the more likely prospect. You've just got too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shilling/despite-the-recent-conviction-of-many-that-we-re-headed-back-to/) [Gary Shilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shilling/) > [ Look at what I am proposing, and we \[wih Bernie Sanders\] have a vigorous agreement here. We both want to reign in the excesses… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/look-at-what-i-am-proposing-and-we-wih-bernie-sanders-have-a-vigorous/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) [Browse all 952 Excess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "the excess of all good things is mischievous.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lydia M. 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