--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Avarice, the sphincter of the heart." description: "\"Avarice, the sphincter of the heart.\" — Matthew Green" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/matthew-green-32832_avarice_avarice-the-sphincter-of-the-heart-28755_2875556.jpg" --- # Avarice, the sphincter of the heart. ![“Avarice, the sphincter of the heart.” quote by Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/matthew-green-32832_avarice_avarice-the-sphincter-of-the-heart-28755_2875556.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/matthew-green-32832_avarice_avarice-the-sphincter-of-the-heart-28755_2875556.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/matthew-green-32832_avarice_avarice-the-sphincter-of-the-heart-28755_2875556.jpg) > “Avarice, the sphincter of the heart.” [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avarice is likened to a heart’s sphincter, controlling emotional flow. **In simple terms:** Greed restricts the heart’s openness. Key Takeaway Recognize how greed can choke emotional health. Themes greed heart control Mood introspective analytical Type emotional philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - financial decisions - self‑analysis Key Concepts psychology metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How does greed affect emotional openness? - Can you identify a “sphincter” in your heart? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Avarice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avarice/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) ## Related quotes > [It was a sphincter at the top of a black bowl. A fitting commentary on the FAYZ, Diana thought. A giant sphincter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/it-was-a-sphincter-at-the-top-of-a-black-bowl-a-fitting-commentary-on/) [Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/) > [Your digestive system is your body's Fun House, whereby food goes on a long, dark, scary ride, taking all kinds of unexpected twists and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/your-digestive-system-is-your-body-s-fun-house-whereby-food-goes-on-a/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Sphincter is a Technical word for asshole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sphincter-is-a-technical-word-for-asshole/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Peter Cooper looks at the world with an artist's eye and a human heart and soul. His songs are the work of an original,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/peter-cooper-looks-at-the-world-with-an-artist-s-eye-and-a-human/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [A heart to resolve, a head to contrive, and a hand to execute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/a-heart-to-resolve-a-head-to-contrive-and-a-hand-to-execute/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“human heart only sweetens when broken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/human-heart-only-sweetens-when-broken/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The human heart is not yet so corroded that it can read off the extinction of these two men without a shock to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-human-heart-is-not-yet-so-corroded-that-it-can-read-off-the/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [In our own time the whole of Greece has been subject to a low birth rate and a general decrease of the population, owing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/in-our-own-time-the-whole-of-greece-has-been-subject-to-a-low-birth/) [Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/) > [Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pcanet, and other powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tecumseh/where-today-are-the-pequot-where-are-the-narragansett-the-mohican-the/) [Tecumseh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tecumseh/) > [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Where poverty ceases, avarice begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/where-poverty-ceases-avarice-begins/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [The man who worships mere wealth is a snob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/the-man-who-worships-mere-wealth-is-a-snob/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) ## More by Matthew Green > [Thus, I steer my bark, and sail On even keel, with gentle gale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/thus-i-steer-my-bark-and-sail-on-even-keel-with-gentle-gale/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [Though pleas'd to see the dolphins play, I mind my compass and my way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/though-pleas-d-to-see-the-dolphins-play-i-mind-my-compass-and-my-way/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“It's very strange to be an imaginary friend. You can't be suffocated and you can't get sick and you can't fall and break your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/it-s-very-strange-to-be-an-imaginary-friend-you-can-t-be-suffocated/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“No matter what happens, I don’t think that anyone will remember me when I disappear. It will be like I was never here. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/no-matter-what-happens-i-don-t-think-that-anyone-will-remember-me/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [Fling but a stone, the giant dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/fling-but-a-stone-the-giant-dies/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [Nor bigots who but one way see, through blinkers of authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/nor-bigots-who-but-one-way-see-through-blinkers-of-authority/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“In love the artless catch the game, And they scarce miss who never aim.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/in-love-the-artless-catch-the-game-and-they-scarce-miss-who-never-aim/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [They politics like ours profess, the greater prey upon the less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/they-politics-like-ours-profess-the-greater-prey-upon-the-less/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [Experience join'd with common sense, To mortals is a providence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/experience-join-d-with-common-sense-to-mortals-is-a-providence/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“I hated Pinocchio. I think I was the only one in the class who hated him. Pinocchio was alive, but that was not enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/i-hated-pinocchio-i-think-i-was-the-only-one-in-the-class-who-hated/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“Everyone gets so worried about the people who are still living when the people who are really hurting are the dead ones. People like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/everyone-gets-so-worried-about-the-people-who-are-still-living-when/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“It's hard to not worry, because trying not to worry reminds me that I should be worried”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/it-s-hard-to-not-worry-because-trying-not-to-worry-reminds-me-that-i/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [Talk of unusual swell of waist In maid of honor loosely laced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/talk-of-unusual-swell-of-waist-in-maid-of-honor-loosely-laced/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“The world can be so complicated for Max. Even when he gets something right, it can still go wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/the-world-can-be-so-complicated-for-max-even-when-he-gets-something/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) [Explore all 15 Matthew Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) ## More Avarice quotes > [In our own time the whole of Greece has been subject to a low birth rate and a general decrease of the population, owing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/in-our-own-time-the-whole-of-greece-has-been-subject-to-a-low-birth/) [Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [The man who worships mere wealth is a snob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/the-man-who-worships-mere-wealth-is-a-snob/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pcanet, and other powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tecumseh/where-today-are-the-pequot-where-are-the-narragansett-the-mohican-the/) [Tecumseh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tecumseh/) > [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Where poverty ceases, avarice begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/where-poverty-ceases-avarice-begins/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Five enemies of peace inhabit with us - avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/five-enemies-of-peace-inhabit-with-us-avarice-ambition-envy-anger-and/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > ['Maneater' is about N.Y.C. in the '80s. It's about greed, avarice, and spoiled riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oates/maneater-is-about-n-y-c-in-the-80s-it-s-about-greed-avarice-and/) [John Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oates/) > [A woman's whole life is a history of the affections. The heart is her world: it is there her ambition strives for empire; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-whole-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections-the-heart-is-her/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Gluttony should be destroyed by self-control; unchastity by desire for God and longing for the blessings held in store; avarice by compassion for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-damascus/gluttony-should-be-destroyed-by-self-control-unchastity-by-desire-for/) [John of Damascus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-damascus/) > [Riches with their wicked inducements increase; nevertheless, avarice is never satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/riches-with-their-wicked-inducements-increase-nevertheless-avarice-is/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Poverty wants much; but avarice, everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/poverty-wants-much-but-avarice-everything/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [When virtue is banished, ambition invades the minds of those who are disposed to receive it and avarice possesses the whole community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/when-virtue-is-banished-ambition-invades-the-minds-of-those-who-are/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [He who is always in a hurry to be wealthy and immersed in the study of augmenting his fortune has lost the arms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/he-who-is-always-in-a-hurry-to-be-wealthy-and-immersed-in-the-study/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Goodness is weakness, pleasantness is poisonous, serenity is mediocrity and kindness is for losers. The best reason for committing loathsome and detestable acts –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/goodness-is-weakness-pleasantness-is-poisonous-serenity-is-mediocrity/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) [Browse all 318 Avarice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avarice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Avarice, the sphincter of the heart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matthew Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/avarice-the-sphincter-of-the-heart/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Avarice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/avarice-the-sphincter-of-the-heart/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/matthew-green-32832_avarice_avarice-the-sphincter-of-the-heart-28755_2875556.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/matthew-green-32832_avarice_avarice-the-sphincter-of-the-heart-28755_2875556.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/matthew-green-32832_avarice_avarice-the-sphincter-of-the-heart-28755_2875556.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Avarice, the sphincter of the heart.” — Matthew Green", "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": "Matthew Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Avarice, the sphincter of the heart.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/avarice-the-sphincter-of-the-heart/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/avarice-the-sphincter-of-the-heart/#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 } } ] } ```