---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is one thing to praise discipline, and…"
description: "\"It is one thing to praise discipline, and another to submit to it.\" — Miguel de Cervantes"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/miguel-de-cervantes-715_discipline_it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and_20295.png"
---

#  It is one thing to praise discipline, and another to…

![“It is one thing to praise discipline, and another to submit to it.” quote by Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/miguel-de-cervantes-715_discipline_it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and_20295.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/miguel-de-cervantes-715_discipline_it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and_20295.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/miguel-de-cervantes-715_discipline_it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and_20295.png)

> “It is one thing to praise discipline, and another to submit to it.”

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Acknowledges the distinction between admiring discipline as a virtue and allowing it to govern one's actions, highlighting the tension between appreciation and personal autonomy.

**In simple terms:** Admiring discipline differs from being governed by it.

Key Takeaway

Respect for discipline can become self‑subjugation.

Themes

self‑discipline autonomy personal growth balance control

Mood

reflective thoughtful cautious

Type

aphorism advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- coaching sessions
- self‑help workshops
- leadership training
- personal journaling
- therapeutic counseling

Key Concepts

virtue ethics psychology of habit freedom vs. constraint

Practical Applications

- motivational speaking
- behavioral coaching

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you admire discipline without feeling controlled?
- When does discipline become oppression?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/)

## Related quotes

> [And if there is not any such thing as a long time, nor the rest of your lives, nor from now on, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/and-if-there-is-not-any-such-thing-as-a-long-time-nor-the-rest-of/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“For the rest, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever modest, whatsoever just, whatsoever holy, whatsoever lovely, whatsoever of good fame, if there be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-paul/for-the-rest-brethren-whatsoever-things-are-true-whatsoever-modest/)

[St. Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-paul/)

> [God will never disappoint us… If deep in our hearts we suspect that God does not love us and cannot manage our affairs as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/god-will-never-disappoint-us-if-deep-in-our-hearts-we-suspect-that/)

[Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/)

> [When members unite with the church, they should not only make a profession of faith in Christ (that is essential), but in light of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-adams/when-members-unite-with-the-church-they-should-not-only-make-a/)

[Jay Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-adams/)

> [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/)

> [At a certain point, I felt the need to submit to a higher level of religiosity to move away from my intuition and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matisyahu/at-a-certain-point-i-felt-the-need-to-submit-to-a-higher-level-of/)

[Matisyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matisyahu/)

> [As a rule of thumb, I would submit that if you need to call your floss provider, for any reason, you are probably not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/as-a-rule-of-thumb-i-would-submit-that-if-you-need-to-call-your-floss/)

[Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/)

> [The most devastating thing though that biology did to Christianity was the discovery of biological evolution. Now that we know that Adam and Eve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zindler/the-most-devastating-thing-though-that-biology-did-to-christianity/)

[Frank Zindler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zindler/)

> [There is a destiny in war, to which a brave man knows how to submit with the same courage that he faces his foes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-f-cooper/there-is-a-destiny-in-war-to-which-a-brave-man-knows-how-to-submit/)

[James F. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/)

> [Nothing, not even the best and noblest, can go on as it now is. Nothing, not even what is lowest and most bestial, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-not-even-the-best-and-noblest-can-go-on-as-it-now-is-nothing/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Habit is altogether too arbitrary a master for me to submit to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/habit-is-altogether-too-arbitrary-a-master-for-me-to-submit-to/)

[Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/)

> [A contract is an ask game, and if it asks for an hour, and I submit to an hour, then it's an hour. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/a-contract-is-an-ask-game-and-if-it-asks-for-an-hour-and-i-submit-to/)

[Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/)

> [ Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… \[The anthropologist\] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-an-intense-fascinated/)

[Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/)

> [I would have let you shoot me without further ado! But it is not possible to hang the German Reichsmarschall! I cannot permit this.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/i-would-have-let-you-shoot-me-without-further-ado-but-it-is-not/)

[Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/)

> [The State must act as the guardian of a millennial future in the face of which the wishes and the selfishness of the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-state-must-act-as-the-guardian-of-a-millennial-future-in-the-face/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

## More by Miguel de Cervantes

> [Beware, gentle knight - the greatest monster of them all is reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/beware-gentle-knight-the-greatest-monster-of-them-all-is-reason/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [He had a face like a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/he-had-a-face-like-a-blessing/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Those who'll play with cats must expect to be scratched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect-to-be-scratched/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [“So it appears to me, for when he could and should have wielded his pen to praise the virtues of so good a knight,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/so-it-appears-to-me-for-when-he-could-and-should-have-wielded-his-pen/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [“Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/too-much-sanity-may-be-madness-and-maddest-of-all-to-see-life-as-it/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Old, that's an affront no woman can well bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/old-that-s-an-affront-no-woman-can-well-bear/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [One should not talk of hatters in the house of the hanged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/one-should-not-talk-of-hatters-in-the-house-of-the-hanged/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [It is courage that vanquishes in war, and not good weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/it-is-courage-that-vanquishes-in-war-and-not-good-weapons/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Alas! all music jars when the soul's out of tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/alas-all-music-jars-when-the-soul-s-out-of-tune/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [I follow a more easy, and, in my opinion, a wiser course, namely--to inveigh against the levity of the female sex, their fickleness, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/i-follow-a-more-easy-and-in-my-opinion-a-wiser-course-namely-to/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Every man is as heaven made him, and sometimes a great deal worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/every-man-is-as-heaven-made-him-and-sometimes-a-great-deal-worse/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Great people create great acts of kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/great-people-create-great-acts-of-kindness/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [One day, in the San Francisco walk, he came upon some badly painted figures and observed that good painters imitate nature but bad ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/one-day-in-the-san-francisco-walk-he-came-upon-some-badly-painted/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Drink moderately, for drunkeness neither keeps a secret, nor observes a promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/drink-moderately-for-drunkeness-neither-keeps-a-secret-nor-observes-a/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Be temperate in your drinking, remembering that too much wine cannot keep either a secret or a promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/be-temperate-in-your-drinking-remembering-that-too-much-wine-cannot/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

[Explore all 386 Miguel de Cervantes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

## More Discipline 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/)

> [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/)

[Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/)

> [“Peace requires a discipline more iron than war. - Easter, 1939 ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-turner/peace-requires-a-discipline-more-iron-than-war-easter-1939/)

W.J. Turner

> [You can't have the fruits without the roots. It's the principle of sequencing: Private Victories proceed Public Victories. Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/you-can-t-have-the-fruits-without-the-roots-it-s-the-principle-of/)

[Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/)

> [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/)

[Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/)

> [Exercise teaches you the pleasure of discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/exercise-teaches-you-the-pleasure-of-discipline/)

[Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/)

> [I'm always writing. I'm an obsessive. It's not because I'm a disciplined person. It's because I'm crazy about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-m-always-writing-i-m-an-obsessive-it-s-not-because-i-m-a/)

[Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/)

> [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/)

[J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/)

> [The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty.” “Discipline is, therefore, primarily a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-undisciplined-child-enters-into-discipline-by-working-in-the/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [“Proverbs from the East: The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. Even though I make no special attempt to observe the discipline of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/proverbs-from-the-east-the-wind-howls-but-the-mountain-remains-still/)

[Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/)

> [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/)

Burne Hogarth

> [Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It require you to connect today's actions to tomorrow's results. There's a season for sowing a season for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ryan-blair/self-discipline-is-an-act-of-cultivation-it-require-you-to-connect/)

[Gary Ryan Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ryan-blair/)

> [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/)

[Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/)

> [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/)

[Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/)

> [Stay in your seat come times of trouble. Its only people who jump off the roller coaster who get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harvey/stay-in-your-seat-come-times-of-trouble-its-only-people-who-jump-off/)

[Paul Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harvey/)

[Browse all 5,597 Discipline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It is one thing to praise discipline, and another to submit to it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Miguel de Cervantes"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and-another-to-submit-to-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Discipline"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and-another-to-submit-to-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/miguel-de-cervantes-715_discipline_it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and_20295.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/miguel-de-cervantes-715_discipline_it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and_20295.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/miguel-de-cervantes-715_discipline_it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and_20295.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is one thing to praise discipline, and another to submit to it.” — Miguel de Cervantes",
                "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": "Miguel de Cervantes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It is one thing to praise...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and-another-to-submit-to-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and-another-to-submit-to-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```