--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They who overcome their desires once can…" description: "\"They who overcome their desires once can overcome them always.\" — Pierre Corneille" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/pierre-corneille-2033_desire_they-who-overcome-their-desires-once-can_107774.jpg" --- # They who overcome their desires once can overcome them… ![“They who overcome their desires once can overcome them always.” quote by Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/pierre-corneille-2033_desire_they-who-overcome-their-desires-once-can_107774.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/pierre-corneille-2033_desire_they-who-overcome-their-desires-once-can_107774.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/pierre-corneille-2033_desire_they-who-overcome-their-desires-once-can_107774.jpg) > “They who overcome their desires once can overcome them always.” [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If you can conquer a desire once, you develop the discipline to repeatedly master similar impulses. **In simple terms:** Overcoming a desire builds lasting self‑control. Key Takeaway Mastery of one urge reinforces future self‑discipline. Themes self‑control habit formation willpower growth Mood motivational reflective Type maxim inspirational When to use this quote - addiction recovery programs - goal‑setting workshops - personal development coaching Key Concepts behavioral psychology habit loop Practical Applications - track progress on small cravings - celebrate each successful resistance Questions to Reflect On - What strategies help sustain self‑control over time? - Can repeated success in one area translate to others? A Different Perspective Some desires are deeply rooted and may resurface despite prior success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desires/) [Desires Overcome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desires-overcome-1288212/) [Overcome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcome/) [Overcome Desires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcome-desires-1288213/) ## Related quotes > [How much must I overcome before I triumph?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/how-much-must-i-overcome-before-i-triumph/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [The more desires you have, the more misery you will create for yourself. Misery is a consequence of desiring - and you go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-desires-you-have-the-more-misery-you-will-create-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So endless and exorbitant are the desires of men that they will grasp at all, and can form no scheme of perfect happiness with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/so-endless-and-exorbitant-are-the-desires-of-men-that-they-will-grasp/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I don't have the desires of a spoiled child. I never did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-stephanie-of-monaco/i-don-t-have-the-desires-of-a-spoiled-child-i-never-did/) [Princess Stephanie of Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-stephanie-of-monaco/) > [The problem for us is not are our desires satisfied or not. The problem is how do we know what we desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-problem-for-us-is-not-are-our-desires-satisfied-or-not-the/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“People make themselves unhappy by desiring and praising only one thing, by becoming too one-sided in trying to find contentment. If we were just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adalbert-stifter/people-make-themselves-unhappy-by-desiring-and-praising-only-one/) [Adalbert Stifter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adalbert-stifter/) > [Christ desires nothing more of us than that we speak of him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/christ-desires-nothing-more-of-us-than-that-we-speak-of-him/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [It is a happy circumstance that when nature gives us true burning desires, she also gives us the means to satisfy them. Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/it-is-a-happy-circumstance-that-when-nature-gives-us-true-burning/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [“The desires of the flesh leads to sin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-desires-of-the-flesh-leads-to-sin/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [The best kind of wealth is to give up inordinate desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-best-kind-of-wealth-is-to-give-up-inordinate-desires/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [My intentions go one way, my desires another. Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Desires and wishes don’t lead to success. Plans and efforts do. Create a vision, chalk out an action plan, put in your best efforts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roopleen/desires-and-wishes-don-t-lead-to-success-plans-and-efforts-do-create/) [Roopleen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roopleen/) > [Our desires have a way of getting bigger with our incomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/our-desires-have-a-way-of-getting-bigger-with-our-incomes/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [“The best way to achieve a wonderful life is to have wonderful desires.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/the-best-way-to-achieve-a-wonderful-life-is-to-have-wonderful-desires/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) ## More by Pierre Corneille > [Sir, what does it matter whom I serve, so long as I am right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/sir-what-does-it-matter-whom-i-serve-so-long-as-i-am-right/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [He who allows himself to be insulted deserves to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/he-who-allows-himself-to-be-insulted-deserves-to-be/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [Flee an enemy who knows your weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/flee-an-enemy-who-knows-your-weakness/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [Such is the caprice of Romans... who reject kings in name but not in practice, and accept an Emperor mightier than a hundred kings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/such-is-the-caprice-of-romans-who-reject-kings-in-name-but-not-in/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [To take revenge halfheartedly is to court disaster; either condemn or crown your hatred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/to-take-revenge-halfheartedly-is-to-court-disaster-either-condemn-or/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [ By speaking of our misfortunes we often relieve them. \[Fr., A raconter ses maux souvent on les soulage.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/by-speaking-of-our-misfortunes-we-often-relieve-them-fr-a-raconter/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [Self-love is the source of all our other loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/self-love-is-the-source-of-all-our-other-loves/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [As our self-interests differ, so do our feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/as-our-self-interests-differ-so-do-our-feelings/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [I don't know how to defend myself: surprised innocence cannot imagine being under suspicion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/i-don-t-know-how-to-defend-myself-surprised-innocence-cannot-imagine/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [He who allows me to rule is in fact my master](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/he-who-allows-me-to-rule-is-in-fact-my-master/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [All great virtues become great men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/all-great-virtues-become-great-men/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [He who forgives readily only invites offense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/he-who-forgives-readily-only-invites-offense/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [For souls nobly born, valor doesn't await the passing of years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/for-souls-nobly-born-valor-doesn-t-await-the-passing-of-years/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [It is the gift of heaven and not of reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/it-is-the-gift-of-heaven-and-not-of-reason/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [He who can live in infamy is unworthy of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/he-who-can-live-in-infamy-is-unworthy-of-life/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) [Explore all 181 Pierre Corneille quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "They who overcome their desires once can overcome them always.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pierre Corneille" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/they-who-overcome-their-desires-once-can-overcome-them-always/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/they-who-overcome-their-desires-once-can-overcome-them-always/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/pierre-corneille-2033_desire_they-who-overcome-their-desires-once-can_107774.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/pierre-corneille-2033_desire_they-who-overcome-their-desires-once-can_107774.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/pierre-corneille-2033_desire_they-who-overcome-their-desires-once-can_107774.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They who overcome their desires once can overcome them always.” — Pierre Corneille", "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": "Pierre Corneille", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "They who overcome their desires once...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/they-who-overcome-their-desires-once-can-overcome-them-always/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/they-who-overcome-their-desires-once-can-overcome-them-always/#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 } } ] } ```