--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Keep what you have got; the known evil is…" description: "\"Keep what you have got; the known evil is best. [Lat., Habeas ut nactus; nota mala res optima est.]\" — Plautus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/plautus-1263_contentment_keep-what-you-have-got-the-known-evil-is_2228807.jpg" --- # Keep what you have got; the known evil is best. \[Lat… ![“Keep what you have got; the known evil is best. [Lat., Habeas ut nactus; nota mala res optima est.]” quote by Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/plautus-1263_contentment_keep-what-you-have-got-the-known-evil-is_2228807.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/plautus-1263_contentment_keep-what-you-have-got-the-known-evil-is_2228807.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87f/plautus-1263_contentment_keep-what-you-have-got-the-known-evil-is_2228807.jpg) > “Keep what you have got; the known evil is best. \[Lat., Habeas ut nactus; nota mala res optima est.\]” [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing the lesser known evil is safer than risking an unknown greater harm. **In simple terms:** Pick the known bad over unknown worse. Key Takeaway Accept manageable risks. Themes ethics risk management decision making Mood cautious pragmatic Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - business strategy - personal safety - policy making - health decisions Key Concepts known vs unknown moral calculus Questions to Reflect On - When is it wiser to face the unknown? - How do we evaluate unknown risks? A Different Perspective May limit growth by avoiding necessary challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ## Related quotes > [Keep what you have; the known evil is best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keep-what-you-have-the-known-evil-is-best/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No matter how daring or cautious you may choose to be, in the course of your life, you are bound to come into direct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/no-matter-how-daring-or-cautious-you-may-choose-to-be-in-the-course/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [The best known evil is the most tolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livy/the-best-known-evil-is-the-most-tolerable/) [Livy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/livy/) > [The oldest and best known evil was ever more supportable than one that was new and untried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-oldest-and-best-known-evil-was-ever-more-supportable-than-one/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“And it occurred to me how even pulling trees that day, just months ago, I was in heaven. Unaware. I had known nothing even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/and-it-occurred-to-me-how-even-pulling-trees-that-day-just-months-ago/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [“For unbelievers, evil can best be described as the abandonment of our minds to the minds of others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stefanelli/for-unbelievers-evil-can-best-be-described-as-the-abandonment-of-our/) [Al Stefanelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stefanelli/) > [If you have to write a fictional adventure to convey a philosophy of evil, the best person is the destroyer of evil himself, Lord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amish-tripathi/if-you-have-to-write-a-fictional-adventure-to-convey-a-philosophy-of/) [Amish Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amish-tripathi/) > [We have a mantra: don't be evil, which is to do the best things we know how for our users, for our customers, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/we-have-a-mantra-don-t-be-evil-which-is-to-do-the-best-things-we-know/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [Yet I know that good is coming to me—that good is always coming; though few have at all times the simplicity and the courage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/yet-i-know-that-good-is-coming-to-me-that-good-is-always-coming/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“There is evil in the best of us, of course; but perhaps just a little bit more in the worst of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/there-is-evil-in-the-best-of-us-of-course-but-perhaps-just-a-little/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“He was some kind of a man... What does it matter what you say about people?" -- Marlene Dietrich's character in Touch Of Evil,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-masterson/he-was-some-kind-of-a-man-what-does-it-matter-what-you-say-about/) Whit Masterson > [There is some good in the worst of us, and some evil in the best of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/there-is-some-good-in-the-worst-of-us-and-some-evil-in-the-best-of-us/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I may not have everything I want in life but I have all I will ever need to make my life complete, my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-may-not-have-everything-i-want-in-life-but-i-have-all-i-will-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can find as much happiness at the bottom of the ladder of success as you can at the top, then you understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-krause/if-you-can-find-as-much-happiness-at-the-bottom-of-the-ladder-of/) [Tom Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-krause/) > [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/) ## More by Plautus > [Remind a man of what he remembers, and you will make him forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/remind-a-man-of-what-he-remembers-and-you-will-make-him-forget-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Arrogance is the outgrowth of prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/arrogance-is-the-outgrowth-of-prosperity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [I suspect that hunger was my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/i-suspect-that-hunger-was-my-mother/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [He is happy in his wisdom who has learned at another's expense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/he-is-happy-in-his-wisdom-who-has-learned-at-another-s-expense/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [He who dies for virtue does not perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/he-who-dies-for-virtue-does-not-perish/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [The man who would be fully employed should procure a ship or a woman, for no two things produce more trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/the-man-who-would-be-fully-employed-should-procure-a-ship-or-a-woman/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [If you speak insults you will hear them also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/if-you-speak-insults-you-will-hear-them-also/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [ No man has perpetual good fortune. \[Lat., Nulli est homini perpetuum bonum.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/no-man-has-perpetual-good-fortune-lat-nulli-est-homini-perpetuum-bonum/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [What you lend is lost; when you ask for it back, you may find a friend made an enemy by your kindness. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/what-you-lend-is-lost-when-you-ask-for-it-back-you-may-find-a-friend/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Things unhoped for happen oftener than things we desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/things-unhoped-for-happen-oftener-than-things-we-desire/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [“Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent (How often the greatest talents are shrouded in obscurity)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent-how-often-the-greatest/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [ You little know what a ticklish thing it is to go to law. \[Lat., Nescis tu quam meticulosa res sit ire ad judicem.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/you-little-know-what-a-ticklish-thing-it-is-to-go-to-law-lat-nescis/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Modesty should accompany youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/modesty-should-accompany-youth/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [It is wisdom to think upon anything before we execute it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/it-is-wisdom-to-think-upon-anything-before-we-execute-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [A woman smells well when she smells of nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/a-woman-smells-well-when-she-smells-of-nothing/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) [Explore all 259 Plautus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) ## More Contentment quotes > [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/) > [I may not have everything I want in life but I have all I will ever need to make my life complete, my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-may-not-have-everything-i-want-in-life-but-i-have-all-i-will-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can find as much happiness at the bottom of the ladder of success as you can at the top, then you understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-krause/if-you-can-find-as-much-happiness-at-the-bottom-of-the-ladder-of/) [Tom Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-krause/) > [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [“When we perform at our highest level of potential, we are content. Because we have given I best in what we enjoy doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-barrier/when-we-perform-at-our-highest-level-of-potential-we-are-content/) [Ellen J. Barrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-barrier/) > [Money is made at Christmas out of holly and mistletoe, but who save the vendors would greatly care if no green branch were procurable?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/money-is-made-at-christmas-out-of-holly-and-mistletoe-but-who-save/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [My crown is in my heart, not on my head; not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen: my crown is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-crown-is-in-my-heart-not-on-my-head-not-decked-with-diamonds-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Most of us are not content with our lot because we want a lot more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianette-carbito/most-of-us-are-not-content-with-our-lot-because-we-want-a-lot-more/) [Marianette Carbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianette-carbito/) > [Pleasure simply brings more craving, but the problem is that we try to get contentment through pleasure. True contentment can only come through service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/pleasure-simply-brings-more-craving-but-the-problem-is-that-we-try-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Every human always wants more. We're never satisfied. True happiness doesn't come until we're fully satisfied with what we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-human-always-wants-more-we-re-never-satisfied-true-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was so nearly happy. There remained only a tiny something, something unexplained and inexplicable that buzzed in my ear when the lights were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-rooney/i-was-so-nearly-happy-there-remained-only-a-tiny-something-something/) Jennie Rooney > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [One often learns more from ten days of agony than ten years of contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-shain/one-often-learns-more-from-ten-days-of-agony-than-ten-years-of/) [Merle Shain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-shain/) > [Stop complaining and start accepting, everything happens for a reason, you may not notice the importance of the things that you have now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/stop-complaining-and-start-accepting-everything-happens-for-a-reason/) Hemantsmarty > [True intimacy is the experience of real acceptance and authentic vulnerability without feeling the need to apologize or fear rejection. The freedom to just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/true-intimacy-is-the-experience-of-real-acceptance-and-authentic/) [Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/) [Browse all 1,355 Contentment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Keep what you have got; the known evil is best. 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