--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We gain the strength of the temptation we…" description: "\"We gain the strength of the temptation we resist.\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cf/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_resist_we-gain-the-strength-of-the-temptation-w_3220050.png" --- # We gain the strength of the temptation we resist. ![“We gain the strength of the temptation we resist.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cf/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_resist_we-gain-the-strength-of-the-temptation-w_3220050.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cf/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_resist_we-gain-the-strength-of-the-temptation-w_3220050.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cf/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_resist_we-gain-the-strength-of-the-temptation-w_3220050.png) > “We gain the strength of the temptation we resist.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Resisting temptation builds inner strength, turning challenges into personal power. **In simple terms:** Resisting temptation strengthens you. Key Takeaway Practice self‑control to grow. Themes self‑discipline strength temptation growth Mood motivational inspirational Type self‑help philosophical When to use this quote - habit formation - addiction recovery - ethical decision‑making - personal development Key Concepts virtue ethics psychology of self‑control Questions to Reflect On - What temptations have you overcome recently? - How does resistance change your self‑view? A Different Perspective May ignore underlying causes of temptation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gain Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gain-strength-651649/) [Resist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resist/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [Strength Temptation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength-temptation-1826104/) [Temptation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temptation/) [Temptation Resist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temptation-resist-1019923/) ## Related quotes > [“There can be no faith without doubt. No strength without temptation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/there-can-be-no-faith-without-doubt-no-strength-without-temptation/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Temptations are as thick as the leaves of the forest, and no one can be out of the reach of temptation unless he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/temptations-are-as-thick-as-the-leaves-of-the-forest-and-no-one-can/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [There can be no faith without doubt. No strength without temptation. (Rafael)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/there-can-be-no-faith-without-doubt-no-strength-without-temptation-2/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“Zoe’s face tilted up toward his presented a temptation he could no more resist than he could prevent the sun from rising.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-longley/zoe-s-face-tilted-up-toward-his-presented-a-temptation-he-could-no/) [Barbara Longley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-longley/) > [“What is it that constitutes virtue, Mrs. Graham? Is it the circumstance of being able and willing to resist temptation; or that of having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/what-is-it-that-constitutes-virtue-mrs-graham-is-it-the-circumstance/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“#290."There can be no faith without doubt. No strength without temptation."~”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-hard-day-s-night-searcher-by-sherrilyn-kenyon/290-there-can-be-no-faith-without-doubt-no-strength-without-temptation/) [A Hard Day's Night-Searcher by Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-hard-day-s-night-searcher-by-sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [We may not have demon fathers dangling offers of infernal power before us, but everyone understands what it means to struggle with temptation or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-carey/we-may-not-have-demon-fathers-dangling-offers-of-infernal-power/) [Jacqueline Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-carey/) > [O that one unguarded moment! / Were it mine to live again, / All the strength of its temptation / Would appeal to me in vain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-cary/o-that-one-unguarded-moment-were-it-mine-to-live-again-all-the/) [Phoebe Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-cary/) > [The experiments show quite clearly that, as you resist more and more temptation, you're actually more and more likely to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/the-experiments-show-quite-clearly-that-as-you-resist-more-and-more/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [There's a sense in which the media narrative diminishes me. 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Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyd-k-packer/) > [We must resist the temptation of once again turning America into the traditional bogeyman of the left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-napolitano/we-must-resist-the-temptation-of-once-again-turning-america-into-the/) [Giorgio Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-napolitano/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [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/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Resist quotes > [When you are what we call a 'minority writer,' a writer of color, a writer of any kind of difference, there is some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/when-you-are-what-we-call-a-minority-writer-a-writer-of-color-a/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [We must resist the temptation of once again turning America into the traditional bogeyman of the left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-napolitano/we-must-resist-the-temptation-of-once-again-turning-america-into-the/) [Giorgio Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-napolitano/) > [“Life is a flow which we can either resist or go with it gracefully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tonmoy-acharjee/life-is-a-flow-which-we-can-either-resist-or-go-with-it-gracefully/) [Tonmoy Acharjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tonmoy-acharjee/) > [...when you resist what happens, your mind begins to race; the same thoughts that impinge upon you are actually created by you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/when-you-resist-what-happens-your-mind-begins-to-race-the-same/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Lebanon was under Israeli occupation, up to its capital, but we did not consider that a disaster. Why? Because it was very clear that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/lebanon-was-under-israeli-occupation-up-to-its-capital-but-we-did-not/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [“People tend to resist a change into something new and different. But after it's succeded, they easily say that the change is a must.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/people-tend-to-resist-a-change-into-something-new-and-different-but/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [What you resist will persist; what you befriend, you will transcend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/what-you-resist-will-persist-what-you-befriend-you-will-transcend/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [“It was more than any mortal man could resist, so he let go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-rocha/it-was-more-than-any-mortal-man-could-resist-so-he-let-go/) [Kit Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-rocha/) > [We pledge to you in our name... that we will resist the invaders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saddam-hussein/we-pledge-to-you-in-our-name-that-we-will-resist-the-invaders/) [Saddam Hussein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saddam-hussein/) > [I couldn't resist the idea of doing 'Coronation Street.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-havers/i-couldn-t-resist-the-idea-of-doing-coronation-street/) [Nigel Havers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-havers/) > [I think that the more of us who take the time to understand how someone else is feeling, the more likely we are to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-thomas/i-think-that-the-more-of-us-who-take-the-time-to-understand-how/) [Angie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-thomas/) > [“Offence is like muddy soil; when trapped underfoot, it resists rapid progress. Don't trap offences under your mind, else you resist change! 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