--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every desire is a viper in the bosom, who…" description: "\"Every desire is a viper in the bosom, who while he was chill was harmless; but when warmth gave him strength, exerted it in poison.\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/samuel-johnson-50_bosoms_every-desire-is-a-viper-in-the-bosom-who_3017551.png" --- # Every desire is a viper in the bosom, who while he was… ![“Every desire is a viper in the bosom, who while he was chill was harmless; but when warmth gave him strength, exerted it in poison.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/samuel-johnson-50_bosoms_every-desire-is-a-viper-in-the-bosom-who_3017551.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/samuel-johnson-50_bosoms_every-desire-is-a-viper-in-the-bosom-who_3017551.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/samuel-johnson-50_bosoms_every-desire-is-a-viper-in-the-bosom-who_3017551.png) > “Every desire is a viper in the bosom, who while he was chill was harmless; but when warmth gave him strength, exerted it in poison.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desires can seem harmless when dormant but become poisonous when fueled by passion. **In simple terms:** Desires turn toxic when inflamed. Key Takeaway Temper desires before they dominate. Themes self‑control desire danger psychology morality Mood cautionary reflective serious Type philosophical psychological advice When to use this quote - financial temptation - relationship jealousy - career ambition - personal cravings - social media addiction Key Concepts addiction emotional regulation human weakness Questions to Reflect On - What desire feels most dangerous to you? - How can you channel strong urges productively? A Different Perspective Desires are often socially reinforced, making control harder. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bosoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bosoms/) [Chill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chill/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire Viper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-viper-4867984/) [Exerted Poison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exerted-poison-4867985/) [Poison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poison/) [Viper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viper/) [Viper Bosom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viper-bosom-4867983/) [Vipers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vipers/) [Warmth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warmth/) ## Related quotes > [If a viper lives in your room and you wish to have a peaceful sleep, you must first chase it out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/if-a-viper-lives-in-your-room-and-you-wish-to-have-a-peaceful-sleep/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [The admission fee was a viper's tongue and a half-concealed stiletto. It was a sort of intellectual slaughterhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/the-admission-fee-was-a-viper-s-tongue-and-a-half-concealed-stiletto/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [There's a Viper in Mizville!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mathews/there-s-a-viper-in-mizville/) [Josh Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mathews/) > [It's not often that you see a smile on the face of the Viper, but it actually looks good on there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-lawler/it-s-not-often-that-you-see-a-smile-on-the-face-of-the-viper-but-it/) [Jerry Lawler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-lawler/) > [Viper will eat viper, and it would serve them both right!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/viper-will-eat-viper-and-it-would-serve-them-both-right/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Envy lurks at the bottom of the human heart like a viper in its hole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/envy-lurks-at-the-bottom-of-the-human-heart-like-a-viper-in-its-hole/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [When the inhabitants of some sequestered island first descry the "big canoe" of the European rolling through the blue waters towards their shores, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/when-the-inhabitants-of-some-sequestered-island-first-descry-the-big/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [A serpent is a serpent, and none the less a viper, because it is nestled in the bosom of an honest-hearted man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-delany/a-serpent-is-a-serpent-and-none-the-less-a-viper-because-it-is/) [Martin Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-delany/) > [“El Vibora—The Viper. A sexy, badass motherfucker. Part-time underground fighter and full-time thug. The primary concern when fighting El Vibora isn’t winning…it’s not dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kele-moon/el-vibora-the-viper-a-sexy-badass-motherfucker-part-time-underground/) [Kele Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kele-moon/) > [“Ronan looked as pleased as a pit viper ever could.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/ronan-looked-as-pleased-as-a-pit-viper-ever-could/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [“I am not blind, nor deaf. I know you all believe me weak, frightened, feeble. Your father knew me better. Oberyn was ever the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/i-am-not-blind-nor-deaf-i-know-you-all-believe-me-weak-frightened/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“A thousand sweet words can never disguise the rattle of a viper about to strike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanda-hahn/a-thousand-sweet-words-can-never-disguise-the-rattle-of-a-viper-about/) [Chanda Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanda-hahn/) > [“Feeling her strength return right along with her annoyance, Dagmar stepped back and raised her foot, slamming it down on the tip. “Ow! Evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-a-aiken/feeling-her-strength-return-right-along-with-her-annoyance-dagmar/) [G.A. Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-a-aiken/) > [“You think this is some sort of comedy going on here?” Collins gave him his tough stare. A little red spark flared in Barabas’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/you-think-this-is-some-sort-of-comedy-going-on-here-collins-gave-him/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [“The Incredibly Deadly Viper is one of the least dangerous and most friendly creatures in the animal kingdom. Sunny has nothing to worry about,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/the-incredibly-deadly-viper-is-one-of-the-least-dangerous-and-most/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Bosoms quotes > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Cover that bosom that I must not see: souls are wounded by such things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/cover-that-bosom-that-i-must-not-see-souls-are-wounded-by-such-things/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [The soul whose bosom lust did never touch Is God's fair bride; and maiden's souls are such.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/the-soul-whose-bosom-lust-did-never-touch-is-god-s-fair-bride-and/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [The world of imagination is the world of eternity. It is the divine bosom into which we shall all go after death of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-world-of-imagination-is-the-world-of-eternity-it-is-the-divine/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Deliberate long before thou consecrate a friend, and when thy impartial justice concludes him worthy of thy bosom, receive him joyfully, and entertain him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/deliberate-long-before-thou-consecrate-a-friend-and-when-thy/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-father-may-turn-his-back-on-his-child-brothers-and-sisters-may/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [The proud spirit of the original owners of these vast prairies inherited through centuries of fierce and bloody wars for their possession, lingered last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-frank-baum/the-proud-spirit-of-the-original-owners-of-these-vast-prairies/) [L. Frank Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-frank-baum/) > [Music can minister to minds diseased, pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, raze out the written troubles of the brain, and with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/music-can-minister-to-minds-diseased-pluck-from-the-memory-a-rooted/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [For a long time, no village girl would dress her hair or bosom with the sweetest flower from that field of death: and after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/for-a-long-time-no-village-girl-would-dress-her-hair-or-bosom-with/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [To seek out in a world full of joy the one thing that is certain to give you pain, and hug it to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/to-seek-out-in-a-world-full-of-joy-the-one-thing-that-is-certain-to/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [... the evil that comes out of your lips, into your own bosom will fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/the-evil-that-comes-out-of-your-lips-into-your-own-bosom-will-fall/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [If you can sin and not weep over it, you are an heir of Hell. If you can go into sin, and afterwards feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-you-can-sin-and-not-weep-over-it-you-are-an-heir-of-hell-if-you/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [The mere reality of life would be inconceivably poor without the charm of fancy, which brings in its bosom, no doubt, as many vain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-von-humboldt/the-mere-reality-of-life-would-be-inconceivably-poor-without-the/) [Wilhelm von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-von-humboldt/) > [Spread yourself upon his bosom publicly, whose heart you would eat in private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/spread-yourself-upon-his-bosom-publicly-whose-heart-you-would-eat-in/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Glamour: the indefinable something about a girl with a big bosom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abe-burrows/glamour-the-indefinable-something-about-a-girl-with-a-big-bosom/) [Abe Burrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abe-burrows/) [Browse all 312 Bosoms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bosoms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every desire is a viper in the bosom, who while he was chill was harmless; but when warmth gave him strength, exerted it in poison.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/every-desire-is-a-viper-in-the-bosom-who-while-he-was-chill-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bosoms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/every-desire-is-a-viper-in-the-bosom-who-while-he-was-chill-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/samuel-johnson-50_bosoms_every-desire-is-a-viper-in-the-bosom-who_3017551.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/samuel-johnson-50_bosoms_every-desire-is-a-viper-in-the-bosom-who_3017551.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/samuel-johnson-50_bosoms_every-desire-is-a-viper-in-the-bosom-who_3017551.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every desire is a viper in the bosom, who while he was chill was harmless; but when warmth gave him…” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every desire is a viper in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/every-desire-is-a-viper-in-the-bosom-who-while-he-was-chill-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/every-desire-is-a-viper-in-the-bosom-who-while-he-was-chill-was/#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 } } ] } ```