--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Peevishness may be considered the canker…" description: "\"Peevishness may be considered the canker of life, that destroys its vigor and checks its improvement; that creeps on with hourly depredations, and tain..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/samuel-johnson-50_checks_peevishness-may-be-considered-the-canker_1903844.png" --- # Peevishness may be considered the canker of life, that… ![“Peevishness may be considered the canker of life, that destroys its vigor and checks its improvement; that creeps on with hourly depredations, and taints and vitiates what it cannot consume.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/samuel-johnson-50_checks_peevishness-may-be-considered-the-canker_1903844.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/samuel-johnson-50_checks_peevishness-may-be-considered-the-canker_1903844.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/samuel-johnson-50_checks_peevishness-may-be-considered-the-canker_1903844.png) > “Peevishness may be considered the canker of life, that destroys its vigor and checks its improvement; that creeps on with hourly depredations, and taints and vitiates what it cannot consume.” [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. Petty irritability erodes vitality and progress, gradually corrupting what it cannot dominate. **In simple terms:** Petty irritability harms growth. Key Takeaway Avoid pettiness. Themes psychology ethics personal development Mood thoughtful pragmatic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - workplace dynamics - relationships - personal habits - creative projects Key Concepts irritability stagnation self‑control Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond to minor annoyances? - What habits can reduce irritability? A Different Perspective Even small irritations can accumulate, undermining long‑term goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Canker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canker-1559163/) [Checks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/checks/) [Considered Canker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/considered-canker-2825995/) [Creeps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creeps/) [Depredations Taints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depredations-taints-2825994/) [Improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvement/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Peevishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peevishness-1450491/) [Peevishness Considered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peevishness-considered-2825993/) [Vigor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vigor/) ## Related quotes > [“Timid people always reek their peevishness on the gentle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/timid-people-always-reek-their-peevishness-on-the-gentle/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [If anger proceeds from a great cause, it turns to fury; if from a small cause, it is peevishness; and so is always either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-taylor/if-anger-proceeds-from-a-great-cause-it-turns-to-fury-if-from-a-small/) [Jeremy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-taylor/) > [Nothing is more despicable than the old age of a passionate man. When the vigour of youth fails him, and his amusements pall with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/nothing-is-more-despicable-than-the-old-age-of-a-passionate-man-when/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [And writers say, as the most forward bud Is eaten by the canker ere it blow, Even so by love the young and tender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/and-writers-say-as-the-most-forward-bud-is-eaten-by-the-canker-ere-it/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Untouchability is a blot on Hinduism. It is a canker eating into its vitals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/untouchability-is-a-blot-on-hinduism-it-is-a-canker-eating-into-its/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [A frenzied passion for art is a canker that devours everything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/a-frenzied-passion-for-art-is-a-canker-that-devours-everything-else/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [The canker has so eaten into the society that in many cases the only meaning of education is a knowledge of English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-canker-has-so-eaten-into-the-society-that-in-many-cases-the-only/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Excellent; all is well. The 'everlasting tedium' exactly countervenes the 'immediate onset of death' and I am left only with the 'canker' which, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/excellent-all-is-well-the-everlasting-tedium-exactly-countervenes-the/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [First try all other means, but if the wound Heal not, then use the knife, lest to the clean From the diseased the canker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/first-try-all-other-means-but-if-the-wound-heal-not-then-use-the/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [The canker which the trunk conceals is revealed by the leaves, the fruit, or the flower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/the-canker-which-the-trunk-conceals-is-revealed-by-the-leaves-the/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [When love becomes a canker sores are healed burn time \|](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/when-love-becomes-a-canker-sores-are-healed-burn-time/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Loathsome canker lives in sweetest bud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/loathsome-canker-lives-in-sweetest-bud/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [You're an obnoxious canker-blossom. Go ooze somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamora-pierce/you-re-an-obnoxious-canker-blossom-go-ooze-somewhere-else/) [Tamora Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamora-pierce/) > [Pity that gold should always bring with it the canker - covetousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-fern/pity-that-gold-should-always-bring-with-it-the-canker-covetousness/) [Fanny Fern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-fern/) > [“When you behold an aspect for whose constant gloom and frown you cannot account, whose unvarying cloud exasperates you by its apparent causelessness, be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/when-you-behold-an-aspect-for-whose-constant-gloom-and-frown-you/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) ## 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 Checks quotes > [Check out the albums, ... Check out the live performances. That's the reality of it all. Music is such an energizing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayall/check-out-the-albums-check-out-the-live-performances-that-s-the/) [John Mayall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayall/) > [ When the fountains of government \[borrowing\] abundance began to dry up, when through lack of funds and the impossibility of negotiating fresh loans the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-t-flynn/when-the-fountains-of-government-borrowing-abundance-began-to-dry-up/) [John T. Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-t-flynn/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) [Roxanne Shante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxanne-shante/) > [I pay these niggas with a reality check…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/i-pay-these-niggas-with-a-reality-check/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [Two things you need to know about taxes. They've extended the deadline to April 18, and when you write your check, just make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/two-things-you-need-to-know-about-taxes-they-ve-extended-the-deadline/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It's a constant man-ego-check going on in the streets, in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/it-s-a-constant-man-ego-check-going-on-in-the-streets-in-this-world/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [Well, a lot of our concerts do okay, and I know we still get royalty checks which still isn't that important, but again, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-johnston/well-a-lot-of-our-concerts-do-okay-and-i-know-we-still-get-royalty/) [Bruce Johnston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-johnston/) > [The things of the world are ever rising and falling, and in perpetual change; and this change must be according to the will of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-von-humboldt/the-things-of-the-world-are-ever-rising-and-falling-and-in-perpetual/) [Wilhelm von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-von-humboldt/) > [If you find your feet dragging, check your path. 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