--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is easier to exclude harmful passions…" description: "\"It is easier to exclude harmful passions than to rule them, and to deny them admittance than to control them after they have been admitted.\" — Seneca t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41e/seneca-the-younger-219_admittance_it-is-easier-to-exclude-harmful-passions_3027522.jpg" --- # It is easier to exclude harmful passions than to rule… ![“It is easier to exclude harmful passions than to rule them, and to deny them admittance than to control them after they have been admitted.” quote by Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41e/seneca-the-younger-219_admittance_it-is-easier-to-exclude-harmful-passions_3027522.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41e/seneca-the-younger-219_admittance_it-is-easier-to-exclude-harmful-passions_3027522.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41e/seneca-the-younger-219_admittance_it-is-easier-to-exclude-harmful-passions_3027522.jpg) > “It is easier to exclude harmful passions than to rule them, and to deny them admittance than to control them after they have been admitted.” [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It’s easier to prevent harmful emotions than to control them after they arise; denial is less effective than proactive regulation. **In simple terms:** Prevent harmful passions before they start. Key Takeaway Cultivate emotional self‑control early. Themes philosophy ethics self‑regulation emotions ancient wisdom Mood reflective calm Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - stress management - conflict resolution - personal growth - mental health counseling Key Concepts stoicism psychology of affect virtue ethics Questions to Reflect On - What practices prevent harmful passions? - How to balance denial and healthy emotional expression? A Different Perspective May underestimate complexity of emotional suppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admittance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admittance/) [Control Admitted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control-admitted-1387188/) [Deny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deny/) [Deny Admittance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deny-admittance-4930279/) [Easier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier/) [Easier Exclude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier-exclude-4930282/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Harmful Passions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmful-passions-4930280/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Rule Deny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-deny-4930281/) [Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worry/) ## Related quotes > [The right of such control is already admitted by the State Socialists, though they maintain that, as a matter of fact, the individual would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-right-of-such-control-is-already-admitted-by-the-state-socialists/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [We of course have our problems, to say the least, in comportment towards ourselves and our environment, but admittance to the cosmos and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-levinson/we-of-course-have-our-problems-to-say-the-least-in-comportment/) [Paul Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-levinson/) > [One question on hospital admittance forms really gets me. 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An infraction of the law having less dignity than a felony and constituting no claim to admittance into the best criminal society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/misdemeanor-n-an-infraction-of-the-law-having-less-dignity-than-a/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [All scientists know of colleagues whose minds are so well equipped with the means of refutation that no new idea has the temerity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/all-scientists-know-of-colleagues-whose-minds-are-so-well-equipped/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [And affirmative action is a very nice term for racial discrimination against better-qualified white people in jobs, employment, promotions and scholarships, and college admittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duke/and-affirmative-action-is-a-very-nice-term-for-racial-discrimination/) [David Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duke/) > [The older woman waiting for admittance looked at me, then over her shoulder at Patch, who was vanishing down the hall. “Honey,” she told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/the-older-woman-waiting-for-admittance-looked-at-me-then-over-her/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [It's not Comic Con any more. 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Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [Tis gold Which buys admittance--oft it doth--yea, and makes Diana's rangers false themselves, yield up This deer to th' stand o' th' stealer: and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/tis-gold-which-buys-admittance-oft-it-doth-yea-and-makes-diana-s/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [You will pardon some obscurities, for there are more secrets in my trade than in most men's, and yet not voluntarily kept, but inseparable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/you-will-pardon-some-obscurities-for-there-are-more-secrets-in-my/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [There is no such way to gain admittance, or give defence to strange and absurd Doctrines, as to guard them round about with Legions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/there-is-no-such-way-to-gain-admittance-or-give-defence-to-strange/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [A man rejects God neither because of intellectual demands nor because of the scarcity of evidence. A man rejects God because of a moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/a-man-rejects-god-neither-because-of-intellectual-demands-nor-because/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [American universities have never considered academic merit the sole criterion for admittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-knowles/american-universities-have-never-considered-academic-merit-the-sole/) [Michael J. Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-knowles/) ## More by Seneca the Younger > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [It is for the superfluous we sweat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-for-the-superfluous-we-sweat/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Men trust rather to their eyes than to their ears; the effect of precepts is therefore slow and tedious, whilst that of examples is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-trust-rather-to-their-eyes-than-to-their-ears-the-effect-of/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [A great step towards independence is a good-humored stomach, one that is willing to endure rough treatment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/a-great-step-towards-independence-is-a-good-humored-stomach-one-that/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Men can be divided into 2 groups: one that goes ahead and achieves something, and one that comes after and criticizes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-can-be-divided-into-2-groups-one-that-goes-ahead-and-achieves/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Leisure without study is death, and the grave of a living man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/leisure-without-study-is-death-and-the-grave-of-a-living-man/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Such as the chain of causes we call Fate, such is the chain of wishes: one links on to another; the whole man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/such-as-the-chain-of-causes-we-call-fate-such-is-the-chain-of-wishes/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [To rule yourself is the ultimate power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/to-rule-yourself-is-the-ultimate-power/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The road by precepts is tedious, by example, short and efficacious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/the-road-by-precepts-is-tedious-by-example-short-and-efficacious/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Misfortune is the test of a person's merit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/misfortune-is-the-test-of-a-person-s-merit/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [He who does not want to die should not want to live. For life is tendered to us with the proviso of death. Life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/he-who-does-not-want-to-die-should-not-want-to-live-for-life-is/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Let us not seek our disease out of ourselves; 'tis in us, and planted in our bowels; and the mere fact that we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/let-us-not-seek-our-disease-out-of-ourselves-tis-in-us-and-planted-in/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [After death there is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/after-death-there-is-nothing/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Adversity finds at last the man whom she has often passed by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/adversity-finds-at-last-the-man-whom-she-has-often-passed-by/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Hesitation is the best cure for anger. The first blows of anger are heavy, but if it waits, it will think again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/hesitation-is-the-best-cure-for-anger-the-first-blows-of-anger-are/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) [Explore all 872 Seneca the Younger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) ## More Admittance quotes > [American universities have never considered academic merit the sole criterion for admittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-knowles/american-universities-have-never-considered-academic-merit-the-sole/) [Michael J. Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-knowles/) > [A man rejects God neither because of intellectual demands nor because of the scarcity of evidence. A man rejects God because of a moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/a-man-rejects-god-neither-because-of-intellectual-demands-nor-because/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [There is no such way to gain admittance, or give defence to strange and absurd Doctrines, as to guard them round about with Legions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/there-is-no-such-way-to-gain-admittance-or-give-defence-to-strange/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [You will pardon some obscurities, for there are more secrets in my trade than in most men's, and yet not voluntarily kept, but inseparable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/you-will-pardon-some-obscurities-for-there-are-more-secrets-in-my/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Tis gold Which buys admittance--oft it doth--yea, and makes Diana's rangers false themselves, yield up This deer to th' stand o' th' stealer: and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/tis-gold-which-buys-admittance-oft-it-doth-yea-and-makes-diana-s/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“NO ADMITTANCE EXCEPT ON PARTY BUSINESS.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/no-admittance-except-on-party-business/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [It's not Comic Con any more. It's this huge marketplace for the motion picture and television industry. And the toy manufacturer's and the game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-royer/it-s-not-comic-con-any-more-it-s-this-huge-marketplace-for-the-motion/) [Mike Royer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-royer/) > [The older woman waiting for admittance looked at me, then over her shoulder at Patch, who was vanishing down the hall. “Honey,” she told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/the-older-woman-waiting-for-admittance-looked-at-me-then-over-her/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [And affirmative action is a very nice term for racial discrimination against better-qualified white people in jobs, employment, promotions and scholarships, and college admittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duke/and-affirmative-action-is-a-very-nice-term-for-racial-discrimination/) [David Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duke/) > [All scientists know of colleagues whose minds are so well equipped with the means of refutation that no new idea has the temerity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/all-scientists-know-of-colleagues-whose-minds-are-so-well-equipped/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [MISDEMEANOR, n. An infraction of the law having less dignity than a felony and constituting no claim to admittance into the best criminal society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/misdemeanor-n-an-infraction-of-the-law-having-less-dignity-than-a/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [They hammered on the outer gate and called, but there was at first no answer; and then to their surprise someone blew a horn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-hammered-on-the-outer-gate-and-called-but-there-was-at-first-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One question on hospital admittance forms really gets me. "Sex: Male or Female?" Do I want to be in a hospital where they can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-shakes/one-question-on-hospital-admittance-forms-really-gets-me-sex-male-or/) [Ronnie Shakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-shakes/) > [We of course have our problems, to say the least, in comportment towards ourselves and our environment, but admittance to the cosmos and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-levinson/we-of-course-have-our-problems-to-say-the-least-in-comportment/) [Paul Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-levinson/) > [Some people, when they use the word 'salvation', understand nothing more by it than deliverance from hell and admittance into heaven. Now, that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/some-people-when-they-use-the-word-salvation-understand-nothing-more/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) [Browse all 24 Admittance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admittance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is easier to exclude harmful passions than to rule them, and to deny them admittance than to control them after they have been admitted.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seneca the Younger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-easier-to-exclude-harmful-passions-than-to-rule-them-and-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Admittance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-easier-to-exclude-harmful-passions-than-to-rule-them-and-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41e/seneca-the-younger-219_admittance_it-is-easier-to-exclude-harmful-passions_3027522.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41e/seneca-the-younger-219_admittance_it-is-easier-to-exclude-harmful-passions_3027522.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41e/seneca-the-younger-219_admittance_it-is-easier-to-exclude-harmful-passions_3027522.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is easier to exclude harmful passions than to rule them, and to deny them admittance than to control them…” — Seneca the Younger", "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": "Seneca the Younger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is easier to exclude harmful...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-easier-to-exclude-harmful-passions-than-to-rule-them-and-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-easier-to-exclude-harmful-passions-than-to-rule-them-and-to/#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 } } ] } ```