--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do you think that the man has any thought…" description: "\"“Do you think that the man has any thought of mending his ways who counts over his vices as if they were virtues? Therefore, as far as possible, prove ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/seneca-956_time_do-you-think-that-the-man-has-any-though_2464874.jpg" --- # Do you think that the man has any thought of mending his… ![“Do you think that the man has any thought of mending his ways who counts over his vices as if they were virtues? Therefore, as far as possible, prove yourself guilty, hunt up charges against yourself; play the part, first of accuser, then of judge, last of intercessor. At times be harsh with…” quote by Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/seneca-956_time_do-you-think-that-the-man-has-any-though_2464874.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/seneca-956_time_do-you-think-that-the-man-has-any-though_2464874.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/seneca-956_time_do-you-think-that-the-man-has-any-though_2464874.jpg) > ““Do you think that the man has any thought of mending his ways who counts over his vices as if they were virtues? Therefore, as far as possible, prove yourself guilty, hunt up charges against yourself; play the part, first of accuser, then of judge, last of intercessor. At times be harsh with yourself.\[7\]”” [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑scrutiny requires harsh honesty: accuse, judge, and intercede with oneself to correct vice. **In simple terms:** Self‑criticism is necessary for moral improvement. Key Takeaway Practice rigorous self‑examination. Themes self‑discipline morality self‑judgment Mood introspective serious Type ethical self‑help When to use this quote - Personal growth - ethical decision making - habit change Key Concepts Stoic ethics self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - What virtues do you overlook in yourself? - How can you balance self‑critique with self‑compassion? A Different Perspective Harsh self‑criticism can lead to excessive guilt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Virtues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtues/) ## Related quotes > [Passions are vices or virtues to their highest powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/passions-are-vices-or-virtues-to-their-highest-powers/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [No writer besides Shakespeare has created more memorable characters attached to vices and virtues. In even their least sympathetic characters, one senses a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-rosenblatt/no-writer-besides-shakespeare-has-created-more-memorable-characters/) [Roger Rosenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-rosenblatt/) > [“Live by old Ethicks and the classical Rules of Honesty. Put no new names or notions upon Authentick Virtues and Vices. Think not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-thomas-browne/live-by-old-ethicks-and-the-classical-rules-of-honesty-put-no-new/) Sir Thomas Browne > [You who make the laws, the vices and the virtues of the people will be your work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-antoine-de-saint-just/you-who-make-the-laws-the-vices-and-the-virtues-of-the-people-will-be/) [Louis Antoine de Saint-Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-antoine-de-saint-just/) > [Simple ignorance has in its time been complimented by the names of most of the vices, and of all the virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-helps/simple-ignorance-has-in-its-time-been-complimented-by-the-names-of/) [Arthur Helps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-helps/) > [Those who have resources within themselves, who can dare to live alone, want friends the least, but, at the same time, best know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/those-who-have-resources-within-themselves-who-can-dare-to-live-alone/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Vices and virtues are of a strange nature, for the more we have, the fewer we think we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/vices-and-virtues-are-of-a-strange-nature-for-the-more-we-have-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [If a man has no vices, he is in great danger of making vices about his virtues, and there's a spectacle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/if-a-man-has-no-vices-he-is-in-great-danger-of-making-vices-about-his/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/men-are-more-easily-governed-through-their-vices-than-through-their/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [ \[On Las Vegas:\] ... The City That Never Sleeps. The City That Sins and Smiles and Lives On the Edge. The city where vices… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-kijewski/on-las-vegas-the-city-that-never-sleeps-the-city-that-sins-and-smiles/) [Karen Kijewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-kijewski/) > [No company is preferable to bad, because we are more apt to catch the vices of others than their virtues, as disease is far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/no-company-is-preferable-to-bad-because-we-are-more-apt-to-catch-the/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Memory's vices are also its virtues, elements of a bridge across time that allows us to link the mind with the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-schacter/memory-s-vices-are-also-its-virtues-elements-of-a-bridge-across-time/) Daniel Schacter > [The vices and the virtues are written in a language the world cannot construe; it reads them in a vile translation, and the translators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/the-vices-and-the-virtues-are-written-in-a-language-the-world-cannot/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [We are far more liable to catch the vices than the virtues of our associates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/we-are-far-more-liable-to-catch-the-vices-than-the-virtues-of-our/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [No company is preferable to bad. We are more apt to catch the vices of others than virtues, as disease is far more contagious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/no-company-is-preferable-to-bad-we-are-more-apt-to-catch-the-vices-of/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## More by Seneca > [“You should, I need hardly say, live in such a way that there is nothing which you could not as easily tell your enemy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/you-should-i-need-hardly-say-live-in-such-a-way-that-there-is-nothing/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“The difficulty comes from our lack of confidence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/the-difficulty-comes-from-our-lack-of-confidence/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [Fate leads the willing and drags along the unwilling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/fate-leads-the-willing-and-drags-along-the-unwilling/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“the wise man is self-sufficient, that he can do without friends, not that he desires to do without them. When I say "can," I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/the-wise-man-is-self-sufficient-that-he-can-do-without-friends-not/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“This, I say, is the highest duty and the highest proof of wisdom, – that deed and word should be in accord, that”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/this-i-say-is-the-highest-duty-and-the-highest-proof-of-wisdom-that/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“But both courses are to be avoided; you should not copy the bad simply because they are many, nor should you hate the many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/but-both-courses-are-to-be-avoided-you-should-not-copy-the-bad-simply/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“Virtue alone affords everlasting and peace-giving joy; even if some obstacle arise, it is but like an intervening cloud, which floats beneath the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/virtue-alone-affords-everlasting-and-peace-giving-joy-even-if-some/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“I’ve come across people who say that there is a sort of inborn restlessness in the human spirit and an urge to change one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/i-ve-come-across-people-who-say-that-there-is-a-sort-of-inborn/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“Withdraw into yourself, as far as you can. Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/withdraw-into-yourself-as-far-as-you-can-associate-with-those-who/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [Economy is too late at the bottom of the purse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/economy-is-too-late-at-the-bottom-of-the-purse/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“On Epicurus; He says: "Contended poverty is an honourable estate." Indeed, if it is contented, it is not poverty at all. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/on-epicurus-he-says-contended-poverty-is-an-honourable-estate-indeed/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“...certain people have good, ordinary blood and others have an animated, lively sort of blood that comes to the face quickly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/certain-people-have-good-ordinary-blood-and-others-have-an-animated/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“we perish because we follow other men's examples: we should be cured of this if we were to disengage ourselves from the herd;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/we-perish-because-we-follow-other-men-s-examples-we-should-be-cured/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“they Whatever can make life truly happy is absolutely good in its own right because it cannot be warped into evil From whence then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/they-whatever-can-make-life-truly-happy-is-absolutely-good-in-its-own/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“And when the soul has yielded to pleasure, its functions and actions grow weak, and any undertaking comes from a nerveless and unsteady source.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/and-when-the-soul-has-yielded-to-pleasure-its-functions-and-actions/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) [Explore all 286 Seneca quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) ## More Time quotes > ['Mad TV' is one of my most favorite shows of all time and is a huge part of my obsession with sketch comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/mad-tv-is-one-of-my-most-favorite-shows-of-all-time-and-is-a-huge/) [Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/) > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“William didn't look like he'd be difficult about anything - he was thin and sandy-haired and already wore eyeglasses like his father. Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-c-wrede/william-didn-t-look-like-he-d-be-difficult-about-anything-he-was-thin/) [Patricia C. Wrede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-c-wrede/) > [Intel has a very complete process that I go through any time I want to sell that ensures I have no insider information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-krzanich/intel-has-a-very-complete-process-that-i-go-through-any-time-i-want/) [Brian Krzanich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-krzanich/) > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/) [John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [“You put together two things that have not been put together before. 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