--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anything in excess is a poison." description: "\"Anything in excess is a poison.\" — Theodore Levitt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/theodore-levitt-18792_excess_anything-in-excess-is-a-poison-1544621_1544621.jpg" --- # Anything in excess is a poison. ![“Anything in excess is a poison.” quote by Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/theodore-levitt-18792_excess_anything-in-excess-is-a-poison-1544621_1544621.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/theodore-levitt-18792_excess_anything-in-excess-is-a-poison-1544621_1544621.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/theodore-levitt-18792_excess_anything-in-excess-is-a-poison-1544621_1544621.jpg) > “Anything in excess is a poison.” [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excess leads to harm; moderation is essential. **In simple terms:** Too much is poisonous. Key Takeaway Practice moderation. Themes health balance moderation Mood cautious motivational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - diet - exercise - workload - financial spending Key Concepts diminishing returns overconsumption Questions to Reflect On - What areas of your life need moderation? - How to detect early signs of excess? A Different Perspective Excess can be hard to recognize. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Excess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess/) [Excess Poison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess-poison-5759810/) [Poison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poison/) ## Related quotes > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [Despite the recent conviction of many that we're headed back to inflation, I think deflation remains the more likely prospect. You've just got too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shilling/despite-the-recent-conviction-of-many-that-we-re-headed-back-to/) [Gary Shilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shilling/) > [The saints differ from us in their exuberance, the excess of our human talents. Moderation is not their secret. It is in the wildness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/the-saints-differ-from-us-in-their-exuberance-the-excess-of-our-human/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [Well, as you know, we're working through a difficult period in our financial markets right now as we work off some of the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/well-as-you-know-we-re-working-through-a-difficult-period-in-our/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [“The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory. He’s got esprit up to here. Right now, he is preparing to carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-deliverator-belongs-to-an-elite-order-a-hallowed-subcategory-he-s/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [All excess is ill; but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/all-excess-is-ill-but-drunkenness-is-of-the-worst-sort-it-spoils/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [I believe that government should confine itself to the public realm and that it should be as stripped down as possible, within reason. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-believe-that-government-should-confine-itself-to-the-public-realm/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [Most of us try to do too much because we are secretly afraid we will not be able to do anything at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-aster/most-of-us-try-to-do-too-much-because-we-are-secretly-afraid-we-will/) [Rick Aster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-aster/) > [Enjoy the necessities of life but eschew the excesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gardner/enjoy-the-necessities-of-life-but-eschew-the-excesses/) [Ian Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gardner/) > [This isn't a picture filled with wonder and a sense of fun; it's so jaded and crass that I almost wonder if it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-zacharek/this-isn-t-a-picture-filled-with-wonder-and-a-sense-of-fun-it-s-so/) [Stephanie Zacharek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-zacharek/) > [A too closely watched flower/blossoms the wrong color./Excess attention to the jonquil/turns it gentian. Flowers/need it tranquil to get/their hues right. Some/only open at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/a-too-closely-watched-flower-blossoms-the-wrong-color-excess/) [Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [ Look at what I am proposing, and we \[wih Bernie Sanders\] have a vigorous agreement here. We both want to reign in the excesses… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/look-at-what-i-am-proposing-and-we-wih-bernie-sanders-have-a-vigorous/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## More by Theodore Levitt > [Ideation is not a synonym for innovation, conformity is not its simple antonym, and innovation is not the automatic consequence of "creative thinking.".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/ideation-is-not-a-synonym-for-innovation-conformity-is-not-its-simple/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [The true purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer, not to make you money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/the-true-purpose-of-a-business-is-to-create-and-keep-a-customer-not/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [An industry begins with the customer and his or her needs, not with a patent, a raw material, or a selling skill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/an-industry-begins-with-the-customer-and-his-or-her-needs-not-with-a/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [A consistently highly creative person is generally irresponsible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/a-consistently-highly-creative-person-is-generally-irresponsible/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [A powerful force drives the world toward a converging commonality, and that force is technology. … Almost everyone everywhere wants all the things they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/a-powerful-force-drives-the-world-toward-a-converging-commonality-and/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [People don't want quarter-inch drills. They want quarter-inch holes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/people-don-t-want-quarter-inch-drills-they-want-quarter-inch-holes/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [Organizations, by their very nature are designed to promote order and routine. They are inhospitable environments for innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/organizations-by-their-very-nature-are-designed-to-promote-order-and/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [The purpose of a business is to get and keep a customer. Without customers, no amount of engineering wizardry, clever financing, or operations expertise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/the-purpose-of-a-business-is-to-get-and-keep-a-customer-without/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [Experience comes from what we have done. Wisdom comes from what we have done badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/experience-comes-from-what-we-have-done-wisdom-comes-from-what-we/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/creativity-is-thinking-up-new-things-innovation-is-doing-new-things/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [A product is not a product unless it sells. Otherwise it is merely a museum piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/a-product-is-not-a-product-unless-it-sells-otherwise-it-is-merely-a/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [Ideas are useless unless used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/ideas-are-useless-unless-used/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [A powerful new idea can kick around unused in a company for years, not because its merits are not recognized, but because nobody has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/a-powerful-new-idea-can-kick-around-unused-in-a-company-for-years-not/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [Organizations exist to enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/organizations-exist-to-enable-ordinary-people-to-do-extraordinary/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [Selling concerns itself with the tricks and techniques of getting people to exchange their cash for your product. It is not concerned with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/selling-concerns-itself-with-the-tricks-and-techniques-of-getting/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) [Explore all 34 Theodore Levitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) ## More Excess quotes > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A too closely watched flower/blossoms the wrong color./Excess attention to the jonquil/turns it gentian. Flowers/need it tranquil to get/their hues right. Some/only open at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/a-too-closely-watched-flower-blossoms-the-wrong-color-excess/) [Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/) > [This isn't a picture filled with wonder and a sense of fun; it's so jaded and crass that I almost wonder if it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-zacharek/this-isn-t-a-picture-filled-with-wonder-and-a-sense-of-fun-it-s-so/) [Stephanie Zacharek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-zacharek/) > [Enjoy the necessities of life but eschew the excesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gardner/enjoy-the-necessities-of-life-but-eschew-the-excesses/) [Ian Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gardner/) > [Most of us try to do too much because we are secretly afraid we will not be able to do anything at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-aster/most-of-us-try-to-do-too-much-because-we-are-secretly-afraid-we-will/) [Rick Aster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-aster/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [I believe that government should confine itself to the public realm and that it should be as stripped down as possible, within reason. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-believe-that-government-should-confine-itself-to-the-public-realm/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [All excess is ill; but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/all-excess-is-ill-but-drunkenness-is-of-the-worst-sort-it-spoils/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [“The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory. He’s got esprit up to here. Right now, he is preparing to carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-deliverator-belongs-to-an-elite-order-a-hallowed-subcategory-he-s/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Well, as you know, we're working through a difficult period in our financial markets right now as we work off some of the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/well-as-you-know-we-re-working-through-a-difficult-period-in-our/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [The saints differ from us in their exuberance, the excess of our human talents. Moderation is not their secret. It is in the wildness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/the-saints-differ-from-us-in-their-exuberance-the-excess-of-our-human/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [Despite the recent conviction of many that we're headed back to inflation, I think deflation remains the more likely prospect. You've just got too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shilling/despite-the-recent-conviction-of-many-that-we-re-headed-back-to/) [Gary Shilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shilling/) > [ Look at what I am proposing, and we \[wih Bernie Sanders\] have a vigorous agreement here. We both want to reign in the excesses… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/look-at-what-i-am-proposing-and-we-wih-bernie-sanders-have-a-vigorous/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) [Browse all 952 Excess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anything in excess is a poison.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Theodore Levitt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/anything-in-excess-is-a-poison/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Excess" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/anything-in-excess-is-a-poison/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/theodore-levitt-18792_excess_anything-in-excess-is-a-poison-1544621_1544621.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/theodore-levitt-18792_excess_anything-in-excess-is-a-poison-1544621_1544621.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/582/theodore-levitt-18792_excess_anything-in-excess-is-a-poison-1544621_1544621.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anything in excess is a poison.” — Theodore Levitt", "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": "Theodore Levitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Anything in excess is a poison.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/anything-in-excess-is-a-poison/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/anything-in-excess-is-a-poison/#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 } } ] } ```