--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor…" description: "\"Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/voltaire-173_abstinence_use-do-not-abuse-neither-abstinence-nor_2078183.png" --- # Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor excess ever… ![“Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/voltaire-173_abstinence_use-do-not-abuse-neither-abstinence-nor_2078183.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/voltaire-173_abstinence_use-do-not-abuse-neither-abstinence-nor_2078183.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/voltaire-173_abstinence_use-do-not-abuse-neither-abstinence-nor_2078183.png) > “Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balance is key; neither extreme abstinence nor excess brings happiness. **In simple terms:** Avoid extremes for contentment. Key Takeaway Seek moderation in life. Themes balance moderation well‑being Mood reflective calm Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - diet choices - work‑life balance - spending habits - social media use Key Concepts hedonism asceticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you find your middle ground? - What excess troubles you most? A Different Perspective Cultural norms may push extremes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstinence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstinence/) [Abstinence Excess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstinence-excess-4044669/) [Abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse/) [Abuse Abstinence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse-abstinence-4044668/) [Excess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess/) [Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy/) [Man Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-happy/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [I learned very early that our health is always impaired by some excess either of food or abstinence, and I never had any physician…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-casanova/i-learned-very-early-that-our-health-is-always-impaired-by-some/) [Giacomo Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-casanova/) > [The lure of heady profits of the late 1990's spawned abuses and excesses. With strict enforcement and higher ethical standards, we must usher in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-lure-of-heady-profits-of-the-late-1990-s-spawned-abuses-and/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [King is not a happy man, but a happy man is a king!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/king-is-not-a-happy-man-but-a-happy-man-is-a-king/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“You know how you can tell the worth of a man? See how happy he makes the women around him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-skye/you-know-how-you-can-tell-the-worth-of-a-man-see-how-happy-he-makes/) [Jaden Skye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-skye/) > [No man is happy; he is at best fortunate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solon/no-man-is-happy-he-is-at-best-fortunate/) [Solon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solon/) > [Of no mortal say, 'That man is happy,' till vexed by no grievous ill he pass Life's goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/of-no-mortal-say-that-man-is-happy-till-vexed-by-no-grievous-ill-he/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“The happy man, therefore, is he who can make a right judgment in all things: he is happy who in his present circumstances, whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/the-happy-man-therefore-is-he-who-can-make-a-right-judgment-in-all/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [Pleasure is Nature's test, her sign of approval. When man is happy, he is in harmony with himself and his environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/pleasure-is-nature-s-test-her-sign-of-approval-when-man-is-happy-he/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“...count no man happy till he dies, free of pain at last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/count-no-man-happy-till-he-dies-free-of-pain-at-last/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Call no man happy until he is dead, but only lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solon/call-no-man-happy-until-he-is-dead-but-only-lucky/) [Solon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solon/) > [If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/if-thou-wilt-make-a-man-happy-add-not-unto-his-riches-but-take-away/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Come, let me know what it is that makes a Scotch man happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/come-let-me-know-what-it-is-that-makes-a-scotch-man-happy/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Call no day happy 'til it is done; call no man happy til he is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/call-no-day-happy-til-it-is-done-call-no-man-happy-til-he-is-dead/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“Is there any difference between a happy and a lucky man? A happy is someone who finds an oasis with drinking water in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eraldo-banovac/is-there-any-difference-between-a-happy-and-a-lucky-man-a-happy-is/) [Eraldo Banovac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eraldo-banovac/) > [“Admire and appreciate your man and he will be happy on your side”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-alfiori/admire-and-appreciate-your-man-and-he-will-be-happy-on-your-side/) [Linda Alfiori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-alfiori/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-gave-us-the-gift-of-life-it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/providence-has-given-us-hope-and-sleep-as-a-compensation-for-the-many/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-use-thought-only-to-justify-their-wrong-doings-and-employ-speech/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) [Explore all 934 Voltaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More Abstinence quotes > [Sexual activity, and the thoughts and fantasies of sex, use up a great portion of our vital force. When that force is conserved through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/sexual-activity-and-the-thoughts-and-fantasies-of-sex-use-up-a-great/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [Used with due abstinence, hope acts as a healthful tonic; intemperately indulged, as an enervating opiate. The visions of future triumph, which at first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fitzjames-stephen/used-with-due-abstinence-hope-acts-as-a-healthful-tonic-intemperately/) [James Fitzjames Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fitzjames-stephen/) > [“Male masturbation is not a release, it is a squandering. Anyone who begins to no-fap will soon discover this. Like most things, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-freestone/male-masturbation-is-not-a-release-it-is-a-squandering-anyone-who/) [Jack Freestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-freestone/) > [Atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sex position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/atheism-is-a-religion-like-abstinence-is-a-sex-position/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [When a married person uses pornography, or is unfaithful, it compromises not just his (or her) purity, but also compromises the spouse's purity. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-o-donnell/when-a-married-person-uses-pornography-or-is-unfaithful-it/) [Christine O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-o-donnell/) > [“Look, choosing to wait until marriage makes me feel empowered. But if the same choice cripples you, then it wasn't the right one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-allen/look-choosing-to-wait-until-marriage-makes-me-feel-empowered-but-if/) [Rachael Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-allen/) > [Taking the pledge will not make bad liquor good, but it will improve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/taking-the-pledge-will-not-make-bad-liquor-good-but-it-will-improve-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is better to lock up your heart with a merciless padlock, than to fall in love with someone who doesn't know what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/it-is-better-to-lock-up-your-heart-with-a-merciless-padlock-than-to/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [There is a great deal of political pressure to only talk about abstinence, and to deny support for condoms and education on using them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/there-is-a-great-deal-of-political-pressure-to-only-talk-about/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Abstinence-only education - the best STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) and pregnancy delivery system that politicians have ever devised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/abstinence-only-education-the-best-std-sexually-transmitted-disease/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [While one may lose much because of avarice, nothing was ever accomplished by abstinence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isuna-hasekura/while-one-may-lose-much-because-of-avarice-nothing-was-ever/) [Isuna Hasekura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isuna-hasekura/) > [“The secular, for all its goodness, does not defend itself very well against mindless and perpetual consumption. It cries out to be offered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-farrar-capon/the-secular-for-all-its-goodness-does-not-defend-itself-very-well/) [Robert Farrar Capon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-farrar-capon/) > [I went to an all-girls Catholic school. And all the nuns just breathed down our necks "abstinence." And that's not the right thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mccarthy/i-went-to-an-all-girls-catholic-school-and-all-the-nuns-just-breathed/) [Jenny McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mccarthy/) > [How do we want our air? Pure. How do we want our water? Pure. How do we want sex on our wedding night? Pure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-kelly/how-do-we-want-our-air-pure-how-do-we-want-our-water-pure-how-do-we/) [Molly Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-kelly/) > [“There’s gratification in abstaining from the easy choice. Instant gratification can bring more suffering than pleasure. If I do the hard thing, the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-wang/there-s-gratification-in-abstaining-from-the-easy-choice-instant/) [Cecily Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-wang/) [Browse all 233 Abstinence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstinence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltaire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/use-do-not-abuse-neither-abstinence-nor-excess-ever-renders-man-happy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstinence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/use-do-not-abuse-neither-abstinence-nor-excess-ever-renders-man-happy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/voltaire-173_abstinence_use-do-not-abuse-neither-abstinence-nor_2078183.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/voltaire-173_abstinence_use-do-not-abuse-neither-abstinence-nor_2078183.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/861/voltaire-173_abstinence_use-do-not-abuse-neither-abstinence-nor_2078183.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy.” — Voltaire", "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": "Voltaire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/use-do-not-abuse-neither-abstinence-nor-excess-ever-renders-man-happy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/use-do-not-abuse-neither-abstinence-nor-excess-ever-renders-man-happy/#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 } } ] } ```