--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The wolf was sick, he vowed a monk to be…" description: "\"“The wolf was sick, he vowed a monk to be - But when he got well, a wolf once more was he”\" — Walter Bower" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05a/walter-bower-181584_change_the-wolf-was-sick-he-vowed-a-monk-to-be_1807652.jpg" --- # The wolf was sick, he vowed a monk to be - But when he got… ![“The wolf was sick, he vowed a monk to be - But when he got well, a wolf once more was he” quote by Walter Bower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05a/walter-bower-181584_change_the-wolf-was-sick-he-vowed-a-monk-to-be_1807652.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05a/walter-bower-181584_change_the-wolf-was-sick-he-vowed-a-monk-to-be_1807652.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05a/walter-bower-181584_change_the-wolf-was-sick-he-vowed-a-monk-to-be_1807652.jpg) > ““The wolf was sick, he vowed a monk to be - But when he got well, a wolf once more was he”” Walter Bower ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person may promise transformation while ill, but once healed they revert to old habits. **In simple terms:** Illness can mask true change; recovery may bring old self back. Key Takeaway Beware of promises made in weakness. Themes change identity habit transformation vulnerability Mood reflective cautious thoughtful Type Change:1 Monk:0 Same thing:0 Sick:0 Sickness:0 Wolf:1 Wolf Sick:0 Vowed Monk:0 Sick Vowed:0 Got Wolf:0 When to use this quote - personal growth - recovery - habit formation - self‑reflection - coaching Key Concepts psychology behavioral inertia self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - What habits persist after recovery? - How can one ensure promises hold when health returns? A Different Perspective Recovery alone does not guarantee lasting change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monk/) [Sickness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickness/) [Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wolf/) ## Related quotes > [“You’ve got a wolf slobbering all over your hand. These wolf men are charmers and I don’t trust any of them, especially the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/you-ve-got-a-wolf-slobbering-all-over-your-hand-these-wolf-men-are/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [If you do the same thing over and over again, then you will definitely get stale and jaded like most actors do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milind-soman/if-you-do-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again-then-you-will-definitely/) [Milind Soman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milind-soman/) > [Having someone going through the same thing alongside you, it's quite validating to your feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabby-windey/having-someone-going-through-the-same-thing-alongside-you-it-s-quite/) [Gabby Windey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabby-windey/) > [I get restless very easily; I don't like to do the same thing twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-johannsson/i-get-restless-very-easily-i-don-t-like-to-do-the-same-thing-twice/) [Johann Johannsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-johannsson/) > [It's the same thing I have been doing since I was 5, playing the game of football. Going out there when my number is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-donald/it-s-the-same-thing-i-have-been-doing-since-i-was-5-playing-the-game/) [Aaron Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-donald/) > [I find it quite unsettling if I'm doing the same thing that I did yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-friend/i-find-it-quite-unsettling-if-i-m-doing-the-same-thing-that-i-did/) [Rupert Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-friend/) > [I don't love plays. I don't love doing the same thing, every night, for 100 nights in a row.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-friend/i-don-t-love-plays-i-don-t-love-doing-the-same-thing-every-night-for/) [Rupert Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-friend/) > [When I was 15 years old, I watched Royce Gracie in the cage, and I thought I'd like to do the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyoto-machida/when-i-was-15-years-old-i-watched-royce-gracie-in-the-cage-and-i/) [Lyoto Machida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyoto-machida/) > [When you go up there in the batter's box, you're engaged to hit. It's the same thing with baserunning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-martinez/when-you-go-up-there-in-the-batter-s-box-you-re-engaged-to-hit-it-s/) [Dave Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-martinez/) > [I don't consider being a musician the same thing as being a celebrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chance-the-rapper/i-don-t-consider-being-a-musician-the-same-thing-as-being-a-celebrity/) [Chance The Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chance-the-rapper/) > [Yeah and that's the thing, you can have a 100 different chat shows, they can all look the same and do the same thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-drake/yeah-and-that-s-the-thing-you-can-have-a-100-different-chat-shows/) [Eli Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-drake/) > [If you ask the guys I played with when I was little, they'll all tell you the same thing. All I did was catch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trae-young/if-you-ask-the-guys-i-played-with-when-i-was-little-they-ll-all-tell/) [Trae Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trae-young/) > [I'm not good at doing the same thing over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akira-toriyama/i-m-not-good-at-doing-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again/) [Akira Toriyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akira-toriyama/) > [When you have a set program in your match it gets old to do the same thing over and over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-backlund/when-you-have-a-set-program-in-your-match-it-gets-old-to-do-the-same/) [Bob Backlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-backlund/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The wolf was sick, he vowed a monk to be - But when he got well, a wolf once more was he”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter Bower" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bower/the-wolf-was-sick-he-vowed-a-monk-to-be-but-when-he-got-well-a-wolf/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bower/the-wolf-was-sick-he-vowed-a-monk-to-be-but-when-he-got-well-a-wolf/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05a/walter-bower-181584_change_the-wolf-was-sick-he-vowed-a-monk-to-be_1807652.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05a/walter-bower-181584_change_the-wolf-was-sick-he-vowed-a-monk-to-be_1807652.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05a/walter-bower-181584_change_the-wolf-was-sick-he-vowed-a-monk-to-be_1807652.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The wolf was sick, he vowed a monk to be - But when he got well, a wolf once more was he” — Walter Bower", "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": "Walter Bower", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bower/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The wolf was sick, he vowed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bower/the-wolf-was-sick-he-vowed-a-monk-to-be-but-when-he-got-well-a-wolf/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bower/the-wolf-was-sick-he-vowed-a-monk-to-be-but-when-he-got-well-a-wolf/#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 } } ] } ```