--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Assume a virtue, if you have it not. That…" description: "\"Assume a virtue, if you have it not. That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat, Of habits devil, is angel yet in this, That to the use of actions fa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/william-shakespeare-4_abstinence_assume-a-virtue-if-you-have-it-not-that_2560205.jpg" --- # Assume a virtue, if you have it not. That monster, custom… ![“Assume a virtue, if you have it not. That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat, Of habits devil, is angel yet in this, That to the use of actions fair and good He likewise gives a frock or livery That aptly is put on. Refrain tonight, And that shall lend a kind of easiness To the next…” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/william-shakespeare-4_abstinence_assume-a-virtue-if-you-have-it-not-that_2560205.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/william-shakespeare-4_abstinence_assume-a-virtue-if-you-have-it-not-that_2560205.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/william-shakespeare-4_abstinence_assume-a-virtue-if-you-have-it-not-that_2560205.jpg) > “Assume a virtue, if you have it not. That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat, Of habits devil, is angel yet in this, That to the use of actions fair and good He likewise gives a frock or livery That aptly is put on. Refrain tonight, And that shall lend a kind of easiness To the next abstinence; the next more easy; For use almost can change the stamp of nature.” [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adopting virtuous habits can transform one's nature, making good actions more natural over time. **In simple terms:** Good habits shape character and ease future virtue. Key Takeaway Cultivate positive habits to become virtuous. Themes virtue habit self‑improvement nature Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily routines - education programs - rehabilitation settings Key Concepts character formation behavioral change moral psychology Questions to Reflect On - What small habit can you start today? - How does habit formation affect moral choices? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑seated habits can be difficult and slow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstinence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstinence/) [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Easiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easiness/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters/) [Stamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stamps/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Assume a virtue, if you have it not. That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat; Of habits devil, is angel yet in this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/assume-a-virtue-if-you-have-it-not-that-monster-custom-who-all-sense/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Refrain to-night; And that shall lend a kind of easiness To the next abstinence, the next more easy; For use almost can change the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/refrain-to-night-and-that-shall-lend-a-kind-of-easiness-to-the-next/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Assume a virtue if you have it not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/assume-a-virtue-if-you-have-it-not/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Use almost can change the stamp of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/use-almost-can-change-the-stamp-of-nature/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/custom-hath-made-it-in-him-a-property-of-easiness/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Sure I'm crazy But it ain't easy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/sure-i-m-crazy-but-it-ain-t-easy/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [Let my life as Poet begin. I want the life of the Poet. I have labored for over twelve years, one thousand pages of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-hong-kingston/let-my-life-as-poet-begin-i-want-the-life-of-the-poet-i-have-labored/) [Maxine Hong Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-hong-kingston/) > [Perhaps there is no greater test of a man's regularity and easiness of conscience than his readiness to face the postman. Blessed is he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/perhaps-there-is-no-greater-test-of-a-man-s-regularity-and-easiness/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [ \[In the Royal Society, there\] has been, a constant Resolution, to reject all the amplifications, digressions, and swellings of style: to return back to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sprat/in-the-royal-society-there-has-been-a-constant-resolution-to-reject/) [Thomas Sprat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sprat/) > [Show me an 'easy person,' and I will show you a selfish one. Good-natured he may be; why not? since the disastrous consequences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-fern/show-me-an-easy-person-and-i-will-show-you-a-selfish-one-good-natured/) [Fanny Fern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-fern/) > [There is an easiness in salvation which is more difficult to us than all our efforts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/there-is-an-easiness-in-salvation-which-is-more-difficult-to-us-than/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Sigh... I have learned that \*everything\* is so hard...except what Allah makes easy. So we must \*beg\* Him to make it easy on us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/sigh-i-have-learned-that-everything-is-so-hard-except-what-allah/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [“There is a quality of lightness, easiness, and in some sense blatant unseriousness that pervades Classical Christianity's dialogue with modernity. The Christian intellect has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-quality-of-lightness-easiness-and-in-some-sense-blatant/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So we see, brethren and sisters that the words of Christ can be a personal Liahona for each of us, showing us the way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-rolfe-kerr/so-we-see-brethren-and-sisters-that-the-words-of-christ-can-be-a/) W. Rolfe Kerr > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) ## More by William Shakespeare > [Let us kill all lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-kill-all-lawyers/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. Julius Caesar (2.1.248-251)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-no-figures-nor-no-fantasies-which-busy-care-draws-in-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Omittance is no quittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/omittance-is-no-quittance/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Yes, madam: yet I cannot choose but laugh, To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.' And yet, I warrant, it had upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yes-madam-yet-i-cannot-choose-but-laugh-to-think-it-should-leave/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-take-thee-at-thy-word-call-me-but-love-and-i-ll-be-new-baptized/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Explore all 5,604 William Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## 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 > [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 > [“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 [Browse all 233 Abstinence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstinence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Assume a virtue, if you have it not. That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat, Of habits devil, is angel yet in this, That to the use of actions fair and good He likewise gives a frock or livery That aptly is put on. 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