{ "type": "topic", "site": { "name": "Leafy Quotes", "language": "en", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com" }, "formats": "Every page has two versions with the same data: JSON (the page address + .json) and markdown (the page address + .md). Append .json or .md to any `url` in this document.", "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation", "heading": "Quotes about moderation", "json": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation.json", "markdown": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation.md", "quotes_count": 39, "authors_count": 30, "parent": { "name": "self-control", "slug": "self-control", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-control", "heading": "Quotes about self-control" }, "children": [], "quotes": [ { "id": "9f201edc-b900-444e-bac9-f6f8023b5b0c", "slug": "o-mind-of-man", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/virgil/the-aeneid/o-mind-of-man", "text": "O mind of man, knowing not fate or coming doom or how to keep bounds when uplifted with favoring fortune!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Virgil", "slug": "virgil", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/virgil" }, "book": { "title": "The Aeneid", "slug": "the-aeneid", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/virgil/the-aeneid" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pride", "slug": "pride", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pride" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aeneid#Book_X", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-26T08:09:59" }, { "id": "2fbb3cd8-9864-4787-94f7-2ee7d3ab2f78", "slug": "my-son-i-caution", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ovid/metamorphoses/my-son-i-caution", "text": "My son, I caution you to keep The middle way, for if your pinions dip Too low the waters may impede your flight; And if they soar too high the sun may scorch them. Fly midway.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ovid", "slug": "ovid", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ovid" }, "book": { "title": "Metamorphoses", "slug": "metamorphoses", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ovid/metamorphoses" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ovid#Metamorphoses_(Transformations)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-26T07:49:38" }, { "id": "1fc81034-8b5c-4631-95da-0b0b7aaa8f8a", "slug": "you-will-be-safest", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ovid/metamorphoses/you-will-be-safest", "text": "You will be safest in the middle.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ovid", "slug": "ovid", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ovid" }, "book": { "title": "Metamorphoses", "slug": "metamorphoses", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ovid/metamorphoses" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ovid#Metamorphoses_(Transformations)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-26T07:49:38" }, { "id": "29271a40-879b-436f-b40b-2904e558c926", "slug": "the-gifts-of-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robin-wall-kimmerer/braiding-sweetgrass/the-gifts-of-the", "text": "The gifts of the earth are to be shared, but gifts are not limitless. The generosity of the earth is not an invitation to take it all.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robin Wall Kimmerer", "slug": "robin-wall-kimmerer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robin-wall-kimmerer" }, "book": { "title": "Braiding Sweetgrass", "slug": "braiding-sweetgrass", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robin-wall-kimmerer/braiding-sweetgrass" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 382, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" }, { "name": "generosity", "slug": "generosity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/generosity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robin_Wall_Kimmerer#Braiding_Sweetgrass_(2013)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:33" }, { "id": "39e2d778-206d-4262-aded-7ca111807b7b", "slug": "we-are-told", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robin-wall-kimmerer/braiding-sweetgrass/we-are-told", "text": "We are told to take only that which is given.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robin Wall Kimmerer", "slug": "robin-wall-kimmerer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robin-wall-kimmerer" }, "book": { "title": "Braiding Sweetgrass", "slug": "braiding-sweetgrass", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robin-wall-kimmerer/braiding-sweetgrass" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 177, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robin_Wall_Kimmerer#Braiding_Sweetgrass_(2013)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:31" }, { "id": "75a156b9-6b04-4910-ad56-4392f2e8f82f", "slug": "so-karla-is-fireproof", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-le-carre/tinker-tailor-soldier-spy/so-karla-is-fireproof", "text": "“So Karla is fireproof?\" Guillam asked finally. \"He can't be bought and he can't be beaten?” “Karla's pulled the Circus inside out; that much I understand, so do you,” Smiley said quietly. “Karla is not fireproof because he's a fanatic. And one day, if I have anything to do with it, that lack of moderation will be his downfall.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John le Carré", "slug": "john-le-carre", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-le-carre" }, "book": { "title": "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", "slug": "tinker-tailor-soldier-spy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-le-carre/tinker-tailor-soldier-spy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "fanaticism", "slug": "fanaticism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fanaticism" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tinker_Tailor_Soldier_Spy_(novel)#Part_Two", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:51" }, { "id": "2f88e5f1-8ae7-4ece-92de-488114a78f68", "slug": "im-all-for", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ben-aaronovitch/lies-sleeping/im-all-for", "text": "I’m all for courageous action, in moderation, Peter. But you have an alarming tendency toward heroics.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ben Aaronovitch", "slug": "ben-aaronovitch", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ben-aaronovitch" }, "book": { "title": "Lies Sleeping", "slug": "lies-sleeping", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ben-aaronovitch/lies-sleeping" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 269, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "courage", "slug": "courage", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/courage" }, { "name": "heroism", "slug": "heroism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/heroism" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ben_Aaronovitch#Lies_Sleeping_(2018)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:32" }, { "id": "d693bd51-12a0-46d4-bd96-a3778c6dfa2c", "slug": "nothing-in-excess", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/poul-anderson/the-boat-of-a-million-years/nothing-in-excess", "text": "Nothing in excess, including self-denial.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Poul Anderson", "slug": "poul-anderson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/poul-anderson" }, "book": { "title": "The Boat of a Million Years", "slug": "the-boat-of-a-million-years", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/poul-anderson/the-boat-of-a-million-years" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 29, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Poul_Anderson#The_Boat_of_a_Million_Years_(1989)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:47" }, { "id": "3a42632d-a22d-4750-a1af-ae3d82d5f975", "slug": "the-deepest-feeling", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/marianne-moore/the-poems-of-marianne-moore/the-deepest-feeling", "text": "The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence; not in silence, but restraint.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Marianne Moore", "slug": "marianne-moore", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/marianne-moore" }, "book": { "title": "The Poems of Marianne Moore", "slug": "the-poems-of-marianne-moore", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/marianne-moore/the-poems-of-marianne-moore" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 163, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "emotions", "slug": "emotions", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/emotions" }, { "name": "silence", "slug": "silence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/silence" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marianne_Moore#The_Poems_of_Marianne_Moore_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:35" }, { "id": "ab638a3d-67d3-446c-b426-da449e571d0e", "slug": "i-have-heard", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anne-bronte/the-tenant-of-wildfell-hall/i-have-heard", "text": "I have heard that, with some persons, temperance – that is, moderation – is almost impossible; and if abstinence be an evil (which some have doubted), no one will deny that excess is a greater. Some parents have entirely prohibited their children from tasting intoxicating liquors; but a parent’s authority cannot last for ever; children are naturally prone to hanker after forbidden things; and a child, in such a case, would be likely to have a strong curiosity to taste, and try the effect of what has been so lauded and enjoyed by others, so strictly forbidden to himself – which curiosity would generally be gratified on the first convenient opportunity; and the restraint once broken, serious consequences might ensue.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anne Brontë", "slug": "anne-bronte", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anne-bronte" }, "book": { "title": "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall", "slug": "the-tenant-of-wildfell-hall", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anne-bronte/the-tenant-of-wildfell-hall" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "alcohol", "slug": "alcohol", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/alcohol" }, { "name": "upbringing", "slug": "upbringing", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/upbringing" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anne_Bront%C3%AB#The_Tenant_of_Wildfell_Hall_(1848)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:27" }, { "id": "0eaadb5e-dd47-4758-b3f6-3953b73e89bf", "slug": "subdue-your-appetites", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/nicholas-nickleby/subdue-your-appetites", "text": "Subdue your appetites, my dears, and you've conquered human nature.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Dickens", "slug": "charles-dickens", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens" }, "book": { "title": "Nicholas Nickleby", "slug": "nicholas-nickleby", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/nicholas-nickleby" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nicholas_Nickleby#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:42" }, { "id": "057f4c57-ed49-469d-be90-91d47f90d698", "slug": "dave-was-committed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/geoff-dyer/yoga-for-people-who-cant-be-bothered-to-do-it/dave-was-committed", "text": "Dave was committed to making it a truly memorable weekend in the sense that he would remember nothing whatsoever about it. “It’s all about moderation,” he said, “Everything in moderation. Even moderation itself. From this it follows that you must from time to time, have excess. And this is going to be one of those occasions.” (p. 152).", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Geoff Dyer", "slug": "geoff-dyer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/geoff-dyer" }, "book": { "title": "Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do It", "slug": "yoga-for-people-who-cant-be-bothered-to-do-it", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/geoff-dyer/yoga-for-people-who-cant-be-bothered-to-do-it" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "alcohol", "slug": "alcohol", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/alcohol" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Geoff_Dyer#Yoga_For_People_Who_Can't_Be_Bothered_To_Do_It_(1993)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:29" }, { "id": "c5f747d6-2da9-457d-ab47-417164730199", "slug": "when-all-choices", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthew-stover/shatterpoint-star-wars-legends/when-all-choices", "text": "When all choices seem wrong, choose restraint.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Matthew Stover", "slug": "matthew-stover", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthew-stover" }, "book": { "title": "Shatterpoint: Star Wars Legends", "slug": "shatterpoint-star-wars-legends", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthew-stover/shatterpoint-star-wars-legends" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 176, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "choices", "slug": "choices", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/choices" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Matthew_Stover#Shatterpoint_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:45" }, { "id": "56c35544-e333-4d1e-8c5b-25581188b3ec", "slug": "simplicity-and-nonviolence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/vandana-shiva/oneness-vs-the-1/simplicity-and-nonviolence", "text": "Simplicity and nonviolence are the basis of an economy of wellbeing, and such an economy must be localised.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Vandana Shiva", "slug": "vandana-shiva", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/vandana-shiva" }, "book": { "title": "Oneness vs. the 1%", "slug": "oneness-vs-the-1", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/vandana-shiva/oneness-vs-the-1" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" }, { "name": "economy", "slug": "economy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/economy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vandana_Shiva#Oneness_vs._the_1%25:_Shattering_Illusions,_Seeding_Freedom_(2020)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:27" }, { "id": "63c6b542-cdca-4fd8-99f9-2ef0debcb89d", "slug": "t-here-are-times", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jose-saramago/the-double/t-here-are-times", "text": "[T]here are times when it is best to be content with what one has, so as not to lose everything.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "José Saramago", "slug": "jose-saramago", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jose-saramago" }, "book": { "title": "The Double", "slug": "the-double", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jose-saramago/the-double" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "acceptance", "slug": "acceptance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/acceptance" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Saramago#The_Double_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:15" }, { "id": "cd735939-e602-4bfc-9fea-ea113639aece", "slug": "somebody-once-said", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/billie-holiday/lady-sings-the-blues/somebody-once-said", "text": "Somebody once said we never know what is enough until we know what's more than enough.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Billie Holiday", "slug": "billie-holiday", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/billie-holiday" }, "book": { "title": "Lady Sings the Blues", "slug": "lady-sings-the-blues", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/billie-holiday/lady-sings-the-blues" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Billie_Holiday#Lady_Sings_the_Blues_(1956)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:59" }, { "id": "040152a6-0f0b-4cc8-a5ab-aa0a1c79e375", "slug": "vices-are-sometimes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/dombey-and-son/vices-are-sometimes", "text": "... vices are sometimes only virtues carried to excess!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Dickens", "slug": "charles-dickens", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens" }, "book": { "title": "Dombey and Son", "slug": "dombey-and-son", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-dickens/dombey-and-son" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" }, { "name": "flaws", "slug": "flaws", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/flaws" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens#Dombey_and_Son_(1846-1848)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:41" }, { "id": "efff80af-22c2-499d-babe-e3f3507a90d7", "slug": "you-can-now", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thucydides/history-of-the-peloponnesian-war/you-can-now", "text": "You can now, if you choose, employ your present success to advantage, so as to keep what you have got and gain honour and reputation besides, and you can avoid the mistake of those who meet with an extraordinary piece of good fortune, and are led on by hope to grasp continually at something further, through having already succeeded without expecting it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Thucydides", "slug": "thucydides", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thucydides" }, "book": { "title": "History of the Peloponnesian War", "slug": "history-of-the-peloponnesian-war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thucydides/history-of-the-peloponnesian-war" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "success and failure", "slug": "success-and-failure", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/success-and-failure" }, { "name": "greed", "slug": "greed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/greed" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thucydides#Book_IV", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:36" }, { "id": "83d799be-7e1b-48b6-8abd-a81b17e64ca2", "slug": "and-it-is-certain", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thucydides/history-of-the-peloponnesian-war/and-it-is-certain", "text": "And it is certain that those who do not yield to their equals, who keep terms with their superiors, and are moderate towards their inferiors, on the whole succeed best.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Thucydides", "slug": "thucydides", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thucydides" }, "book": { "title": "History of the Peloponnesian War", "slug": "history-of-the-peloponnesian-war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thucydides/history-of-the-peloponnesian-war" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "success and failure", "slug": "success-and-failure", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/success-and-failure" }, { "name": "respect", "slug": "respect", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/respect" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thucydides#Book_V", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:36" }, { "id": "d0e2fe23-f30b-41ec-9557-51b879eab1a3", "slug": "to-hold-us-in-check", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/j-m-coetzee/foe/to-hold-us-in-check", "text": "To hold us in check when our desires grow immoderate. As long as our desires are moderate we have no need of laws.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "J. M. Coetzee", "slug": "j-m-coetzee", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/j-m-coetzee" }, "book": { "title": "Foe", "slug": "foe", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/j-m-coetzee/foe" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 54, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "law", "slug": "law", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/law" }, { "name": "sexual desire", "slug": "sexual-desire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/sexual-desire" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._M._Coetzee#Foe_(1986)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:30" }, { "id": "8d2d8327-7b7d-459f-ae58-a0170e62fce8", "slug": "he-told-me-i-might", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-defoe/robinson-crusoe/he-told-me-i-might", "text": "He told me I might judge of the happiness of this state by this one thing - viz. that this was the state of life which all other people envied; that kings have frequently lamented the miserable consequence of being born to great things, and wished they had been placed in the middle of the two extremes, between the mean and the great; that the wise man gave his testimony to this, as the standard of felicity, when he prayed to have neither poverty nor riches. He bade me observe it, and I should always find that the calamities of life were shared among the upper and lower part of mankind; but that the middle station had the fewest disasters.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Daniel Defoe", "slug": "daniel-defoe", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-defoe" }, "book": { "title": "Robinson Crusoe", "slug": "robinson-crusoe", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-defoe/robinson-crusoe" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "happiness", "slug": "happiness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/happiness" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Daniel_Defoe#Robinson_Crusoe_(1719)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:31" }, { "id": "bcb62b97-8398-4a24-a9c5-1165557060b0", "slug": "balance-thats-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-abbey/desert-solitaire/balance-thats-the", "text": "Balance, that's the secret. Moderate extremism.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edward Abbey", "slug": "edward-abbey", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-abbey" }, "book": { "title": "Desert Solitaire", "slug": "desert-solitaire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edward-abbey/desert-solitaire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 233, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Abbey#Desert_Solitaire_(1968)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:31" }, { "id": "9c5782e9-daac-4ce3-80f3-77051e6b57f3", "slug": "all-things-are", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/paracelsus/paracelsus/all-things-are", "text": "All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; but the dose makes it clear that a thing is not a poison.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Paracelsus", "slug": "paracelsus", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/paracelsus" }, "book": { "title": "Paracelsus", "slug": "paracelsus", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/paracelsus/paracelsus" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paracelsus#Paracelsus_-_Doctor_of_our_Time_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:47:07" }, { "id": "b2650824-ac0c-41a6-81c4-d6ad8f4a0874", "slug": "to-introduce-into", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz/on-war/to-introduce-into", "text": "To introduce into the philosophy of War itself a principle of moderation would be an absurdity.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Carl von Clausewitz", "slug": "carl-von-clausewitz", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz" }, "book": { "title": "On War", "slug": "on-war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz/on-war" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 56, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "war", "slug": "war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/war" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz#3._Utmost_use_of_force", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:37" }, { "id": "02a51700-59f9-4ff7-830c-5b29db1b9504", "slug": "a-prince-or-general", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz/on-war/a-prince-or-general", "text": "A prince or general can best demonstrate his genius by managing a campaign exactly to suit his objectives and his resources, doing neither too much nor too little.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Carl von Clausewitz", "slug": "carl-von-clausewitz", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz" }, "book": { "title": "On War", "slug": "on-war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/carl-von-clausewitz/on-war" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" }, { "name": "strategy", "slug": "strategy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/strategy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz#Book_3", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:37" }, { "id": "8361a944-5108-4912-84d1-dfdde382aaa5", "slug": "the-good-is-worth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-joubert/the-notebooks-of-joseph-joubert/the-good-is-worth", "text": "The good is worth more than the best.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Joseph Joubert", "slug": "joseph-joubert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-joubert" }, "book": { "title": "The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert", "slug": "the-notebooks-of-joseph-joubert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-joubert/the-notebooks-of-joseph-joubert" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "kindness", "slug": "kindness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/kindness" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Joubert#The_Notebooks_of_Joseph_Joubert_(1883)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:45:05" }, { "id": "63883611-a265-480f-93e7-f95053a7f706", "slug": "the-virtue-of-frugality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/adam-smith/the-theory-of-moral-sentiments/the-virtue-of-frugality", "text": "The virtue of frugality lies in a middle between avarice and profusion, of which the one consists in an excess, the other in a defect of the proper attention to the objects of self–interest.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Adam Smith", "slug": "adam-smith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/adam-smith" }, "book": { "title": "The Theory of Moral Sentiments", "slug": "the-theory-of-moral-sentiments", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/adam-smith/the-theory-of-moral-sentiments" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "greed", "slug": "greed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/greed" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Adam_Smith#Part_VII", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:43" }, { "id": "41ad57d8-efd1-4b6d-b554-806f50913234", "slug": "the-art-of-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robertson-davies/the-cornish-trilogy/the-art-of-the", "text": "The art of the quoter is to know when to stop.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robertson Davies", "slug": "robertson-davies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robertson-davies" }, "book": { "title": "The Cornish Trilogy", "slug": "the-cornish-trilogy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robertson-davies/the-cornish-trilogy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cornish_Trilogy#What's_Bred_in_the_Bone", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:16" }, { "id": "36e5ceec-af01-4d4b-a025-f9c34b257cb3", "slug": "milady-said-that", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robertson-davies/the-deptford-trilogy/milady-said-that", "text": "Milady said that with the Bible and Shakespeare it was better to be a little cool, rather than too hot; the meaning emerged more powerfully. \"Listen to Sir John,\" she said, \"and you'll find that he never pushes a line as far as it will go.\" That was how I learned about never doing your damnedest; your next-to-damnedest was far better.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robertson Davies", "slug": "robertson-davies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robertson-davies" }, "book": { "title": "The Deptford Trilogy", "slug": "the-deptford-trilogy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robertson-davies/the-deptford-trilogy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" }, { "name": "theatre", "slug": "theatre", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/theatre" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Deptford_Trilogy#(1975)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:44:14" }, { "id": "d1a0e407-0fca-4fc0-b1c7-c5fb53983e27", "slug": "the-most-damaging", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/napoleon-hill/think-and-grow-rich/the-most-damaging", "text": "The most damaging forms of intemperance are connected with eating, strong drink, and sexual activities. Overindulgence in any of these is fatal to success. p.88", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Napoleon Hill", "slug": "napoleon-hill", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/napoleon-hill" }, "book": { "title": "Think And Grow Rich", "slug": "think-and-grow-rich", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/napoleon-hill/think-and-grow-rich" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Napoleon_Hill#Think_and_Grow_Rich_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:18" }, { "id": "482a1013-8ff9-49a9-b595-b4af8c81b10d", "slug": "still-moderation-i-beg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-vance/wyst-alastor-1716/still-moderation-i-beg", "text": "“Still, moderation, I beg of all of you!” “But not too much of it!” Dobbo called out. “We’d be defeating only ourselves. Moderation must be practiced in moderation.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jack Vance", "slug": "jack-vance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-vance" }, "book": { "title": "Wyst: Alastor 1716", "slug": "wyst-alastor-1716", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-vance/wyst-alastor-1716" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 383, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "humor", "slug": "humor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/humor" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_Vance#Wyst:_Alastor_1716_(1978)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:43:02" }, { "id": "62de727e-6ec6-49b5-8b52-208ddeeca086", "slug": "often-theres-no-need", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/children-of-dune/often-theres-no-need", "text": "Often there's no need to tear off an arm to remove a splinter.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Frank Herbert", "slug": "frank-herbert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert" }, "book": { "title": "Children Of Dune", "slug": "children-of-dune", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/frank-herbert/children-of-dune" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" }, { "name": "problems", "slug": "problems", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/problems" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dune#Children_of_Dune_(1976)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:53" }, { "id": "f86b3916-8fc6-44dc-a0b2-6a8461ee1074", "slug": "drink-not-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-herbert/the-temple/drink-not-the", "text": "Drink not the third glass, which thou canst not tame, When once it is within thee.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George Herbert", "slug": "george-herbert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-herbert" }, "book": { "title": "The Temple", "slug": "the-temple", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-herbert/the-temple" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "alcohol", "slug": "alcohol", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/alcohol" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Herbert#The_Temple_(1633)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:40:00" }, { "id": "753c74e5-fd0a-4972-978d-aa8805527f82", "slug": "nature-has-pointed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-hume/an-enquiry-concerning-human-understanding/nature-has-pointed", "text": "Nature has pointed out a mixed kind of life as most suitable to the human race, and secretly admonished them to allow none of these biases to draw too much, so as to incapacitate them for other occupations and entertainments. Indulge your passion for science, says she, but let your science be human, and such as may have a direct reference to action and society. Abstruse thought and profound researches I prohibit, and will severely punish, by the pensive melancholy which they introduce, by the endless uncertainty in which they involve you, and by the cold reception which your pretended discoveries shall meet with, when communicated. Be a philosopher; but, amidst all your philosophy, be still a man.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "David Hume", "slug": "david-hume", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-hume" }, "book": { "title": "An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding", "slug": "an-enquiry-concerning-human-understanding", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-hume/an-enquiry-concerning-human-understanding" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "science", "slug": "science", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/science" }, { "name": "philosophy", "slug": "philosophy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/philosophy" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Hume#An_Enquiry_Concerning_Human_Understanding_(1748)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:55" }, { "id": "7fb2d066-096c-45ca-aeec-fe6e43c9a09a", "slug": "i-have-only", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education/i-have-only", "text": "I have only one rule to give you which sums up all the rest. Be a man; restrain your heart within the limits of your manhood. Study and know these limits; however narrow they may be, we are not unhappy within them; it is only when we wish to go beyond them that we are unhappy, only when, in our mad passions, we try to attain the impossible; we are unhappy when we forget our manhood to make an imaginary world for ourselves, from which we are always slipping back into our own. The only good things, whose loss really affects us, are those which we claim as our rights. If it is clear that we cannot obtain what we want, our mind turns away from it; wishes without hope cease to torture us. A beggar is not tormented by a desire to be a king; a king only wishes to be a god when he thinks himself more than man.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jean Jacques Rousseau", "slug": "jean-jacques-rousseau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau" }, "book": { "title": "Emile; or On Education", "slug": "emile-or-on-education", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "happiness", "slug": "happiness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/happiness" }, { "name": "desire", "slug": "desire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/desire" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emile,_or_On_Education#Book_V", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:38" }, { "id": "4ebe8d6d-4086-496e-860c-af2d204e1e20", "slug": "desire-mediocrity-in-all", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education/desire-mediocrity-in-all", "text": "Desire mediocrity in all things, even in beauty. A pleasant attractive countenance, which inspires kindly feelings rather than love, is what we should prefer; the husband runs no risk, and the advantages are common to husband and wife; charm is less perishable than beauty; it is a living thing, which constantly renews itself, and after thirty years of married life, the charms of a good woman delight her husband even as they did on the wedding-day.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jean Jacques Rousseau", "slug": "jean-jacques-rousseau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau" }, "book": { "title": "Emile; or On Education", "slug": "emile-or-on-education", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "beauty", "slug": "beauty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/beauty" }, { "name": "marriage", "slug": "marriage", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/marriage" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emile,_or_On_Education#Book_V", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:38" }, { "id": "4897356b-0bd9-4cb0-aa3a-9213de198237", "slug": "sufficiently-sensitive-to-understand", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education/sufficiently-sensitive-to-understand", "text": "sufficiently sensitive to understand every human passion, and calm enough to be free from passion. If there is any time in our life when this study is likely to be appreciated, it is this that I have chosen for Emile; before this time men would have been strangers to him; later on he would have been like them. Convention, the effects of which he already perceives, has not yet made him its slave, the passions, whose consequences he realises, have not yet stirred his heart. He is a man; he takes an interest in his brethren; he is a just man and he judges his peers. Now it is certain that if he judges them rightly he will not want to change places with any one of them, for the goal of all their anxious efforts is the result of prejudices which he does not share, and that goal seems to him a mere dream. For his own part, he has all he wants within his reach. How should he be dependent on any one when he is self-sufficing and free from prejudice? Strong arms, good health, [Footnote: I think I may fairly reckon health and strength among the advantages he has obtained by his education, or rather among the gifts of nature which his education has preserved for him.] moderation, few needs, together with the means to satisfy those needs, are his. He has been brought up in complete liberty and servitude is the greatest ill he understands. He pities these miserable kings, the slaves of all who obey them; he pities these false prophets fettered by their empty fame; he pities these rich fools, martyrs to their own pomp; he pities these ostentatious voluptuaries, who spend their life in deadly dullness that they may seem to enjoy its pleasures.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jean Jacques Rousseau", "slug": "jean-jacques-rousseau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau" }, "book": { "title": "Emile; or On Education", "slug": "emile-or-on-education", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "freedom", "slug": "freedom", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/freedom" }, { "name": "independence", "slug": "independence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/independence" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emile,_or_On_Education#Book_IV", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:34" }, { "id": "ce2ec9d4-61ef-41ee-99ab-888449dab1ee", "slug": "when-man-is-content", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education/when-man-is-content", "text": "When man is content to be himself he is strong indeed; when he strives to be more than man he is weak indeed. But do not imagine that you can increase your strength by increasing your powers. Not so; if your pride increases more rapidly your strength is diminished. Let us measure the extent of our sphere and remain in its centre like the spider in its web; we shall have strength sufficient for our needs, we shall have no cause to lament our weakness, for we shall never be aware of it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jean Jacques Rousseau", "slug": "jean-jacques-rousseau", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau" }, "book": { "title": "Emile; or On Education", "slug": "emile-or-on-education", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jean-jacques-rousseau/emile-or-on-education" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pride", "slug": "pride", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pride" }, { "name": "strength", "slug": "strength", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/strength" }, { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emile,_or_On_Education#Book_II", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:31" }, { "id": "49755a33-d7e1-47a0-b1ed-31fa52f5d462", "slug": "i-have-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-somerset-maugham/the-summing-up/i-have-not", "text": "I have not been afraid of excess: excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "William Somerset Maugham", "slug": "william-somerset-maugham", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-somerset-maugham" }, "book": { "title": "The Summing Up", "slug": "the-summing-up", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-somerset-maugham/the-summing-up" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 48, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "moderation", "slug": "moderation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/moderation" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._Somerset_Maugham#The_Summing_Up_(1938)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:39:27" } ] }