John Tillotson 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.

Virtue does not consist in the absence of the passions, but in the control of them.

In the matter of learning, the difference between the earnest and the careless student stands out clearly. The same holds true in the mastering of passion and the weaknesses to which our nature is subject, as in the acquiring of virtue.

Virtue is an inner strength. It expands your nature.

Virtue comes by nature, learning, and practice, and thanks to virtue, all of the aforesaid may deserve approval.

The hardest victory is the victory over self.

Self-discipline, as a virtue or an acquired asset, can be invaluable to anyone.

SPIRITUAL EXERCISES whereby to conquer oneself, and order one's life, without being influenced in one's decision by any inordinate affection.

Discipline is not a restriction but an aid to freedom.

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

No evil propensity of the human heart is so powerful that it may not be subdued by discipline.

There is something good in men that really yearn for discipline.

By constant self-discipline and self-control you can develop greatness of character.

The worst education which teaches self-denial, is better than the best which teaches everything else, and not that.

The only discipline that lasts is self-discipline.

We make ourselves a ladder out of our vices if we trample the vices themselves underfoot.

He that has energy enough to root out a vice should go further, and try to plant a virtue in its place.

Man cannot be uplifted; he must be seduced into virtue.

In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves... self-discipline with all of them came first.

Respect for self is the beginning of cultivating virtue in men and women.

Discipline is wisdom and vice versa.

I have learned that I really do have discipline, self-control, and patience. But they were given to me as a seed, and it's up to me to choose to develop them.

We should make virtue our master, not our servant.

Never stop working on your statue until the divine glory of virtue shines out on you, until you see self-mastery enthroned upon its holy seat.

To the one, a little natural moderation and quietness of temper may be sufficient to conduct us: but to the other, we can only attain by much discipline and slow advances; and when we think we have made great way, we shall often find reason to confess in the hour of trial, that we had greatly, far too greatly, over-rated our progress.