Walter Scott Quotes

Every time I say 'no' to a small temptation, I strengthen my will to say 'no' to a greater one.

The good devout man first makes inner preparation for the actions he has later to perform. His outward actions do not draw him into lust and vice; rather it is he who bends them into the shape of reason and right judgement. Who has a stiffer battle to fight than the man who is striving to conquer himself.

To gain the spiritual ascendancy over ourselves, and the influences with which we are surrounded, through a rigid course of self-discipline, is our first consideration, it is our first labor, before we can pave the way for our children to grow up without sin unto salvation.

Happie is hee that chastens himselfe.

The greatest of all crosses is self. If we die in part every day, we shall have but little to do on the last. These little daily deaths will destroy the power of the final dying.

Denying self isn't a one-time thing, but a daily task.

Self-discipline is the golden key; without it, you cannot be happy.

Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.

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

It is my own firm belief that the strength of the soul grows in proportion as you subdue the flesh.

Why comes temptation but for man to meet And master and make crouch beneath his foot, And so be pedestaled in triumph?

The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.

You must first have a lot of patience to learn to have patience.

I practice martial arts not to win over other people but to win over my own heart.

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.

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.

They who overcome their desires once can overcome them always.

Discipline is wisdom and vice versa.

Every conquering temptation represents a new fund of moral energy. Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.

Who has a harder fight than he who is striving to overcome himself.

Patience is a virtue; virtue is a grace.

True victory is self-victory; let that day arrive quickly!

Here’s one of my favorite statements: We are never going to enjoy stability, we are never going to enjoy spiritual maturity until we learn how to do what’s right when it feels wrong, and every time you do what’s right by a decision of your will using discipline and self control to go beyond how you feel, the more painful it is in your flesh, the more you’re growing spiritually at that particular moment.

Self-denial does not belong to religion as characteristic of it; it belongs to human life; the lower nature must always be denied when you are trying to rise to a higher sphere.

You will be a happier person if you don't do what you want to do, most of the time