Temptation Quotes

• Temptation is like a knife, that may either cut the meat or the throat of a man; it may be his food or his poison, his exercise or his destruction

  John Owen

  Cutting, Exercise, Men

  John Owen, Rev Terry Kulakowski, Editor “Overcoming Temptation and Sin”, Lulu.com

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• Knowledge of God's Word is a bulwark against deception, temptation, accusation, even persecution.

  Edwin Louis Cole

  God, Hype, Deception

  65 Copy quote

• Do not worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older it will avoid you.

  Joey Adams

  Funny, Life, Birthday

  Joey Adams (1981). “Strictly for laughs”, A & W Publishers, Inc.

  63 Copy quote

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• It's all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back.

  Mick Jagger

  Inspirational, Motivational, Letting Go

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• By persistently remaining single a man converts himself into a permanent public temptation.

  Oscar Wilde

  Anniversary, Single, Funny Valentines Day

  Oscar Wilde (2012). “The Wit and Humor of Oscar Wilde”, p.32, Courier Corporation

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• A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is... A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.

  C. S. Lewis

  Motivational, Strong, Lying

  75 Copy quote

• The realization of God's presence is the one sovereign remedy against temptation.

  Francois Fenelon

  Realization, Sovereign, Remedy

  12 Copy quote

• I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it.

  Mae West

  Motivational, Tattoo, Sexy

  My Little Chickadee (motion picture) (1940) See Balzac 1; Clementina Graham 1; Wilde 25; Wilde 53

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• The Lord knows our bearing capacity, both as to coping and to comprehending, and He will not give us more to bear than we can manage at the moment, though to us it may seem otherwise. Just as no temptations will come to us from which we cannot escape or which we cannot bear, we will not be given more trials than we can sustain.

  Neal A. Maxwell

  Giving, Justice, Trials

  7 Copy quote

• Do not grieve over the temptations you suffer. When the Lord intends to bestow a particular virtue on us, He often permits us first to be tempted by the opposite vice. Therefore, look upon every temptation as an invitation to grow in a particular virtue and a promise by God that you will be successful, if only you stand fast.

  Philip Neri

  Successful, Grieving, Opposites

  148 Copy quote

• Opportunity may knock only once but temptation leans on the door bell

  Oprah Winfrey

  Attitude, Opportunity, Doors

  14 Copy quote

• 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.

  William Butler Yeats

  Adversity, Soul, Positive Energy

  19 Copy quote

• The biggest human temptation is... to settle for too little.

  Thomas Merton

  Wisdom, Simple Life, Littles

  Forbes, August 4, 1980.

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• We usually know what we can do, but temptation shows us who we are.

  Thomas a Kempis

  Who We Are, Shows, Tempted

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• We often wonder that certain men and women are left by God to the commission of sins that shock us. We wonder how, under the temptation of a single hour, they fall from the very heights of virtue and of honor into sin and shame. The fact is that there are no such falls as these, or there are next to none. These men and women are those who have dallied with temptation--have exposed themselves to the influence of it, and have been weakened and corrupted by it.

  J. G. Holland

  Fall, Men, Honor

  "Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers" by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, p. 577, 1895.

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• We gain the strength of the temptation we resist.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Inspirational, Gains, Tempted

  Ralph Waldo Emerson (1983). “Essays and Lectures”, p.298, Library of America

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• It is easier to stay out than get out.

  Mark Twain

  Inspiration, Achievement, Smoking

  Following the Equator ch. 18, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar" (1897)

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• 

  There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.

  Mark Twain

  Motivational, Forbidden Love, Self Control

  Mark Twain (2014). “Mark Twain on Common Sense: Timeless Advice and Words of Wisdom from America's Most-Revered Humorist”, p.31, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

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• I deal with temptation by yielding to it.

  Mark Twain

  Deals

  11 Copy quote

• Great possessions and great want of them are both strong temptations.

  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

  Strong, Want, Possession

  6 Copy quote

• We are surrounded by abysses, but the greatest of all depths is in our own heart, and an irresistible leaning leads us there. Draw thyself from thyself!

  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

  Heart, Depth, Abyss

  6 Copy quote

• Do you really think it is weakness that yields to temptation? I tell you that there are terrible temptations which it requires strength, strength and courage to yield to.

  Oscar Wilde

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  Oscar Wilde (2015). “An Ideal Husband”, p.40, Sheba Blake Publishing

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• For years my wedding ring has done its job. It has led me not into temptation. It has reminded my husband numerous times at parties that it's time to go home. It has been a source of relief to a dinner companion. It has been a status symbol in the maternity ward.

  Erma Bombeck

  Inspirational, Funny, Marriage

  23 Copy quote

• There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice.

  Mark Twain

  Fear, Halloween, Coward

  Following the Equator (1897) ch. 36

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• Ever notice that the whisper of temptation can be heard farther than the loudest call to duty.

  Earl Wilson

  Duty, Heard, Temptation Life

  14 Copy quote