Self-Control Quotes About Restraint & Judgment — Page 4

The Art of War, Chapter III “Attack by Stratagem,” section 17, Lionel Giles translation (1910), printed page 24 / scan leaf 80 in the original Giles edition on Wikisource, cross-checked against Project Gutenberg #17405. “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight” is the first of five listed military essentials for victory; it remains battlefield-strategy judgment rather than a context-free maxim about every disagreement.

The Art of War, Chapter III “Attack by Stratagem,” section 2, Lionel Giles translation (1910), printed page 17 / scan leaf 73 in the original Giles edition on Wikisource, cross-checked against Project Gutenberg #17405. “Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting” contrasts mere battlefield victory with achieving the strategic objective without direct combat. This remains ancient military-strategy argument in translation, not generic advice for business, relationships or ordinary personal conflict.

Dhammapada 35, F. Max Müller translation; the wording belongs to the chapter on thought and is preserved as a translated canonical verse rather than attributed to a modern individual author.

Dhammapada 157, Chapter XII “Self,” in Max Müller’s translation; the verse explicitly joins self-regard with watchfulness and ethical discipline.

Speech at Syracuse, New York, September 7, 1903.

Speech “The Strenuous Life,” April 10, 1899.

The Imitation of Christ, Book II, Chapter III, “Of the good, peaceable man,” William Benham translation, Project Gutenberg #1653.

The Imitation of Christ, Book I, Chapter XVI, “Of bearing with the faults of others,” William Benham translation, Project Gutenberg #1653. The chapter advises patiently bearing what cannot presently be amended while also urging prayer and mutual forbearance; it remains Christian devotional counsel rather than permission to tolerate preventable harm.

Latter-Day Pamphlets, No. IV “The New Downing Street”; Project Gutenberg #1140. The sentence occurs inside Carlyle’s controversial political argument about leadership; this collection uses it for work/responsibility while retaining that historical context.

Sartor Resartus, Book II, Chapter IX, “The Everlasting Yea,” printed page 156 / Wikisource scan leaf 188 in The Works of Thomas Carlyle, Centenary Edition, Vol. I (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1896). “Do the Duty which lies nearest thee” follows the doubt/action sentence and is explicitly described as a precept that was of invaluable service to Teufelsdröckh. It remains fictional-philosophical and religious conduct-of-life rhetoric rather than a context-free productivity command.

Second Paper on Murder (1839), represented in Project Gutenberg #10708 under the Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts sequence. The passage is deliberate black comedy and satire; it does not endorse violence or present a serious behavioral progression.

“Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes,” represented in Project Gutenberg #11254. The poem is comic mock-moral verse about Horace Walpole’s cat Selima; the gendered eighteenth-century joke remains historical literary language rather than a modern claim about women.

Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Jefferson Smith, February 21, 1825, Founders Online / National Archives. The sentence is item 10 in a short list of “canons of conduct” sent to his namesake relative; the archive currently labels the transcription an Early Access document rather than a final authoritative edition.

Traditional English moral associated with the fable; wording is later than the ancient Greek tradition.

The Majesty of Calmness, essay II, “Hurry, the Scourge of America,” Project Gutenberg #6911. Jordan contrasts purposeful haste with confused hurry and says that slow, careful foundation work can be quickest in the end. It is period moral rhetoric about overwork, pace and preparation rather than a universal productivity finding.

Talks To Teachers, chapter on Habit; Project Gutenberg #16287. James calls this his fifth practical maxim about habits. The physiological vocabulary is historical psychology, not modern clinical guidance.

Hopes and Fears for Art, lecture “Making the Best of It”; Project Gutenberg #3773. The sentence addresses artistic workmanship rather than claiming every form of labor is art.

A Way of Life, section I, printed page 5, London: Constable & Company Ltd. (1913), Project Gutenberg #73116. Osler condenses his proposed daily-living habit into “Life in day-tight compartments,” using the metaphor of watertight ship compartments. This remains historical conduct-of-life rhetoric, not a treatment for anxiety or other health conditions.

A Way of Life, section IV, printed page 14, London: Constable & Company Ltd. (1913), Project Gutenberg #73116. “Concentration is an art of slow acquisition” follows Osler’s advice about steady daily dedication and hour-tight focus. It remains historical educational/professional counsel rather than a quantified modern efficiency rule.

Aequanimitas, 1889 valedictory address. Osler uses the phrase while defining imperturbability for physicians and surgeons; it is retained as a professional ideal in its historical medical setting.

Aequanimitas, valedictory address delivered at the University of Pennsylvania on May 1, 1889; reviewed against the represented 1906 second edition of Aequanimitas with Other Addresses, Internet Archive identifier aequanimitaswith00osle_0. Osler defines imperturbability as ‘coolness and presence of mind under all circumstances,’ immediately followed by ‘calmness amid storm’ and ‘clearness of judgment in moments of grave peril.’ This remains historical medical-professional rhetoric about composure, not clinical guidance or an instruction to suppress emotion.

The Master-Word in Medicine, address delivered October 1, 1903 at the opening of the new buildings of the University of Toronto Medical Faculty; reviewed against the represented 1903 John Murphy pamphlet, Internet Archive identifier b28060805. ‘The master-word is Work’ is Osler’s organizing refrain and is followed by his appeal to write the word on the heart and forehead. This remains historical professional rhetoric rather than an endorsement of unsafe working hours or workaholism.

The Master-Word in Medicine, 1903. “It” refers to the master-word Work in the immediately preceding passage; the source page preserves that antecedent so the excerpt is not detached from its meaning.

The Master-Word in Medicine, 1903. Osler immediately acknowledges that acquiring the work-habit can be a hard battle; the context therefore supports persistence without turning the passage into a modern workaholism prescription.

Some Fruits of Solitude, Preface, reviewed against the Oxford Text Archive transcription of the licensed 1693 edition. Penn says time is what people want most but use worst and immediately frames stewardship of time in explicitly religious accountability to God, neighbour and self; it remains Quaker conduct-of-life reflection rather than productivity research.

Act 1, Scene 3; Polonius advises Laertes before his departure.

Henry IV, Part 1, Act V Scene 4; reviewed against the 1917 Yale Shakespeare edition edited by Samuel B. Hemingway, printed page 110 / scan leaf 124. Falstaff says 'The better part of valour is discretion' after counterfeiting death during the battle and immediately boasts that this discretion saved his life. It remains comic fictional self-justification rather than a universal rule for courage or risk.

Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene 2, in the 1919 Yale Shakespeare edition edited by Lawrence Mason. Cassius says ‘Men at some time are masters of their fates’ immediately before the fuller stars/underlings argument; the retained short record is part of the same local persuasion scene.

Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene 2, in the 1919 Yale Shakespeare edition edited by Lawrence Mason. Cassius tells Brutus that men can be masters of their fates and immediately continues, ‘The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.’ This is Cassius’s political persuasion inside the drama, not neutral historical evidence or Shakespeare speaking directly.

Act 2, Scene 3; Friar Laurence urges Romeo to move with greater care.

The Tempest, Act 5, Scene 1; Prospero decides against vengeance after considering the suffering of his enemies.

The Elements of Style, Chapter III, Rule 13, Project Gutenberg #37134; the surrounding paragraph explicitly says detail need not be eliminated.