Quotes About Temptation

Unhappy Land, whose Blessings tempt the Sword. Eclogue the Fourth. Agib and Secander; or the Fugitives

O, she is the antidote to desire.

O, popular applause! what heart of man is proof against thy sweet, seducing charms?

It's easy enough to be sensible for other people. But when it comes to myself, there I am! Especially, when I want to do what I oughtn't so much that it seems as if doing what I didn't want to do MUST be doing what I ought!

Nor is it the least advantage to health, accruing from such a way of life, that it expose those who follow it to fewer temptations to vice, than persons who live in crowded society.

If death itself were to die, would it have a ghost, and would the ghost of death visit the dead in the guise of someone alive, if only to fright them from any temptation to return?

I seen a pretty woman in a red dress, the old man said. And then I seen her take it off. What else is there?

Addictions [...] started out like magical pets, pocket monsters. They did extraordinary tricks, showed you things you hadn't seen, were fun. But came, through some gradual dire alchemy, to make decisions for you. Eventually, they were making your most crucial life-decisions. And they were [...] less intelligent than goldfish.

One practical trick, says Sleep, is to "reward yourself in the short term" by relishing the prospect of all the wonderful benefits you will enjoy because you chose to override your desire for instant gratification. That way, deferral becomes associated with pleasure and "you're much more likely to embrace it." Indeed, says Sleep, "I quite like the overriding because you just know that it's going to make your life better.

It's all about deferred gratification," says Sleep. "When you look at all the mistakes you make in life, private and professional, it's almost always because you reached for some short-term fix or some short-term high. . . . And that's the overwhelming habit of people in the stock market.

The more public thy place, Christian, and the more eminent thy service for God, the more thou must look that the devil will have some more dangerous design or other against thee; and therefore, if every private soldier needs armour against Satan's bullets of temptation, then the commanders and officers who stand in the front of battle much more.

We are to choose affliction rather than sin, yea, the greatest affliction before the least sin. Moses

In a word, Christians, God and angels are spectators, observing how you quit yourselves like children of the Most High; every exploit your faith doth against sin and Satan causeth a shout in heaven; while you valiantly prostrate this temptation, scale that difficulty, regain the other ground, you even now lost out of your enemies' hands.

Were there no devil, yet we should have our hands full, in resisting the corruptions of our own hearts; but

But none are so safe from sin as they that fear the falling into it most.

Satan, in tempting the saint to sin, labours to make a breech between God and the soul. He hates both, and therefore labours to divide these dear friends. If

Thus you find God represented to you as merciful and gracious, but not to such a great sinner as you. to have power and strength, but not able to save thee; you may say, Avaunt, Satan, thy speech betrayeth thee.

False faith, indeed, once foiled, seldom comes on again; but true faith riseth and fights more valiantly, as we see in Peter and other Scripture examples. Temptation

Satan comes as a serpent in the persons of false teachers, and by them labours to put a cheat on us, and cozen us with error for truth.

And here is all the devil gets; instead of destroying his faith which he aims at, he is the occasion of the refining of it, and thereby adding to its strength.

O how true are poor sinners to the devil's trust!

Thou art by nature a covenant-servant to sin and Satan.

And I pray, what is our life in this world but a dark night of temptation?

The great subject and theme of his thoughts in what he is, and what he hath above others, applauding himself; as Bernard confesseth, that—when one would think he had little leisure for such thoughts—even in preaching; pride would be whispering in his ear, Bene fecisti Bernarde—O well done, Bernard. Now have a care, Christian, of chat ting with such company. Run from such thoughts as from a bear.