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About this quote

What does it mean?
Exceeding the proper amount makes even the best things lose their charm.
In plain terms
Too much of anything diminishes its enjoyment.
What can you take from it?
Practice moderation to keep pleasures delightful.

Where it applies

  • eating
  • shopping
  • entertainment

Putting it to work

  • set limits
  • rotate activities

Questions to consider

  • Where do you tend to overindulge?
  • How can you recognize when enough is enough?

Another view

Some people thrive on abundance and find joy in excess.

More from Epictetus

  1. Of pleasures, those which occur most rarely give the most delight.

    Permalink to quote #64
  2. The anger of an ape-the threat of a flatterer:-these deserve equal regard.

    Permalink to quote #66
  3. Freedom is the name of virtue: Slavery, of vice:. None is a slave whose acts are free.

    Permalink to quote #63

Related quotes

  1. The mother of excess is not joy but joylessness.

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  2. A reasonable man needs only to practice moderation to find happiness.

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  3. We suffer primarily not from our vices or our weaknesses, but from our illusions.

    Daniel J. BoorstinDaniel J. Boorstin quote #1