Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation.
Author: St. Augustine (354-430)
Profession: Numidian-born Bishop of Hippo, Theologian
Renouncement: the heroism of mediocrity.
Author: Natalie Clifford Barney (1876-1972)
Profession: American-born French Author
With renunciation life begins.
Author: Amelia E. Barr (1831-1919)
Profession: Anglo-American Novelist
Abstainer. A weak man who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure.
Author: Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)
Profession: American Author, Editor, Journalist, "The Devil's Dictionary"
The best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them up.
Author: Dorothy Day (1897-1980)
Profession: American Religious Leader
Subdue your appetites, my dears, and you've conquered human nature .
Author: Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
Profession: British Novelist
Renunciation remains sorrow, though a sorrow borne willingly.
Author: George Eliot (1819-1880)
Profession: British Novelist
All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.
Author: Epictetus (50-120)
Profession: Stoic Philosopher
Once, during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.
Author: W. C. Fields (1879-1946)
Profession: American Actor
Abstaining is favorable both to the head and the pocket.
Author: Horace Greeley (1811-1872)
Profession: American Newspaper Editor
Always rise from the table with an appetite, and you will never sit down without one.
Author: William Penn (1644-1718)
Profession: British Religious Leader, Founder of Pennsylvania
The only way for a rich man to be healthy is by exercise and abstinence, to live as if he were poor.
Author: Sir William Temple (1628-1699)
Profession: British Diplomat, Essayist
Self-denial is the shining sore on the leprous body of Christianity.
Author: Oscar Wilde (1856-1900)
Profession: British Author, Wit