Ruling Passion Quotes

When you find out a man’s ruling passion, beware of crossing him in it.

Your reason and your passion are your rudder and sails of your seafaring soul, if either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas. For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.

The ruling passion of the age is to convert wealth into debt in order to
derive a permanent future income from it – to convert wealth that perishes
into debt that endures, debt that does not rot, costs nothing to maintain,
and brings in perennial interest.

Since the age of 15 poetry has been my ruling passion and I have never intentionally undertaken any task or formed any relationship that seemed inconsistent with poetic principles; which has sometimes won me the reputation of an eccentric.

For Reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and Passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.

In men, we various ruling passions find; In women, two almost divide the kind Those, only fixed, they first or last obey, The love of pleasure, and the love of sway.

The law of England is much more severe upon offences against property than against the person, as becomes a people whose ruling passion is money.

Search then the ruling passion: This clue, once found, unravels all the rest.

The desire of perfection became the ruling passion of their soul; and it is well known, that while reason embraces a cold mediocrity, our passions hurry us, with rapid violence, over the space which lies between the most opposite extremes.

In how large a proportion of creatures is existence composed of one ruling passion, the most agonizing of all sensations–fear.

My idea of a delicious time is to read a book that is wonderful. But the ruling passion of my life is being a seeker after truth and the divine.

It is to deny, what the history of the world tells us is true, to suppose that men of ambition and talents will not continue to spring up amongst us. And, when they do, they will as
naturally seek the gratification of their ruling passion, as others have so done before them.

When a man gives himself up to the government of a ruling passion,–or, in other words, when his HOBBY-HORSE grows head- strong,–farewell cool reason and fair discretion.

love of truth, ordinary common truth recognizable to everyone, is the ruling passion of the novel.

Search then the ruling passion; there alone, The wild are constant, and the cunning known; The fool consistent, and the false sincere; Priests, princes, women, no dissemblers here.

The desire of reward is one of the strongest incentives of human conduct; … the best security for the fidelity of mankind is to make their interest coincide with their duty.

The love of letters is the forlorn hope of the man of letters. His ruling passion is the love of fame.

Freud was way off base in considering sex the fundamental motivation. The ruling passion in men is minding each other’s business.