The Appeasement of Appetites

If a man has a greed for money, you can’t appease that greed by giving him more money. The appetite increases with the attempt to satisfy it. Nor has anyone ever been able to appease the passions of many by yielding to those passions. Hate is not appeased by hating. Hate is increased by hating. A thirst for a strong drink is not satisfied by strong drink. You can invent new drinks until your powers of invention are exhausted, but in this manner you will never be able to satisfy the thirst of the drunkard. Every drink calls for another. Ever indulgence adds fuel to the fires of desire. Every vice that men have, every bad habit, every malpractice, every evil intent, returns with a vengeance if we indulge it. Yielding to unworthy impulses invites more and easier yielding; giving way to appetites intensifies those appetites—and the end of such pursuits is certain and disastrous. A soft answer may turn away wrath, but a definite “no” is the only answer to a wrong impulse. The more you give, the greater are the demands. An appetite cannot be appeased by indulging it, and those who pursue such course lose not only the present contest, but stand in danger of losing much else besides.