Good habits result from resisting temptation.

Ancient Proverb

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life.

Bible, New Testament², James, Chapter 1, Verse 12

I never resist temptation because I have found that things that are bad for me do not tempt¹ me.

George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950), The Apple Cart (1930)

There is not any memory with less satisfaction than the memory of some temptation we resisted.

James Branch Cabell (1879 - 1958)

Those who flee temptation generally leave a forwarding address.

Lane Olinghouse

I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it.

Mae West (1892 - 1980)

There are several good protections against temptations, but the surest is cowardice³.

Mark Twain (1835 - 1910), Following the Equator (1897)

I can resist anything but temptation.

Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), Lady Windermere's Fan, 1892, Act I

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing⁴ for the things it has forbidden to itself.

Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891

Why comes temptation, but for man to meet and master and crouch⁵ beneath his foot, and so be pedestaled in triumph?

Robert Browning (1812 - 1889)

Most people would like to be delivered from temptation but would like it to keep in touch.

Robert Orben

The last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason.

T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)

Temptation rarely comes in working hours. It is in their leisure time that men are made or marred⁶.

W. N. Taylor

Often the best way to overcome desire is to satisfy it.

W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965), The Razor's Edge, 1943

It is good to be without vices⁷, but it is not good to be without temptations.

Walter Bagehot (1826 - 1877), "Biographical Studies", 1863