Daily Inspiration Quote by Plautus

Plautus delivers a moral pep talk with a comedian's eye for human weakness: you only get to celebrate when the victory is over yourself. The line hinges on a neat inversion - "overcome your inclination" versus "been overcome by it" - that turns temptation into a wrestling match with a clear winner and loser. It's witty because it frames what we usually excuse as personality ("I'm just like that") as an opponent you can, and should, pin to the ground.

As a Roman playwright, Plautus worked in a culture obsessed with self-mastery. His audiences knew the language of disciplina and virtus, and they also knew how often those ideals collapsed into appetites: lust, greed, laziness, pride. In comedy, these "inclinations" show up as stock engines of chaos - the lecherous old man, the braggart soldier, the schemer chasing an easy win. Plautus isn't preaching from a temple; he's smuggling ethics through laughter. The audience gets to recognize itself in the fool and feel, briefly, superior to it.

The subtext is pragmatic, not saintly. Rejoicing isn't promised for being good in the abstract; it's a reward for a specific feat: catching yourself mid-slide. That makes the line psychologically sharp. It assumes desire is persistent and internal, not a one-time external threat, and it implies that triumph is measurable in moments of restraint. Plautus sets the bar where real life happens: not in purity, but in the decision to stop letting impulse write the plot.