"Passion is a sort of fever in the mind, which ever leaves us weaker than it found us"
About this Quote
Penn likens passion to a fever that invades the mind, flares hot, and then collapses, leaving the body spent. The metaphor is precise: fever is not simply heat but a disorder, an intensity that overwhelms normal function. So it is with passions like anger, envy, lust, or vanity. They promise energy and clarity in the moment, but they cloud judgment, burn reserves of attention and self-command, and leave behind fatigue, regret, and a thinner capacity for restraint the next time.
As a Quaker thinker and founder of Pennsylvania, Penn prized composure, inward discipline, and the steady guidance of conscience. His aphorisms in Some Fruits of Solitude aim to cultivate temperance over tumult. He writes from a tradition that distinguishes heat from light. Zeal governed by principle illuminates; passion, untethered, ignites and consumes. The warning is not against feeling as such but against being ruled by emotional surges that degrade our freedom. When passion leads, reason follows behind with a mop and a bucket.
The fever image also implies that passion weakens more than the moment at hand. After a bout, the threshold for the next outburst can lower; habits form. Each indulgence leaves the will a little less robust, relationships a little more frayed, and conscience a little duller. The discipline Penn urges is not coldness but a durable warmth: love as constancy rather than intoxication, conviction as patience rather than frenzy.
Modern life confirms the point. Outrage cycles, impulsive posts, thrill-seeking consumption that spikes and crashes all mimic fevered states that erode attention, trust, and civic health. The remedy is familiar to Penns tradition: quiet, examination, restraint, and the cultivation of affections that can survive their own intensity. Strength does not come from burning hotter but from keeping a steady flame that lights without scorching and endures after the rush has passed.
As a Quaker thinker and founder of Pennsylvania, Penn prized composure, inward discipline, and the steady guidance of conscience. His aphorisms in Some Fruits of Solitude aim to cultivate temperance over tumult. He writes from a tradition that distinguishes heat from light. Zeal governed by principle illuminates; passion, untethered, ignites and consumes. The warning is not against feeling as such but against being ruled by emotional surges that degrade our freedom. When passion leads, reason follows behind with a mop and a bucket.
The fever image also implies that passion weakens more than the moment at hand. After a bout, the threshold for the next outburst can lower; habits form. Each indulgence leaves the will a little less robust, relationships a little more frayed, and conscience a little duller. The discipline Penn urges is not coldness but a durable warmth: love as constancy rather than intoxication, conviction as patience rather than frenzy.
Modern life confirms the point. Outrage cycles, impulsive posts, thrill-seeking consumption that spikes and crashes all mimic fevered states that erode attention, trust, and civic health. The remedy is familiar to Penns tradition: quiet, examination, restraint, and the cultivation of affections that can survive their own intensity. Strength does not come from burning hotter but from keeping a steady flame that lights without scorching and endures after the rush has passed.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
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