# "Everything in Moderation" Quote source? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 2, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300 "2003-01-02T22:52:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CrazyLittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ec8ea/32.png) [@CrazyLittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyLittle)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/1 "2003-01-02T22:52:45Z")
Where did the “Everything in moderation” quote come from, and is that the complete quote? I’ve seen this attributed to moms, dads, Socrates, and the stinky bum on the street corner… What’s the straight dope on this one? ---
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/2 "2003-01-02T23:33:31Z")
Buddha? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/3 "2003-01-03T00:11:51Z")
The saying [symbol]mhden agan[/symbol] (meden agan) was inscribed on the temple of Apollo at Delphi. It means “nothing in excess”. In Aristotle’s _Rhetoric_ it is attributed to Chilo, one of the Seven Sages of ancient Greece. ---
**Author:** ![X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbe5ce/32.png) [@X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X_Slayer_ALE)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/4 "2003-01-03T00:16:33Z")
“Do everything in moderation, including moderation.” Benjamin Franklin ---
**Author:** ![BaldTaco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/47e85d/32.png) [@BaldTaco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaldTaco)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/5 "2003-01-03T00:47:17Z")
‘‘Too much of anything is bad, but too much whiskey is just enough.’’ -Mark Twain ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/6 "2003-01-03T01:09:54Z")
Bartlett’s attributes the phrase “moderation in all things” to the roman dramatist Terence (Publius Terentius Afer) c 190-159 B.C. [Here](http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Terence/11) are a few more details on the author. ---
**Author:** ![li\_l\_Dickie\_Dirtz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@li\_l\_Dickie\_Dirtz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/li_l_Dickie_Dirtz)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/7 "2003-01-03T14:13:49Z")
From my Page-A-Day calendar, Tuesday, May 24, 1994: > [@](#): > > “Moderation in all things” > > This line from _Andria_, written in the second century B.C. by the Roman playwright Terence, echoes the “Golden Mean” emphasized two centuries earlier by Aristotle. But the concept of moderation as a means to a virtuous life is believed to have been inspired by the Seven Sages (c650-c550 B.C.), including Thales, Solon, Periander, Cleobulus, Chilon, Bias and Pittacus, who as a group and individually are credited for many sayings throughout antiquity. ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/8 "2003-01-03T14:29:20Z")
“Abstainance is a wonderful thing, but only in moderation.” Sounds very Twain-ish, but… ---
**Author:** ![CrazyLittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ec8ea/32.png) [@CrazyLittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyLittle)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/9 "2003-01-03T16:15:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by X~Slayer(ALE) \* > \*\*“Do everything in moderation, including moderation.” > > Benjamin Franklin \*\* Now - I’ve seen that version, but when I saw it, it was attributed to the editor-in-chief of a wine-tasting magazine (“Harvey Steiman, _Wine Spectator_”, and in no less than four places.) So while Ben may be a brilliant man, I have trouble believing that he’s responsible for that rendition of this quote. Do you have a source for that credit? ---
**Author:** ![Hrdygrdymn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/77aa72/32.png) [@Hrdygrdymn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hrdygrdymn)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/10 "2003-01-03T16:29:41Z")
I had a friend who used to say “everything in moderation - including the truth”. He attributed it to Plato but how reliable can a guy with that philosophy be? ---
**Author:** ![CrazyLittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ec8ea/32.png) [@CrazyLittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyLittle)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/11 "2003-01-03T18:53:53Z")
Sorta like: the next statement is true the previous statement is false ? ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/12 "2003-01-03T22:38:34Z")
Aristotle wrote [an entire book on the subject](http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.html), yet I don’t think he hit upon the catch-phrase. He probably thought it was too trite. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/13 "2003-01-04T00:49:35Z")
I thought I saw it in the bible, jesus said all things in moderation? ---
**Author:** ![CrazyLittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ec8ea/32.png) [@CrazyLittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyLittle)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/14 "2003-01-04T01:21:41Z")
Of all things, I’m fairly certain that it’s NOT biblical. ---
**Author:** ![Mastema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@Mastema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mastema)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/15 "2003-01-04T01:30:05Z")
Yes, the bible says “All things in moderation.” Conversely, Tantric Philosophy says “All things in Moderation. . . even some excess in moderation.” ---
**Author:** ![CrazyLittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ec8ea/32.png) [@CrazyLittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyLittle)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/16 "2003-01-04T08:56:45Z")
Got a passage to cite? ---
**Author:** ![CrazyLittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ec8ea/32.png) [@CrazyLittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyLittle)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/17 "2003-01-04T09:01:48Z")
The only place I find _moderation_ of any kind in the bible is Philippians 4:5 (King James) “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” ---
**Author:** ![mrcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@mrcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrcrow)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/18 "2003-01-04T10:44:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CrazyLittle \* > \*\*The only place I find _moderation_ of any kind in the bible is Philippians 4:5 (King James) “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” \*\* 1 tim 2:9?🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mrcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@mrcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrcrow)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-in-moderation-quote-source/146300/19 "2003-01-04T10:50:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mrcrow \* > \*\*1 tim 2:9?🙂 \*\* thats the new KJV but i see the KJV doesnt give this… looks like the greeks have it:)