Someone living ethically does not do away with mood, he sizes it up for an instant, but this instant saves him from living in the moment, this instant gives him mastery over desire, for the art of mastering desire consists not so much in doing away with it, or giving it up altogether, as in determining the instant.
 Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or (1843). copy citation

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Author Søren Kierkegaard
Source Either/Or
Topic instant mastery
Date 1843
Language English
Reference
Note Translated by Alastair Hannay
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