Some days, anger feels like it’s in charge of the room. These voices suggest another possibility: learning the quiet strength of keeping our cool. As Ralph Waldo Emerson advised, “A man should study ever to keep cool. He makes his inferiors his superiors by heat.” This page gathers flashes of wisdom on what happens when anger rules us – and what becomes possible when we learn to rule it instead.

He who angers you conquers you. ~ Elizabeth Kenny

Anger is a brief madness. ~ Horace

No one ever found their way who didn’t lose their anger. ~ Noah benShea

If you find yourself growing angry at someone, pray for him – anger cannot live in an atmosphere of prayer. ~ W. T. McElroy

To rule one’s anger is well; to prevent it is still better. ~ Tyron Edwards

If you fear making anyone mad, then you ultimately probe for the lowest common denominator of human achievement. ~ Jimmy Carter

When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout. ~ Robert Heinlein

Anger supplies arms. ~ Virgil

Don’t get your knickers in a knot. Nothing is solved and it just makes you walk funny. ~ Kathryn Carpenter, Put on Your Dancing Shoes

How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it? ~ Marcus Aurelius

If I would be happy, I would be a bad ballplayer. With me, when I get mad, it puts energy in my body. ~ Roberto Clemente

You can’t catch water with a fist. ~ JoJo Jensen