No man ever repented that he arose from the table sober, healthful, and with his wits about him.

The saying commends temperance by framing it as the one outcome of dining and drinking that never produces remorse. To “arise from the table” suggests the ordinary social setting where excess is most tempting; Taylor contrasts that excess with leaving “sober, healthful, and with his wits about him,” i.e., retaining self-command, bodily well-being, and clear judgment. The aphorism implies that regret reliably follows overindulgence—through illness, shame, or impaired reason—whereas moderation preserves both dignity and agency. Its force lies in its practical moral psychology: it argues not from abstract prohibition but from the predictable aftertaste of choices and the lasting satisfaction of self-restraint.