If we know we have a quick temper, we might want to surround ourselves with friends who agree with everything we say. They will spoil us and train us to hear only what we want to hear. But it's actually better to give our anger a break and some peace. Even animals that are naturally mean and aggressive will respond to gentle treatment. No creature stays angry or scared if you pet it kindly. When an argument looks like it might drag on longer or get nastier than usual, we should stop it at the very beginning, before it gains momentum. Arguments feed on themselves as they continue. They grab hold of anyone who gets too deep into them. It's much easier to stay out of a fight than to escape once you're already in it.
If, then, we are conscious of an irascible disposition, let us especially choose for our friends those who will look and speak as we do: they will pamper us and lead us into a bad habit of listening to nothing that does not please us, but it will be good to give our anger respite and repose. Even those who are naturally crabbed and wild will yield to caresses: no creature continues either angry or frightened if you pat him. Whenever a controversy seems likely to be longer or more keenly disputed than usual, let us check its first beginnings, before it gathers strength. A dispute nourishes itself as it proceeds, and takes hold of those who plunge too deeply into it: it is easier to stand aloof than to extricate oneself from a struggle.