Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
The authority of those who teach is often an obstacle to those who want to learn.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Authority figures can sometimes hinder learning by imposing their views on students.
This quote by Cicero suggests that when teachers become too authoritative, they may create an environment that restricts genuine learning. Instead of inspiring curiosity and critical thinking, their authority can intimidate learners, leading to a passive acceptance of information rather than an exploration of ideas. Education should promote an open exchange of thoughts, but authoritative figures can inadvertently obstruct this dynamic.
Themes
EducationLearningAuthorityTeachersKnowledge
In practice
Example use cases
In a seminar on educational methods, I might reference Cicero's quote to emphasize the need for a more collaborative approach to teaching.
More from Marcus Tullius Cicero
All quotes βThose wars are unjust which are undertaken without provocation. For only a war waged for revenge or defence can actually be just.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Nothing contributes to the entertainment of the reader more, than the change of times and the vicissitudes of fortune.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Advice in old age is foolish; for what can be more absurd than to increase our provisions for the road the nearer we approach to our journey's end.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Similar quotes
Growing up, I took so many cues from books. They taught me most of what I knew about what people did, about how to behave. They were my teachers and my advisers.
Neil GaimanRead
There's no question that our children's attention and memory is changing when they are reading too long, too much, too early on digital screens.
Maryanne WolfRead
It is of no use to commit whole pages to memory, merely to recite them once without hesitation; you must think of the meaning more than the words - of the ideas more than the language.
Dorothea DixRead
A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read.
Mark TwainRead
It is my fervent wish and my greatest ambition to leave a work with a few useful instructions for the pianists after me.
Franz LisztRead
I do not write for this generation. I am writing for other ages. If this could read me, they would burn my books, the work of my whole life. On the other hand, the generation which interprets these writings will be an educated generation; they will understand me and say: 'Not all were asleep in the nighttime of our grandparents.'
Jose RizalRead