--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Children have a master to teach them…" description: "\"Children have a master to teach them, grown-ups have the poets.\" — Aristophanes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d96/aristophanes-3340_children_children-have-a-master-to-teach-them-gro_2657958.png" --- # Children have a master to teach them, grown-ups have the… ![“Children have a master to teach them, grown-ups have the poets.” quote by Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d96/aristophanes-3340_children_children-have-a-master-to-teach-them-gro_2657958.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d96/aristophanes-3340_children_children-have-a-master-to-teach-them-gro_2657958.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d96/aristophanes-3340_children_children-have-a-master-to-teach-them-gro_2657958.png) > “Children have a master to teach them, grown-ups have the poets.” [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Children learn from teachers; adults learn from poets, highlighting the role of art in adult education. **In simple terms:** Children have teachers; adults have poets. Key Takeaway Value artistic influence on adult growth. Themes education art growth culture Mood reflective inspirational Type literary educational When to use this quote - schools - literary clubs - personal development Key Concepts literature philosophy pedagogy Questions to Reflect On - How do poets shape adult perspectives? - What modern “poets” influence you? A Different Perspective May idealize poetry’s impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Grown Ups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grown-ups/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) ## Related quotes > [If the traditional Rs (reading, writing, and arithmetic) are the basics that we want our children to master academically, then reverence, respect, and responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-weil/if-the-traditional-rs-reading-writing-and-arithmetic-are-the-basics/) [Zoe Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-weil/) > [Children must master the language of things before they master the language of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-frobel/children-must-master-the-language-of-things-before-they-master-the/) [Friedrich Frobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-frobel/) > [The Doctor: 'You know when grown-ups tell you everything's going to be fine, but you really think they're lying to make you feel better?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/the-doctor-you-know-when-grown-ups-tell-you-everything-s-going-to-be/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [Grown - ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaning things to them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/grown-ups-never-understand-anything-for-themselves-and-it-is-tiresome/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Grown ups don't believe in Santa Claus. They vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-desproges/grown-ups-don-t-believe-in-santa-claus-they-vote/) Pierre Desproges > [Real isn't what they try to tell you. Time isn't. Grown-ups hammer down all these markers, bells, schedules, coffee-breaks, to stake down time so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/real-isn-t-what-they-try-to-tell-you-time-isn-t-grown-ups-hammer-down/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [The thing about grown ups is that they're always wanting you to be this Great Hero and Leader. 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I'm like a teenager. I'd have 'Teen Beat' if I could, for grown-ups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-rhea/i-d-like-a-pop-up-magazine-with-45-articles-on-russell-crowe-i-m-like/) [Caroline Rhea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-rhea/) > [And this I have learned grown-ups do not know the language of shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-whiteley/and-this-i-have-learned-grown-ups-do-not-know-the-language-of-shadows/) [Opal Whiteley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-whiteley/) > [“Children have a more restricted and yet a more intense feeling for nature than grown-ups.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-broch/children-have-a-more-restricted-and-yet-a-more-intense-feeling-for/) [Hermann Broch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-broch/) > [“We've had fifteen years of being grown-ups when we could have got together and we never have. Doesn't that tell you something?' 'Yeah, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-bliss/we-ve-had-fifteen-years-of-being-grown-ups-when-we-could-have-got/) [Karina Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-bliss/) > [Once I thought fairy tales were lies or worse promises spoken yet meant to be broken intent is all. Why do grown ups feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justice-fitzgerald/once-i-thought-fairy-tales-were-lies-or-worse-promises-spoken-yet/) [Justice Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justice-fitzgerald/) ## More by Aristophanes > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“LYSISTRATA By the Goddesses, you'll find that here await you Four companies of most pugnacious women Armed cap-a-pie from the topmost louring curl To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/lysistrata-by-the-goddesses-you-ll-find-that-here-await-you-four/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [Thou shouldst not decide until thou hast heard what both have to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/thou-shouldst-not-decide-until-thou-hast-heard-what-both-have-to-say/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [Only by being suspended aloft, by dangling my mind in the heavens and mingling my rare thought with the ethereal air, could I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/only-by-being-suspended-aloft-by-dangling-my-mind-in-the-heavens-and/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [Old age is second childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/old-age-is-second-childhood/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [Love is simply the name for the desire and the pursuit of the whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/love-is-simply-the-name-for-the-desire-and-the-pursuit-of-the-whole/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [ “You \[demagogues\] are like the fishers for eels; in still waters they catch nothing, but if they thoroughly stir up the slime, their fishing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/you-demagogues-are-like-the-fishers-for-eels-in-still-waters-they/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [Tis not for us to warn a wilful sinner; We stay him not, but let him run his course, Till by misfortunes rous'd, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/tis-not-for-us-to-warn-a-wilful-sinner-we-stay-him-not-but-let-him/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [Women, you overheated dipsomaniacs, never passing up a chance to wangle a drink, a great boon to bartenders but a bane to us--not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/women-you-overheated-dipsomaniacs-never-passing-up-a-chance-to-wangle/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“LYSISTRATA You know how to work. Play with him, lead him on, Seduce him to the cozening-point—kiss him, kiss him, Then slip your mouth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/lysistrata-you-know-how-to-work-play-with-him-lead-him-on-seduce-him/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [ \[Y\]ou \[man\] are fool enough, it seems, to dare to war with \[woman=\] me, when for your faithful ally you might win me easily. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/y-ou-man-are-fool-enough-it-seems-to-dare-to-war-with-woman-me-when/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [You cannot teach a crab to walk straight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/you-cannot-teach-a-crab-to-walk-straight/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [How can I study from below, that which is above?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/how-can-i-study-from-below-that-which-is-above/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [First listen, my friend, and then you may shriek and bluster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/first-listen-my-friend-and-then-you-may-shriek-and-bluster/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [If a man owes me money, I never seem to forget. But if I do the owing, I somehow never remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-a-man-owes-me-money-i-never-seem-to-forget-but-if-i-do-the-owing-i/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) [Explore all 132 Aristophanes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. 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