--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Amongst the learned the lawyers claim…" description: "\"Amongst the learned the lawyers claim first place, the most self-satisfied class of people, as they roll their rock of Sisyphus and string together six..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/991/desiderius-erasmus-3351_breaths_amongst-the-learned-the-lawyers-claim-fi_764677.jpg" --- # Amongst the learned the lawyers claim first place, the… ![“Amongst the learned the lawyers claim first place, the most self-satisfied class of people, as they roll their rock of Sisyphus and string together six hundred laws in the same breath, no matter whether relevant or not, piling up opinion on opinion and gloss on gloss to make their profession seem…” quote by Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/991/desiderius-erasmus-3351_breaths_amongst-the-learned-the-lawyers-claim-fi_764677.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/991/desiderius-erasmus-3351_breaths_amongst-the-learned-the-lawyers-claim-fi_764677.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/991/desiderius-erasmus-3351_breaths_amongst-the-learned-the-lawyers-claim-fi_764677.jpg) > “Amongst the learned the lawyers claim first place, the most self-satisfied class of people, as they roll their rock of Sisyphus and string together six hundred laws in the same breath, no matter whether relevant or not, piling up opinion on opinion and gloss on gloss to make their profession seem the most difficult of all. Anything which causes trouble has special merit in their eyes.” [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lawyers are portrayed as self‑important, creating endless rules and opinions to appear indispensable, valuing trouble over relevance. **In simple terms:** Lawyers overcomplicate and seek importance through unnecessary rules. Key Takeaway Beware of valuing complexity over usefulness. Themes pride profession complexity Mood skeptical critical Type satirical observational When to use this quote - courtroom - policy drafting - academic debate - bureaucratic review Key Concepts legalism ego overcomplication Questions to Reflect On - Do you prioritize simplicity over status? - How does unnecessary complexity affect decision making? A Different Perspective Complexity can obscure truth and hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Gloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gloss/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-breath-5923411/) [Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer/) [Lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyers/) [Lawyers Claim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyers-claim-5024066/) [Learned Lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-lawyers-5923410/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Merit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merit/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Profession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession/) [Profession Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession-difficult-3046058/) [Relevant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relevant/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Satisfied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfied/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Sisyphus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sisyphus/) [Six](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/six/) [Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special/) [Strings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strings/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble/) ## Related quotes > [Lawyers claim that their clients have been grossly mistreated, which is what criminal defense lawyers are paid to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lawyers-claim-that-their-clients-have-been-grossly-mistreated-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My parents were really loving, open people to be around. I don't remember them ever telling me this profession is difficult. There was never,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-keller/my-parents-were-really-loving-open-people-to-be-around-i-don-t/) [Rachel Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-keller/) > [Your law may be perfect, your knowledge of human affairs may be such as to enable you to apply it with wisdom and skill,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dunbar/your-law-may-be-perfect-your-knowledge-of-human-affairs-may-be-such/) [William Dunbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dunbar/) > [Anything which causes trouble has special merit in their eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/anything-which-causes-trouble-has-special-merit-in-their-eyes/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [Few tasks are more like the torture of Sisyphus than housework, with its endless repetition: the clean becomes soiled, the soiled is made clean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/few-tasks-are-more-like-the-torture-of-sisyphus-than-housework-with/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Just about everything in this world is easier said than done, with the exception of 'systematically assisting Sisyphus's stealthy, syst-susceptible sister,' which is easier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-about-everything-in-this-world-is-easier-said-than-done-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Yea and I beheld Sisyphus in strong torment, grasping a monstrous stone with both his hands. He was pressing thereat with hands and feet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/yea-and-i-beheld-sisyphus-in-strong-torment-grasping-a-monstrous/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [For ever, I shall be a stranger to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/for-ever-i-shall-be-a-stranger-to-myself/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Thinking is learning all over again how to see, directing one's consciousness, making of every image a privileged place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/thinking-is-learning-all-over-again-how-to-see-directing-one-s/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [...Any authentic creation is a gift to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/any-authentic-creation-is-a-gift-to-the-future/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“But the way an eloi has to darken her eyelashes every morning, cover her skin with colored cream, powder her nose and forehead all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-sinisalo/but-the-way-an-eloi-has-to-darken-her-eyelashes-every-morning-cover/) [Johanna Sinisalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-sinisalo/) > [This divorce between man and his life, the actor and his setting, is properly the feeling of absurdity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/this-divorce-between-man-and-his-life-the-actor-and-his-setting-is/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [What I believe to be true I must therefore preserve. What seems to me so obvious, even against me, I must support.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/what-i-believe-to-be-true-i-must-therefore-preserve-what-seems-to-me/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [All systems of morality are based on the idea that an action has consequences that legitimize or cancel it. A mind imbued with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/all-systems-of-morality-are-based-on-the-idea-that-an-action-has/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Hades is evolved to the highest state of simplicity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-ledgard/hades-is-evolved-to-the-highest-state-of-simplicity/) [J. M. Ledgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-ledgard/) ## More by Desiderius Erasmus > [Wherever you encounter truth, look upon it as Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/wherever-you-encounter-truth-look-upon-it-as-christianity/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [War is delightful for those who don't know it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/war-is-delightful-for-those-who-don-t-know-it/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [They may attack me with an army of six hundred syllogisms; and if I do not recant, they will proclaim me a heretic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/they-may-attack-me-with-an-army-of-six-hundred-syllogisms-and-if-i-do/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [Invoked or not invoked, the god is present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/invoked-or-not-invoked-the-god-is-present/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [Eagles don't catch flies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/eagles-don-t-catch-flies/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [The entire world is my temple, and a very fine one too, if I'm not mistaken, and I'll never lack priests to serve it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/the-entire-world-is-my-temple-and-a-very-fine-one-too-if-i-m-not/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [A good prince will tax as lightly as possible those commodities which are used by the poorest members of society: grain, bread, beer, wine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/a-good-prince-will-tax-as-lightly-as-possible-those-commodities-which/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [Christians would show sense if they dispatched these argumentative Scotists and pigheaded Ockhamists and undefeated Albertists along with the whole regiment of Sophists to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/christians-would-show-sense-if-they-dispatched-these-argumentative/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/when-i-get-a-little-money-i-buy-books-and-if-any-is-left-i-buy-food/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [From hence, no question, has sprung an observation ... confirmed now into a settled opinion, that some long experienced souls in the world, before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/from-hence-no-question-has-sprung-an-observation-confirmed-now-into-a/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [Nothing is so foolish, they say, as for a man to stand for office and woo the crowd to win its vote, buy its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/nothing-is-so-foolish-they-say-as-for-a-man-to-stand-for-office-and/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [Retain the wind by compressing the belly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/retain-the-wind-by-compressing-the-belly/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [So our student will flit like a busy bee through the entire garden of literature, light on every blossom, collect a little nectar from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/so-our-student-will-flit-like-a-busy-bee-through-the-entire-garden-of/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [By identifying the new learning with heresy, you make orthodoxy synonymous with ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/by-identifying-the-new-learning-with-heresy-you-make-orthodoxy/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [Now what else is the whole life of mortals, but a sort of comedy in which the various actors, disguised by various costumes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/now-what-else-is-the-whole-life-of-mortals-but-a-sort-of-comedy-in/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) [Explore all 124 Desiderius Erasmus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) ## More Breaths quotes > [Don't let a breath escape from your body without Krishna's name. That should be our determination throughout our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/don-t-let-a-breath-escape-from-your-body-without-krishna-s-name-that/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Many years ago I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish, I realised, 'I am killing him - all for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/many-years-ago-i-was-fishing-and-as-i-was-reeling-in-the-poor-fish-i/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [God is greater than anything that man can do or has done. He is not undone by just a train of powder. "Our God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/god-is-greater-than-anything-that-man-can-do-or-has-done-he-is-not/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [One day I was running around playing with my son Connor when afterwards I was sweating, tired and out of breath. I was embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/one-day-i-was-running-around-playing-with-my-son-connor-when/) [Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/) > [Dave Wann's recipes from his own experience in Simple Prosperity are a breath of fresh air, and just what we need for a saner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-henderson/dave-wann-s-recipes-from-his-own-experience-in-simple-prosperity-are/) [Hazel Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-henderson/) > [Poetry should be vital--either stirring our blood by its divine movements or snatching our breath by its divine perfection. To do both is supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/poetry-should-be-vital-either-stirring-our-blood-by-its-divine/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [Tic Tacs are the maracas of breath mints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/tic-tacs-are-the-maracas-of-breath-mints/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [The river is motion, turmoil, rage. As the river flows, it wonders what it would be like to be so still, to take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kekla-magoon/the-river-is-motion-turmoil-rage-as-the-river-flows-it-wonders-what/) [Kekla Magoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kekla-magoon/) > [Remember that no matter how selfish, how cruel, how unfeeling you have been today, every time you take a breath, you make a flower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/remember-that-no-matter-how-selfish-how-cruel-how-unfeeling-you-have/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“Listen to this, Nimit. Follow Coleman Hawkins' improvised lines very carefully. He is using them to tell us something. Pay very close attention. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/listen-to-this-nimit-follow-coleman-hawkins-improvised-lines-very/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Every body resisted (the slaughterer) in its own fashion, tried to escape and seemed to argue with the Creator to its last breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/every-body-resisted-the-slaughterer-in-its-own-fashion-tried-to/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [We had a dog, Apples. He was 13 years old, toothless, blind and had the worst breath this side of Jabba the Hut. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlee-matlin/we-had-a-dog-apples-he-was-13-years-old-toothless-blind-and-had-the/) [Marlee Matlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlee-matlin/) [Browse all 1,609 Breaths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Amongst the learned the lawyers claim first place, the most self-satisfied class of people, as they roll their rock of Sisyphus and string together six hundred laws in the same breath, no matter whether relevant or not, piling up opinion on opinion and gloss on gloss to make their profession seem the most difficult of all. 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