---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People often become scholars for the same…"
description: "\"People often become scholars for the same reason they become soldiers: simply because they are unfit for any other station. Their right hand has to ear..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_bears_people-often-become-scholars-for-the-sam_2039356.jpg"
---

#  People often become scholars for the same reason they…

![“People often become scholars for the same reason they become soldiers: simply because they are unfit for any other station. Their right hand has to earn them a livelihood; one might say they lie down like bears in winter and seek sustenance from their paws.” quote by Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_bears_people-often-become-scholars-for-the-sam_2039356.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_bears_people-often-become-scholars-for-the-sam_2039356.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_bears_people-often-become-scholars-for-the-sam_2039356.jpg)

> “People often become scholars for the same reason they become soldiers: simply because they are unfit for any other station. Their right hand has to earn them a livelihood; one might say they lie down like bears in winter and seek sustenance from their paws.”

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Scholars and soldiers share a common drive: lack of fit for other roles pushes them into demanding work.

**In simple terms:** People choose hard work when other options feel unsuitable.

Key Takeaway

Recognize personal motivations behind career choices.

Themes

career motivation societal roles labor identity

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

philosophical observational

When to use this quote

- choosing a profession
- career counseling
- personal development
- economic hardship

Key Concepts

social pressure self‑assessment economic necessity

Questions to Reflect On

- What drives your current path?
- How do you balance passion and necessity?

A Different Perspective

Not all scholars are unfit; many pursue knowledge willingly.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Earn Livelihood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earn-livelihood-1380006/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Livelihood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/livelihood/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Paws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paws/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Scholars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-scholars-1996101/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reason Soldiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-soldiers-3786227/) [Right hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-hand/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Scholars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholars/) [Scholars Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholars-reason-3489689/) [Soldier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldier/) [Stations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stations/) [Sustenance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sustenance/) [Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter/)

## Related quotes

> [“People are either scholars or learners, everyone else are mobs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imam-ali-bin-abi-taleb/people-are-either-scholars-or-learners-everyone-else-are-mobs/)

[Imam Ali bin abi Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imam-ali-bin-abi-taleb/)

> [The atheists are for the most part imprudent and misguided scholars who reason badly who, not being able to understand the Creation, the origin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-atheists-are-for-the-most-part-imprudent-and-misguided-scholars/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [The atheists are for the most part impudent and misguided scholars who reason badly, and who, not being able to understand the Creation, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-atheists-are-for-the-most-part-impudent-and-misguided-scholars/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [A people of scholars, if they are physically degenerate, weak-willed and cowardly pacifists, will not storm the heavens, indeed, they will not be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/a-people-of-scholars-if-they-are-physically-degenerate-weak-willed/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [There are two great classes of men: the people and the scholars, the men of science. For the former, nothing exists but that which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-gottlieb-fichte/there-are-two-great-classes-of-men-the-people-and-the-scholars-the/)

[Johann Gottlieb Fichte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-gottlieb-fichte/)

> [How good it is to work in the invigorating fresh air under the life-giving sun amid the inspiring beauty of nature. There are many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/how-good-it-is-to-work-in-the-invigorating-fresh-air-under-the-life/)

[Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/)

> [Even if I could not earn a penny from my writing, I would earn my livelihood at something else and continue to write at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-wallace/even-if-i-could-not-earn-a-penny-from-my-writing-i-would-earn-my/)

[Irving Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-wallace/)

> [I don't work to earn my livelihood anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randhir-kapoor/i-don-t-work-to-earn-my-livelihood-anymore/)

[Randhir Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randhir-kapoor/)

> [A farmer's horse is never lame, never unfit to go. Never throws out curbs, never breaks down before or behind. Like his master he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/a-farmer-s-horse-is-never-lame-never-unfit-to-go-never-throws-out/)

[Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/)

> [Keep your paws off my fiancèe, you flea-ridden stray!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buckley/keep-your-paws-off-my-fianc-e-you-flea-ridden-stray/)

[Michael Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buckley/)

> [I used to carry a rabbit's foot for luck. Then it was a monkey's paw. Now it's a camel's toe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/i-used-to-carry-a-rabbit-s-foot-for-luck-then-it-was-a-monkey-s-paw/)

[Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/)

> [You couldn't catch a mouse if leaped in between your paws!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-hunter/you-couldn-t-catch-a-mouse-if-leaped-in-between-your-paws/)

[Erin Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-hunter/)

> [When I started driving our old four-door green DeSoto, I always took Skip on my trips around town. I would get Skip to prop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-morris/when-i-started-driving-our-old-four-door-green-desoto-i-always-took/)

[Willie Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-morris/)

> [There will be three cats, kin of your kin, with the power of the stars in their paws. They will find a fourth, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-will-be-three-cats-kin-of-your-kin-with-the-power-of-the-stars/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Her father had taught her about hands. About a dog's paws. Whenever her father was alone with a dog in a house he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/her-father-had-taught-her-about-hands-about-a-dog-s-paws-whenever-her/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

## More by Georg C. Lichtenberg

> [If people should ever start to do only what is necessary millions would die of hunger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/if-people-should-ever-start-to-do-only-what-is-necessary-millions/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [We can see nothing whatever of the soul unless it is visible in the expression of the countenance; one might call the faces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/we-can-see-nothing-whatever-of-the-soul-unless-it-is-visible-in-the/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [The wisdom of providence is as much revealed in the rarity of genius, as in the circumstance that not everyone is deaf or blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/the-wisdom-of-providence-is-as-much-revealed-in-the-rarity-of-genius/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [I ceased in the year 1764 to believe that one can convince one’s opponents with arguments printed in books. It is not to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/i-ceased-in-the-year-1764-to-believe-that-one-can-convince-one-s/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [Probably no invention came more easily to man than heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/probably-no-invention-came-more-easily-to-man-than-heaven/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [It is a great shame; most of our words are misused tools / which often still smell of the mud in which previous owners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/it-is-a-great-shame-most-of-our-words-are-misused-tools-which-often/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [To live when you do not want to is dreadful, but it would be even more terrible to be immortal when you did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/to-live-when-you-do-not-want-to-is-dreadful-but-it-would-be-even-more/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [He who understands the wise is wise already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/he-who-understands-the-wise-is-wise-already/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [The fruits of philosophy are the important thing, not the philosophy itself. When we ask the time, we don't want to know how watches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/the-fruits-of-philosophy-are-the-important-thing-not-the-philosophy/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [He who says he hates all kinds of flattery, and says so in earnest, has undoubtedly not as yet become acquainted with all kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/he-who-says-he-hates-all-kinds-of-flattery-and-says-so-in-earnest-has/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [One can live in this world on soothsaying but not on truth saying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/one-can-live-in-this-world-on-soothsaying-but-not-on-truth-saying/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [Actual aristocracy cannot be abolished by any law: all the law can do is decree how it is to be imparted and who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/actual-aristocracy-cannot-be-abolished-by-any-law-all-the-law-can-do/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [One of the greatest and also the commonest of faults is for men to believe that, because they never hear their shortcomings spoken of,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/one-of-the-greatest-and-also-the-commonest-of-faults-is-for-men-to/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [People who never have any time on their hands are those who do the least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/people-who-never-have-any-time-on-their-hands-are-those-who-do-the/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [An hour-glass is a reminder not only of time's quick flight, but also of the dust to which we must at last return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/an-hour-glass-is-a-reminder-not-only-of-time-s-quick-flight-but-also/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

[Explore all 295 Georg C. Lichtenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

## More Bears quotes

> [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/)

[Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/)

> [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [Television series are like the stock market. There's room for bears and bulls but no room for pigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-newhart/television-series-are-like-the-stock-market-there-s-room-for-bears/)

[Bob Newhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-newhart/)

> [The Germans are the most philosophic people in the world, and the greatest smokers: now I trace their philosophy to their smoking. Smoking has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-borrow/the-germans-are-the-most-philosophic-people-in-the-world-and-the/)

[George Henry Borrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-borrow/)

> [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [You've had a whole lot of experience, but everything is also radically new at each moment, and you have to bring a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/you-ve-had-a-whole-lot-of-experience-but-everything-is-also-radically/)

[Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/)

> [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [Pay no heed to the passing religious vogue. Go back to the grass roots. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/pay-no-heed-to-the-passing-religious-vogue-go-back-to-the-grass-roots/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [Some things in this world just ain't meant to be, not in the times we want 'em to, and the heart has to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/some-things-in-this-world-just-ain-t-meant-to-be-not-in-the-times-we/)

[James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/)

> [And if anyone knows anything about anything," said Bear to himself, "it's Owl who knows something about something," he said, "or my name's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-if-anyone-knows-anything-about-anything-said-bear-to-himself-it-s/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/)

[Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/)

> [I'm supportive of women, absolutely, and it's so gratifying to have girls come up and say, 'I'm really inspired by your guitar playing.' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-vincent/i-m-supportive-of-women-absolutely-and-it-s-so-gratifying-to-have/)

[St. Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-vincent/)

[Browse all 4,111 Bears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "People often become scholars for the same reason they become soldiers: simply because they are unfit for any other station. Their right hand has to earn them a livelihood; one might say they lie down like bears in winter and seek sustenance from their paws.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Georg C. Lichtenberg"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/people-often-become-scholars-for-the-same-reason-they-become-soldiers/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bears"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/people-often-become-scholars-for-the-same-reason-they-become-soldiers/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_bears_people-often-become-scholars-for-the-sam_2039356.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_bears_people-often-become-scholars-for-the-sam_2039356.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_bears_people-often-become-scholars-for-the-sam_2039356.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“People often become scholars for the same reason they become soldiers: simply because they are unfit for any…” — Georg C. Lichtenberg",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Georg C. Lichtenberg",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "People often become scholars for the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/people-often-become-scholars-for-the-same-reason-they-become-soldiers/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/people-often-become-scholars-for-the-same-reason-they-become-soldiers/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
