--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ah, God, it were an easy Matter to choose…" description: "\"“Ah, God, it were an easy Matter to choose a Calling had one all Time to live in! I should be fifty Years a Barrister, fifty a Physician, fifty a Clerg..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/john-barth-5311_calling_ah-god-it-were-an-easy-matter-to-choose_3171755.jpg" --- # Ah, God, it were an easy Matter to choose a Calling had… ![“Ah, God, it were an easy Matter to choose a Calling had one all Time to live in! I should be fifty Years a Barrister, fifty a Physician, fifty a Clergyman, fifty a Soldier! Aye, and fifty a Thief, and fifty a Judge! All Roads are fine Roads, beloved Sister, none more than another, so that with one…” quote by John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/john-barth-5311_calling_ah-god-it-were-an-easy-matter-to-choose_3171755.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/john-barth-5311_calling_ah-god-it-were-an-easy-matter-to-choose_3171755.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/john-barth-5311_calling_ah-god-it-were-an-easy-matter-to-choose_3171755.jpg) > ““Ah, God, it were an easy Matter to choose a Calling had one all Time to live in! I should be fifty Years a Barrister, fifty a Physician, fifty a Clergyman, fifty a Soldier! Aye, and fifty a Thief, and fifty a Judge! All Roads are fine Roads, beloved Sister, none more than another, so that with one Life to spend I am a Man bare-bumm'd at Taylors with Cash for but one pair of Breeches, or a Scholar at Brookstalls with Money for a single Book: to choose ten were no Trouble; to choose one, impossible! All Trades, all Crafts, all Professions are wondrous, but none is finer than the rest together. I cannot choose, sweet Anna: twixt Stools my Breech falleth to the Ground!”” [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life offers countless vocations, but we have only one lifetime, making the choice of a single path impossible. **In simple terms:** Too many options, one life. Key Takeaway Embrace the breadth of possibilities rather than fixating on one. Themes choice existentialism career identity Mood reflective contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - creative pursuits - philosophical reflection Key Concepts pluralism life purpose Questions to Reflect On - What would you do if you could try multiple careers? - How do you decide which passion to pursue? A Different Perspective Choosing one path may lead to regret or missed opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Vocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocation/) ## Related quotes > [If you live in New York or you're around and you know you can choose to get in trouble. Or you can choose not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-mock/if-you-live-in-new-york-or-you-re-around-and-you-know-you-can-choose/) [Evan Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-mock/) > [“There's a great difficulty in making choices if you have any imagination at all. 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There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) ## More by John Barth > [Tis e'er the wont of simple folk to prize the deed and o'erlook the motive, and of learned folk to discount the deed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/tis-e-er-the-wont-of-simple-folk-to-prize-the-deed-and-o-erlook-the/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [“So, I begin each day with a gesture of cynicism, and close it with a gesture of faith; or, if you prefer, begin it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/so-i-begin-each-day-with-a-gesture-of-cynicism-and-close-it-with-a/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [I admire writers who can make complicated things simple, but my own talent has been to make simple things complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/i-admire-writers-who-can-make-complicated-things-simple-but-my-own/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [“That clever folk care less for what ye think than why ye think it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/that-clever-folk-care-less-for-what-ye-think-than-why-ye-think-it/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [Printed prose is historically a most peculiar, almost an aberrant way of telling stories, and by far the most inherently anesthetic: It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/printed-prose-is-historically-a-most-peculiar-almost-an-aberrant-way/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [“There's a great difficulty in making choices if you have any imagination at all. 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All Roads are fine Roads, beloved Sister, none more than another, so that with one Life to spend I am a Man bare-bumm'd at Taylors with Cash for but one pair of Breeches, or a Scholar at Brookstalls with Money for a single Book: to choose ten were no Trouble; to choose one, impossible! All Trades, all Crafts, all Professions are wondrous, but none is finer than the rest together. 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