--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Difficulty is a coin the learned make use…" description: "\"Difficulty is a coin the learned make use of like jugglers, to conceal the inanity of their art.\" — Michel de Montaigne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/michel-de-montaigne-142_adversity_difficulty-is-a-coin-the-learned-make-us_231647.jpg" --- # Difficulty is a coin the learned make use of like… ![“Difficulty is a coin the learned make use of like jugglers, to conceal the inanity of their art.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/michel-de-montaigne-142_adversity_difficulty-is-a-coin-the-learned-make-us_231647.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/michel-de-montaigne-142_adversity_difficulty-is-a-coin-the-learned-make-us_231647.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/michel-de-montaigne-142_adversity_difficulty-is-a-coin-the-learned-make-us_231647.jpg) > “Difficulty is a coin the learned make use of like jugglers, to conceal the inanity of their art.” [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Skillful handling of difficulty masks the underlying absurdity of one's craft, turning challenge into artful performance. **In simple terms:** Mastering difficulty hides its chaos. Key Takeaway Use challenges to showcase skill. Themes philosophy creativity skill perception Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - Performance art - problem solving - craftsmanship - public speaking Key Concepts Artifice control self-deception Questions to Reflect On - When does concealment become deception? - How can we balance honesty with artistry? A Different Perspective Masking difficulty can lead to pretentiousness or loss of authenticity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Coins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coins/) [Conceal Inanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceal-inanity-2342669/) [Difficulty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty/) [Difficulty Coin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty-coin-2342668/) [Jugglers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jugglers/) [Jugglers Conceal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jugglers-conceal-2342666/) [Like Jugglers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-jugglers-2342667/) [Scholarship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholarship/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [Who is it that does not voluntarily exchange his health, his repose, and his very life for reputation and glory? The most useless, frivolous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/who-is-it-that-does-not-voluntarily-exchange-his-health-his-repose/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Someone has said that all the great jugglers are dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-graham/someone-has-said-that-all-the-great-jugglers-are-dead/) [Ronald Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-graham/) > [The only time a juggler / Appeals to me / Is when I see him / Miss the ball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-only-time-a-juggler-appeals-to-me-is-when-i-see-him-miss-the-ball/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Television is not the truth! Television is a goddamned amusement park. Television is a circus, a carnival, a travelling troupe of acrobats and story-tellers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-chayefsky/television-is-not-the-truth-television-is-a-goddamned-amusement-park/) [Paddy Chayefsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-chayefsky/) > [I might respect you as a brilliant intellect, runner, musician or juggler. But respect your BELIEFS? Only if they're supported by evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-might-respect-you-as-a-brilliant-intellect-runner-musician-or/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“But the old Italian commedia that I loved—Pantaloon, Harlequin, Scaramouche, and the rest—lived on as they always had, with tightrope walkers, acrobats, jugglers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-the-old-italian-commedia-that-i-loved-pantaloon-harlequin/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [A lot of people think jugglers defy gravity or do stuff. 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It was overrated. I tried sex once with a man and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/i-tried-sex-once-with-a-woman-and-that-woman-was-gala-it-was/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [A juggler's skill hath been long years alearning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/a-juggler-s-skill-hath-been-long-years-alearning/) [Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/) > [And because I have a four-year-old son I have become a great baseball pitcher. And, you know, juggler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-messing/and-because-i-have-a-four-year-old-son-i-have-become-a-great-baseball/) [Debra Messing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-messing/) > [Someone once told me that God figured that I was a pretty good juggler. I could keep a lot of balls in the air…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-ashe/someone-once-told-me-that-god-figured-that-i-was-a-pretty-good/) [Arthur Ashe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-ashe/) > [... programming requires more concentration than other activities. It's the reason programmers get upset about 'quick interruptions' - such interruptions are tantamount to asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/programming-requires-more-concentration-than-other-activities-it-s/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [I have a friend who is a juggler. If I'm at his house, I don't like to take food from him, if it's in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-have-a-friend-who-is-a-juggler-if-i-m-at-his-house-i-don-t-like-to/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) ## More by Michel de Montaigne > [No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/no-man-is-exempt-from-saying-silly-things-the-mischief-is-to-say-them/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-one-rushes-elsewhere-and-into-the-future-because-no-one-wants/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The height and value of true virtue consists in the facility, utility, and pleasure of its exercise; so far from difficulty, that boys, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-height-and-value-of-true-virtue-consists-in-the-facility-utility/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-people-must-be-talking-about-me-i-would-have-it-to-be-truthfully/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Most pleasures embrace us but to strangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-pleasures-embrace-us-but-to-strangle/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [In true friendship, in which I am expert, I give myself to my friend more than I draw him to me. I not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-true-friendship-in-which-i-am-expert-i-give-myself-to-my-friend/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-as-many-and-innumerable-degrees-of-wit-as-there-are-cubits/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [A man has need of tough ears to hear himself fairly judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-has-need-of-tough-ears-to-hear-himself-fairly-judged/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I have a vocabulary all my own. I pass the time when itis wet and disagreeable. Whenit is fine I do not wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-have-a-vocabulary-all-my-own-i-pass-the-time-when-itis-wet-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) [Explore all 1,131 Michel de Montaigne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## More Adversity quotes > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [When we have public success we also have private struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deion-sanders/when-we-have-public-success-we-also-have-private-struggles/) [Deion Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deion-sanders/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Friction is necessary. Ease of life leads to complacency and the atrophy of the human will and spirit. 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She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/just-because-she-doesn-t-talk-about-it-doesn-t-mean-she-isn-t-feeling/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) [James Buckham Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buckham-kennedy/) > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Life is not about less mistakes but about more trials”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/life-is-not-about-less-mistakes-but-about-more-trials/) [S.E. SEVER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-sever/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,001 Adversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Difficulty is a coin the learned make use of like jugglers, to conceal the inanity of their art.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel de Montaigne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/difficulty-is-a-coin-the-learned-make-use-of-like-jugglers-to-conceal/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adversity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/difficulty-is-a-coin-the-learned-make-use-of-like-jugglers-to-conceal/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/michel-de-montaigne-142_adversity_difficulty-is-a-coin-the-learned-make-us_231647.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/michel-de-montaigne-142_adversity_difficulty-is-a-coin-the-learned-make-us_231647.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/michel-de-montaigne-142_adversity_difficulty-is-a-coin-the-learned-make-us_231647.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Difficulty is a coin the learned make use of like jugglers, to conceal the inanity of their art.” — Michel de Montaigne", "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": "Michel de Montaigne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Difficulty is a coin the learned...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/difficulty-is-a-coin-the-learned-make-use-of-like-jugglers-to-conceal/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/difficulty-is-a-coin-the-learned-make-use-of-like-jugglers-to-conceal/#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 } } ] } ```