--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A quibble is to Shakespeare what luminous…" description: "\"A quibble is to Shakespeare what luminous vapours are to the traveller: he follows it at all adventures; it is sure to lead him out of his way and sure..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/samuel-johnson-50_adventure_a-quibble-is-to-shakespeare-what-luminou_1572833.png" --- # A quibble is to Shakespeare what luminous vapours are to… ![“A quibble is to Shakespeare what luminous vapours are to the traveller: he follows it at all adventures; it is sure to lead him out of his way and sure to engulf him in the mire.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/samuel-johnson-50_adventure_a-quibble-is-to-shakespeare-what-luminou_1572833.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/samuel-johnson-50_adventure_a-quibble-is-to-shakespeare-what-luminou_1572833.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/samuel-johnson-50_adventure_a-quibble-is-to-shakespeare-what-luminou_1572833.png) > “A quibble is to Shakespeare what luminous vapours are to the traveller: he follows it at all adventures; it is sure to lead him out of his way and sure to engulf him in the mire.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A trivial argument can distract a traveler like a fleeting vapor, leading him astray and into trouble. **In simple terms:** Minor disputes can mislead and cause trouble. Key Takeaway Avoid getting sidetracked by petty debates. Themes distraction argument misdirection Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical advisory When to use this quote - political debates - online forums - personal relationships - decision making Key Concepts philosophy human nature travel metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What small issues have led you off course? - Can a “quibble” ever be constructive? A Different Perspective Some arguments reveal deeper truths despite distraction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Luminous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luminous/) [Quibble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quibble-558090/) [Quibble Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quibble-shakespeare-5925503/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) [Shakespeare Luminous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare-luminous-5925504/) [Traveller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traveller/) [Traveller Follows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traveller-follows-5925506/) [Vapour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vapour/) [Vapours Traveller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vapours-traveller-5925505/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Twas a clever quibble. Here, a garment for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/twas-a-clever-quibble-here-a-garment-for-it/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“these are not days in which the people of the world are inclined to quibble over precedents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-tusa/these-are-not-days-in-which-the-people-of-the-world-are-inclined-to/) [Ann Tusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-tusa/) > [I'm certainly a skeptic. I always quibble with people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-m-certainly-a-skeptic-i-always-quibble-with-people/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [It is a merchant's nature to quibble over coins. It is how we become rich and buy satin shirts. The problems of who governs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/it-is-a-merchant-s-nature-to-quibble-over-coins-it-is-how-we-become/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [This is what historians usually do, quibble about cause and effect when the point is, there are times when the world is in flux…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/this-is-what-historians-usually-do-quibble-about-cause-and-effect/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Experts and specialists lead you quickly into chaos. They are a source of useless nit-picking, the ferocious quibble over a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/experts-and-specialists-lead-you-quickly-into-chaos-they-are-a-source/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [ The quibble I have with President \[Barack\] Obama is,and I think some other people will have it, too is that the rhetoric is fine,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-quibble-i-have-with-president-barack-obama-is-and-i-think-some/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“There are those who hold that to quibble over matters of taste in the basic necessities of life is an extravagance”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jun-ichir-tanizaki/there-are-those-who-hold-that-to-quibble-over-matters-of-taste-in-the/) [Jun'ichirō Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jun-ichir-tanizaki/) > [Pick your battles wisely. Don't quibble over things that don't really matter. Spend your time on what's really important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mvgepte/pick-your-battles-wisely-don-t-quibble-over-things-that-don-t-really/) [Mvgepte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mvgepte/) > [Men who marry for gratification, propagation or the matter of buttons or socks, must expect to cope with and deal in a certain amount…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/men-who-marry-for-gratification-propagation-or-the-matter-of-buttons/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [There is a worse tyranny than that of ill-treatment. It is the tyranny of tears, vapours, appeals to feelings of affection and of gratitude!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-heyer/there-is-a-worse-tyranny-than-that-of-ill-treatment-it-is-the-tyranny/) [Georgette Heyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-heyer/) > [So long as we perceive this world in motion, we have to conceive will behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/so-long-as-we-perceive-this-world-in-motion-we-have-to-conceive-will/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The cause of rain is now, I consider, no longer an object of doubt. If two masses of air of unequal temperatures, by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dalton/the-cause-of-rain-is-now-i-consider-no-longer-an-object-of-doubt-if/) [John Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dalton/) > [The sun, moving as it does, sets up processes of change and becoming and decay, and by its agency the finest and sweetest water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-sun-moving-as-it-does-sets-up-processes-of-change-and-becoming/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Whatever is destroyed, the act of destruction does not vary much. Beauty if vapour from the pit of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker-2/whatever-is-destroyed-the-act-of-destruction-does-not-vary-much/) [J. A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker-2/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) [Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) [Kevin McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcleod/) > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. 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