--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No man undertakes a trade he has not…" description: "\"No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet every one thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades- that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f72/socrates-405_government_no-man-undertakes-a-trade-he-has-not-lea_2048151.jpg" --- # No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the… ![“No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet every one thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades- that of government.” quote by Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f72/socrates-405_government_no-man-undertakes-a-trade-he-has-not-lea_2048151.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f72/socrates-405_government_no-man-undertakes-a-trade-he-has-not-lea_2048151.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f72/socrates-405_government_no-man-undertakes-a-trade-he-has-not-lea_2048151.jpg) > “No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet every one thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades- that of government.” [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critiques unqualified individuals assuming they can govern, emphasizing need for expertise. **In simple terms:** Only experts should govern. Key Takeaway Seek knowledge before leading. Themes politics expertise responsibility Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical political When to use this quote - elections - policy making - leadership roles Key Concepts philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - What qualifications matter most? - How can citizens ensure competent leadership? A Different Perspective Practical expertise may be limited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Learned Meanest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-meanest-3845694/) [Man U](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-u/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Qualified Hardest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualified-hardest-3845695/) [Trade Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade-learned-367445/) [Trades Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trades-government-3845692/) [Undertakes Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undertakes-trade-3845693/) ## Related quotes > [No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficiently qualified for the hardest of all trades,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/no-man-undertakes-a-trade-he-has-not-learned-even-the-meanest-yet-2/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [ Tailor's work--the finishing of men's outside garments--was the "trade" learned most frequently by women in \[the 1820s and 1830s\],and one or more of my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/tailor-s-work-the-finishing-of-men-s-outside-garments-was-the-trade/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [Grandfather / advised me: / Learn a trade / I learned / to sit at desk / and condense / No layoff / from this / condensery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorine-niedecker/grandfather-advised-me-learn-a-trade-i-learned-to-sit-at-desk-and/) [Lorine Niedecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorine-niedecker/) > [“Poet's Work" Grandfather advised me: Learn a trade I learned to sit at desk and condense No layoffs from this condensery”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorine-niedecker/poet-s-work-grandfather-advised-me-learn-a-trade-i-learned-to-sit-at/) [Lorine Niedecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorine-niedecker/) > [Writing is a trade ... which is learned by writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/writing-is-a-trade-which-is-learned-by-writing/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [If worms have the power of acquiring some notion, however rude, of the shape of an object and over their burrows, as seems the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/if-worms-have-the-power-of-acquiring-some-notion-however-rude-of-the/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The incarnation is true, not of Christ exclusively, but of Man universally, and God everlastingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-martineau/the-incarnation-is-true-not-of-christ-exclusively-but-of-man/) [James Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-martineau/) > [There is no art or science that is too difficult for industry to attain to; it is the gift of tongues, and makes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hyde-1st-earl-of-clarendon/there-is-no-art-or-science-that-is-too-difficult-for-industry-to/) [Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hyde-1st-earl-of-clarendon/) > [Acknowledge yourself, man up along age and then decide to be a gentleman or an another asshole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniyal-butt/acknowledge-yourself-man-up-along-age-and-then-decide-to-be-a/) [Daniyal Butt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniyal-butt/) > [Only fools use their mouth to speak. 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Failure comes when you stay where you have fallen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/falling-down-is-not-a-failure-failure-comes-when-you-stay-where-you/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Do not go through life like leaf blown from here to there believing whatever you are told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/do-not-go-through-life-like-leaf-blown-from-here-to-there-believing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If the whole world depends on today's youth, I can't see the world lasting another 100 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-the-whole-world-depends-on-today-s-youth-i-can-t-see-the-world/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“I only know, I know nothing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-only-know-i-know-nothing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-cannot-teach-anybody-anything-i-can-only-make-them-think/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... 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