--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of all the paths a man could strike into…" description: "\"Of all the paths a man could strike into, there is, at any given moment, a best path .. A thing which, here and now, it were of all things wisest for h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/thomas-carlyle-207_change_of-all-the-paths-a-man-could-strike-into_618956.jpg" --- # Of all the paths a man could strike into, there is, at any… ![“Of all the paths a man could strike into, there is, at any given moment, a best path .. A thing which, here and now, it were of all things wisest for him to do .. To find this path, and walk in it, is the one thing needful for him.” quote by Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/thomas-carlyle-207_change_of-all-the-paths-a-man-could-strike-into_618956.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/thomas-carlyle-207_change_of-all-the-paths-a-man-could-strike-into_618956.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/thomas-carlyle-207_change_of-all-the-paths-a-man-could-strike-into_618956.jpg) > “Of all the paths a man could strike into, there is, at any given moment, a best path .. A thing which, here and now, it were of all things wisest for him to do .. To find this path, and walk in it, is the one thing needful for him.” [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He suggests that at any moment there is an optimal path, the wisest action for a person to take. **In simple terms:** There is always a best choice at any time. Key Takeaway Seek and follow the most prudent course. Themes decision making wisdom philosophy Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - ethical dilemmas - personal growth - strategic planning Key Concepts optimal choice temporal context Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify the wisest action? - What factors influence your perception of the best path? A Different Perspective Choosing the “best” path may be unclear due to limited information. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-path-1642078/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Here and now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/here-and-now/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Path Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path-thing-2644543/) [Paths Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paths-man-5011940/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Walks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks/) [Wisest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisest/) [Wisest Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisest-path-5011939/) ## Related quotes > [It's like many other things in life, Ellie. You keep on the path and all's well. You get off it and the next thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-s-like-many-other-things-in-life-ellie-you-keep-on-the-path-and/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I just know that it's smart for my career to carve my own path and do my own thing. 9](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-franco/i-just-know-that-it-s-smart-for-my-career-to-carve-my-own-path-and-do/) [Dave Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-franco/) > [I walk my own path, do my own thing, follow my own rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-walk-my-own-path-do-my-own-thing-follow-my-own-rules/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can always veer off the path, that's one thing that has really comforted me over the past year. When you think, 'I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-stone/you-can-always-veer-off-the-path-that-s-one-thing-that-has-really/) [Emma Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-stone/) > [“The high road is the best path to your destination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/the-high-road-is-the-best-path-to-your-destination/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [I would advise that if you can get out on loan and play football, it is the best path to go down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-pickford/i-would-advise-that-if-you-can-get-out-on-loan-and-play-football-it/) [Jordan Pickford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-pickford/) > [Repeating easy tasks again and again gets you not very far. Attacking only steep cliffs where no progress is made isn’t particularly effective either.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/repeating-easy-tasks-again-and-again-gets-you-not-very-far-attacking/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The best path between two points is upside-down, between, then inside-out and round again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lulu/the-best-path-between-two-points-is-upside-down-between-then-inside/) [Lulu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lulu/) > [The Path that is best for you is the Path that keeps the best of you in play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-path-that-is-best-for-you-is-the-path-that-keeps-the-best-of-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Follow your dreams, make your best choices, and peace will come as you realize that you are on the best path for yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camron-wright/follow-your-dreams-make-your-best-choices-and-peace-will-come-as-you/) [Camron Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camron-wright/) > [“the best path didn’t have to be quick as long as it was correct.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/the-best-path-didn-t-have-to-be-quick-as-long-as-it-was-correct/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [“Sometime you end with your god but usually the numbers were the best path. Knowing when to draw the line was the hardest skill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-c-currie/sometime-you-end-with-your-god-but-usually-the-numbers-were-the-best/) [Evan C. Currie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-c-currie/) > [The best path through life is the highway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/the-best-path-through-life-is-the-highway/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [“The best word is Allah's book. The best path is Muhammad’s path.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-word-is-allah-s-book-the-best-path-is-muhammad-s-path/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The best path to power combines two things: 1) a path that not many are taking and 2) something that you are capable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/the-best-path-to-power-combines-two-things-1-a-path-that-not-many-are/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) ## More by Thomas Carlyle > [O thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/o-thou-that-pinest-in-the-imprisonment-of-the-actual-and-criest/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/no-sadder-proof-can-be-given-by-a-man-of-his-own-littleness-than/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The sincere alone can recognize sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-sincere-alone-can-recognize-sincerity/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Be a pattern to others, and then all will go well; for as a whole city is affected by the licentious passions and vices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/be-a-pattern-to-others-and-then-all-will-go-well-for-as-a-whole-city/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The glory of a workman, still more of a master workman, that he does his work well, ought to be his most precious possession;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-glory-of-a-workman-still-more-of-a-master-workman-that-he-does/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [All human things do require to have an ideal in them; to have some soul in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-things-do-require-to-have-an-ideal-in-them-to-have-some/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Insurrection, never so necessary, is a most sad necessity; and governors who wait for that to instruct them are surely getting into the fatalest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/insurrection-never-so-necessary-is-a-most-sad-necessity-and-governors/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Let Time and Chance combine, combine! Let Time and Chance combine! The fairest love from heaven above, That love of yours was mine, My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/let-time-and-chance-combine-combine-let-time-and-chance-combine-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Thought will not work except in silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/thought-will-not-work-except-in-silence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The public is anold woman.Let her maunderand mumble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-public-is-anold-woman-let-her-maunderand-mumble/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Does not every true man feel that he is himself made higher by doing reverence to what is really above him?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/does-not-every-true-man-feel-that-he-is-himself-made-higher-by-doing/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The press is the fourth estate of the realm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-press-is-the-fourth-estate-of-the-realm/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) [Explore all 917 Thomas Carlyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. 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