--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tradition is a guide and not a jailer." description: "\"Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.\" — W. Somerset Maugham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/w-somerset-maugham-237_conformity_tradition-is-a-guide-and-not-a-jailer-88_887383.jpg" --- # Tradition is a guide and not a jailer. ![“Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/w-somerset-maugham-237_conformity_tradition-is-a-guide-and-not-a-jailer-88_887383.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/w-somerset-maugham-237_conformity_tradition-is-a-guide-and-not-a-jailer-88_887383.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/w-somerset-maugham-237_conformity_tradition-is-a-guide-and-not-a-jailer-88_887383.jpg) > “Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tradition offers guidance but should not restrict innovation or personal freedom. **In simple terms:** Tradition guides, not restricts. Key Takeaway Balance respect for tradition with openness to change. Themes tradition freedom innovation Mood reflective balanced Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - family decisions - business policies - social reforms - educational curricula Key Concepts cultural norms personal autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor tradition while embracing new ideas? - When should tradition be questioned? A Different Perspective Rigid adherence can stifle progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Guide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guide/) [Guide Jailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guide-jailer-1112222/) [Jailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jailer/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Tradition Guide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition-guide-1112221/) ## Related quotes > [Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/conformity-is-the-jailer-of-freedom-and-the-enemy-of-growth/) [John F. 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Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Conformity quotes > [“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/) > [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [The Chains of conformity click in tiresomely monotonous unison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/the-chains-of-conformity-click-in-tiresomely-monotonous-unison/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [No shepherd and one herd! 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