--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is easier taking the beaten path than…" description: "\"It is easier taking the beaten path than making our way over bogs and precipices. The great difficulty in philosophy is to come to every question with ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/william-hazlitt-326_beaten_it-is-easier-taking-the-beaten-path-than_2881525.png" --- # It is easier taking the beaten path than making our way… ![“It is easier taking the beaten path than making our way over bogs and precipices. The great difficulty in philosophy is to come to every question with a mind fresh and unshackled by former theories, though strengthened by exercise and information.” quote by William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/william-hazlitt-326_beaten_it-is-easier-taking-the-beaten-path-than_2881525.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/william-hazlitt-326_beaten_it-is-easier-taking-the-beaten-path-than_2881525.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/978/william-hazlitt-326_beaten_it-is-easier-taking-the-beaten-path-than_2881525.png) > “It is easier taking the beaten path than making our way over bogs and precipices. The great difficulty in philosophy is to come to every question with a mind fresh and unshackled by former theories, though strengthened by exercise and information.” [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Philosophy requires fresh, unburdened thinking, not just following easy routes; true insight comes from tackling difficult questions. **In simple terms:** Thinking anew is harder than taking easy paths; philosophy needs fresh minds. Key Takeaway Seek fresh perspectives, avoid complacency. Themes philosophy critical thinking challenge intellectual growth Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - academic study - personal development - creative problem solving Key Concepts originality intellectual rigor mental discipline exploration Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions block your thinking? - How can you cultivate mental freshness? A Different Perspective Fresh thinking can be hindered by entrenched biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beaten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beaten/) [Beaten path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beaten-path/) [Bogs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bogs/) [Difficulty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty/) [Difficulty Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty-philosophy-3996824/) [Easier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Former](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/former/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-come-831519/) [Precipice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precipice/) [Theories Strengthened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theories-strengthened-3996826/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Unshackled Theories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unshackled-theories-3996825/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [The difficulty in philosophy is to say no more than we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/the-difficulty-in-philosophy-is-to-say-no-more-than-we-know/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“The society we have described can never grow into a reality or see the light of day, and there will be no end to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-society-we-have-described-can-never-grow-into-a-reality-or-see/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When you design a building, you start from a general philosophy, and you come down, and you start from detail and come up. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-piano/when-you-design-a-building-you-start-from-a-general-philosophy-and/) [Renzo Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-piano/) > [The minister and the priest teach that the organization is greater. No great philosophy has ever come from an organization, but from an individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-twitchell/the-minister-and-the-priest-teach-that-the-organization-is-greater-no/) [Paul Twitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-twitchell/) > [He who says either that the time for philosophy has not yet come or that it has passed is like someone who says that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/he-who-says-either-that-the-time-for-philosophy-has-not-yet-come-or/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/there-will-be-no-end-to-the-troubles-of-states-or-of-humanity-itself-2/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [God is a synergetic experience. Science can never reveal it, philosophy can never come to it - only a poetic approach, a very passive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/god-is-a-synergetic-experience-science-can-never-reveal-it-philosophy/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“Hello again! As you see, this short course in philosophy will come in handy-sized portions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/hello-again-as-you-see-this-short-course-in-philosophy-will-come-in/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [Planet Bog - Pools of toxic chemicals bubble under a choking atmosphere of poisonous gases... but aside from that, it's not much like Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/planet-bog-pools-of-toxic-chemicals-bubble-under-a-choking-atmosphere/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [As far as I'm concerned, it's a damned shame that a field as potentially dynamic and vital as journalism should be overrun with dullards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-it-s-a-damned-shame-that-a-field-as/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Candidates have been telling you that if elected they would 'pull you from this bog hole of financial misery.' Now is a good chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/candidates-have-been-telling-you-that-if-elected-they-would-pull-you/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [She gazed toward the marsh that grew thicker, deeper, greener with approaching summer. Mosquitoes whined in there, breeding in the dark water. Alligators slid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/she-gazed-toward-the-marsh-that-grew-thicker-deeper-greener-with/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [I grew up having to piss in a bucket ’cos there was no indoor shitter, and now I have these computerised Japanese super-loo things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-grew-up-having-to-piss-in-a-bucket-cos-there-was-no-indoor-shitter/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [And also, one is a mother in order to understand the inexplicable. One is a mother to lighten the darkness. One is a mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariama-b/and-also-one-is-a-mother-in-order-to-understand-the-inexplicable-one/) [Mariama Bâ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariama-b/) > [fear has always been a diminisher of life. Whether bred in the bogs of superstition or clothed in the brocades of dogma and ritual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/fear-has-always-been-a-diminisher-of-life-whether-bred-in-the-bogs-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) ## More by William Hazlitt > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-art-of-life-is-to-know-how-to-enjoy-a-little-and-to-endure-very/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are thankful for good-will rather than for services, for the motive than the quantum of favor received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-thankful-for-good-will-rather-than-for-services-for-the-motive/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The discussing the characters and foibles of common friends is a great sweetness and cement of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-discussing-the-characters-and-foibles-of-common-friends-is-a/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/want-of-principle-is-power-truth-and-honesty-set-a-limit-to-our/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Repose is as necessary in conversation as in a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/repose-is-as-necessary-in-conversation-as-in-a-picture/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [No act terminating in itself constitutes greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/no-act-terminating-in-itself-constitutes-greatness/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-or-a-mask/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We never do anything well till we cease to think about the manner doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-never-do-anything-well-till-we-cease-to-think-about-the-manner/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/man-is-the-only-animal-that-laughs-and-weeps-for-he-is-the-only/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Those who have had none of the cares of this life to harass and disturb them, have been obliged to have recourse to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/those-who-have-had-none-of-the-cares-of-this-life-to-harass-and/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but takes an heroical aspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/poverty-when-it-is-voluntary-is-never-despicable-but-takes-an/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are not satisfied to be right, unless we can prove others to be quite wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-not-satisfied-to-be-right-unless-we-can-prove-others-to-be/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The world judge of men by their ability in their profession, and we judge of ourselves by the same test: for it is on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-world-judge-of-men-by-their-ability-in-their-profession-and-we/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The best part of our lives we pass in counting on what is to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-best-part-of-our-lives-we-pass-in-counting-on-what-is-to-come/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) [Explore all 671 William Hazlitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## More Beaten quotes > [I think children have talent and insight, but it gets beaten out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-think-children-have-talent-and-insight-but-it-gets-beaten-out-of/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [It's kind of the yin and yang that fascinate me. That for all the evil men do, there are also people who work obnoxiously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/it-s-kind-of-the-yin-and-yang-that-fascinate-me-that-for-all-the-evil/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [It's always a wake-up call to get beaten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usain-bolt/it-s-always-a-wake-up-call-to-get-beaten/) [Usain Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usain-bolt/) > [“I felt my heart skip a beat, just one, but it was enough that I took notice. It was nice to know that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/i-felt-my-heart-skip-a-beat-just-one-but-it-was-enough-that-i-took/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [Class clowns are never allowed to date anybody decent, but you don't get beaten up, you're invited to parties, and everybody likes you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/class-clowns-are-never-allowed-to-date-anybody-decent-but-you-don-t/) [Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/) > [I know from my own clinical work that when people are beaten and hurt, they numb out so that they cant feel anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bradshaw/i-know-from-my-own-clinical-work-that-when-people-are-beaten-and-hurt/) [John Bradshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bradshaw/) > [You could be beaten down by anybody and by everybody and it doesn't matter what everybody else thinks it's how you see yourself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cuban/you-could-be-beaten-down-by-anybody-and-by-everybody-and-it-doesn-t/) [Mark Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cuban/) > [Could beauty be beaten out, O youth the cities have sent to strike at each other's strength, it is you who have kept her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-doolittle/could-beauty-be-beaten-out-o-youth-the-cities-have-sent-to-strike-at/) [Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-doolittle/) > [The midget, Bush, and that Rumsfeld deserve only to be beaten with shoes by freedom loving people everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/the-midget-bush-and-that-rumsfeld-deserve-only-to-be-beaten-with/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [Like with every form of cancer, early detection is what it is all about. I urge everyone to learn the facts about this condition.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-stewart/like-with-every-form-of-cancer-early-detection-is-what-it-is-all/) [Rod Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-stewart/) > [In our culture of constant access and nonstop media, nothing feels more like a curse from God than time in the wilderness. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/in-our-culture-of-constant-access-and-nonstop-media-nothing-feels/) [Jonathan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-martin/) > [A man who is determined never to move out of the beaten road cannot lose his way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/a-man-who-is-determined-never-to-move-out-of-the-beaten-road-cannot/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [I admit that I've been beaten up so many times in films, but we do not fake it - we actually have to fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-sik-choi/i-admit-that-i-ve-been-beaten-up-so-many-times-in-films-but-we-do-not/) [Min-sik Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-sik-choi/) > [I do not approve of children being beaten. It is always a confession of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-wentworth/i-do-not-approve-of-children-being-beaten-it-is-always-a-confession/) [Patricia Wentworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-wentworth/) > [If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can't have any practical result whatsoever, you've beaten them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-can-feel-that-staying-human-is-worth-while-even-when-it-can-t/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Browse all 665 Beaten quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beaten/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is easier taking the beaten path than making our way over bogs and precipices. 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