The authority of those who teach is often an obstacle to those who want to learn.

The saying warns that a teacher’s prestige can inhibit genuine learning: students may defer to authority rather than inquire, test, and understand for themselves. It also suggests that institutional or rhetorical power can harden into dogma, making learners reluctant to challenge errors or explore alternatives. Read this way, the line aligns with a broadly Ciceronian concern for independent judgment and the active, critical habits needed for philosophy and rhetoric—disciplines in which persuasion and status can easily substitute for truth. The quote is often used to argue for humility in teaching and for pedagogies that invite questioning rather than mere assent.