black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

Let us never adopt the maxim, Rather lose our friend than our jest.

Quintilian

Men of quality are in the wrong to undervalue, as they often do, the practise of a fair and quick hand in writing; for it is no immaterial accomplishment.
QUINTILIAN

Accomplishment Man Quality Value Wrong
We excuse our sloth under the pretext of difficulty.
QUINTILIAN

Difficult Excuse Ourselves
We must form our minds by reading deep rather than wide.
QUINTILIAN

Form Mindset Reading Wide
For the mind is all the easier to teach before it is set.
QUINTILIAN

Easy Mindset Teaching
While we are examining into everything we sometimes find truth where we least expected it.
QUINTILIAN

Examination Expectation Time
It is easier to do many things than to do one thing continuously for a long time.
QUINTILIAN

Different Easy Time
It seldom happens that a premature shoot of genius ever arrives at maturity.
QUINTILIAN

Arrival Genius Maturity
Those who wish to appear learned to fools, appear as fools to the learned.
QUINTILIAN

Appearance Fools Learning
The gifts of nature are infinite in their variety, and mind differs from mind almost as much as body from body.
QUINTILIAN

Body Infinite Mindset Nature
There is no one who would not rather appear to know than to be taught.
QUINTILIAN

Appearance Teaching
Nothing is more dangerous to men than a sudden change of fortune.
QUINTILIAN

Change Dangerous Fortune
For it would have been better that man should have been born dumb, nay, void of all reason, rather than that he should employ the gifts of Providence to the destruction of his neighbor.
QUINTILIAN

Better Born Destruction Dumb Man Neighbor Reason
Give bread to a stranger, in the name of the universal brotherhood which binds together all men under the common father of nature.
QUINTILIAN

Father Food Nature Poor Stranger Togetherness
We should not speak so that it is possible for the audience to understand us, but so that it is impossible for them to misunderstand us.
QUINTILIAN

Impossible Misunderstand Possible Talk Understand
Medicine for the dead is too late.
QUINTILIAN

Death Medicine One Liner
Without natural gifts technical rules are useless.
QUINTILIAN

Gift Natural Rule Technical

Let us never adopt the maxim, Rather lose our friend than our jest.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

Let us never adopt the maxim, Rather lose our friend than our jest.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Quintilian Quotes