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When defeat is inevitable, it is wisest to yield.

Quintilian

Consequently the student who is devoid of talent will derive no more profit from this work than barren soil from a treatise on agriculture.
QUINTILIAN

Agriculture Profit Student Talent Work
Where evil habits are once settled, they are more easily broken than mended.
QUINTILIAN

Break Easy Evil Habit Repair Settle
A Woman who is generous with her money is to be praised; not so, if she is generous with her person.
QUINTILIAN

Generosity Herself Money Person Woman
Although virtue receives some of its excellencies from nature, yet it is perfected by education.
QUINTILIAN

Excellence Nature Perfection Virtue
Study depends on the goodwill of the student, a quality that cannot be secured by compulsion.
QUINTILIAN

Compulsion Goodness Secure Study
A man who tries to surpass another may perhaps succeed in equaling in not actually surpassing him, but one who merely follows can never quite come up with him: a follower, necessarily, is always behind.
QUINTILIAN

Equality Follow Himself Man Quite Success
That which offends the ear will not easily gain admission to the mind.
QUINTILIAN

Admission Ear Easy Mindset Offend
An evil-speaker differs from an evil-doer only in the want of opportunity.
QUINTILIAN

Difference Evil Opportunity
For comic writers charge Socrates with making the worse appear the better reason.
QUINTILIAN

Appearance Better Comic Reason Worst Writing
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
Satiety is a neighbor to continued pleasures.
QUINTILIAN

Happiness Pleasure Satire
It is worth while too to warn the teacher that undue severity in correcting faults is liable at times to discourage a boy’s mind from effort.
QUINTILIAN

Courage Effort Mistake Severe Teacher Worth
We excuse our sloth under the pretext of difficulty.
QUINTILIAN

Difficult Excuse Ourselves
It is the heart which inspires eloquence.
QUINTILIAN

Heart Inspirational One Liner
To my mind the boy who gives least promise is one in whom the critical faculty develops in advance of the imagination.
QUINTILIAN

Criticism Development Imagination Mindset Promise
By writing quickly we are not brought to write well, but by writing well we are brought to write quickly.
QUINTILIAN

Difference Literature Poet Writing

When defeat is inevitable, it is wisest to yield.

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When defeat is inevitable, it is wisest to yield.

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