A Woman who is generous with her money is to be praised; not so, if she is generous with her person.
QUINTILIANA 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.
More Quintilian Quotes
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A mediocre speech supported by all the power of delivery will be more impressive than the best speech unaccompanied by such power.
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That which prematurely arrives at perfection soon perishes.
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One thing, however, I must premise, that without the assistance of natural capacity, rules and precepts are of no efficacy.
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It is much easier to try one’s hand at many things than to concentrate one’s powers on one thing.
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Though ambition may be a fault in itself, it is often the mother of virtues.
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Whilst we deliberate how to begin a thing, it grows too late to begin it.
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While we ponder when to begin, it becomes too late to do.
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God, that all-powerful Creator of nature and architect of the world, has impressed man with no character so proper to distinguish him from other animals, as by the faculty of speech.
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The soul languishing in obscurity contracts a kind of rust, or abandons itself to the chimera of presumption; for it is natural for it to acquire something, even when separated from any one.
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(Slaughter) means blood and iron.
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To swear, except when necessary, is becoming to an honorable man.
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It is the nurse that the child first hears, and her words that he will first attempt to imitate.
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Sayings designed to raise a laugh are generally untrue and never complimentary. Laughter is never far removed from derision.
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By writing quickly we are not brought to write well, but by writing well we are brought to write quickly.
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Nothing is more dangerous to men than a sudden change of fortune.
QUINTILIAN






