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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

Usage is the best language teacher.
QUINTILIAN

Language One Liner Teacher
He who speaks evil only differs from his who does evil in that he lacks opportunity.
QUINTILIAN

Evil Himself Opportunity Talk
Medicine for the dead is too late.
QUINTILIAN

Death Medicine One Liner
It is much easier to try one’s hand at many things than to concentrate one’s powers on one thing.
QUINTILIAN

Easy Hand Oneself Power Try
Where evil habits are once settled, they are more easily broken than mended.
QUINTILIAN

Break Easy Evil Habit Repair Settle
While we are examining into everything we sometimes find truth where we least expected it.
QUINTILIAN

Examination Expectation Time
While we ponder when to begin, it becomes too late to do.
QUINTILIAN

Action Beginning Late
A mediocre speech supported by all the power of delivery will be more impressive than the best speech unaccompanied by such power.
QUINTILIAN

Accompany Average Impression Support
There is no one who would not rather appear to know than to be taught.
QUINTILIAN

Appearance Teaching
Nothing can be pleasing which is not also becoming.
QUINTILIAN

Deep Please
While we are making up our minds as to when we shall begin. The opportunity is lost.
QUINTILIAN

Beginning Lost Mindset Opportunity Time
A great part of art consists in imitation. For the whole conduct of life is based on this: that what we admire in others we want to do ourselves.
QUINTILIAN

Admire Art Consist Greatness Life Ourselves
Vain hopes are like certain dreams of those who wake.
QUINTILIAN

Awake Dreams Hope
A laugh costs too much when bought at the expense of virtue.
QUINTILIAN

Cost Expense Laughter Virtue
The obscurity of a writer is generally in proportion to his incapacity.
QUINTILIAN

Capacity Writing
The pretended admission of a fault on our part creates an excellent impression.
QUINTILIAN

Admission Creation Excellence Impression Pretend
Verse satire indeed is entirely our own.
QUINTILIAN

Ourselves Verse
For the mind is all the easier to teach before it is set.
QUINTILIAN

Easy Mindset Teaching
Let us never adopt the maxim, Rather lose our friend than our jest.
QUINTILIAN

Adopt Friendship Ourselves
When we cannot hope to win, it is an advantage to yield.
QUINTILIAN

Advantage Hope Protection Win
Those who wish to appear learned to fools, appear as fools to the learned.
QUINTILIAN

Appearance Fools Learning
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
(Slaughter) means blood and iron.
QUINTILIAN

Blood Death Iron
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.
QUINTILIAN

Kind Natural Oneself Separate Soul
It seldom happens that a premature shoot of genius ever arrives at maturity.
QUINTILIAN

Arrival Genius Maturity
The learned understand the reason of art; the unlearned feel the pleasure.
QUINTILIAN

Art Feeling Learning Pleasure Reason Understand
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

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Quintilian Quotes