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Write quickly and you will never write well; write well, and you will soon write quickly.

Quintilian

It is the nurse that the child first hears, and her words that he will first attempt to imitate.
QUINTILIAN

Children Himself Imitation Nurse
Though ambition in itself is a vice, yet it is often the parent of virtues.
QUINTILIAN

Ambition Parent Vice Virtue
Medicine for the dead is too late.
QUINTILIAN

Death Medicine One Liner
While we are making up our minds as to when we shall begin. The opportunity is lost.
QUINTILIAN

Beginning Lost Mindset Opportunity Time
The obscurity of a writer is generally in proportion to his incapacity.
QUINTILIAN

Capacity Writing
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
He who speaks evil only differs from his who does evil in that he lacks opportunity.
QUINTILIAN

Evil Himself Opportunity Talk
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
Study depends on the goodwill of the student, a quality that cannot be secured by compulsion.
QUINTILIAN

Compulsion Goodness Secure Study
While we ponder when to begin, it becomes too late to do.
QUINTILIAN

Action Beginning Late
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
A liar should have a good memory.
QUINTILIAN

Goodness Lying Memory
An evil-speaker differs from an evil-doer only in the want of opportunity.
QUINTILIAN

Difference Evil Opportunity
When we cannot hope to win, it is an advantage to yield.
QUINTILIAN

Advantage Hope Protection Win
Nothing can be pleasing which is not also becoming.
QUINTILIAN

Deep Please
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
Those who wish to appear learned to fools, appear as fools to the learned.
QUINTILIAN

Appearance Fools Learning
For all the best teachers pride themselves on having a large number of pupils and think themselves worthy of a bigger audience.
QUINTILIAN

Audience Best Big Pride Teacher Worth
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
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.
QUINTILIAN

Animal Creation Faculty God Impression Nature Powerful Talk
If you direct your whole thought to work itself, none of the things which invade eyes or ears will reach the mind.
QUINTILIAN

Direct Eyes Mindset Reach Work
Without natural gifts technical rules are useless.
QUINTILIAN

Gift Natural Rule Technical
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
Fear of the future is worse than one’s present fortune.
QUINTILIAN

Fear Fortune Future Present
Those who wish to appear wise among fools, among the wise seem foolish.
QUINTILIAN

Appearance Fools Virtue Wisdom
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
Though ambition may be a fault in itself, it is often the mother of virtues.
QUINTILIAN

Ambition Mistake Mom Virtue

Write quickly and you will never write well; write well, and you will soon write quickly.

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Write quickly and you will never write well; write well, and you will soon write quickly.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Quintilian Quotes