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When we cannot hope to win, it is an advantage to yield.

Quintilian

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

Adopt Friendship Ourselves
While we are examining into everything we sometimes find truth where we least expected it.
QUINTILIAN

Examination Expectation Time
Verse satire indeed is entirely our own.
QUINTILIAN

Ourselves Verse
Forbidden pleasures alone are loved immoderately; when lawful, they do not excite desire.
QUINTILIAN

Alone Desire Excite Feeling Law
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
One thing, however, I must premise, that without the assistance of natural capacity, rules and precepts are of no efficacy.
QUINTILIAN

Assistance Capacity Natural Rule
A liar should have a good memory.
QUINTILIAN

Goodness Lying Memory
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
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
For comic writers charge Socrates with making the worse appear the better reason.
QUINTILIAN

Appearance Better Comic Reason Worst Writing
In almost everything, experience is more valuable than precept.
QUINTILIAN

Experience Value
While we ponder when to begin, it becomes too late to do.
QUINTILIAN

Action Beginning Late
Nature herself has never attempted to effect great changes rapidly.
QUINTILIAN

Change Greatness Nature

When we cannot hope to win, it is an advantage to yield.

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When we cannot hope to win, it is an advantage to yield.

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Popular Authors

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