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Without natural gifts technical rules are useless.

Quintilian

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
It seldom happens that a premature shoot of genius ever arrives at maturity.
QUINTILIAN

Arrival Genius Maturity
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
Suffering itself does less afflict the senses than the apprehension of suffering.
QUINTILIAN

Afflict Sense Suffering
Satiety is a neighbor to continued pleasures.
QUINTILIAN

Happiness Pleasure Satire
Everything that has a beginning comes to an end.
QUINTILIAN

Advice Beginning End Proverb
In a crowd, on a journey, at a banquet even, a line of thought can itself provide its own seclusion.
QUINTILIAN

Crowd Journey Seclusion
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

Impossible Misunderstand Possible Talk Understand
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
Usage is the best language teacher.
QUINTILIAN

Language One Liner Teacher
She abounds with lucious faults.
QUINTILIAN

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

Children Himself Imitation Nurse
When we cannot hope to win, it is an advantage to yield.
QUINTILIAN

Advantage Hope Protection Win
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
Ambition is a vice, but it may be the father of virtue.
QUINTILIAN

Ambition Father Vice Virtue

Without natural gifts technical rules are useless.

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Without natural gifts technical rules are useless.

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