Consequently the student who is devoid of talent will derive no more profit from this work than barren soil from a treatise on agriculture.
QuintilianRead
Those who wish to appear learned to fools, appear as fools to the learned.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Trying to impress uneducated people can lead you to appear foolish to those who are knowledgeable.
This quote by Quintilian suggests that when individuals try to show off their knowledge or intelligence to those who lack understanding, they may inadvertently display their own ignorance and foolishness to those who are actually knowledgeable. It highlights the irony that true wisdom is often recognized by those who genuinely understand a subject, while superficial displays may attract the uneducated but repel the educated.
Themes
WisdomKnowledgeFoolsLearnedAppearances
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the importance of humility in education, this quote can be used to illustrate how true understanding is valued over superficial displays of knowledge.
More from Quintilian
All quotes βAs regards parents, I should like to see them as highly educated as possible, and I do not restrict this remark to fathers alone.
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Whilst we deliberate how to begin a thing, it grows too late to begin it.
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A laugh costs too much when bought at the expense of virtue.
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An evil-speaker differs from an evil-doer only in the want of opportunity.
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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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