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.
QuintilianRead
Whilst we deliberate how to begin a thing, it grows too late to begin it.
QuintilianRead
A laugh costs too much when bought at the expense of virtue.
QuintilianRead
An evil-speaker differs from an evil-doer only in the want of opportunity.
QuintilianRead
It is the nurse that the child first hears, and her words that he will first attempt to imitate.
QuintilianRead
Similar quotes
I'm happy to say that at 62, I think I've reached that point where stuff doesn't bother me as much, and my gratitude level has gone way up, especially having gone through the loss that I've had, and losing so many of the great artists that I was close to. They taught me how to see it with a grain of salt and a lot of humor and perspective.
Bonnie RaittRead
It's too bad failures don't give seminars. Wouldn't that be valuable? If you meet a guy who has messed up his life for forty years, you've just got to say, 'John, if I bring my journal and promise to take good notes, would you spend a day with me?'
Jim RohnRead
If you want to be wrong then follow the masses.
SocratesRead
Remember this Saying, 'That the good Paymaster is Lord of another Man's Purse.' He that is known to pay punctually and exactly to the Time he promises, may at any Time, and on any Occasion, raise all the Money his Friends can spare.
Benjamin FranklinRead
He who would search for pearls must dive below.
John DrydenRead
Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.
Marcus AureliusRead