As regards parents, I should like to see them as highly educated as possible, and I do not restrict this remark to fathers alone.
QuintilianRead
Consequently the student who is devoid of talent will derive no more profit from this work than barren soil from a treatise on agriculture.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Talent is necessary for effective learning; without it, one cannot benefit from knowledge.
Quintilian's quote emphasizes the importance of inherent talent in the process of learning. Just as barren soil cannot benefit from a detailed study of agriculture, a student lacking talent will not gain much from educational endeavors. This highlights the significance of an individual's natural abilities in the acquisition and application of knowledge.
Themes
TalentEducationLearningKnowledgeGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on the importance of nurturing student talents.
More from Quintilian
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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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To my mind the boy who gives least promise is one in whom the critical faculty develops in advance of the imagination.
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