Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force.
Dorothy L. SayersRead
A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought.
Interpretation
Relying on quotations can hinder original thinking.
This quote suggests that frequently using quotes from others can be a crutch that prevents individuals from developing their own unique ideas and thoughts. It highlights the importance of original thought and creativity over simply reiterating what others have said.
In practice
A speaker at a conference might use this quote to emphasize the need for creativity in innovation.
Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force.
But suppose one doesn't quite know which one wants to put first. Suppose," said Harriet, falling back on words which were not her own, "suppose one is cursed with both a heart and a brain?" "You can usually tell," said Miss de Vine, "by seeing what kind of mistakes you make. I'm quite sure that one never makes fundamental mistakes about the thing one really wants to do. Fundamental mistakes arise out of lack of genuine interest. In my opinion, that is.
. . . the fellow's got a bee in his bonnet. Thinks God's a secretion of the liver--all right once in a way, but there's no need to keep on about it. There's nothing you can't prove if your outlook is only sufficiently limited.
You're thinking that people don't keep up old jealousies for twenty years or so. Perhaps not. Not just primitive, brute jealousy. That means a word and a blow. But the thing that rankles is hurt vanity. That sticks. Humiliation. And we've all got a sore spot we don't like to have touched.
None of us feels the true love of God till we realize how wicked we are. But you can't teach people that - they have to learn by experience.
What is repugnant to every human being is to be reckoned always as a member of a class and not as an individual person.
Men lose their tempers in defending their taste.
There are no variations except for those who know a norm, and no subtleties for those who have not grasped the obvious.
Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two. A constant coming and going: wisdom lies in the momentary.
If you realize that you're the problem, then you can change yourself, learn something and grow wiser. Don't blame other people for your problems.
There's small Revenge in Words, but Words may be greatly revenged
It is an easy thing for one whose foot is on the outside of calamity to give advice and to rebuke the sufferer.
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