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
A laugh costs too much when bought at the expense of virtue.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Humor should not come at the cost of moral integrity.
This quote by Quintilian emphasizes the importance of virtue over the pursuit of laughter. It suggests that while humor is valuable, it should never be derived from actions that compromise one's integrity or moral values.
Themes
LaughVirtueIntegrityWisdomHumor
In practice
Example use cases
In a seminar on ethics, to illustrate the importance of maintaining virtue, this quote could be used.
More from Quintilian
All quotes →As 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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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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