Quintilian Quotes
Born: 35 AD
Quintilian, the ancient Roman rhetorician, remains a foundational voice for Innovation & Tech. His philosophy that the art of speaking is inseparable from the art of living translates seamlessly into modern leadership. He championed the idea that true innovation requires not just technical skill, but moral clarity and persuasive power. His quotes resonate because they strip away complexity, reminding creators that the best technology serves human connection and integrity. Quintilian’s legacy endures as a blueprint for building ideas that are not only groundbreaking but ethically sound, making his words essential for anyone shaping the future.
Quintilian Quotes (46)
"A liar should have a good memory."
— Quintilian"Those who wish to appear wise among fools, among the wise seem foolish."
— Quintilian"The perfection of art is to conceal art."
— Quintilian"When defeat is inevitable, it is wisest to yield."
— Quintilian"Whilst we deliberate how to begin a thing, it grows too late to begin it."
— Quintilian"Everything that has a beginning comes to an end."
— Quintilian"Nothing is more dangerous to men than a sudden change of fortune."
— Quintilian"It is the nurse that the child first hears, and her words that he will first attempt to imitate."
— Quintilian"Our minds are like our stomaches; they are whetted by the change of their food, and variety supplies both with fresh appetite."
— Quintilian"God, that all-powerful Creator of nature and architect of the world, has impressed man with no character so proper to distinguish him from other animals, as by the faculty of speech."
— Quintilian"We must form our minds by reading deep rather than wide."
— Quintilian"It is fitting that a liar should be a man of good memory."
— Quintilian"The gifts of nature are infinite in their variety, and mind differs from mind almost as much as body from body."
— Quintilian"A laugh costs too much when bought at the expense of virtue."
— Quintilian"Nature herself has never attempted to effect great changes rapidly."
— Quintilian"Where evil habits are once settled, they are more easily broken than mended."
— Quintilian"Without natural gifts technical rules are useless."
— Quintilian"Men, even when alone, lighten their labors by song, however rude it may be."
— Quintilian"It seldom happens that a premature shoot of genius ever arrives at maturity."
— Quintilian"To swear, except when necessary, is becoming to an honorable man."
— Quintilian"That which prematurely arrives at perfection soon perishes."
— Quintilian"While we are examining into everything we sometimes find truth where we least expected it."
— Quintilian"Consequently the student who is devoid of talent will derive no more profit from this work than barren soil from a treatise on agriculture."
— Quintilian"Vain hopes are like certain dreams of those who wake."
— Quintilian"It is worth while too to warn the teacher that undue severity in correcting faults is liable at times to discourage a boy's mind from effort."
— Quintilian"For it would have been better that man should have been born dumb, nay, void of all reason, rather than that he should employ the gifts of Providence to the destruction of his neighbor."
— Quintilian"It is much easier to try one's hand at many things than to concentrate one's powers on one thing."
— Quintilian"When we cannot hope to win, it is an advantage to yield."
— Quintilian"The mind is exercised by the variety and multiplicity of the subject matter, while the character is moulded by the contemplation of virtue and vice."
— Quintilian"A laugh, if purchased at the expense of propriety, costs too much."
— Quintilian