Monday, November 21, 2011

Bon mot for the week

"The art of using moderate abilities to advantage often brings greater results than actual brilliance."


François de La Rochefoucauld  (1613-1680)


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2 comments:

JES said...

This feels like an object lesson in telling rather than showing... If you said something like "Tortoise v. hare," most people would get the point immediately (although, granted, you'd be riding on Aesop's back).

November 22, 2011 3:53 PM
Froog said...

I think the lesson of the tortoise and the hare was rather different: that was a tale of hubris, of excessive confidence in one's superiority leading to inattention and fecklessness.

The point here is that you can achieve a lot with comparatively little talent.

And I don't find La Rochefoucauld overly long-winded - you can be pithy, without being severely so.

November 24, 2011 6:29 AM

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