A Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson
The peril of every fine faculty is the delight of playing with it for pride. Talent is commonly developed at the expense of character, and the greater it grows, the more is the mischief. Talent is mistaken for genius, a dogma or system for truth, ambition for greatness, ingenuity for poetry, sensuality for art.
Related Quotes
Talent is commonly developed at the expense of character.
Genius is talent provided with ideals. Genius starves while talent wears purple and fine linen. The man of genius of today will infifty years' time be in most cases no more than a man of talent.
Talent is a faculty that is highly developed, but genius commands all the faculties.
Talent is some one faculty unusually developed; genius commands all the faculties.
Talent warms-up the given (as they say in cookery) and makes it apparent; genius brings something new. But our time lets talent pass for genius. They want to abolish the genius, deify the genius, and let talent forge ahead.
The real issue is not talent as an independent element, but talent in relationship to will, desire, and persistence. Talent without these things vanishes and even modest talent with those characteristics grows.
I intend to work for this dance of the future. I do not know whether I have the necessary qualities; I may have neither genius nor talent nor temperament. But I know that I have a Will; and will and energy sometimes prove greater than either genius or talent or temperament.
The difference between talent and genius is in the direction of the current: in genius, it is from within outward; in talent from without inward.
Obviously you have to have talent in order to play so you can't overlook that, but we won't overlook the character issue when it comes to talent because if they have talent and they don't have character, it's going to be very difficult to coach that person.
I was never jealous of my best friend. But I was envious of his talent. I had achieved my ambition of being in a band and playing live and I wanted him to go on and realize his talent as much as he did.
If you want the secondary greatness of recognized talent, focus first on primary greatness of character.
Talent is full of thoughts, Genius is thought. Talent is a cistern, Genius a fountain.
Character is greater than talent, genius, fame, money, friends - there is nothing to compare with it. A man may have all these and yet remain comparatively useless - be unhappy - and die a bankrupt in soul.
Talent for talent's sake is a bauble and a show. Talent working with joy in the cause of universal truth lifts the possessor to new power as a benefactor.
Genius discovers a system; average talent stereotypes it till it is shattered by fresh genius.
Talent is always more interesting - ambition is not interesting. If you have talent, you have to find ways of expressing it, but you may not be a success in the world's terms.
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