“I have seldom known a man cunning with his brush who was not simple with his tongue; or, indeed, any skill in particular that was not allied to general stupidity.”

— Thomas Hardy , book The Hand of Ethelberta

The Hand of Ethelberta (1876), ch. 20

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Thomas Hardy 171

English novelist and poet 1840–1928

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“I have seldom known a man cunning with his brush who was not simple with his tongue; or, indeed, any skill in particular that was not allied to general stupidity.”

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Thomas Hardy 171

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