“Some people possess talent, others are possessed by it. When that happens, a talent becomes a curse.”
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Rod Serling41
American screenwriter 1924–1975Related quotes
“Knowing that you possess a talent is half the battle in mastering it.”
Lin Carter (1930–1988) American fantasy writer, editor, critic
Source: Time War (1974), Chapter 12, “The Metal Brain” (p. 128)
“Insult not another for his want of a talent you possess: He may have others which you want.”
James Burgh (1714–1775) British politician
The Dignity of Human Nature (1754)
Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist
upon being told he had a good head for business, p. 378
Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1 (2010)
“He possessed a peculiar talent of producing effect in whatever he said or did.”
Book II, 80
Histories (100-110)
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–1799) German scientist, satirist
D 70
Aphorisms (1765-1799), Notebook D (1773-1775)
Henry Van Dyke (1852–1933) American diplomat
The following information is from the following site: http://pt.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talento , the fourth entry, which gives the citation as (( Henry van Dyke quoted in "Handicapped Individuals Services and Training Act: hearing before the Subcommittee on Select Education of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session, on HR 6820 … hearing held in St. Paul, Minn., and Loretto, Minn. on September 2, 1982. "-. 223 Page, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Education and Labor. Subcommittee on Select Education - USGPO, 1982 - 257 pages )) <br class="br">Quoted by Tor Dahl in the document cited https://hdl.handle.net/2027/pur1.32754076335276?urlappend=%3Bseq=229. <br class="br">A very similar quote appears in an essay entitled "Do What You Can" by "Little Home Body" in the The Phrenological Journal and Life Illustrated, Volumes 62-63 (August 1876): "The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there but those that sang best" but states "I know not who said those beautiful words" <br class="br">However, the quote may have been misattributed to Henry Van Dyke. In "The Two Vocations or the sisters of mercy at home" by Elizabeth Charles (1858) p.34 the following appears: "'Dear Jean', she said,'the woods would be very silent if no bird sang but those that sing best' " <br class="br">Attributed
Joseph Addison (1672–1719) politician, writer and playwright
No. 231 (24 November 1711).
The Spectator (1711–1714)