"First of all, a natural talent is required; for, when Nature
opposes, everything else is in vain; but when Nature leads the way to what is most excellent, instruction in the art takes place,"
". . . the student must try to appropriate to himself by reflection, becoming
an early pupil in a place well adapted for instruction.
"He must also bring to the task a love of labor and perseverance, so that the instruction taking root may bring forth proper and abundant fruits."
Hippocrates, Laws, Part Two; p. 1.
"Instruction . . . is like the culture of the productions of the earth. For our natural disposition is, as it were, the soil; the tenets of our teacher are, as it were, the seed; instruction in youth is like the planting of the seed in the ground at the proper season;
"the place where the instruction is communicated is like the food imparted to vegetables by the atmosphere;
"diligent study is like the cultivation of the fields; and it is time which imparts strength to all things and brings them to maturity."
Hippocrates, Laws, part 3.
