20+ Hugh Blair Quotes On Education, Slavery And Rhetoric

Hugh Blair was a Scottish theologian who was born in 1718. He was a professor of rhetoric and belles-lettres at the University of Edinburgh, and was a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment. He is best known for his works on rhetoric, sermons, and his edition of The Works of the English Poets. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Hugh Blair on education, love, leadership.

Exercise is the chief source of improvement in our faculties. — Hugh Blair

Gentleness corrects whatever is offensive in our manner. — Hugh Blair

The great standard of literature as to purity and exactness of style is the Bible. — Hugh Blair

It is pride which fills the world with so much harshness and severity. We are rigorous to offenses as if we had never offended. — Hugh Blair

What ever purifies the heart also fortifies it. — Hugh Blair

Human ability is an unequal match for the violent and unforeseen vicissitudes of the world. — Hugh Blair

Those who are learning to compose and arrange their sentences with accuracy and order are learning, at the same time, to think with accuracy and order. — Hugh Blair

Nothing leads more directly to the breach of charity, and to the injury and molestation of our fellow-creatures, than the indulgence of an ill temper. — Hugh Blair

To exult over the miseries of an unhappy creature is inhuman. — Hugh Blair

Taste consists in the power of judging; genius in the power of executing. — Hugh Blair

Worry not about the possible troubles of the future; for if they come, you are but anticipating and adding to their weight; and if they do not come, your worry is useless; and in either case it is weak and in vain, and a distrust of God's providence. — Hugh Blair

Fretfulness of temper will generally characterize those who are negligent of order. — Hugh Blair

Nothing, except what flows from the heart, can render even external manners truly pleasing. — Hugh Blair

In the eye of that Supreme Being to whom our whole internal frame is uncovered, dispositions hold the place of actions. — Hugh Blair

We ought never to sport with pain and distress in any of our amusements, or treat even the meanest insect with wanton cruelty. — Hugh Blair

If you delay till to-morrow what ought to be done to-day, you overcharge the morrow with a burden which belongs not to it. You load the wheels of time, and prevent it from carrying you along smoothly. He who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows out the plan, carries on a thread which will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life. The orderly arrangement of his time is like a ray of light which darts itself through all his affairs. But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incidents, all things lie huddled together in one chaos, which admits neither of distribution nor review. — Hugh Blair

Only mediocrity of enjoyment is allowed to man. — Hugh Blair

As the primary end of History is to record truth, impartiality, fidelity and accuracy are the fundamental qualities of an Historian. — Hugh Blair

True gentleness is founded on a sense of what we owe to him who made us and to the common nature which we all share. It arises from reflection on our own failings and wants, and from just views of the condition and duty of man. It is native feeling heightened and improved by principle. — Hugh Blair

The spirit of true religion breathes gentleness and affability; it gives a native, unaffected ease to the behavior; it is social, kind, cheerful; far removed from the cloudy and illiberal disposition which clouds the brow, sharpens the temper, and dejects the spirit. — Hugh Blair

Life Lessons by Hugh Blair

Hugh Blair's work is an important reminder of the power of education and the importance of understanding the complexities of human nature. He emphasized the importance of developing one's own moral compass and of seeking truth through critical thinking. His work also serves as an example of how to use language to communicate complex ideas in an accessible way.