Otto Weininger Quotes

Talent is a tenant in the house owned by genius.

Talent is a flame. Genius is a fire.

Talent is some one faculty unusually developed; genius commands all the faculties.

... Geniuses have a little extra something. There's that little something that you know is a little different.

You can do something with talent, but nothing with genius.

Talent is that which is in a man's power; genius is that in whose power a man is.

Genius of the highest kind implies an unusual intensity of the modifying power.

There's a stark difference between the words 'prodigy' and 'genius.' Prodigies can very quickly learn what other people have already figured out; geniuses discover that which no one has ever previously discovered. Prodigies learn; geniuses do.

Intellect is a fire; rash and pitiless it melts this wonderful bone-house which is called man. Genius even, as it is the greatestgood, is the greatest harm.

The only term I won't accept is "genius."

Genius is an exceedingly common human quality, probably natural to most of us.

Talent without genius isn't much, but genius without talent is nothing whatsoever.

I regret that I must so continually use the word genius, as if that should apply only to a caste as well defined from those below as income-tax payers are from the untaxed. The word genius was very probably invented by a man who had small claims on it himself; greater men would have understood better what to be a genius really was, and probably they would have come to see that the word could be applied to most people. Goethe said that perhaps only a genius is able to understand a genius.

Genius is a talent only for living, those who possess it have little gift for dying.

Genius is another word for magic.

Talent wears well, genius wears itself out; talent drives a snug brougham in fact; genius, a sun-chariot in fancy.

The thing that most people call 'genius' I do not believe in.

Talent is the ability to say things well, but genius is the ability to, well, say things.

Genius is nothing more than common faculties refined to a greater intensity. There are no astonishing ways of doing astonishing things. All astonishing things are done by ordinary materials.

People of genius do not excel in any profession because they work in it, they work in it because they excel.

Doing easily what others find difficult is talent; doing what is impossible for talent is genius.

Talent is a faculty that is highly developed, but genius commands all the faculties.

Mozart was born Mozart. Charlie Parker was born Charlie Parker.

I know people I feel are extremely talented, but I don't know that I've ever heard any geniuses.

Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together.