The skilful teacher will make it his first care,
as soon as a boy is entrusted to him, to ascertain his
ability and character. The surest indication in
a child is his power of memory. The characteristics of a good memory are twofold: it must be
quick to take in and faithful to retain impressions
of what it receives. The indication of next importance is the power of imitation: for this is a
sign that the child is teachable: but he must imitate
merely what he is taught, and must not, for
example, mimic someone's gait or bearing or defects.
Quintilian. With an English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1920.
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