--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent…" description: "\"“Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent (How often the greatest talents are shrouded in obscurity)”\" — Plautus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/plautus-1263_obscurity_ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent_184495.jpg" --- # Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent (How often the… ![“Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent (How often the greatest talents are shrouded in obscurity)” quote by Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/plautus-1263_obscurity_ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent_184495.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/plautus-1263_obscurity_ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent_184495.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/plautus-1263_obscurity_ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent_184495.jpg) > ““Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent (How often the greatest talents are shrouded in obscurity)”” [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great talent often remains hidden, unnoticed, or unappreciated in obscurity. **In simple terms:** Brilliance can be concealed. Key Takeaway Seek and nurture hidden talents. Themes talent obscurity recognition Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - workplace - artistic communities - scientific research Key Concepts psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What hidden abilities do you possess? - How can you create spaces for unseen talent? A Different Perspective Society may overlook unconventional brilliance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Obscurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurity/) [Talents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talents/) ## Related quotes > [When (an advocate) is not thoroughly acquainted with the real strength and weakness of his cause, he knows not where to choose the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/when-an-advocate-is-not-thoroughly-acquainted-with-the-real-strength/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [How often we see the greatest genius buried in obscurity!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/how-often-we-see-the-greatest-genius-buried-in-obscurity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [How often the highest talent lurks in obscurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/how-often-the-highest-talent-lurks-in-obscurity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [The greatest talents often lie buried out of sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/the-greatest-talents-often-lie-buried-out-of-sight/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [I thought that my voyage had come to its end at the last limit of my power, that the path before me was closed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/i-thought-that-my-voyage-had-come-to-its-end-at-the-last-limit-of-my/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [What is popular is not necessarily vulgar; and that which we try to rescue from fatal obscurity had in general much better remain where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/what-is-popular-is-not-necessarily-vulgar-and-that-which-we-try-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [You have to demand things and believe you're worth more. And once you do demand them, you're usually going to get them. The players…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-wicks/you-have-to-demand-things-and-believe-you-re-worth-more-and-once-you/) [Sue Wicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-wicks/) > [Those who know that they are profound strive for clarity. Those who would like to seem profound to the crowd strive for obscurity. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/those-who-know-that-they-are-profound-strive-for-clarity-those-who/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [In the still of the night I can hear my thoughts and dance into obscurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sparks/in-the-still-of-the-night-i-can-hear-my-thoughts-and-dance-into/) Kevin Sparks > [If we were not in Vietnam, all that part of the world would be enjoying the obscurity it so richly deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/if-we-were-not-in-vietnam-all-that-part-of-the-world-would-be/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [One of the only coherent philosophical positions is thus revolt. It is a constant confrontation between man and his own obscurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/one-of-the-only-coherent-philosophical-positions-is-thus-revolt-it-is/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Full many a flower is born to blush unseen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/full-many-a-flower-is-born-to-blush-unseen/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [If I am ever obscure in my expressions, do not fancy that therefore I am deep. If I were really deep, all the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/if-i-am-ever-obscure-in-my-expressions-do-not-fancy-that-therefore-i/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/so-true-is-it-that-all-transactions-of-preeminent-importance-are/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## More by Plautus > [Remind a man of what he remembers, and you will make him forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/remind-a-man-of-what-he-remembers-and-you-will-make-him-forget-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Arrogance is the outgrowth of prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/arrogance-is-the-outgrowth-of-prosperity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [I suspect that hunger was my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/i-suspect-that-hunger-was-my-mother/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [He is happy in his wisdom who has learned at another's expense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/he-is-happy-in-his-wisdom-who-has-learned-at-another-s-expense/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [He who dies for virtue does not perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/he-who-dies-for-virtue-does-not-perish/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [The man who would be fully employed should procure a ship or a woman, for no two things produce more trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/the-man-who-would-be-fully-employed-should-procure-a-ship-or-a-woman/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [If you speak insults you will hear them also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/if-you-speak-insults-you-will-hear-them-also/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [ No man has perpetual good fortune. \[Lat., Nulli est homini perpetuum bonum.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/no-man-has-perpetual-good-fortune-lat-nulli-est-homini-perpetuum-bonum/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [What you lend is lost; when you ask for it back, you may find a friend made an enemy by your kindness. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/what-you-lend-is-lost-when-you-ask-for-it-back-you-may-find-a-friend/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Things unhoped for happen oftener than things we desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/things-unhoped-for-happen-oftener-than-things-we-desire/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [ You little know what a ticklish thing it is to go to law. \[Lat., Nescis tu quam meticulosa res sit ire ad judicem.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/you-little-know-what-a-ticklish-thing-it-is-to-go-to-law-lat-nescis/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Modesty should accompany youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/modesty-should-accompany-youth/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [It is wisdom to think upon anything before we execute it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/it-is-wisdom-to-think-upon-anything-before-we-execute-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [A woman smells well when she smells of nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/a-woman-smells-well-when-she-smells-of-nothing/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [No guest is so welcome in a friend's house that he will not become a nuisance after three days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/no-guest-is-so-welcome-in-a-friend-s-house-that-he-will-not-become-a/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) [Explore all 259 Plautus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) ## More Obscurity quotes > [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/so-true-is-it-that-all-transactions-of-preeminent-importance-are/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [If I am ever obscure in my expressions, do not fancy that therefore I am deep. If I were really deep, all the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/if-i-am-ever-obscure-in-my-expressions-do-not-fancy-that-therefore-i/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Full many a flower is born to blush unseen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/full-many-a-flower-is-born-to-blush-unseen/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [One of the only coherent philosophical positions is thus revolt. It is a constant confrontation between man and his own obscurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/one-of-the-only-coherent-philosophical-positions-is-thus-revolt-it-is/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [If we were not in Vietnam, all that part of the world would be enjoying the obscurity it so richly deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/if-we-were-not-in-vietnam-all-that-part-of-the-world-would-be/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [In the still of the night I can hear my thoughts and dance into obscurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sparks/in-the-still-of-the-night-i-can-hear-my-thoughts-and-dance-into/) Kevin Sparks > [Those who know that they are profound strive for clarity. Those who would like to seem profound to the crowd strive for obscurity. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/those-who-know-that-they-are-profound-strive-for-clarity-those-who/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [You have to demand things and believe you're worth more. And once you do demand them, you're usually going to get them. The players…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-wicks/you-have-to-demand-things-and-believe-you-re-worth-more-and-once-you/) [Sue Wicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-wicks/) > [What is popular is not necessarily vulgar; and that which we try to rescue from fatal obscurity had in general much better remain where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/what-is-popular-is-not-necessarily-vulgar-and-that-which-we-try-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [I thought that my voyage had come to its end at the last limit of my power, that the path before me was closed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/i-thought-that-my-voyage-had-come-to-its-end-at-the-last-limit-of-my/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Believing is a fine thing, but placing those beliefs into execution is a test of strength. Many are those who talk like the roar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/believing-is-a-fine-thing-but-placing-those-beliefs-into-execution-is/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [In case I conk out, this is provisionally what I have to do: I must clarify obscurities; I must make clearer definite ideas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/in-case-i-conk-out-this-is-provisionally-what-i-have-to-do-i-must/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I was discovered out of nowhere. I didn't have family that was in the industry. I didn't know anyone in L.A.; I didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-mckee/i-was-discovered-out-of-nowhere-i-didn-t-have-family-that-was-in-the/) [Bonnie McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-mckee/) > [The public easily confuses him who fishes in troubled waters with him who draws up water from the depths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-public-easily-confuses-him-who-fishes-in-troubled-waters-with-him/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Browse all 359 Obscurity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent (How often the greatest talents are shrouded in obscurity)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Plautus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent-how-often-the-greatest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Obscurity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent-how-often-the-greatest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/plautus-1263_obscurity_ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent_184495.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/plautus-1263_obscurity_ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent_184495.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/plautus-1263_obscurity_ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent_184495.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto latent (How often the greatest talents are shrouded in obscurity)” — Plautus", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Plautus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Ut saepe summa ingenia in occulto...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent-how-often-the-greatest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/ut-saepe-summa-ingenia-in-occulto-latent-how-often-the-greatest/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```