--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni…" description: "\"“Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni subsidium - Diligence is a very great help even to a mediocre intelligence.”\" — Seneca" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/seneca-956_intelligence_diligentia-maximum-etiam-mediocris-ingen_1086791.jpg" --- # Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni subsidium… ![“Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni subsidium - Diligence is a very great help even to a mediocre intelligence.” quote by Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/seneca-956_intelligence_diligentia-maximum-etiam-mediocris-ingen_1086791.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/seneca-956_intelligence_diligentia-maximum-etiam-mediocris-ingen_1086791.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/seneca-956_intelligence_diligentia-maximum-etiam-mediocris-ingen_1086791.jpg) > ““Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni subsidium - Diligence is a very great help even to a mediocre intelligence.”” [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Diligence greatly aids even a mediocre mind; effort compensates for limited natural ability. **In simple terms:** Hard work helps even average intelligence. Key Takeaway Apply diligent effort to boost capabilities. Themes self‑improvement effort intelligence Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - studying - skill acquisition - career growth - creative projects Key Concepts virtue ethics personal development Questions to Reflect On - What areas benefit most from diligent practice? - Can effort overcome innate limitations? A Different Perspective Diligence alone cannot replace talent in all fields. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diligence/) [Diligence Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diligence-great-2788387/) [Diligentia Maximum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diligentia-maximum-2788389/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Mediocre Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocre-intelligence-2538272/) [Subsidium Diligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subsidium-diligence-2788388/) ## Related quotes > [Diligence is a very great help even to a mediocre intelligence. -Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni subsidium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/diligence-is-a-very-great-help-even-to-a-mediocre-intelligence/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Diligence is a great teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/diligence-is-a-great-teacher/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [“His eyes had something dull about them, expressionless, the bored look of a mediocre intelligence that wrongly supposes it has “seen it all before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-koch/his-eyes-had-something-dull-about-them-expressionless-the-bored-look/) [Herman Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-koch/) > [“mediocre amount of intelligence is sometimes most dangerous. It does not take one far enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/mediocre-amount-of-intelligence-is-sometimes-most-dangerous-it-does/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [The easiest and quickest path into the esteem of traditional military authorities is by the appeal to the eye, rather than to the mind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/the-easiest-and-quickest-path-into-the-esteem-of-traditional-military/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [“The time will come when diligent research over long periods will bring to light things which now lie hidden. A single lifetime, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/the-time-will-come-when-diligent-research-over-long-periods-will/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [LAOCOON, n. A famous piece of antique scripture representing a priest of that name and his two sons in the folds of two enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/laocoon-n-a-famous-piece-of-antique-scripture-representing-a-priest/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [In the corporate world, if you have analysts, due diligence, and no horse sense, you've just described hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/in-the-corporate-world-if-you-have-analysts-due-diligence-and-no/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Diligence, above all, is the mother of good luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/diligence-above-all-is-the-mother-of-good-luck/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [We study health, and we deliberate upon our meats and drink and air and exercises, and we hew and we polish every stone that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/we-study-health-and-we-deliberate-upon-our-meats-and-drink-and-air/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [“Diligence does not work if there is a lack of innate talent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/diligence-does-not-work-if-there-is-a-lack-of-innate-talent/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [Watch yourself with all diligence, lest the enemy steals near and robs you, depriving you of this great treasure, which is inner peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorenzo-scupoli/watch-yourself-with-all-diligence-lest-the-enemy-steals-near-and-robs/) [Lorenzo Scupoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorenzo-scupoli/) > [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. And when she got into music, she had that same diligence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/she-spent-hours-drawing-on-her-own-trying-to-perfect-her-craft-and/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [“Anytime I see a rainbow, what comes into my mind is how skillful and talented someone was to create an ark that didn't leak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/anytime-i-see-a-rainbow-what-comes-into-my-mind-is-how-skillful-and/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) ## More by Seneca > [“You should, I need hardly say, live in such a way that there is nothing which you could not as easily tell your enemy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/you-should-i-need-hardly-say-live-in-such-a-way-that-there-is-nothing/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“The difficulty comes from our lack of confidence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/the-difficulty-comes-from-our-lack-of-confidence/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [Fate leads the willing and drags along the unwilling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/fate-leads-the-willing-and-drags-along-the-unwilling/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“the wise man is self-sufficient, that he can do without friends, not that he desires to do without them. When I say "can," I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/the-wise-man-is-self-sufficient-that-he-can-do-without-friends-not/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“This, I say, is the highest duty and the highest proof of wisdom, – that deed and word should be in accord, that”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/this-i-say-is-the-highest-duty-and-the-highest-proof-of-wisdom-that/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“But both courses are to be avoided; you should not copy the bad simply because they are many, nor should you hate the many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/but-both-courses-are-to-be-avoided-you-should-not-copy-the-bad-simply/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“Virtue alone affords everlasting and peace-giving joy; even if some obstacle arise, it is but like an intervening cloud, which floats beneath the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/virtue-alone-affords-everlasting-and-peace-giving-joy-even-if-some/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“I’ve come across people who say that there is a sort of inborn restlessness in the human spirit and an urge to change one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/i-ve-come-across-people-who-say-that-there-is-a-sort-of-inborn/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“Withdraw into yourself, as far as you can. Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/withdraw-into-yourself-as-far-as-you-can-associate-with-those-who/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [Economy is too late at the bottom of the purse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/economy-is-too-late-at-the-bottom-of-the-purse/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“On Epicurus; He says: "Contended poverty is an honourable estate." Indeed, if it is contented, it is not poverty at all. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/on-epicurus-he-says-contended-poverty-is-an-honourable-estate-indeed/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“...certain people have good, ordinary blood and others have an animated, lively sort of blood that comes to the face quickly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/certain-people-have-good-ordinary-blood-and-others-have-an-animated/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“we perish because we follow other men's examples: we should be cured of this if we were to disengage ourselves from the herd;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/we-perish-because-we-follow-other-men-s-examples-we-should-be-cured/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“they Whatever can make life truly happy is absolutely good in its own right because it cannot be warped into evil From whence then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/they-whatever-can-make-life-truly-happy-is-absolutely-good-in-its-own/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“And when the soul has yielded to pleasure, its functions and actions grow weak, and any undertaking comes from a nerveless and unsteady source.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/and-when-the-soul-has-yielded-to-pleasure-its-functions-and-actions/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) [Explore all 286 Seneca quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) ## More Diligence quotes > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [“Anytime I see a rainbow, what comes into my mind is how skillful and talented someone was to create an ark that didn't leak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/anytime-i-see-a-rainbow-what-comes-into-my-mind-is-how-skillful-and/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. And when she got into music, she had that same diligence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/she-spent-hours-drawing-on-her-own-trying-to-perfect-her-craft-and/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [Watch yourself with all diligence, lest the enemy steals near and robs you, depriving you of this great treasure, which is inner peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorenzo-scupoli/watch-yourself-with-all-diligence-lest-the-enemy-steals-near-and-robs/) [Lorenzo Scupoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorenzo-scupoli/) > [“Diligence does not work if there is a lack of innate talent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/diligence-does-not-work-if-there-is-a-lack-of-innate-talent/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [We study health, and we deliberate upon our meats and drink and air and exercises, and we hew and we polish every stone that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/we-study-health-and-we-deliberate-upon-our-meats-and-drink-and-air/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Diligence, above all, is the mother of good luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/diligence-above-all-is-the-mother-of-good-luck/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [In the corporate world, if you have analysts, due diligence, and no horse sense, you've just described hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/in-the-corporate-world-if-you-have-analysts-due-diligence-and-no/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [LAOCOON, n. A famous piece of antique scripture representing a priest of that name and his two sons in the folds of two enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/laocoon-n-a-famous-piece-of-antique-scripture-representing-a-priest/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [That which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in. and the best of me is diligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/that-which-ordinary-men-are-fit-for-i-am-qualified-in-and-the-best-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [ If he \[Thomas Edison\] had a needle to find in a haystack, he would not stop to reason where it was most likely to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/if-he-thomas-edison-had-a-needle-to-find-in-a-haystack-he-would-not/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Building our homes as fortresses of righteousness for protection from the world takes constant labor and diligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/building-our-homes-as-fortresses-of-righteousness-for-protection-from/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [People underestimate the importance of dilligence as a virtue. No doubt it has something to do with how supremely mundane it seems. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/people-underestimate-the-importance-of-dilligence-as-a-virtue-no/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [What the world needs is not dogma but an attitude of scientific inquiry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/what-the-world-needs-is-not-dogma-but-an-attitude-of-scientific/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Go out of the house to see the moon, and 't is mere tinsel; it will not please as when its light shines upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/go-out-of-the-house-to-see-the-moon-and-t-is-mere-tinsel-it-will-not/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Browse all 360 Diligence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diligence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni subsidium - Diligence is a very great help even to a mediocre intelligence.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seneca" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/diligentia-maximum-etiam-mediocris-ingeni-subsidium-diligence-is-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Diligence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/diligentia-maximum-etiam-mediocris-ingeni-subsidium-diligence-is-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/seneca-956_intelligence_diligentia-maximum-etiam-mediocris-ingen_1086791.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/seneca-956_intelligence_diligentia-maximum-etiam-mediocris-ingen_1086791.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/seneca-956_intelligence_diligentia-maximum-etiam-mediocris-ingen_1086791.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni subsidium - Diligence is a very great help even to a mediocre…” — Seneca", "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": "Seneca", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni subsidium...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/diligentia-maximum-etiam-mediocris-ingeni-subsidium-diligence-is-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/diligentia-maximum-etiam-mediocris-ingeni-subsidium-diligence-is-a/#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 } } ] } ```