Hugh Blair
FameRank: 4

"Hugh Blair" FRSE was a Scottish minister of religion, author and rhetorician, considered one of the first great theorists of written discourse.

As a minister of the Church of Scotland, and occupant of the Chair of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres at the University of Edinburgh, Blair's teachings had a great impact in both the spiritual and the secular realms. Best known for Sermons, a five volume endorsement of practical Christian morality, and Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, a prescriptive guide on composition (language)/composition, Blair was a valuable part of the Scottish Enlightenment.

If you enjoy these quotes, be sure to check out other famous theologians! More Hugh Blair on Wikipedia.

Gentleness corrects whatever is offensive in our manner.

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.

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.

What ever purifies the heart also fortifies it.

Only mediocrity of enjoyment is allowed to man.

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