Moderation is the inseparable companion of wisdom, but with it genius has not even a nodding acquaintance.

Two different goods are being pulled apart. Wisdom tends toward balance, proportion and the middle path, while work that breaks new ground usually comes from somebody who went too far in one direction and declined to come back. A person can be sensible or can be extraordinary at one narrow thing, and the same temperament rarely produces both.

Decide honestly which you are after in a given area, since trying for both at once tends to produce neither. A balanced life is a real goal and so is an unbalanced excellence in one place. Most people reach the second only by accepting the cost somewhere else.