Versatility is one of the few human traits which are universally intolerable. You may be good at Greek and good at painting and be popular. You may be good at Greek and good at sport, and be wildly popular. But try all three and you're a mountebank. Nothing arouses suspicion quicker than genuine, all-round proficiency.

The Game Of Kings: The Lymond Chronicles (ed. Penguin UK, 1999) - ISBN: 9780141949277