אַרְבַּע מִדּוֹת בַּתַּלְמִידִים. מַהֵר לִשְׁמֹעַ וּמַהֵר לְאַבֵּד, יָצָא שְׂכָרוֹ בְהֶפְסֵדוֹ. קָשֶׁה לִשְׁמֹעַ וְקָשֶׁה לְאַבֵּד, יָצָא הֶפְסֵדוֹ בִשְׂכָרוֹ. מַהֵר לִשְׁמֹעַ וְקָשֶׁה לְאַבֵּד, חָכָם. קָשֶׁה לִשְׁמֹעַ וּמַהֵר לְאַבֵּד, זֶה חֵלֶק רָע:
There are four middoth (types) of disciples: quick to understand and quick to forget — his gain is negated by his loss. [For since he forgets what he learns, what good is his quick understanding? — wherefore his loss is greater than his gain.]; understanding with difficulty and forgetting with difficulty — his loss is negated by his gain, [since what he understands in spite of his difficulty remains with him. A practical application. If there are two disciples before us and we can provide tuition only for one, the forgetter with difficulty takes precedence over the quick to understand.]; quick to understand and forgetting with difficulty — a wise (disciple);. Understanding with difficulty and quick to forget — this is "a bad portion." [It is not possible to say here "chasid" or wicked, for this does not depend upon a man's free choice, but is something that he is born with.]
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