Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed from one another. The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbors, kindle it at home, communicate it to others and it becomes the property of us all.
Imitation Quotes
Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different.
There is only one kind of love, but there are one thousand imitations.
Blessed is he who has learned to admire but not envy, to follow but not imitate, to praise but not flatter, and to lead but not manipulate.
Every man is a borrower and a mimic; life is theatrical and literature a quotation.
The only good imitations are those that poke fun at bad originals.
Any style formed in imitation of some model must be affected and straight-laced.
Insist on yourself; never imitate.
To do just the opposite is also a form of imitation.
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.
