An imitative creature is man; whoever is foremost, leads the
herd.
[Ger., Der Mensch ist ein nachahmendes Geschopf.
read more

An imitative creature is man; whoever is foremost, leads the
herd.
[Ger., Der Mensch ist ein nachahmendes Geschopf.
Und wer Vorderste ist, fuhrt die Heerde.]

Imitators are a slavish herd and fools in my opinion.
[Fr., C'est un betail servile et sot a mon read more

Imitators are a slavish herd and fools in my opinion.
[Fr., C'est un betail servile et sot a mon avis
Que les imitateurs.]

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.

To be as good as our fathers we must be better, imitation is not discipleship

To be as good as our fathers we must be better, imitation is not discipleship

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

I would advise him who wishes to imitate well, to look closely
into life and manners, and thereby to read more

I would advise him who wishes to imitate well, to look closely
into life and manners, and thereby to learn to express them with
truth.
[Lat., Respicere exemplar vitae morumque jubebo
Doctum imitatorem, et veras hinc ducere voces.]

Imitation, if noble and general, insures the best hope of originality.

Imitation, if noble and general, insures the best hope of originality.

Posterity weaves no garlands for imitators.

Posterity weaves no garlands for imitators.

I used to make original snowmen, but it was time consuming, hard work. So I said, heck, this is crazy! read more

I used to make original snowmen, but it was time consuming, hard work. So I said, heck, this is crazy! Now I crank out crude imitations of what's already popular! It takes no time or thought, and most people don't care about the difference, anyway! And what good is originality if you can't crank it out?