All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think read more

All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, till they take root in our personal experience.

The principal mark of genius is not perfection, but originality.

The principal mark of genius is not perfection, but originality.

Originality is simply a pair of fresh eyes.

Originality is simply a pair of fresh eyes.

Original thought is like original sin: both happened before you were born to people you could not have possibly met.

Original thought is like original sin: both happened before you were born to people you could not have possibly met.

Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable.

Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable.

The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.

The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.

All profoundly original work looks ugly at first.

All profoundly original work looks ugly at first.

The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was obviously a poet; the first read more

The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was obviously a poet; the first to repeat it was possibly an idiot.

What a good thing Adam had--when he said a good thing, he knew nobody had said it before.

What a good thing Adam had--when he said a good thing, he knew nobody had said it before.