A fine quotation is a diamond in the hand of a man of wit and a pebble in the hand read more

A fine quotation is a diamond in the hand of a man of wit and a pebble in the hand of a fool.

With all deference to Chairman Mao and other authors whose quotations derive from longer works, it seemed that I was read more

With all deference to Chairman Mao and other authors whose quotations derive from longer works, it seemed that I was becoming the world's first writer of self-contained ready-made quotations

The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages is preserved into perpetuity by a nation's proverbs, fables, read more

The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages is preserved into perpetuity by a nation's proverbs, fables, folk sayings and quotations.

Every man is a borrower and a mimic, life is theatrical and literature a quotation

Every man is a borrower and a mimic, life is theatrical and literature a quotation

Proverbs often contradict one another, as any reader soon discovers. The sagacity that advises us to look before we leap read more

Proverbs often contradict one another, as any reader soon discovers. The sagacity that advises us to look before we leap promptly warns us that if we hesitate we are lost; that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but out of sight, out of mind.

Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world.

Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world.

A quotation in a speech, article or book is like a rifle in the hands of an infantryman. It speaks read more

A quotation in a speech, article or book is like a rifle in the hands of an infantryman. It speaks with authority.

I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by read more

I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognizably wiser than oneself.

The superior man acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity and many deeds of the past, in order to strengthen read more

The superior man acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity and many deeds of the past, in order to strengthen his character thereby.