I see nothing in it new and valuable. What is valuable is not new, and what is new is not valuable.
—Daniel Webster (1782–1852) American Statesman, Lawyer
It is almost impossible for any one who reads much, and reflects a, good deal, to be able, on every occasion, to determine whether a thought was another’s or his own.—I have several times quoted sentences out of my own writings, in aid of my own arguments, in conversation, thinking that I was supporting them by some better authority.
—Laurence Sterne (1713–68) Irish Anglican Novelist, Clergyman
In exploring new and doubtful tracts of speculation, the mind strikes out true and original views; as a drop of water hesitates at first what direction it will take, but afterwards follows its own course.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
A great idea is usually original to more than one discoverer. Great ideas come when the world needs them. They surround the world’s ignorance and press for admission.
—Austin Phelps (1820–90) American Presbyterian Clergyman, Educator, Theologian
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.
—Salvador Dali (1904–89) Spanish Painter
The original is unfaithful to the translation.
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) Argentine Writer, Essayist, Poet
Originality is the one thing which unoriginal minds cannot feel the use of… They are more in need of originality, the less they are conscious of the want.
—John Stuart Mill (1806–73) English Philosopher, Economist
A man must consider what a rich realm he abdicates when he becomes a conformist.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Nearly all our originality comes from the stamp that time impresses upon our sensibility.
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–67) French Poet, Art Critic, Essayist, Translator
Don’t worry about your originality. You couldn’t get rid of it even if you wanted to. It will stick with you and show up for better or worse in spite of all you or anyone else can do.
—Robert Henri (1865–1929) American Painter, Teacher
A man of great common sense and good taste—meaning thereby a man without originality or moral courage.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Originality is unexplored territory. You get there by carrying a canoe—you can’t take a taxi.
—Alan Alda (b.1936) American Actor, TV Personality, Screenwriter
I am not made like any of those I have seen. I venture to believe that I am not made like any of those who are in existence. If I am not better, at least I am different.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) Swiss-born French Philosopher
The average man is a conformist, accepting miseries and disasters with the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain.
—Colin Wilson (b.1931) British Philosopher, Novelist
All good things which exist are the fruits of originality.
—John Stuart Mill (1806–73) English Philosopher, Economist
Originality is merely an illusion
—M. C. Escher (1898–1972) Dutch Graphic Artist
A society made up of individuals who were all capable of original thought would probably be unendurable.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.
—Charles Kuralt (1934–97) American Journalist, TV Personality
When there is an original sound in the world, it makes a hundred echoes.
—John Augustus Shedd (1858–1931) American Author
Originality is the art of concealing your source.
—Franklin P. Jones
With the pride of the artist, you must blow against the walls of every power that exists the small trumpet of your defiance.
—Norman Mailer (1923–2007) American Novelist Essayist
It is not easy to be a pioneer—but oh, it is fascinating! I would not trade one moment; even the worst moment, for all the riches in the world.
—Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910) American Physician
Others can give you a name or a number, but they can never tell you who you really are. That is something you yourself can only discover from within.
—Thomas Merton (1915–68) American Trappist Monk
It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.
—Herman Melville (1819–91) American Novelist, Short Story Writer, Essayist, Poet
Everything has been said, and we have come too late, now that men have been living and thinking for seven thousand years and more.
—Jean de La Bruyere (1645–96) French Satiric Moralist, Author
Men of strong minds and who think for themselves, should not be discouraged on finding occasionally that some of their best ideas have been anticipated by former writers; they will neither anathematize others nor despair themselves. They will rather go on discovering things before discovered, until they are rewarded with a land hitherto unknown, an empire indisputably their own, both by right of conquest and of discovery.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
The will to originality is not the will to be peculiar and unlike anybody else; it means the desire to derive one’s consciousness from its primary source.
—Nikolai Berdyaev (1874–1948) Russian Christian Philosopher, Religious Leader
About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment.
—Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw) (1818–85) American Humorist, Author, Lecturer
The merit of originality is not novelty; it is sincerity. The believing man is the original man; whatsoever he believes, he believes it for himself, not for another.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
Originality is nothing but judicious imitation.—The most original writers borrowed one from another. The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbor’s kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
The more intelligent one is, the more men of originality one finds. Ordinary people find no difference between men.
—Blaise Pascal (1623–62) French Mathematician, Physicist, Theologian
Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre minds. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Perhaps our originality manifests itself most strikingly in what we do with that which we did not originate. To discover something wholly new can be a matter of chance, of idle tinkering, or even of the chronic dissatisfaction of the untalented.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
It is a matter of perfect indifference where a thing originated; the only question is: “Is it true in and for itself?”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) German Philosopher
What the world calls originality is only an unaccustomed method of tickling it.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
It’s easier to be original and foolish than original and wise.
—Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) German Rationalist Philosopher, Mathematician
Create your own method. Don’t depend slavishly on mine. Make up something that will work for you! But keep breaking traditions, I beg you.
—Constantin Stanislavski (1863–1938) Russian Actor, Theater Personality
Originality is not seen in single words or even sentences. Originality is the sum total of a man’s thinking or his writing.
—Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902–91) Polish-born American Children’s Books Writer, Novelist, Short Story Writer
He who thinks for himself, and rarely imitates, is a free man.
—Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724–1803) German Poet
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
I am not eccentric. It’s just that I am more alive than most people. I am an unpopular electric eel set in a pond of goldfish.
—Edith Sitwell (1887–1964) British Poet, Literary Critic
We are obliged to regard many of our original minds as crazy at least until we have become as clever as they are.
—Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–99) German Philosopher, Physicist
Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it.
—Laurence J. Peter (1919–90) Canadian-born American Educator, Author
The true is inimitable, the false untransformable.
—Robert Bresson (1907–99) French Film Director
Many a man fails as an original thinker simply because his memory is too good.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking.
—John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) Canadian-Born American Economist
The originality of a subject is in its treatment.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
People are always talking about originality; but what do they mean? As soon as we are born, the world begins to work upon us, and this goes on to the end. What can we call our own except energy, strength, and will? If I could give an account of all that I owe to great predecessors and contemporaries, there would be but a small balance left in my favor.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Nature made us individuals, as she did the flowers and the pebbles; but we are afraid to be peculiar, and so our society resembles a bag of marbles, or a string of mold candles. Why should we all dress after the same fashion? The frost never paints my windows twice alike.
—Lydia Maria Child (1802–80) American Abolitionist, Writer