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

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?

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.]

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

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

Imitation is the most serious form of flattery

Imitation is the most serious form of flattery

Posterity weaves no garlands for imitators.

Posterity weaves no garlands for imitators.

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

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

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.]

He who studies to imitate the poet Pindar, O Julius, relies on
artificial wings fastened on with wax, and read more

He who studies to imitate the poet Pindar, O Julius, relies on
artificial wings fastened on with wax, and is sure to give his
name to a glassy sea.
[Lat., Pindarum quisquis studet aemulari,
Iule ceratis ope Daedalea
Nititur pennis, vitreo daturus
Nomina ponto.]