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.

Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known.

Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known.

Originality is simply a pair of fresh eyes.

Originality is simply a pair of fresh eyes.

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 merit of originality is not novelty; it is sincerity. The believing man is the original man; whatsoever he believes, read more

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.

No bird has ever uttered note That was not in some first bird's throat; Since Eden's freshness and man's read more

No bird has ever uttered note That was not in some first bird's throat; Since Eden's freshness and man's fall No rose has been original.

I invent nothing. I rediscover.

I invent nothing. I rediscover.

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.

Many a man fails as an original thinker simply because his memory is too good.

Many a man fails as an original thinker simply because his memory is too good.