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.

A mere copier of nature can never produce anything great.

A mere copier of nature can never produce anything great.

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.

You've gotta be original, because if you're like someone else, what do they need you for?

You've gotta be original, because if you're like someone else, what do they need you for?

I invent nothing. I rediscover.

I invent nothing. I rediscover.

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.

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.

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.