Imitation Quotes

Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another.

Voltaire

Imitation is suicide

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Men nearly always follow the tracks made by others and proceed in their affairs by imitation, even though they cannot entirely keep to the tracks of others or emulate the prowess of their models. So a prudent man should always follow in the footsteps of great men and imitate those who have been outstanding. If his own prowess fails to compare with theirs, at least it has an air of greatness about it. He should behave like those archers who, if they are skilful, when the target seems too distant, know the capabilities of their bow and aim a good deal higher than their objective, not in order to shoot so high but so that by aiming high they can reach the target.

Niccolo Machiavelli

To equal a predecessor, one must have twice they worth.

Baltasar Gracian

Whatever is well said by another, is mine.

Seneca (Seneca the Elder)

Every man is born an original, but sadly, most men die copies.

Abraham Lincoln

An original artist is unable to copy. So he has only to copy in order to be original.

Jean Cocteau

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

Salvador Dali

To do the opposite of something is also a form of imitation, namely an imitation of its opposite.

G. C. (Georg Christoph) Lichtenb

Imitation belittles.

Christian Nevell Bovee

To copy others is necessary, but to copy oneself is pathetic.

Pablo Picasso

When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.

Eric Hoffer

He who never walks except where he sees other men's tracks will make no discoveries.

Source Unknown

One who imitates what is bad always goes beyond his model; while one who imitates what is good always comes up short of it.

Francesco Guicciardini

Imitation is the sincerest form of television.

Fred A. Allen

Don't worry about the war. It's all over but the shooting.

Samuel Goldwyn

Don't worry about the war. It's all over but the shooting.

Samuel Goldwyn

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

Carl Gustav Jung

Man is an idiot. He doesn't know how to do anything without copying, without imitating, without plagiarizing, without aping. It might even have been that man invented generation by coitus after seeing the grasshopper copulate.

Augusto Roa Bastos

To be as good as our fathers we must be better, imitation is not discipleship

Wendell Phillips