Most of the noted literary men have indulged in the prudent habit of selecting favorite passages for future reference. – Charles F. Schutz, Sayings: Proverbs, Maxims, Mottoes, 1915

In these pages the novelist should be able to find a striking verse to head his chapter, the raconteur add to his bon mots, the man of the world enrich his stock of maxims, the divine obtain some deep thought drawn from the wells of ancient learning. – William Francis Henry King, “Introduction,” Classical and Foreign Quotations, 18

Whoever reads only to transcribe or quote shining remarks without entering into the genius and spirit of the author, will be apt to be misled out of a regular way of thinking, and the product of all this will be found to be a manifest incoherent piece of patchwork. – Attributed to Swift in A Dictionary of Thoughts, Being a Cyclopedia of Laconic Q

The study of proverbs may be more instructive and comprehensive than the most elaborate scheme of philosophy. – Attributed to Motherwell in Pearls of Thought by Maturin M. Ballou, 1882