It is my belief that nearly any invented quotation, played with confidence, stands a good chance to deceive. – Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens), Following the Equator: A Journey Around the Worl

Aphorism, n.: A concise, clever statement you don’t think of until too late. – James Alexander Thom

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

One of the great attractions of quotations is that they are rich in ideas which can be tailored to specific purposes. – Robert Irvine Fitzhenry (1918–2008), The Harper Book of Quotations