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

The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit. – Attributed to W. Somerset Maugham

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

…though many a gatherer has carried his basket through these diamond districts of the mind… – William Rounseville Alger, “The Utility and the Futility of Aphorisms,” The Atla