…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

In these circumstances I think we must take the bull by the horns… and, making due allowances, quote whenever we feel that the allusion is interesting or helpful or amusing. – Clifton Fadiman, c.1955

Proverbs accordingly are somewhat analogous to those medical Formulas which, being in frequent use, are kept ready-made-up in the chemists’ shops, and which often save the framing of a distinct Prescription. – Richard Whately, Elements of Rhetoric