Epigram: 1.A vividly expressed truth that is so, or not, as the case may be. 2.A dash of wit and a jigger of wisdom, flavored with surprise. – Elbert Hubbard, The Roycroft Dictionary Concocted by Ali Baba and the Bunch on R

We prefer to think that the absence of inverted commas guarantees the originality of a thought, whereas it may be merely that the utterer has forgotten its source. – Clifton Fadiman, The American Treasury, 1455-1955, 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