Aphorisms are essentially an aristocratic genre of writing. The aphorist does not argue or explain, he asserts; and implicit in his assertion is a conviction that he is wiser and more intelligent than his readers. – W. H. Auden

As by some might be saide of me: that here I have but gathered a nosegay of strange floures, and have put nothing of mine unto it, but the thred to binde them. Certes, I have given unto publike opinion, that these borrowed ornaments accompany me; but I meane not they should cover or hide me… – Michel de Montaigne, “Of Phisiognomy,” translated by John Florio; commonly moder

Well, a lot of people go to Shakespeare to recognize the quotations. – James Aswell, 1936 [Popularized in 1949 by Evan Esar as “Now we sit through Shak

Quotologists encounter happy surprises, bright books by faded authors, treasures hidden under dust. – Willis Goth Regier, Quotology, 2010