A fine quotation is a diamond on the finger of a man of wit, and a pebble in the hand of a fool. – Joseph Roux (1834–1905), Meditations of a Parish Priest, 1886, translated

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

Many useful and valuable books lie buried in shops and libraries, unknown and unexamined, unless some lucky compiler opens them by chance, and finds an easy spoil of wit and learning. – Samuel Johnson, 1760

The little honesty that exists among authors is discernible in the unconscionable way they misquote from the writings of others. – Arthur Schopenhauer, “On Authorship and Style,” translated from German by Mrs. R