A short saying often contains much wisdom.

—Sophocles, fifth century BC

I quote others only in order to express myself better.

—Michel de Montaigne, 1595

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.

—William Shakespeare, 1596

The next best thing to being witty oneself, is to be able to quote another’s wit.Footnote 1

—Christian Nestell Bovee, 1862

When reading a scholarly critic, one profits more from his quotations than from his comments.

—W. H. Auden, 1962

That’s the point of quotations, you know: one can use another’s words to be insulting.

—Amanda Cross, 1971

Quotation, n. The act of repeating erroneously the words of another.

—Ambrose Bierce, 1911

Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned.

—Hesketh Pearson, 1934

As many people, so many pronouncements.Footnote 2

—Terence, ~160 BC

Quotation confesses inferiority.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1876

I always have a quotation for everything – it saves original thinking.

—Dorothy L. Sayers, 1932

A witty saying proves nothing.

—Voltaire, 1767