Freeman Dyson (1923) theoretical physicist and mathematician
Pt. 1, Ch. 10
Disturbing the Universe (1979)
"Many people believe Samuel Johnson said it, but no one seems to have found it anywhere in his works or letters, or, for that matter any of the biographies of him by his contemporaries. I'm basing that on what's been included in Primary Source Media's CD-ROM of Johnson and Boswell. The CD-ROM includes all of Johnson's writings in the canon, Boswell's Life of Johnson and Tour of the Hebrides, as well as accounts from Hester Thrale, Sir John Hawkins, Fanny Burney, plus O.M. Brack's 'Early Biographies.' In short, practically nothing from the 18th Century has been left out. In addition, I've also consulted 'The Beauties of Johnson,' an 18th Century collection of Johnson quotations." <br class="br"> “Your manuscript is both good and original. …” http://www.samueljohnson.com/goodorig.html at The Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page http://www.samueljohnson.com/ Retrieved 2013-07-07 <br class="br">Misattributed
Freeman Dyson (1923) theoretical physicist and mathematician
Pt. 1, Ch. 10
Disturbing the Universe (1979)
“A poor original is better than a good imitation.”
Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American author and poet
“Next to the originator of a good sentence is the first quoter of it.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
Letters and Social Aims, Quotation and Originality
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
“Don't try to be original; just try to be good.”
Paul Rand (1914–1996) American graphic designer
Clive James (1939–2019) Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet, translator and memoirist
'Two Essays on Theodore Roethke'
Essays and reviews, As Of This Writing (2003)
Peter Sloterdijk (1947) German philosopher
Source: Kritik der zynischen Vernunft [Critique of Cynical Reason] (1983), p. 56
“Inspiration: A miasma originating in the head that pollutes the body and irritates good sense.”
Peter Greenaway (1942) British film director
Rosa: The Death of a Composer
“Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality.”
Beatrix Potter (1866–1943) English children's writer and illustrator