“Next to the originator of a good sentence is the first quoter of it.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Letters and Social Aims, Quotation and Originality
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Next to the originator of a good sentence is the first quoter of it." by Ralph Waldo Emerson?

Ralph Waldo Emerson 727

American philosopher, essayist, and poet 1803–1882

Related quotes

“Of the first importance are the people, next comes the good of land and grains, and of the least importance is the ruler.”

Mencius (-372–-289 BC) Chinese philosopher

7B:14. Variant translation: The people are the most important ... and the ruler is the least important.

The people are the most important element in a nation; the spirits of the land and grain come next; the sovereign counts for the least. note: Most precious are the people; next come the spirits of land and grain; and last, the princes. note: The people are the most important ... and the ruler is the least important.
The Mencius

“What's so hard about that first sentence is that you're stuck with it. Everything else is going to flow out of that sentence. And by the time you've laid down the first two sentences, your options are all gone.”

Joan Didion (1934) American writer

“Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good.”

Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) English writer

"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."
“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
Misattributed

“Sentence first; verdict afterwards." -Queen of Hearts”

Lewis Carroll (1832–1898) English writer, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer

“"Neither this world, nor the next, nor happiness are for the being abandoned to doubt." - This point in the Gita is my death sentence.”

Emil M. Cioran (1911–1995) Romanian philosopher and essayist

Drawn and Quartered (1983)

“A good sentence is a key. It unlocks the mind of the reader.”

Eric Hoffer (1898–1983) American philosopher

Entry (1962)
Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

“The thing done avails, and not what is said about it. An original sentence, a step forward, is worth more than all the censures.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet

" First Visit to England http://www.emersoncentral.com/first_visit_england.htm" in English Traits http://www.emersoncentral.com/english.htm (1856)

“First things first. Get the facts, then decide what to do next. And hope that there is a next.”

Genevieve Cogman (1972) novelist and game designer

Source: The Mortal Word (2018), Chapter 2 (p. 33)

“I begin with writing the first
sentence—and trusting to Almighty
God for the second.”

Laurence Sterne book The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

Source: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

“Take care for this, don't start with the sentiment first, [because] that's where a piece of art is ending with - but the good start is drawing good and right. (translation from original Dutch, Fons Heijnsbroek, 2018)”

Anton Mauve (1838–1888) Dutch painter (1838–1888)

(version in original Dutch / origineel citaat van Anton Mauve, uit zijn brief:) denk daar goed om, niet eerst het sentiment, daar eindigt een kunststuk mede, maar goed en juist teekenen is het goede begin.
In a letter of Anton Mauve to his student , from Laren 1885; as cited in Anton Mauve, (exhibition catalog of Teylers Museum, Haarlem / Laren, Singer), ed. De Bodt en Plomp, 2009, p. 120
1880's

“Next to the originator of a good sentence is the first quoter of it.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Ralph Waldo Emerson 727

Related quotes

Related topics