“Plagiarists, at least, have the merit of preservation.”
Isaac D'Israeli (1766–1848) British writer
Of Suppressors and Dilapidators of Manuscripts.
Curiosities of Literature (1791–1834)
Isaac D'Isaeli, Curiosities of Literature, "Of Suppressors and Dilapidators of Manuscripts".
Misattributed, Isaac D'Israeli
“Plagiarists, at least, have the merit of preservation.”
Isaac D'Israeli (1766–1848) British writer
Of Suppressors and Dilapidators of Manuscripts.
Curiosities of Literature (1791–1834)
“A government which cannot be reformed does not merit to be preserved.”
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) British politician and historian
Private notes, quoted in Gertrude Himmelfarb, Lord Acton: A Study in Conscience and Politics (1952), p. 74
Undated
“I do hope, that if I ever do anything, at least to have the merit of not copying anyone.”
Frédéric Bazille (1841–1870) French painter
Quote in Bazille's letter to his father, 1864; as cited in: article: Frédéric Bazille and the Birth of Impressionism, Corrinne Chong, PhD -independent scholar http://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/autumn17/chong-reviews-frederic-bazille-and-the-birth-of-impressionism <br class="br">1861 - 1865
Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) French composer
Ravel to pianist Jean Marnold about Le Gibet from Gaspard de la Nuit
“There is endless merit in a man's knowing when to have done.”
Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher
Dr. Francia (1845).
1820s, Critical and Miscellaneous Essays (1827–1855)
“To have merit to abstain from a fault, is a manner to be guilty.”
Marguerite Yourcenar (1903–1987) French writer
Avoir du mérite à s'abstenir d'une faute, c'est une façon d'être coupable.
Alexis (1929)
Jean Henri Fabre (1823–1915) French entomologist and author
Writing about the horns of Onthophagus, in 'The Onthophagi'