“The original writer is not he who refrains from imitating others, but he who can be imitated by none.”

— François-René de Chateaubriand

L’écrivain original n’est pas celui qui n’imite personne, mais celui que personne ne peut imiter.
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (1979) 3rd edition
Variant translations:
The original style is not the style which never borrows of any one, but that which no other person is capable of reproducing.
As translated by Charles I. White (1856) Part 2, Book 1, Chapter 3
An original writer is not one who imitates nobody, but one whom nobody can imitate.
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (1980) 15th edition.
Le génie du Christianisme (1802)

Original

L’écrivain original n’est pas celui qui n’imite personne, mais celui que personne ne peut imiter.

Le génie du Christianisme (1802)

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

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François-René de Chateaubriand 28

French writer, politician, diplomat and historian 1768–1848

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“The original writer is not he who refrains from imitating others, but he who can be imitated by none.”

Original

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François-René de Chateaubriand 28

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