Originality

When people have praised or celebrated my books, I have often quipped that I doubt I have ever had an original thought! That is not just wit or modesty. I mean it. Who do I think I am to imagine that I ever came up with some thought that no one else in history has ever thought long before me? I know better. And then I saw this delightful quote from Voltaire… the nom de plume for Francois-Marie Arouet.

“Originality is nothing but judicious imitation.”

— M. de Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet) (1694 – 1778)
French Enlightenment writer, noted for criticism of slavery and advocacy of freedom of speech and religion