--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most writers steal a good thing when they…" description: "\"Most writers steal a good thing when they can, and when 'Tis safely got 'Tis worth the winning. The worst of 't is we now and then detect em, they ever..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/bryan-procter-21534_dream_most-writers-steal-a-good-thing-when-the_368293.jpg" --- # Most writers steal a good thing when they can, and when… ![“Most writers steal a good thing when they can, and when 'Tis safely got 'Tis worth the winning. The worst of 't is we now and then detect em, they ever dream that we suspect em.” quote by Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/bryan-procter-21534_dream_most-writers-steal-a-good-thing-when-the_368293.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/bryan-procter-21534_dream_most-writers-steal-a-good-thing-when-the_368293.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/bryan-procter-21534_dream_most-writers-steal-a-good-thing-when-the_368293.jpg) > “Most writers steal a good thing when they can, and when 'Tis safely got 'Tis worth the winning. The worst of 't is we now and then detect em, they ever dream that we suspect em.” [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers often borrow ideas, and when they do it feels justified, but detection of plagiarism can undermine trust. **In simple terms:** Writers copy, sometimes unnoticed, harming credibility. Key Takeaway Avoid copying; credit sources. Themes creativity ethics authorship Mood reflective critical Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - publishing - academic work - media production Key Concepts plagiarism intellectual property Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure originality? - What are the risks of unnoticed copying? A Different Perspective Originality is hard to guarantee in a crowded field. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dream Suspect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream-suspect-3365891/) [Ems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ems/) [Good thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-thing/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Now and then](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now-and-then/) [Plagiarism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plagiarism/) [Steal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steal/) [Steal Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steal-good-656113/) [Stealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stealing/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Suspects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspects/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) [Worth Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth-winning-1866918/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers Steal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-steal-1505492/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [All writers steal from their own lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-meltzer/all-writers-steal-from-their-own-lives/) [Brad Meltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-meltzer/) > [Bad writers have influences. Good writers steal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-m-stirling/bad-writers-have-influences-good-writers-steal/) [S.M. Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-m-stirling/) > [Mediocre writers borrow; great writers steal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/mediocre-writers-borrow-great-writers-steal/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Good writers borrow from other writers. Great writers steal from them outright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/good-writers-borrow-from-other-writers-great-writers-steal-from-them/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [“Steal? How dare you? I don't steal!" "That's good" I went on, smirking at her. "Because, sometimes I kill things in my sleep. Particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/steal-how-dare-you-i-don-t-steal-that-s-good-i-went-on-smirking-at/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [If you're a good composer, you steal good steals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-bernstein/if-you-re-a-good-composer-you-steal-good-steals/) [Leonard Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-bernstein/) > [Never use your own money. Steal a good idea and say it's your own. Do anything to get publicity. Remember that everybody can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/never-use-your-own-money-steal-a-good-idea-and-say-it-s-your-own-do/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [“Go ahead Steal! Steal a good thought. Dec 9, World Anti Corruption Day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vineet-raj-kapoor/go-ahead-steal-steal-a-good-thought-dec-9-world-anti-corruption-day/) [Vineet Raj Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vineet-raj-kapoor/) > [Never hesitate to steal a good idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-neuharth/never-hesitate-to-steal-a-good-idea/) [Al Neuharth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-neuharth/) > [About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/about-the-most-originality-that-any-writer-can-hope-to-achieve/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [ \[Salvation\] is a curious process of divine burglary. The first thing to be wrested from one by a God who said 'Thou shalt not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/salvation-is-a-curious-process-of-divine-burglary-the-first-thing-to/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [“Ruth's mouth dropped open, her delicate face contorting in outrage. 'Steal? How dare you! I don't steal!' 'That's good,' I went on, smirking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/ruth-s-mouth-dropped-open-her-delicate-face-contorting-in-outrage/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [nobody can save you but yourself and you’re worth saving. it’s a war not easily won but if anything is worth winning then this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/nobody-can-save-you-but-yourself-and-you-re-worth-saving-it-s-a-war/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“You and that girl together, well...let's just say, you might be the one to lose, my man." "Thanks, bro, but losing her wouldn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevaeh-lee/you-and-that-girl-together-well-let-s-just-say-you-might-be-the-one/) [Nevaeh Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevaeh-lee/) > [If I am not worth the wooing, I surely am not worth the winning!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/if-i-am-not-worth-the-wooing-i-surely-am-not-worth-the-winning/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) ## More by Bryan Procter > [So mightiest powers buy deepest calms are fed, And sleep, how oft, in things that gentlest be!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/so-mightiest-powers-buy-deepest-calms-are-fed-and-sleep-how-oft-in/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [Where are Shakespeare's imagination, Bacon's learning, Galileo's dream? Where is the sweet fancy of Sidney, the airy spirit of Fletcher, and Milton's thought severe?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/where-are-shakespeare-s-imagination-bacon-s-learning-galileo-s-dream/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [How silent are the winds!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/how-silent-are-the-winds/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [I 'm on the sea! I 'm on the sea! I am where I would ever be, With the blue above and the blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/i-m-on-the-sea-i-m-on-the-sea-i-am-where-i-would-ever-be-with-the/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [Up and down! Up and down! From the base of the wave to the billow's crown; And amidst the flashing and feathery foam The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/up-and-down-up-and-down-from-the-base-of-the-wave-to-the-billow-s/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [Gamaun is a dainty steed, Strong, black, and of a noble breed, Full of fire, and full of bone, With all his line of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/gamaun-is-a-dainty-steed-strong-black-and-of-a-noble-breed-full-of/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [Women are so gentle, so affectionate, so true in sorrow, so untired and untiring! but the leaf withers not sooner, and tropic light fades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/women-are-so-gentle-so-affectionate-so-true-in-sorrow-so-untired-and/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [The sea! the sea! the open sea! The blue, the fresh, the ever free! Without a mark, without a bound, It runneth the earth's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/the-sea-the-sea-the-open-sea-the-blue-the-fresh-the-ever-free-without/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [The sea! The sea! The open sea!, The blue, the fresh, the ever free!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/the-sea-the-sea-the-open-sea-the-blue-the-fresh-the-ever-free/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [In the hollow tree, in the old gray tower, The spectral Owl doth dwell; Dull, hated, despised, in the sunshine hour, But at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/in-the-hollow-tree-in-the-old-gray-tower-the-spectral-owl-doth-dwell/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [I never was on the dull, tame shore, But I loved the great sea more and more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/i-never-was-on-the-dull-tame-shore-but-i-loved-the-great-sea-more-and/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [Love can take what shape he pleases; and when once begun his fiery inroad in the soul, how vain the after knowledge which his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/love-can-take-what-shape-he-pleases-and-when-once-begun-his-fiery/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [Half the ills we heard within our hearts are ills because we hoard them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/half-the-ills-we-heard-within-our-hearts-are-ills-because-we-hoard/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [Death is the tyrant of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/death-is-the-tyrant-of-the-imagination/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) > [Enter upon thy paths, O year! Thy paths, which all who breathe must tread, Which lead the Living to the Dead, I enter; for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-procter/enter-upon-thy-paths-o-year-thy-paths-which-all-who-breathe-must/) [Bryan Procter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) [Explore all 29 Bryan Procter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-procter/) ## More Dream quotes > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most writers steal a good thing when they can, and when 'Tis safely got 'Tis worth the winning. 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