--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Originality is nothing but judicious…" description: "\"Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aaf/voltaire-173_borrowed_originality-is-nothing-but-judicious-imi_2526517.png" --- # Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most… ![“Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aaf/voltaire-173_borrowed_originality-is-nothing-but-judicious-imi_2526517.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aaf/voltaire-173_borrowed_originality-is-nothing-but-judicious-imi_2526517.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aaf/voltaire-173_borrowed_originality-is-nothing-but-judicious-imi_2526517.png) > “Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Originality stems from learning and adapting others’ ideas, not from isolation. **In simple terms:** Imitation, when used wisely, creates true originality. Key Takeaway Study and remix existing works. Themes creativity influence learning originality culture Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - writing workshops - artistic collaboration - education - product development Key Concepts intertextuality innovation literary tradition Questions to Reflect On - What balance between imitation and innovation feels right? - How can we honor sources while creating something new? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on imitation can stifle true novelty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Borrowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowed/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Imitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imitation/) [Imitation Original](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imitation-original-1303825/) [Judicious Imitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judicious-imitation-1303826/) [Original Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/original-writers-1303823/) [Originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality/) [Originality Judicious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality-judicious-1303824/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Originality is nothing by judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/originality-is-nothing-by-judicious-imitation-the-most-original/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed from one another. The instruction we find in books is like fire. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/originality-is-nothing-but-judicious-imitation-the-most-original-2/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another. The instruction we find in books is like fire. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/originality-is-nothing-but-judicious-imitation-the-most-original/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Originality is nothing but judicious plagiarism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/originality-is-nothing-but-judicious-plagiarism/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [I grew up watching 'Porridge' and it's so loved, it was a daunting prospect to take on. Fortunately, it was written by the original…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bonnar/i-grew-up-watching-porridge-and-it-s-so-loved-it-was-a-daunting/) [Mark Bonnar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bonnar/) > [“and yet the original Writers at Work volumes, especially the first three, possessed a magic all their own. As a teenager, I virtually memorized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/and-yet-the-original-writers-at-work-volumes-especially-the-first/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [ “It might be said of Miss \[Djuna\] Barnes,” \[T.S. Eliot\] wrote, “who is incontestably one of the most original writers of our time, that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-wetzsteon/it-might-be-said-of-miss-djuna-barnes-t-s-eliot-wrote-who-is/) [Ross Wetzsteon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-wetzsteon/) > [Borrowed wit is the poorest wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/borrowed-wit-is-the-poorest-wit/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [Is all literature eavesdropping, and all art Chinese imitation? our life a custom, and our body borrowed, like a beggar’s dinner, from a hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/is-all-literature-eavesdropping-and-all-art-chinese-imitation-our/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Don't be afraid to borrow. The great men, the most original, borrowed from everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-french-sloan/don-t-be-afraid-to-borrow-the-great-men-the-most-original-borrowed/) [John French Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-french-sloan/) > [Some young people do not sufficiently understand the advantages of natural charms, and how much they would gain by trusting to them entirely. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/some-young-people-do-not-sufficiently-understand-the-advantages-of/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [A good imitation is the most perfect originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/a-good-imitation-is-the-most-perfect-originality/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [The combination of such characters, some, as the sacral ones, altogether peculiar among Reptiles, others borrowed, as it were, from groups now distinct from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-combination-of-such-characters-some-as-the-sacral-ones-altogether/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [The creation of George Smiley, the retired spy recalled to hunt for just such a high-ranking mole in 'Tinker, Tailor,' was extremely personal. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-creation-of-george-smiley-the-retired-spy-recalled-to-hunt-for/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [I love awards, especially if I get them. It's up to the courage of the filmmakers to make art in cinema, not just business.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-gazzara/i-love-awards-especially-if-i-get-them-it-s-up-to-the-courage-of-the/) [Ben Gazzara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-gazzara/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." 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It's up to the courage of the filmmakers to make art in cinema, not just business.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-gazzara/i-love-awards-especially-if-i-get-them-it-s-up-to-the-courage-of-the/) [Ben Gazzara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-gazzara/) > [The creation of George Smiley, the retired spy recalled to hunt for just such a high-ranking mole in 'Tinker, Tailor,' was extremely personal. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-creation-of-george-smiley-the-retired-spy-recalled-to-hunt-for/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The combination of such characters, some, as the sacral ones, altogether peculiar among Reptiles, others borrowed, as it were, from groups now distinct from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-combination-of-such-characters-some-as-the-sacral-ones-altogether/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [I'm no innovator. If anything I'm a stealer, or borrower. I've stolen or borrowed from more people than you can shake a stick at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-bryant/i-m-no-innovator-if-anything-i-m-a-stealer-or-borrower-i-ve-stolen-or/) [Bear Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-bryant/) > [Any sizeable Portuguese town looks like a superstitious bride's finery - something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/any-sizeable-portuguese-town-looks-like-a-superstitious-bride-s/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [“I came to this world with nothing, and I leave with nothing but love, everything else is just borrowed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-streets/i-came-to-this-world-with-nothing-and-i-leave-with-nothing-but-love/) [The Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-streets/) > [Investors, of course, can, by their own behavior make stock ownership highly risky. And many do. Active trading, attempts to "time" market movements, inadequate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/investors-of-course-can-by-their-own-behavior-make-stock-ownership/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [I'm so sick of mermaid dresses, trains, borrowed bling-bling, and a pose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-leon-talley/i-m-so-sick-of-mermaid-dresses-trains-borrowed-bling-bling-and-a-pose/) [Andre Leon Talley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-leon-talley/) > [There is a word Kristos in the Greek dictionary, and this word is supposed to be borrowed from the Sanskrit word "Krishna," and Christ…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhupada/there-is-a-word-kristos-in-the-greek-dictionary-and-this-word-is/) [A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhupada/) > [In 1981, I borrowed 2,000 pounds - a lot of money back then - paid 50 quid for a seat, packed my own sandwich,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/in-1981-i-borrowed-2-000-pounds-a-lot-of-money-back-then-paid-50-quid/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [I think when Tom Ford was there I borrowed a Gucci tux one time, and they were very nice and he was very kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-leto/i-think-when-tom-ford-was-there-i-borrowed-a-gucci-tux-one-time-and/) [Jared Leto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-leto/) > [There is a big problem. The problem is the country borrowed too much. 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Ours is but a flame borrowed thence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/true-beauty-lives-on-high-ours-is-but-a-flame-borrowed-thence/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) [Browse all 343 Borrowed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. 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