25 Witty Quotes About Plagiarism
The significant offence of plagiarizing is a perpetual problem that originated long time ago as it has always been natural for a person to look for the ready-made answers instead of exerting efforts to achieve something. However, currently in the age of Internet with boundless amounts of information and limitless access to almost any sources, there is a growing concern about the rising level of copying other people’s work and severity of plagiarism cases. It has become even more tempting to use the ideas, images, music, or texts because of the ever-growing level of accessibility of the downloadable data on the web. There are a lot of quotes about plagiarism, in which it is frequently viewed as a threat to progress and learning although some philosophers and writers hint at its inevitability and even related benefits. Some witty quotes from outstanding people make fun of the universal nature of plagiarism and the power of imitation, while others still refer to it only as the crime of stealing.
Plagiarists, at least, have the merit of preservation (Benjamin Disraeli).
To copy others is necessary, but to copy oneself is pathetic (Pablo Picasso).
There is much difference between imitating a man and counterfeiting him (Benjamin Franklin).
What a good thing Adam had. When he said a good thing, he knew nobody had said it before (Mark Twain).
Originality is undetected plagiarism (William Ralph Inge).
All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
When a thing has been said and said well, have no scruple. Take it and copy it (Anatole France).
Borrowed thoughts, like borrowed money, only show the poverty of the borrower (Lady Marguerite Blessington).
Good artists copy. Great artists steal (Picasso).
Genius borrows nobly (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
Dickens is one of those authors who is well worth stealing (George Orwell).
Plagiarism is the fear of a blank page (Mokokoma Mokhonoana).
Do something others will have the desire to plagiarize but will find difficult to do (Robert Genn).
…a little of this, a little of that – a little of me, a little of you – put it together what do you have? postmodern soup… (John Geddes).
To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research (Steven Wright).
I’ve been imitated so well I’ve heard people copy my mistakes (Jimi Hendrix).
Plagiarism is necessary. Progress implies it (Isidore Ducasse).
Plagiarists are always suspicious of being stolen from (Samuel Taylor Coleridge).
Plagiarism, is like a fatal plague which has engulfed our generation and culminated impersonate clones. Sad but true.. a caricature has replaced Mona Lisa (Himmilicious).
If you plagiarize others’ techniques, you steal their emotions and tell your spectators a lie with your work. Works as such equal zero (Wu Guan-Zhong).
Using a big word like ‘plagiarism’… always causes some damage. It will always do lasting damage, like accusations of racism (Michel Houellebecq).
In a way, fraud in business is no different from infidelity in marriage or plagiarism in scholarly work (Miroslav Volf).
Art is either plagiarism or revolution (Paul Gauguin).
Taking something from one man and making it worse is plagiarism (George A. Moore).
Plagiarism is always the biggest thing in Hollywood (Clint Eastwood).
It is great fun to read through the quotes about plagiarism; at the same time, they make us think about the value of originality, unique character and talent as opposed to mere duplication, dishonesty, lies and stealing. It is possible to admit that borrowing some idea intentionally or incidentally can happen in the academic world, the sphere of art or science; however, there should be some value added to the previous idea so that this act of copying could be turned into taking the idea to a new level. Deliberate deceiving and presenting the stolen materials as one’s own are the examples of obviously wrong attitude to intellectual property; however, the quotes from talented people imply that if the idea is outstanding it will be stolen for sure. Dissemination of ideas is inevitable; the thing is to get the secret weapon of distinguishing between the justified copying and barefaced lie. It is right to say that the advances in technology and science have cataclysmic consequences for progress in education, art and research, but the truth is that plagiarism had existed since the appearance of the written language. Is it only good or only bad? That is an ambiguous question.
