Plagiarism Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old plagiarism quotes, plagiarism sayings, and plagiarism proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Plagiarism is necessary, progress implies it. Guy Debord
Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats. Howard Aiken
If you look at any of the Japanese successes, with the possible exception of the tape recorder, you see that they're copies of American ideas. Robert Noyce
I suppose if I ever wrote a play about myself, I'd be sued for plagiarism. Dorothy Parker
Originality is undetected plagiarism. W.R. Inge
Artists...don't steal. But they do borrow without giving back. Ned Rorem
Taking something from one man and making it worse is plagiarism. George Moore
If you think you know what plagiarism is, you are making a very large claim— the claim that you know originality when you see it. Hitchens
The rules of borrowing are that some interest or some gesture of gratitude should accompany the repayment. Hitchens
Plagiarism,' that most obvious and banal discovery of the literary sleuth... Hitchens
when a thing has been said and well said, have no scruple; take it and copy it. Give references? Why should you? Either your readers know where you have taken the passage and the precaution is needless, or they do not know and you humiliate them. Anatole France
Theft, the unacknowledged borrowing of style or substance, or method is bad; don't do it. Credit your teachers. Nicholson Baker
The best way to become a successful writer is to read good writing, remember it, and then forget where you remember it from. Gene Fowler
Plagiarism can be easy, safe, and rewarding if you follow one rule: Only plagiarize your own stuff. Not only is it not a criminal offense, it's extremely satisfying since every writer believes deep in his heart that the finest words ever written, the only ones worth restating, are his own. Alan Richman
Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal. T.S. Eliot
What is originality? Undetected plagiarism. W.R. Inge
If you steal from one book, you are condemned as a plagiarist, but if you steal from ten books, you are considered a scholar, and if you steal from thirty or forty books, a distinguished scholar. Amos Oz
We prefer to believe that the absence of inverted commas guarantees the originality of a thought, whereas it may be merely that the utterer has forgotten its source. Clifton Fadiman
They lard their lean books with the fat of others' work. Robert Burton
Be careful not to copy other writers, even by accident— just read and learn. Susan Hill
The only 'ism' in Holywood is plagiarism. Dorothy Parker
I don't like composers who think. It gets in the way of their plagiarism. Howard Dietz
Seldom does one's freedom to plagiarize, / Can find this attempt hiding to disguise...Originality. Lawrence S. Pertillar
With traditional publishing, books might be pulled due to plagiarism or libel - but rarely for content, and especially not without a widespread outcry. Andrew Shaffer
“I've been imitated so well I've heard people copy my mistakes.” Jimi Hendr
People seldom improve when they have no model but themselves to copy after. Oliver Goldsmith
A wise man will always allow a fool to rob him of ideas without yelling 'Thief.' If he is wise he has not been impoverished. Nor has the fool been enriched. The thief flatters us by stealing. We flatter him by complaining. Ben Hecht
To copy others carries and contains plagiarism; indeed one risks, losing its certainty and novelty. Ehsan Sehgal
Sell yourself, else another person will steal and sell you at a heavy cost. Utibe Samuel Mbom
One can steal everything from an artist except their talent. Marty Rubin