Why I quote..

Let me attempt to clear the record (Since someone pointed out that I am constantly quoting others).

Foremost "I quote others only in order the better to express myself." -- Michel de Montaigne

or

"The next best thing [sigh!] to being clever is being able to quote someone who is." - Mary Poole

though Voltaire would have none of it observing that "A witty saying proves nothing."

Another wise man, George Santaya, noted "Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it."

Somerset Maugham scathingly noted "She had a pretty gift for quotation, which is a serviceable substitute for wit."

And my favorite quote on quotations is Groucho Marx's "Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted."

I loved and still love reading quotes! "It is [such ] a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognizably wiser than oneself." - Marlene Dietrich