Often we were rescued by that ever-present help in trouble, the beloved benefactor known only as Anonymous.

Though old the thought and oft exprest, 'Tis his at last who says it best.

The truest sayings are paradoxical.

Colors fade, temples crumble, empires fall, but wise words endure.

Whatever is well said by another, is mine.

Precepts or maxims are of great weight; and a few useful ones at hand do more toward a happy life than whole volumes that we know not where to find.

Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it.

The maxims of men disclose their hearts.

A book that furnishes no quotations is ... no book-it is a plaything.

... though the truth and worth of the sayings are nowise dependent on their authorship, it is well to know who those were that felt the burden they express, and found relief in uttering them.

If the quality be good, the quantity is of little account ...

Most men are rich in borrowed sufficiency: a man may very well say a good thing, give a good answer, cite a good sentence, without at all seeing the force of either the one or the other.

Though old the thought and oft exprest, Tis his at last who says it best.

I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.

The majority of those who put together collections of verses or epigrams resemble those who eat cherries or oysters: they begin by choosing the best and end by eating everything.

A thought embodied and embrained in fit words walks the earth a living being.

An epigram often flashes light into regions where reason shines dimly.

... sayings resonate with significance.

The quotations when engraved upon the memory give you good thoughts. They also make you anxious to read the authors and look for more.

Collecting quotations seems a similar occupation to the one practiced by those birds and animals who pick up shiny pebbles, pieces of glass and paper to line their nests and burrows. They discard one, pick up another, apparently at random, but all with a particular spot in mind. The result is a living place that conforms to their own sensibility and shape.