I think quotes are a great thing. Little pills of wisdom adaptable for every occasion.
Anyway, as it always happens, this pill needs to be take with moderation, and wisely.
This creates a problem, in this Internet Era. In the past, to be able to quote someone, you would need to read his works. Now everyone can look for any quote, without any contest.
The missing contest not only damage the meaning of the aphorism, but is also a risk for the authenticity.
Quoting someone, now nobody puts the source (like in which book, newspaper, or speech the famous person said that sentence). So, everyone can invent the quote he prefers and make Einstein saying that.
We passed from the "ipse dixit" as mark from authenticity to the "everyone says so".
End even if the "ipse dixit" was somehow damaging the intellectual growth of a generation, the "everyone says so" kills the intellectual growth, as it brings with it an indifference for the truth and the accuracy, for the culture and the literature, that can be very worrying for the future of mankind.
But maybe it is just me dreaming about the good old times?
And, just to be in line what I just said, here there is a quotation from a writer that I love, and I have no idea if she ever wrote this and where :)
"Never do anything for yourself that others can do for you"
Agatha Christie
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