From Emerson's Quotation and Originality

1) Marmontel's principle, "I pounce on what is mine, wherever I find it."

2) "He that borrows the aid of an equal understanding," said Burke, "doubles his own; he that uses that of a superior elevates his own to the stature of that he contemplates."

3) Many of the historical proverbs have a doubtful paternity. Columbus's egg is claimed for Brunelleschi. Rabelais's dying words, "I am going to see the great Perhaps" (le grand Peut-etre), only repeats the "IF" inscribed on the portal of the temple at Delphi. Goethe's favorite phrase, "the open secret," translates Aristotle's answer to Alexander, "These books are published and not published."

4) Observe also that a writer appears to more advantage in the pages of another book than in his own. In his own he waits as a candidate for your approbation; in another's he is a lawgiver.

5) The child quotes his father, and the man quotes his friend. Each man is a hero and an oracle to somebody, and to that person whatever he says has an enhanced value. Whatever we think and say is wonderfully better for our spirits and trust, in another mouth. There is none so eminent and wise but he knows minds whose opinion confirms or qualifies his own, and men of extraordinary genius acquire an almost absolute ascendant over their nearest companions. The Comte de Crillon said one day to M. d'Allonville, with French vivacity, "If the universe and I professed one opinion and M. Necker expressed a contrary one, I should be at once convinced that the universe and I were mistaken."

6) Next to the originator of a good sentence is the first quoter of it. Many will read the book before one thinks of quoting a passage. As soon as he has done this, that line will be quoted east and west. Then there are great ways of borrowing. Genius borrows nobly. When Shakspeare is charged with debts to his authors, Landor replies "Yet he was more original than his originals. He breathed upon dead bodies and brought them into life."

7) Goethe frankly said, "What would remain to me if this art of appropriation were derogatory to genius? Every one of my writings has been furnished to me by a thousand different persons, a thousand things: wise and foolish have brought me, without suspecting it, the offering of their thoughts, faculties, and experience. My work is an aggregation of beings taken from the whole of nature; it bears the name of Goethe."

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Saddam's dilemma

From a news article, "Saddam may hang within 30 days":

Aref Shahin, chief judge of the appeals panel, said there was no further legal recourse for Saddam and the Iraqi executive is free to send him to the gallows "any day, ... starting from tomorrow." The execution must be carried out within 30 days.

This reminded me of the "execution paradox" (maybe it has some other name?). On Sunday, the executioner tells the prisoner, "You'll be killed some day in this week, and you won't be expecting it."

The prisoner reasons as follows: "Well, I can't be executed on Saturday, because that's the last day of the week, and I would have survived the other days and would certainly expect to be executed on Saturday. So, Saturday is out. Similarly, I can't be executed on Friday, since once Thursday ends, I would know for sure that the execution would be on Friday, since it absolutely can't happen on Saturday...."

Similarly, he works backward to Monday and then Sunday. He's safe! He can't be executed at all!

Then the executioner takes him out of his cell on Tuesday, kills him, and you know what—he wasn't expecting it...