Unless created as freestanding works, quotations resemble "found" art. They are analogous, say, to a piece of driftwood identified as formally interesting enough to be displayed in an art museum or to a weapon moved from an anthropological to an artistic display.... The presenter of found art, whether material or verbal, has become a sort of artist. He has not made the object, but he has made it as art.
Gary Saul MorsonWe sometimes think of quotations as extracts from larger texts, but some quotations originated complete unto themselves.
Gary Saul MorsonSome lines are born quotations, some are made quotations, and some have "quotation" thrust upon them.
Gary Saul Morson