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It is imitation, and as such it is lifeless.
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“It is imitation, and as such it is lifeless.”

George Henry Lewes

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Source
The Principles of Success in Literature
Date
1891
Meaning

Meaning of “It is imitation, and as such it is…”

Surface imitation may reproduce another writer’s recognizable manner without reproducing the thought or experience that originally gave that manner vitality.

Source context

Where does it come from?

The Principles of Success in Literature, chapter on Style, Project Gutenberg #10420; Lewes criticizes attempts to copy the verbal mannerisms of famous writers.

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ArtBe YourselfCreativityIdentityIndependenceSelf RelianceSelf TrustSelf-Respect Quotes About Dignity & BoundariesShortWritingInnovation
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Insist on yourself; never imitate.
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“Insist on yourself; never imitate.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Self-Reliance · 1841
Meaning & context

Originality begins with developing one’s own capacities rather than copying another person’s surface style.

Source details

Self-Reliance; Emerson gives the imperative while arguing for originality, self-trust, and resistance to imitation rather than dependence on another person’s model.

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At any rate see that it be your own, and not another's; on no other terms will the world listen to it.
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“At any rate see that it be your own, and not another's; on no other terms will the world listen to it.”

George Henry Lewes · The Principles of Success in Literature · 1891
Meaning & context

Distinctive style is tied to ownership of thought and expression: the writer is urged to develop a voice grounded in genuine perception rather than borrowed manner.

Source details

The Principles of Success in Literature, chapter on Style, Project Gutenberg #10420; the sentence concludes a warning against imitation and affected literary manner.

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They ought to be illustrations not authorities, studies not models.
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“They ought to be illustrations not authorities, studies not models.”

George Henry Lewes · The Principles of Success in Literature · 1891
Meaning & context

Great predecessors can teach principles without becoming templates to copy, preserving the learner’s responsibility to develop independent judgment and expression.

Source details

The Principles of Success in Literature, chapter on Style, Project Gutenberg #10420; Lewes is warning writers against imitating Cicero, Titian or other masters.

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whatever school you follow, it must be only to learn method, not to imitate result
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“whatever school you follow, it must be only to learn method, not to imitate result”

John Ruskin · Lectures on Art, Delivered Before the University of Oxford in Hilary Term, 1870 · 1870
Meaning & context

Studying earlier schools should teach method without turning the student into an imitator, preserving space for an artistic response rooted in the maker’s own time and nature.

Source details

Lectures on Art, Lecture VII, Project Gutenberg #19164. The surrounding passage explicitly distinguishes learning from past masters from adopting their results as one’s own.

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I WAS A MAN NOW.
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“I WAS A MAN NOW.”

Frederick Douglass · My Bondage and My Freedom · 1855
Meaning & context

The emphatic line records Douglass’s restored sense of manhood and dignity after resisting physical domination; it belongs to a specific autobiographical struggle against enslavement.

Source details

My Bondage and My Freedom, immediately after Douglass describes his resistance to Covey; capitalization follows the represented Project Gutenberg text.

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I would prefer not to.
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“I would prefer not to.”

Herman Melville · Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street · 1853
Meaning & context

Bartleby’s mild repeated refusal becomes the story’s central form of resistance, forcing the narrator to confront limits on authority, obligation and understanding.

Source details

Bartleby, the Scrivener, Project Gutenberg #11231. Bartleby speaks this line when the lawyer asks him to help examine copied documents; it is fictional character dialogue, not a general prescription to refuse work or obligations.

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