Quotes · Quote card
Quotation from Lacon: or, Many Things in a Few Words by Charles Caleb Colton
“Imitation is the sincerest of flattery.”
Lacon: or, Many Things in a Few Words, Vol. 1, aphorism CCXVII (Charles Caleb Colton, Lacon: or, Many Things in Few Words, vol. 1, aphorism CCXVII (first published London, 1820). Checked on 4 Nov 2026 against the archive.org scan of the third edition (London, 1820), india.history.resource.17413, where CCXVII reads 'IMITATION is the sincerest of flattery.'; also matches the 1824 New York reprint.)
The complete aphorism, a single sentence. Often misattributed to Oscar Wilde; the longer version with a clause about mediocrity is not in Lacon.
Citation: "Imitation is the sincerest of flattery." — Charles Caleb Colton, Lacon: or, Many Things in a Few Words, Vol. 1, aphorism CCXVII (Charles Caleb Colton, Lacon: or, Many Things in Few Words, vol. 1, aphorism CCXVII (first published London, 1820). Checked on 4 Nov 2026 against the archive.org scan of the third edition (London, 1820), india.history.resource.17413, where CCXVII reads 'IMITATION is the sincerest of flattery.'; also matches the 1824 New York reprint.). (id colton-lacon-q1)
