Careful Words

invent (v.)

To make a bank was a great plot of state;

Invent a shovel, and be a magistrate.

Andrew Marvell (1620-1678): The Character of Holland.

  In fact, it is as difficult to appropriate the thoughts of others as it is to invent.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): Letters and Social Aims. Quotation and Originality.

  If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent him.

Alain René Le Sage (1668-1747): Epître à l'Auteur du Livre des Trois Imposteurs. cxi.

  Young men are fitter to invent than to judge, fitter for execution than for counsel, and fitter for new projects than for settled business.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Of Youth and Age.