I wonder when quoting others became a thing.
Since the beginning, it’s easy to imagine people using or writing the words of other people because they liked them so much.
But at what point did we start giving credit to the origins of such great words?
An interesting point is that the Founding Fathers of the United States, particularly Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton, often quoted others without placing quotation marks around borrowed words, since their audience was already familiar with the sources—they felt explicit quotation marks were not always necessary.
I’m sure few have always liked to give credit when borrowing the words of others. But when did it become widespread? When did it become the standard? Was it when the printing press was invented? Was it during the Enlightenment period? Or was it during the beginning of modern times?
What was once courteous became an expectation; what was once a sign of respect became a sense of requirement.
I think outliers often become the standard when they align accordingly.