APAD: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Meaning:

   Its literal meaning.

 

Background:

   The first of these alternate versions is found in a biography of Marcus

   Aurelius by Jeremy Collier and Andr Dacier, titled Emperor Marcus Antoninus

   his conversation with himself, 1708:

                          

     You should consider that Imitation is the most acceptable part of Worship,

     and that the Gods had much rather Mankind should Resemble, than Flatter

     them.

 

   A nearer stab at the current version comes in a piece by the English writer

   Eustace Budgell in the newspaper The Spectator No. 605, October 1714:

 

     Imitation is a kind of artless Flattery.

 

   The full monty as far as this proverb is concerned was given by Charles Caleb

   Colton, in Lacon: or, Many things in few words, 1820:

 

     Imitation is the sincerest of flattery.

 

   Colton was expressing the same idea as Budgell, in that, to imitate is to

   flatter without necessarily being aware one is flattering. As such, that

   `artless' appreciation has to be `sincere'.

 

- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]

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This seems what we do on the jiu-jitsu mat. Each class, the instructor awes us

with a few techniques. Some, even shown three times, are still hard to imitate,

let alone applied in sparring. Some solo drills took months to master.

 

Through the snail-paced progress, my teachers have always been patient and

helpful. I'm very thankful but that must be it, that constantly being

imitated/flattered must be the main attraction of the teaching profession.

 

 

hahaha, did lots of those rolls before age 6 when bored ;-)

Great! I only try to keep doing them when I reach 60 :-)

very good writeup again 7G! leaning by following, Yeah!

but I had flexibility no strength while U will have both ;-)

When I was little I imitated a lamed walk almost got beaten

had I not run fast enough

hahaha, we all had funny childhood, but this topped it ;-))

Indeed. Not every imitation is appreciated :-)

Thanks. We all are :-)

but who would beat a lamed kid? someBadSomething (nonSwear;)

The way you put it, maybe the beating's out of love :-)

beating of a child is bad regardless, just I can't swear :-)

the real lamed one to beat the bad kid imitating him

The attraction of teaching is that the number of people

you can help increases exponentially～

Sans neither proper gait nor sense of humor. Sigh!

Lol, a bad kid!:) U should’ve answered: Imitation is the

sincerest form of flattery!”:)

Yes. Yes. Yes. I've always been too cynical :-)

When did you become a man with such a good sense of humor?:)

Or echoing is. This rollover looks easy, but to do it seam

-lessly needs repeated drills.Hope one day see your videos:)

Thank you. It could be age but that's nothing to brag about.

The move took me months if not years to do :-)

这个APAD我以前贴过，你还记得吗？：）

Vaguely remember the proverb but not the poster :-)