Techdirt. Stories filed under "f.o. matthiessen" Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us Techdirt. Stories filed under "f.o. matthiessen"http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Thu, 20 Aug 2009 02:24:36 PDT Which Is More Important? Ownership Of Ideas... Or Community, Knowledge & Learning? Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090816/2140005889.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090816/2140005889.shtml quote on plagiarism vs. a community of knowledge and scholarship by famed literary critic F.O. Matthiessen, from his classic book, American Renaissance:
"During the course of this long volume I have undoubtedly plagiarized from many sources--to use the ugly term that did not bother Shakespeare's age. I doubt whether any criticism or cultural history has ever been written without such plagiary, which inevitably results from assimilating the contributions of your countless fellow-workers, past and present. The true function of scholarship as a society is not to stake out claims on which others must not trespass, but to provide a community of knowledge in which others may share."
-F.O. Matthiessen, American Renaissance 1941
Good stuff. Too bad so few still seem to feel the same way.

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