Nothing but the thread

Julia ♦ May 7, 2025 ♦ Leave a comment

Like quotations, flowers are individually appealing and collectively irresistible.
I photographed his eye-catching display in Amsterdam, April 2007.

“I have gathered a posy of other men’s flowers and nothing but the thread that binds them is mine own.”― John Bartlett

In a recent post, we talked about the fondness for quotes that many of us share. Probably no name has been more associated with quotations than John Bartlett, whose classic collection has continued to be revised and published for more than a century after his death. The longevity of his work confirms our observation that quotes remain relevant, entertaining and inspiring.

Pretend for a moment that you are me, and you’re sitting down to write your next blog post after having written 1041 of them. What quotation would you choose? Where would you look to find ideas? Bartlett’s first volume featured the words of Shakespeare or the Bible so frequently that they made up a third of the book’s 258 pages, but there were a total of 169 authors represented. Who are some of the people you hear quoted again and again? Do you have a favorite author whose works are full of quotable passages?

Here’s an idea. Find a favorite quote and send it in a note or personal online message to someone who might like it. Maybe you even thought of that person the moment you read the quote. If so, find a few minutes today to add your words to someone else’s, and send a synergistic smile.

You’re invited to share your favorite quotations in the comments. I reserve the right to use them in upcoming posts! Our colorful threads can weave together the binding for a cheery bouquet this week– one that won’t wilt or fade.

This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.