Imitation

To plagiarise is surely the worst of sins for an author; a person who claims originality after copying the works of others is obviously a deceiver. But to live successfully in the world it is not necessary to be original and sinfulness only enters if originality is claimed falsely. In fact, imitation is one method by which the young develop; a child copies the behaviour of its parents, brothers, sisters and companions. Later, children learn from their school-teachers by copying through educational systems; before the young can be taught to think they must be allowed to imitate. Language and increase in vocabulary comes by hearing others speak. Thus, no blame can be attached to a pre-school child who uses swear words habitually; he has merely been mimicking words used by his elders around him. The young like to ape both the speech and the behaviour of those they meet. So one is hardly surprised at seeing the large numbers of boys and girls who light up cigarettes as they emerge from the local comprehensive school, even after they have been told of the dangers of smoking and have viewed an anti-smoking film. So mimicry is one component of the growing-up process, with children striving to acquire the communication idioms and activities of the older