I've seen the quote "Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal." attributed to Igor Stravinsky, and I understand like this: Artist A creates a good work that

I've seen the quote "Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal." attributed to Igor Stravinsky, and I understand like this: Artist A creates a good work that acquires a certain degree of fame. Whistle the tune and people think of A. Later artist B creates a derived work, perhaps B orchestrates it or adds words. For example Gounod's Ave Maria based on the Prelude I from Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues. It gets more interested if B moves things along in a big way. For a while the new version eclipses the old. But has B borrowed A's work, or stolen it? Time passes. Time's cruel erosion of reputation wears down both A and B. Eventually only one is widely remembered. If it is A that is remembered, the cognoscente think that B was the lesser artist who metaphorically borrowed A's work. If it is B that is remembered, the cognoscente think that B was the great artist, who metaphorically stole A's work. Borrow/Steal is the verdict of history, choosing to remember a single artist. It is not a comment on the morality of the conduct of artist B.