[gruseom]

Not almost; unequivocally. That the wording got polished over time is just what happens in popular discourse.

I don't see the connection to Deleuze. Eliot isn't talking about mistranslation or about how audiences receive art. He's talking about Dylan lifting the melody to "Don't think twice" from some other song.

[FreakLegion]

Yes, almost. Eliot almost said that -- said something superficially similar to that -- but didn't say that. People use "great artists steal" as incorrectly as they use "information wants to be free." The line hasn't been polished; it's been co-opted and transformed. Which is exactly what he and Deleuze were interested in, and why they so often circle the same drain.

Of course how audiences receive art and how artists create it aren't disjoint processes, but I understand you getting hung up on Deleuze's use of the word "mistranslation" there. It helps to know that he's working out of a tradition that treats the idea of translating as a figure for "owning" (in the Heideggerian sense, also translated "enowning").

[gruseom]

What I meant is that there is no other plausible lineage for that quote - and I've looked. If you claim otherwise, I'd love to see the citation.

It doesn't help to replace one obscure jargon with another, even more obscure jargon.

[FreakLegion]

Absolutely that's the provenance of the saying. Eliot just wasn't saying what the saying says =).