mark two? inland steel company? who ryan? abigail vanburen? anonymous?
Dear dating researcher: Mark Twain is credited with a wonderful saying about the importance of reading:
You are reading: Cannot read them.
a person who does not read has no advantage over one who cannot read.
I couldn’t determine when this saying was created, but I found another version while searching:
the man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who does not know how to read them.
Now, I suspect this adage may not be for two. could you take a look at it?
Researcher quote: There is no substantive evidence that Mark Twain ever said or wrote this maxim. ralph keyes dating expert[1] 2006, the ralph keyes dating checker, page 16, 116 and 274, st martin’s griffin, new york. (verified paper) and the website barbara schmidt[2]twainquotes.com, twain specialist, edited by barbara schmidt, comment at bottom of web page titled “reading”. (Accessed Dec 11, 2012) both links indicate that connecting to twain is not supported.
the oldest conceptual match for the expression located by qi was printed in “the southern worker” in 1910. the words of the state superintendent of public instruction in virginia were recorded while defending support for The libraries. that would provide quality books for children. The superintendent used rhetorical questions that equated people who can’t read with those who don’t:[3]1910 july, the southern worker, volume 39, number 7, [comment by joseph d. eggleston, jr. state superintendent of public instruction in virginia], homepage 383, cite page 384, the press of the … continue reading
Who can see the faint line between the man who can’t read at all and the man who can’t read at all? the literate person who knows but does not read, and the illiterate person who neither knows nor knows?
The first close match found by qi was published in October 1914 in an article reprinted from “the dodge idea” newspaper. curiously, the context was advertising. one exponent of mail delivery was unhappy that these messages were often discarded unread. the adage was used twice in the article: once in the headline and once in the body, but the claim was not attributed:[4]1914 october, mill supplies, volume 4, number 10, the garbage dump, [attribution to “the dodge idea”], cites page 24, column 2, crawford publishing group, chicago, illinois. … continue reading
a man who doesn’t read has no appreciable advantage over a man who can’t read
the man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read; however, there are many men who consider the bin to be the only place for second-class mail. the circular subject that goes through the emails is not intended to be a filler for bins, but rather its purpose is to suggest a solution to certain problems.
The first attribution to Mark Twain found by qi was published in 1945. Details are given below.
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here are additional selected quotes in chronological order.
in december 1914 the saying was printed in the newspaper column of dr. w. a. Evans, professor of hygiene at Northwestern University. evans presented a series of “safety first” slogans that were taken from “the inland steel company” bulletin number 10, and three of the slogans are shown below. this example of the maxim spoke of reading “good books”.[5] 1914 December 31, the state, “how to keep well” by dr. w. a. evans, page 4, column 7, columbia, south carolina. (genealogybank)[6] december 31, 1914, aberdeen daily american, “how to keep well” by dr. w. a. Evans, citing page 2, column 5 and 6, Aberdeen, South Dakota. (family bank)
“Progress is the shortest path between two points. safety points the way and guides from danger.”
“the man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who does not know how to read them.”
“restless lies the head of the man who takes risks. is always in danger”
The adage was printed in other periodicals as “100% The Practical Magazine of Efficient Management” in March 1915. The wording was the same as that used in Dr. evans, except that the phrase “not” was contracted to “not”.[7] March 1915, 100% The Practical Magazine of Efficient Management, [separate citation], page 96, h.p. gould company, chicago, illinois. (hathitrust) link
in May 1915 the same maxim was printed in the “bulletin” of the national association of corporate schools.[8]May 1915, bulletin, volume 2, number 5, [separate citation], page 31, published by order of the executive committee of the national association of corporate schools, new york. (google books… continue reading in July 1915 the “bulletin” published a modified version of the saying addressed to the boys:[9]july 1915, bulletin, volume 2, number 7, realizing the importance, page 5, published by order of the executive committee of the national association of corporate schools, new york (google books… continue reading
The reason most people don’t achieve more is because they don’t try more. the child who does not read good books, who does not take every opportunity to expand his general knowledge, has no advantage over the child who cannot read books and who does not have the opportunity to expand his knowledge.
in 1931, a california newspaper published the following variant under the heading “old blinks says”:[10] 1931 dec 18, riverside daily press, “old blinks says” by a. F. clarke, market news section, page 6, column 1, [gnb page 20], riverside, california. (family bank)
The people who can and cannot read good books have no advantage over the man who cannot read them.
In 1932, an Arkansas newspaper ran this unattributed version:[11] November 17, 1932, the journal-advance, [independent citation], quote page 4, column 5, gentry, arkansas. (newspaper archive)
the man who does not read good books has no advantage over the one who cannot read a line.
in 1945 the saying was attributed to the famous humorist mark twain in a publication on the field of nursing. this is the earliest connection to twain that qi has located:[12]October 1945, World of Nursing [review of trained nursing and hospital], volume 115, [independent citation], citation page 228 , lakeside pub . company, new york. (verified on paper; special thanks to the… continue reading
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The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.—Mark Twain, A.D. 1895
in 1948, the same version of the adage was attributed to mark twain in the “thoughts on the business of life” section of forbes magazine.[13] Oct 1, 1948, Forbes, Thoughts on the Business of Life, Page 42, Column 3, Forbes Inc., New York. (verified on microfilm)
in 1951, the chicago tribune offered another variant of the expression without attribution:[14] february 25, 1951, chicago tribune, book magazine: vincent starrett living books, quote page i9, chicago, illinois. (procure)
your thought for the week: the man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who never learned to read.
The confusion about the origin of the saying has been manifest for many decades. in 1958 the new york times printed this request in its “queries and answers” section:[15] october 19, 1958, new york times, queries and answers, page br71, new york. (procure)
m. I f. Writes: “Can anyone tell me the source of the following quote: ‘The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.’ I have heard that it is attributed to Mark Twain but have not been able to verify this. ”
in 1964, the “a guy line or two” column in the chicago tribune featured the following attribution for the aphorism:[16] March 9, 1964, chicago tribune, a guy line or two: quinryan quip, page 12, chicago, illinois. (procure)
The man who doesn’t read good books has no real advantage over the man who can’t read them. quin ryan
In 1966, the popular advice columnist going by the pseudonym Abigail Van Buren received a letter from an ambitious 12-year-old girl who wanted guidance on how to get smart. the scribe “dear abby” used the adage in her reply. unsurprisingly, the words were attributed to her in later years, as noted in the “citation checker” reference: [17] Oct 19, 1966, owosso argus-press, dear abby: amazing by abigail van buren, cites page 6, column 7, owosso, michigan (google news archive)[18] 2006, the ralph keyes citation checker, page 16, 116 and 274, st martin’s griffin, new york. (verified on paper)
I would say read! read read read. in books there is a world of information waiting to be discovered. the person who doesn’t read has no advantage over the person who can’t read.
A biography of Mark Twain was published in 2001 to accompany a Ken Burns documentary series. the maxim was contained in a section called “what two did not say”.[19] 2001, Mark Twain by Dayton Duncan and Geoffrey C. ward, based on a documentary by ken burns, what two didn’t say, page 189, alfred a. Knopf, New York. (verified on paper) link
in 2012 award-winning journalist carl m. Cannon examined a set of quotes that had been attributed to Mark Twain. he presented evidence revealing that the link to two of several of the sayings was doubtful. The Huffington Post responded to Cannon’s article by reviewing a slideshow that contained disputed sayings. for example, the adage explored in this article was removed from the slideshow.[20] december 10, 2012, realclearpolitics website, putting words into mark twain’s mouth by carl m. cannon, realclearpolitics headquarters: chicago, illinois. (accessed realclearpolitics.com on… continue reading [21] Nov 30, 2012, huffington post website, mark twain quotes to celebrate his birthday, [article updated 10 Dec 2012], President and Editor-in-Chief: Arianna Huffington (Accessed… continue reading
In conclusion, this compelling saying was in circulation in 1914, but was not initially attributed to a specific individual. Mark Twain died in 1910, and the adage was implausibly attributed to him in 1945. The expression was published in a “Dear Abby” column long after it was created.
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