St. Augustine of Hippo? Louis-Charles Fougeret de Monbron? Lord Byron? St. Austin? Stendhal? Richard Lassels?
Question for Quote Investigator: The following popular saying about travel praises the knowledge gained from visiting multiple locations:
The world is a book, and those who don’t travel read only one page.
This statement is usually attributed to St. Augustine of Hippo. But it has also been credited to French writer Louis-Charles Fougeret de Monbron, English poet Lord Byron, and others. I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: QI and other researchers have located no substantive evidence supporting the attribution to St. Augustine of Hippo. The earliest match found by QI appeared in the 1670 book “The Voyage of Italy: or A Compleat Journey through Italy” by English travel writer and tutor Richard Lassels. The preface contained the following passage. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
… the Profit of Travelling; it’s certain, that if this world be a great book, as S. Augustine calls it, none study this great Book so much as the Traveler. They that never stir from home, read only one page of this Book; and like the dull fellow in Pliny, who could never learn to count farther than five, they dwell alwayes upon one Lesson.
They are like an acquaintance of mine, who had alwayes a book indeed lying open upon a Desk; but it was observed that it lay alwayes open at one and the same place, and by long custome, could lye open no where else.
Richard Lassels credited Saint Augustine with the metaphorical notion that the world is a book. However, QI believes that Lassels deserves credit for the full statement which equates staying in one place to reading a single page of this world book. QI conjectures that later readers misread the passage above and incorrectly attributed the full statement to Saint Augustine.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Saint Augustine lived between 354 AD and 430 AD. One of his letters described the world as a book. The text below shows Augustine’s statement in Latin followed by a translation in English:2
Major liber noster orbis terrarum est: in eo lego completum, quod in libro Dei lego promissum.
Our greater book is the world; in it I read fulfilled what in the book of God I read promised.
In 1750 French writer Louis-Charles Fougeret de Monbron published “Le Cosmopolite, ou le Citoyen du Monde” (“The Cosmopolitan, or the Citizen of the World”) which included a version of the saying without attribution. Below is the text in French3 followed by an English translation.4 The spelling used in the French text differed from modern French spelling:
L’Univers est une espece de Livre dont on n’a lû que la prémiére page, quand on n’a vû que son Païs. J’en ai feüilleté un assez grand nombre que j’ay trouvées presque également mauvaises. Cet examen ne m’a point été infructueux. Je haïssois ma Patrie. Toutes les impertinences des Peuples divers parmi lesquels j’ay vêcu m’ont reconcilié avec elle. Quand je n’aurois tiré d’autre bénéfice de mes voïages que celuy là je n’en re-greterois ni les frais, ni les fatigues.
The universe is a sort of book, of which you’ve only read the first page when you’ve only seen your own country. I have riffled through a pretty large number of that book’s pages, which I have found equally displeasing. Such a study has been by no means unfruitful. I used to loathe my own country. All the sillinesses of the different peoples amongst whom I have lived have reconciled me to her. If I had not got any benefit from my travels other than that, I wouldn’t regret either the cost or the trouble.
In 1757 an author, with the initials A. R., published “The Curiosities of Paris: In Nine Letters” which included an instance of the saying. The author A. R. incorrectly credited St. Augustine:5
St. Augustine when he speaks of the great Advantages arising from Travelling, says “That the World is a great Book, and none study this Book so much as a Traveller. They that never stir from home read only one Page of this Book;” like the dull Fellow in Pliny, who could never count more than five.
In 1799 “The English Enchiridion; Being a Selection of Apothegms, Moral Maxims, &c” compiled by John Feltham included the following entry:6
St Augustine, when he speaks of the great advantages of travelling, says, that the world is a great book, and none study this book so much as a traveller. They that never stir from their home read only one page of this book.
In 1803 Henry Kett of Trinity College, Oxford published “Elements of General Knowledge: Introductory to Useful Books in the Principal Branches of Literature and Science” which contained a variant of the quotation:7
He who is confined to his own country reads only one page of the book of human nature, and perpetually studies the same lesson; nor does he understand that completely, from his ignorance of its relative merit, and connexion with all other parts.
In 1812 Lord Byron published the initial parts of his major narrative poem “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage”. The title page reprinted the key passage from “Le Cosmopolite, ou le Citoyen du Monde” (“The Cosmopolitan, or the Citizen of the World”) which contained a version of the quotation in French.8 Thus, the quotation achieved wide circulation. Byron acknowledged “Le Cosmopolite”.
In 1824 “Select Proverbs of All Nations” compiled by Thomas Fielding included the following entry:9
The world is a great book, of which they that never stir from home read only a page. — Augustine.
In 1875 “A Hand-Book of Proverbs” collected by Henry G. Bohn oddly credited the quotation to St. Austin instead of St. Augustine:10
The world is a great book, of which they that never stir from home read only a page. St. Austin.
In 1891 “A Dictionary of Thoughts: Being a Cyclopedia of Laconic Quotations” compiled by Tryon Edwards included this entry::11
The world is a great book, of which they who never stir from home read only a page. — Augustine.
In 1907 “The Editor: The Journal of Information for Literary Workers” printed the following short item. The saying was credited to Stendhal (the penname of Marie-Henri Beyle):12
The universe is a sort of book, only the first page of which has been read by those who have seen no other country than their own. — STENDHAL
In 1936 “The New York Times” published a pertinent item in “Queries and Answers” section of the newspaper. A correspondent credited a French version of the saying to “Lamartine”. This name probably corresponded to the French author Alphonse de Lamartine, but QI has found no substantive evidence supporting this attribution:13
H. F. Trafford, Mineola, N. Y., writes: The following, by Lamartine, is probably what this correspondent desires:
Le monde est une espèce de livre, dont il n’a lu que la première page qui n’a lu que son pays. (The world is a sort of book of which he has read only page one who has seen only his own country.)
In 1945 “The Rotarian” magazine published the saying together with two funny quotations presenting a different perspective:14
Almost 2,000 years ago, wise old Augustine wrote: “The world is a great book, of which they who never stir from home read only a page.”
True—but it’s not the whole truth, for as Wordsworth observed in “Peter Bell”:
He travelled here, he travelled there;
But not the value of a hair
Was head or heart the better.Thomas Fuller, back in 1732, put it less elegantly: “If an ass goes travelling, he’ll not come home a horse.”
In 1968, “20,000 Quips and Quotes” compiled by Evan Esar contained the following entry:15
The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page. –St. Augustine
In conclusion, QI believes that Richard Lassels deserves credit for this statement. He wrote it in the 1670 book “The Voyage of Italy: or A Compleat Journey through Italy”. The attribution to St. Augustine of Hippo was a mistake based on a misreading of the words of Lassels. St. Augustine did employ the metaphor which depicted the world as a book, but Lassels coined the full statement.
Image Notes: Picture created by Luca Bravo at Unsplash. The picture shows a wooden boat moving toward a mountain. The image has been cropped and resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Victor Arias Jr., Robert Goulding, Lynda Kushnir Pekrul, and Johnathan Muller whose inquiries led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Also, thanks to previous researchers such as Barry Popik, the participants at Metafilter, and the volunteer editors of Wikiquote.
- 1670, The Voyage of Italy: Or, A Compleat Journey through Italy, In Two Parts, By Richard Lassels (Gentleman who travelled through Italy five times as tutor to several of the English Nobility and Gentry), Section: A Preface to the Reader Concerning Travelling, Quote Page Unnumbered, Newly Printed at Paris, and are to be sold in London by John Starkey.(Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1668, S. Aurelii Augustini Hipponensis Episcopi et Aliorum Quorundam Ad Ipsum Vel Eius Caussa Scriptae, Epist. 162, Quote Page 772, Typis & impensis Joh. Henrici Schonnerstaede, Apud Joh. Cramerum. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1750, Le Cosmopolite, ou le Citoyen du Monde (The Cosmopolitan, or the Citizen of the World), Author: Louis-Charles Fougeret de Monbron, Quote Page 1, Aux depens de l’Auteur (Published at the expense of the Author). (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 2004 Copyright, From Enlightenment to Romanticism: Anthology II, Edited by Carmen Lavin and Ian Donnachie, Footnote 88, Quote Page 303, Manchester University Press, Manchester, England, and The Open University. (Google Books Preview) ↩︎
- 1757, The Curiosities of Paris: In Nine Letters by A. R., Note: These letters are addressed to the medical and chirurgical gentlemen (of my acquaintance) who visited Paris in the year MDCCLIV (1754), Letter 1, From: A. R., Date: January 23, 1754, Start Page 1, Quote Page 16, Printed for W. Owen at Temple-Bar, London. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1799, The English Enchiridion; Being a Selection of Apothegms, Moral Maxims, &c, Compiled by John Feltham, Chapter: Select Maxims, Maxim Number 4, Quote Page 2, Printed by R. Cruttwell, Bath, England; and Sold by C. Dilly, Poultry, London, England. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1803, Elements of General Knowledge: Introductory to Useful Books in the Principal Branches of Literature and Science by Henry Kett (Fellow and Tutor of Trinity College, Oxford), Volume 2 of 2, The Fourth Edition, Class The Sixth: The Sources of Our National Prosperity, Chapter 4: Foreign Travel, Quote Page 300 and 301, Printed for Messrs. Rivington, London. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1812, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage: A Romaunt: and Other Poems by Lord Byron, Second Edition, (Epigraph on title page), Printed for John Murray, London. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1824, Select Proverbs of All Nations, Compiled by Thomas Fielding, Chapter: Miscellaneous Maxims, Quote Page 216, Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, London. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1875, A Hand-Book of Proverbs, Collected by Henry G. Bohn, A Complete Alphabet of Proverbs, Quote Page 519, George Bell and Sons, London. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1891, A Dictionary of Thoughts: Being a Cyclopedia of Laconic Quotations, Compiled by Tryon Edwards, Topic: Travel, Quote Page 581, Column 2, Cassell Publishing Company, New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1907 November, The Editor: The Journal of Information for Literary Workers, Volume 26, Number 5, (Untitled short item), Quote Page 227, Column 2, The Editor, New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1936 March 15, New York Times, Section: The New York Times Book Review, Queries and Answers, Query Title: “The World Is a Book”, Quote Page 29, Column 3, New York. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1945 February, The Rotarian, Minute Editorial, Quote Page 17, Column 2, Rotary International, Chicago, Illinois. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1968, 20,000 Quips and Quotes, Compiled by Evan Esar, Topic: Travel, Quote Page 822, Doubleday, Garden City, New York. (Verified on paper) ↩︎