Origins of the Unofficial Motto of the United States Postal Service
The unofficial motto of the United States Postal Service, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds," has ancient origins from Herodotus' "The Histories." This motto reflects the efficient relay-like postal system of the Persian Empire, inspiring architect William Mitchell Kendall to inscribe it on the General Post Office Building in Manhattan in 1912. Today, it symbolizes the dedicated efforts of American postal workers in delivering mail.
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The (unofficial) motto of the United States Postal Service: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. BY SARAH ANDRESS
Original meaning This quote originally comes from Book 8.98 of Herodotus The Histories which describes the war between the Greeks and the Persian Empire from ~499 to ~479 BCE. 8.98 While Xerxes did thus, he sent a messenger to Persia with news of his present misfortune. Now there is nothing mortal that accomplishes a course more swiftly than do these messengers, by the Persians' skillful contrivance. It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day's journey. These are stopped neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed. [2] The first rider delivers his charge to the second, the second to the third, and thence it passes on from hand to hand, even as in the Greek torch-bearers' race in honor of Hephaestus. This riding-post is called in Persia, angareion. Specifically, Herodotus was admiring the efficiency of the relay-like postal system of the Persian couriers (messengers). He noted the brutal conditions (rain, snow, blazing heat, and darkness) in which these postal carriers completed their tasks in the fastest time possible. He compared the Persian postal system to the Greek torch relay race. Google.com
Classics in our World Architect William Mitchell Kendall designed the General Post Office Building in 1912. Kendall loved the words of the ancient Greeks as much as their columns, so he also decided to inscribe the building with the phrase by Herodotus. Kendall modified a translation of Herodotus's work by George Herbert Palmer, a Harvard professor and a distinguished classicist to produce the quote on the building in the middle of Manhattan. This is how the quote came to be associated with the United States Postal System and how it became the unofficial motto. This motto represents the tireless work of today s American postal workers and their efforts to deliver every piece of mail to every citizen efficiently.
General Post Office Building Now called the James A. Farley Building (The quote is underlined in red. Take notice of those columns!) Wikipedia.org
Works Used https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/87770/neither-snow-nor-rain-isnt-usps- motto https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/mission-motto.pdf
