American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

Hornbook (1442-1800) was the schoolbook used to teach children to read in early English, and later American, schools. Invented in response to the expense and scarcity of paper, the hornbook consisted of one sheet of vellum or paper pasted to a flat board with a handle, shaped like a table-tennis paddle, and covered over with a thin piece of transparent cow's horn, giving the appearance of lamination. On the paper was printed the Criss-Cross Row (Christ's-Cross followed by the alphabet), the Benediction, the Lord's Prayer, and the Roman numerals. The hornbook ceased being used in the early 1800's, when paper...

Johannes Gutenberg (c.1400-February 3, 1468) was the German inventor of the moveable-type printing press, which helped revolutionize the Western world. This invention prepared Europe for the rapid spread of ideas, making the Reformation possible. The first book of significance ever printed was the 42-line Gutenberg Bible, known as the Mazarin Bible, 1455. Johannes Gutenberg wrote: <God suffers in the multitude of souls whom His word can not reach. Religious truth is imprisoned in a small number of manuscript books which confine instead of spread the public treasure. Let us break the seal which seals up holy things and give wings...

Thomas a` Kempis (c.1379-August 8, 1471) was an Augustinian friar at Zwolle in the Netherlands, who wrote the devotional, On the Imitation of Christ, 1420. This work has greatly influenced western writers, including: Martin Luther, Samuel Johnson, George Eliot and Lamartine. In Imitation of Christ, Thomas a` Kempis wrote: <Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.> 1379TK001 In Imitation of Christ, Thomas a` Kempis wrote: <Man proposes, but God disposes.> 1379TK002 In Imitation of Christ, Thomas a` Kempis wrote: <Love is swift, sincere,...

John Hus (c.1372-July 6, 1415) was a professor of philosophy and the rector of the University of Prague, Bohemia. Influenced by John Wycliffe, he insisted on teaching and expounding the Holy Scriptures in the language of the people and inspired a great following, similar to John Wycliffe in England. Amidst great controversy, he was betrayed and martyred. His last words were: <O holy simplicity!> 1372JH001 -- American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement. Endnotes: 1372JH001. John Hus, 1415, his last words. John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company,...

Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1342-October 25, 1400) was known as the "Father of English Poetry." He was honored as an English poet-laureate. The son of a vintner, he was born in London; rose to being a page to the Countess of Ulster, 1357; captured while fighting in France; and ransomed by Edward III, 1360. In 1385, Chaucer became a knight of the shire for Kent and a Justice of the Peace. He was supported by his steady patron, John of Gaunt (1340-1399), to whom he was related through marriage. At his death, he was buried in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer's works include: The Book...