Pictured above is the James A. Farley Post Office in NYC. Just above the pillars you can see the inscription that all of us know as the United States Postal Service Creed.
"Neither snow nor rain not heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"
Did you know, however, that this is actually not an official motto or creed of the USPS? I had no idea until I was researching the previous post about sending birds to deliver messages. This creed was actually originally used as a description of the courier service in ancient Persia. It is said to originally been written by Herodotus (c. 484 BC- 425/413 BCE).
"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; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed." -Herodotus, Histories (8.98) (trans. A. D. Godley, 1924)
It is kind of curious how things like that become so well known even when they are not officially recognized by the organization. I am sure there are plenty of other examples like this, but I cannot think of any more at the moment. Have any of you actually seen the James A Farley post office? What did you think of it?
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