I Read It in a Book

In defending a statement that is questioned or challenged, not infrequently someone will say: “I read it in a book” (as if this were a final and unanswerable answer). But an error is an error⎯even in a book! It is true that print tends to give weight to what is printed, and if we have seen something in print, it leaves its impression upon us, and many will choose to believe it, no matter who wrote it, or when, or why. But much that is printed contradicts much else that is printed, and it therefore follows that much of what is written must be wrong: If, for example, we were to turn to a textbook of a generation ago, we would be astounded at how much that was then proclaimed in print has since been set aside. And what reason have we to suppose that much of what we read today will not likewise seem absurd to those who follow in fifty years⎯or even in five! It doesn’t seem likely that we shall be the exception⎯either in literature or in life. But even when an irresponsible person writes, if his words appear in print, they will almost certainly impress some people. A lie from the lips of a man may travel far and fast, but it may be forgotten when breath fails or memory fades. But a printed lie enjoys a kind of infamous immortality. It lives on the page long after those who penned it have passed. But fortunately we are not obliged to believe everything we read, any more than we are obliged to believe everything we hear. Man-made theories and “authorities” come and go, and so called “final.” Findings have so often proved to be anything but “final”. Certainly we should read and seek knowledge and be ever grateful for the blessed companionship of the best books and for all the truth and beauty that have been preserved in print; but where controversial considerations are concerned, we can well afford to wait and watch, not being too hasty in assuming so-called “final”conclusions, for the books of men are no more infallible than men. What is written is written⎯but if what is written is not true, writing it or saying it doesn’t make it so.