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Quote#Books & Reading

In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book? Or…

Quote bySydney Smith · 1771–1845

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Referring to the lack of established culture and the established institution of slavery in the United States, in "Review of Seybert's Annals of the United States", The Edinburgh Review (1820), pp. 79-80.

English (original)

In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book? Or goes to an American play? or looks at an American picture or statue?

— Sydney Smith

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