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>Mr. Coates- I recently read a quote that was attributed to Thomas >Jefferson that went "The man who reads nothing at all is better educated >than the man who reads nothing but newspapers." Are you familiar with >this quote as written? If so, can you tell me where in his writings I might >find it. I enjoyed this quote so much I just had to find out if it really was >from Jefferson. Thanks--Greg Saucedo That quote is a kind of summary of the following one, which is authentic: "The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors. He who reads nothing will still learn the great facts, and the details are all false." --Thomas Jefferson to John Norvell, 1807. ME 11:225 That letter can be found in the Library of America volume of Jefferson's writings, page 1176, which should be available in any public library. That letter also contains other comment on newspapers, such as: "Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day." --Thomas Jefferson to John Norvell, 1807. ME 11:224