United States Postal Service creed

Inscription on James Farley Post Office (click to see detail)

The United States Postal Service has no official creed or motto.^[1]

Often falsely cited as such, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" is an inscription on the James Farley Post Office in New York City,^[1] derived from a quote from Herodotus' Histories (8.98), referring to the courier service of the ancient Persian Empire:

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. (trans. A.D. Godley 1924)

In 2001, the USPS created a television commercial edited to Carly Simon's song "Let the River Run".^[2][3] The commercial, which ran after the September 11, 2001, attacks and the anthrax mailings, featured no voice over, only the following text interspersed on title cards. A portion of this variation also appeared without citation in the USPS 2001 Comprehensive Statement on Postal Operations (1.A-1):^[4]

We are mothers and fathers. And sons and daughters. Who every day go about our lives with duty, honor and pride. And neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor the winds of change, nor a nation challenged, will stay us from the swift completion of our appointed rounds. Ever.

The "creed" is also quoted in the lyrics of the 1981 Laurie Anderson single, "O Superman,"^[5] and in the 1997 movie The Postman, starring Kevin Costner.^[6]

In Adventures in Odyssey, the character Wooton Bassett said the mailman motto is:

"Rain or shine, snow or sleet, we deliver your mail! (But sunny days are optional...)"

In the Terry Pratchett Discworld novel Going Postal, the motto for the Ankh-Morpork Post Office is very similar, reading Neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night can stay these messengers about their duty. ^[7]

The creed is mentioned in the Seinfeld episode "The Calzone."

The creed is said by a mail carrier in the Arthur episode "What's Cooking? / Buster's Special Delivery".

See also

• Postal worker

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "National Postal Museum: FAQs". National Postal Museum. 2011 [last update]. http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/museum/1e_faqs.html#history10. Retrieved 2011-06-10. 
2. ^ USPS - Neither snow, nor rain ... nor a nation challenged - USPS TV Spot
3. ^ Carly Simon's Tribute to New York City by Joan May Jem33 (images and lyrics)
4. ^ http://www.usps.com/history/cs01/c1a.htm
5. ^ "Laurie Anderson's 'O Superman' - the Song". BBC. 2002-01-02. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/plain/A874758. Retrieved 2008-01-23. 
6. ^ "The Postman Script". http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/p/postman-script-transcript-kevin-costner.html. 
7. ^ http://www.ie.lspace.org/books/apf/men-at-arms.html The Annotated Pratchett File v9.0 - Men at Arms

External links

• History of the USPS