“It is, unfortunately, one of the chief characteristics of modern business to be always in a hurry. In olden times it was different.” — The Medical Record, 1884.
Yes. That is 1884. The webcomic XKCD has 19 quotes like this, including:
- “the art of conversation is dying” (1890)
- “thirty pages is now too much” (1894)
- “there never was an age in which so many people were able to write badly” (1891)
I have a fun art project for these quotes over on my spudart blog, “The art of letter-writing is fast dying out.” I welcome any one to participate.