--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Had I the power, I would scatter…" description: "\"Had I the power, I would scatter libraries over the whole land as the sower sows his wheatfield.\" — Horace Mann" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a88/horace-mann-2022_book_had-i-the-power-i-would-scatter-librarie_445161.png" --- # Had I the power, I would scatter libraries over the whole… ![“Had I the power, I would scatter libraries over the whole land as the sower sows his wheatfield.” quote by Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a88/horace-mann-2022_book_had-i-the-power-i-would-scatter-librarie_445161.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a88/horace-mann-2022_book_had-i-the-power-i-would-scatter-librarie_445161.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a88/horace-mann-2022_book_had-i-the-power-i-would-scatter-librarie_445161.png) > “Had I the power, I would scatter libraries over the whole land as the sower sows his wheatfield.” [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He wishes to make knowledge universally accessible by spreading libraries everywhere like seeds. **In simple terms:** Spread books everywhere. Key Takeaway Promote free access to books. Themes education knowledge access equality Mood inspirational hopeful Type advocacy philosophical When to use this quote - schools - community centers - rural areas - digital divide Key Concepts public libraries literacy social equity Questions to Reflect On - How can we maximize impact with limited resources? - What modern tools can emulate this vision? A Different Perspective Resources may be limited for such widespread distribution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land/) [Land Sower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land-sower-3896568/) [Libraries Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libraries-land-3896569/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Library books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library-books/) [Power Scatter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-scatter-3896570/) [Sows Wheatfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sows-wheatfield-3896567/) [Wheat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheat/) [Wheat fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheat-fields/) [Wheatfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheatfield-3896571/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [Had I the power, I would scatter libraries over the whole land, as the sower sows his wheat-field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/had-i-the-power-i-would-scatter-libraries-over-the-whole-land-as-the-2/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [If you tame me, it would be as if the sun came to shine on my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-tame-me-it-would-be-as-if-the-sun-came-to-shine-on-my-life/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Kissing was something I did a lot of. Kissing in a wheat field as the sun begins to set on a summer's evening, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-orton/kissing-was-something-i-did-a-lot-of-kissing-in-a-wheat-field-as-the/) [Beth Orton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-orton/) > [When I was about 14. I saw my first mountain. I saw the ocean for the first time. I remember thinking that that ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/when-i-was-about-14-i-saw-my-first-mountain-i-saw-the-ocean-for-the/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [“You see the wheat fields over there? I don't eat bread. For me, wheat is of no use whatever. Wheat fields say nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/you-see-the-wheat-fields-over-there-i-don-t-eat-bread-for-me-wheat-is/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-exupery-antoine/you-see-the-grain-fields-down-yonder-i-do-not-eat-bread-wheat-is-of/) [Saint-Exupery Antoine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-exupery-antoine/) > […if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-tame-me-then-we-shall-need-each-other-to-me-you-will-be-unique/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [I began to paint again, even though I could barely hold the brush, but knowing exactly what I wanted to paint, I began three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/i-began-to-paint-again-even-though-i-could-barely-hold-the-brush-but/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [I grew up in a family of peasants, and it was there that I saw the way that, for example, our wheat fields suffered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/i-grew-up-in-a-family-of-peasants-and-it-was-there-that-i-saw-the-way/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [The wheat field has ...poetry; it is like a memory of something one has once seen. We can only make our pictures speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/the-wheat-field-has-poetry-it-is-like-a-memory-of-something-one-has/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“It has done me good,” said the fox, “because of the color of the wheat fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/it-has-done-me-good-said-the-fox-because-of-the-color-of-the-wheat/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [In the middle of a wheat field under a beautiful sunshine anybody can be happy; the important thing is to be happy in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/in-the-middle-of-a-wheat-field-under-a-beautiful-sunshine-anybody-can/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) ## More by Horace Mann > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [The earth endured Christ's ministry only three years;--not three weeks after his real character and purposes were generally known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-earth-endured-christ-s-ministry-only-three-years-not-three-weeks/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [If evil is inevitable, how are the wicked accountable? 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It should be neither the warp nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/even-the-choicest-literature-should-be-taken-as-the-condiment-and-not/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Of all "rights" which command attention at the present time among us, woman's rights seem to take precedence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/of-all-rights-which-command-attention-at-the-present-time-among-us/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [After a child has arrived at the legal age for attending school,-whether he be the child of noble or of peasant,-the only two absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/after-a-child-has-arrived-at-the-legal-age-for-attending-school/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Let the Common School be expanded to its capabilities, let it be worked with the efficiency of which it is susceptible, and nine tenths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/let-the-common-school-be-expanded-to-its-capabilities-let-it-be/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Resistance to improvement contradicts the noblest instincts of the race. It begets its opposite. The fanaticism of reform is only the raging of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/resistance-to-improvement-contradicts-the-noblest-instincts-of-the/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Explore all 191 Horace Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Had I the power, I would scatter libraries over the whole land as the sower sows his wheatfield.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Horace Mann" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/had-i-the-power-i-would-scatter-libraries-over-the-whole-land-as-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/had-i-the-power-i-would-scatter-libraries-over-the-whole-land-as-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a88/horace-mann-2022_book_had-i-the-power-i-would-scatter-librarie_445161.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a88/horace-mann-2022_book_had-i-the-power-i-would-scatter-librarie_445161.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a88/horace-mann-2022_book_had-i-the-power-i-would-scatter-librarie_445161.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Had I the power, I would scatter libraries over the whole land as the sower sows his wheatfield.” — Horace Mann", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Horace Mann", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Had I the power, I would...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/had-i-the-power-i-would-scatter-libraries-over-the-whole-land-as-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/had-i-the-power-i-would-scatter-libraries-over-the-whole-land-as-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```