--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no surer way to misread any…" description: "\"There is no surer way to misread any document than to read it literally.\" — Learned Hand" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/learned-hand-5343_documents_there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-doc_2100468.png" --- # There is no surer way to misread any document than to read… ![“There is no surer way to misread any document than to read it literally.” quote by Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/learned-hand-5343_documents_there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-doc_2100468.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/learned-hand-5343_documents_there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-doc_2100468.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/learned-hand-5343_documents_there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-doc_2100468.png) > “There is no surer way to misread any document than to read it literally.” [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He warns that reading a document strictly literal leads to misinterpretation, ignoring context. **In simple terms:** Literal reading often misleads. Key Takeaway Interpret with context, not just words. Themes law interpretation communication Mood cautious analytical Type legal educational When to use this quote - contract drafting - policy analysis - academic research - media reporting Key Concepts literalism context misreading Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance literal and contextual reading? - When is literal reading appropriate? A Different Perspective Context can be ambiguous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Misread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misread/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [There is no surer way to misread any document than to read it literally. ... As nearly as we can, we must put ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-document-than-to-read-it/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [“the next time your opponent presents a written document for you to read, resist the temptation to look at it. Instead, ask him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-kinsey-goman/the-next-time-your-opponent-presents-a-written-document-for-you-to/) Carol Kinsey Goman > [Reading a script is usually as exciting as reading a boilerplate legal document, so when you read one that makes you feel as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/reading-a-script-is-usually-as-exciting-as-reading-a-boilerplate/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [I suppose I should be happy to be misread; better be that than some of the other things I have become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mann/i-suppose-i-should-be-happy-to-be-misread-better-be-that-than-some-of/) [Aimee Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mann/) > [Adam Smith is misread as being amoral precisely because people don't read his first book, because they don't read 'The Theory of Moral Sentiments.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/adam-smith-is-misread-as-being-amoral-precisely-because-people-don-t/) [P. 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They,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/my-colleagues-across-the-aisle-in-brooklyn-and-team-clinton-are-very/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [Silence is text easy to misread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/silence-is-text-easy-to-misread/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [I watch pom, you misread that didn't you? ;)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hudson-t/i-watch-pom-you-misread-that-didn-t-you/) Hudson T > [Silence is a text easy to misread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-attanasio/silence-is-a-text-easy-to-misread/) [A.A. Attanasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-attanasio/) > [Even though I think writers can sometimes thrive from being misread. 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Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-d-anthony/) > [The Magna Carta is widely known to be one of the foundational documents for our Constitution. I can only imagine that a mention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-conyers/the-magna-carta-is-widely-known-to-be-one-of-the-foundational/) [John Conyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-conyers/) > [Altering the Constitution has become the daily business of the Federal Government which the document is supposed to guide and limit. Both Congress and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/altering-the-constitution-has-become-the-daily-business-of-the/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [There was an intervention of the foreign states in the Russian Far East, Archangel of the West border of Russia. The foreign troops were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-semichastny/there-was-an-intervention-of-the-foreign-states-in-the-russian-far/) Vladimir Semichastny Browse all 606 Documents quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no surer way to misread any document than to read it literally.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Learned Hand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-document-than-to-read-it-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Documents" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-document-than-to-read-it-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/learned-hand-5343_documents_there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-doc_2100468.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/learned-hand-5343_documents_there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-doc_2100468.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/learned-hand-5343_documents_there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-doc_2100468.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no surer way to misread any document than to read it literally.” — Learned Hand", "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": "Learned Hand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no surer way to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-document-than-to-read-it-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-document-than-to-read-it-2/#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 } } ] } ```