--- 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. ... As nearly as we can, we must put ourselves in the place of those who utter..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15b/learned-hand-5343_divine_there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-doc_834496.jpg" --- # 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. ... As nearly as we can, we must put ourselves in the place of those who uttered the words, and try to divine how they would have dealt with the unforeseen situation; and, although their words are by far the most decisive…” quote by Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15b/learned-hand-5343_divine_there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-doc_834496.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15b/learned-hand-5343_divine_there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-doc_834496.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15b/learned-hand-5343_divine_there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-doc_834496.jpg) > “There is no surer way to misread any document than to read it literally. ... As nearly as we can, we must put ourselves in the place of those who uttered the words, and try to divine how they would have dealt with the unforeseen situation; and, although their words are by far the most decisive evidence of what they would have done, they are by no means final.” [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. Literal reading ignores context; understanding intent requires considering the author's perspective and circumstances. **In simple terms:** Context matters in interpretation. Key Takeaway Seek intent, not just words. Themes interpretation context law intent reading Mood analytical thoughtful Type legal philosophical When to use this quote - legal documents - historical texts - personal letters - policy drafts Key Concepts legal hermeneutics historical context authorial intent Questions to Reflect On - How do we handle ambiguous language? - When should we prioritize intent over text? A Different Perspective Literal reading may miss nuanced meanings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Document Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/document-read-588632/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Finals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finals/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Misread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misread/) [Misread Document](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misread-document-588631/) [Read Literally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-literally-588630/) [Situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/situation/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Misread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-misread-588633/) ## Related quotes > [There is no surer way to misread any document than to read it literally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/there-is-no-surer-way-to-misread-any-document-than-to-read-it-2/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [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/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-kinsey-goman/) > [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. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [We're not gonna misread our mandate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-mcconnell/we-re-not-gonna-misread-our-mandate/) [Mitch McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-mcconnell/) > [“I have found so many angels trapped inside undisputed jargon that I find myself digging at the words, in order to release them, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/i-have-found-so-many-angels-trapped-inside-undisputed-jargon-that-i/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“If we misread the blueprint of our life, we need not be ashamed of backtracking on our chosen options. Admitting to mistakes may make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/if-we-misread-the-blueprint-of-our-life-we-need-not-be-ashamed-of/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [The adult must seem to mislead the child, and the Master the dog. They misread the signs. Their ignorance and their wishes twist everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-vanauken/the-adult-must-seem-to-mislead-the-child-and-the-master-the-dog-they/) [Sheldon Vanauken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-vanauken/) > [My colleagues across the aisle in Brooklyn and team Clinton are very smart people. I respect them very much. But they misread America. 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. It can give them something to push off of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/even-though-i-think-writers-can-sometimes-thrive-from-being-misread/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [“It’s common to be misread by people who don’t know you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/it-s-common-to-be-misread-by-people-who-don-t-know-you/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) ## More by Learned Hand > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [When I say that a thing is true, I mean that I cannot help believing it... But...I do not venture to assume that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/when-i-say-that-a-thing-is-true-i-mean-that-i-cannot-help-believing/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > ['I beseech ye . . . , think that ye may be mistaken.' I should like to have that written over the portals of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/i-beseech-ye-think-that-ye-may-be-mistaken-i-should-like-to-have-that/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [If the prosecution of crime is to be conducted with so little regard for that protection which centuries of English law have given to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/if-the-prosecution-of-crime-is-to-be-conducted-with-so-little-regard/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken." I should like to have that written over the portals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/i-beseech-ye-in-the-bowels-of-christ-think-that-ye-may-be-mistaken-i/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [What seems fair enough against a squalid huckster of bad liquor may take on a different face, if used by government determined to suppress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/what-seems-fair-enough-against-a-squalid-huckster-of-bad-liquor-may/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [The spirit of liberty is the spirit of him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned ... .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/the-spirit-of-liberty-is-the-spirit-of-him-who-near-two-thousand/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [I had rather take my chance that some traitors will escape detection than spread abroad a spirit of general suspicion and distrust, which accepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/i-had-rather-take-my-chance-that-some-traitors-will-escape-detection/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [The successful competitor, having been urged to compete, must not be turned upon when he wins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/the-successful-competitor-having-been-urged-to-compete-must-not-be/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [Words are not pebbles in alien juxtaposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/words-are-not-pebbles-in-alien-juxtaposition/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [It is often hard to secure unanimity about the borders of legislative power, but that is much easier than to decide how far a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/it-is-often-hard-to-secure-unanimity-about-the-borders-of-legislative/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [Each one of us must in the end choose for himself how far he would like to leave our collective fate to the wayward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/each-one-of-us-must-in-the-end-choose-for-himself-how-far-he-would/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [It lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it. While it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/it-lies-in-the-hearts-of-men-and-women-when-it-dies-there-no/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [A self-made man may prefer a self-made name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/a-self-made-man-may-prefer-a-self-made-name/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [No doubt one may quote history to support any cause, as the devil quotes scripture; but modern history is not a very satisfactory side-arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/no-doubt-one-may-quote-history-to-support-any-cause-as-the-devil/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) [Explore all 101 Learned Hand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) ## More Divine quotes > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Monsters are divine portents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/monsters-are-divine-portents/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. Therefore, I am amused when I hear sects and churches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/miracles-are-like-candles-lit-up-until-the-sun-rises-and-then-blown/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Evil may mar the divine image and cloud its brilliance, but it cannot destroy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/evil-may-mar-the-divine-image-and-cloud-its-brilliance-but-it-cannot/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Coercion is the basis of every law in the universe,--human or divine. A law is not law without coercion behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/coercion-is-the-basis-of-every-law-in-the-universe-human-or-divine-a/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Silence tells the seeker in us to love, to love himself. It tells us it is wrong to hate ourselves because of our imperfections.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/silence-tells-the-seeker-in-us-to-love-to-love-himself-it-tells-us-it/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [Friend, you are a divine mingle-mangle of guts and stardust. So hang in there! If doors opened for me, they can open for anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-capra/friend-you-are-a-divine-mingle-mangle-of-guts-and-stardust-so-hang-in/) [Frank Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-capra/) > [A woman is more influenced by what she divines than by what she is told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ninon-de-l-enclos/a-woman-is-more-influenced-by-what-she-divines-than-by-what-she-is/) [Ninon de L'Enclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ninon-de-l-enclos/) [Browse all 4,543 Divine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no surer way to misread any document than to read it literally. ... 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