“That dramatic statement is French in origin, and (as they say) of a certain age – which means, here as always, of an uncertain age. Who said it, and when? Was it a village-bound boaster with a sudden and wonderful revelation of the dramatic spirit? Or was it in very truth a conqueror of men’s minds?
Let those who know further tell us. Let the birthplace of his aunt, the recollections of his schoolmaster, the intrigues which gave him his start in life, let his habits in face of the bottle (to which he was wont to ascribe so musch of his success or failure), his taste in cigars, or sword-hilts, or politics, or religion – let all be left unknown and ungathered. For whoever he was, however he prospered, he said and he did (I'll be bound) nothing else that could justify the sublime arrogance of that declaration – ‘with twenty-five soldiers of lead I have conquered the world’. Anything more of his were a derogation from that assertion, or a flat denial, or (worst of all) a jest thrown at it – a very profanation of his moment of divinity”

Francis Meynell, Typography, Pelican Press, 1923

The number indicates that it is a mid-17th century quote, possibly 1640 (again, according to Meynell). Taken from Typographers on Type edited by Ruari McLean.

Tim

Thank you Tim!

That's a brilliant phrase. Thank you for posting it.

Yes - I wonder what the digital-age equivalent would be?

Twenty-six soldiers of vector?

Cannon-fodder of OpenType?

Tim

256 unicode ninjas?

Mosley is characteristically thorough on the question.

Yes indeed. Thanks for the link. Crikey – that's enlightening. The description of the guard of honour for the Monotype Corporation float at the Lord Mayor's Show conjures up quite the Busby Berkeley image.

If you liked "twenty-six soldiers of lead," you'll love this one:

More powerful than all poetry
More pervasive than all science,
More profound than all philosophy,
Are the letters of the alphabet,
Twenty-six pillars of strength
Upon which our culture rests.

Olof Lagercrantz

In Germany we say:
"Mehr als das Gold hat das Blei die Welt verändert,
und mehr als das Blei in der Flinte. das Blei im Setzkasten."

More than gold, lead changed the world,
and more than the lead out of a gun the lead of a typestter's case did it.

(sorry for my poor translation).

Georg

"...I am the leaden army that conquers the world. I am type."

- Frederic W. Goudy

Thanks Georg, wonderful quote. I found out by googling that it is from Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, who is apparently not much read outside Germany. I see from a bit of reading about him that he is a fascinating personality--I will have to get a book on him!