Commonly believed to be the motto of the United States Postal Service, this quote describes the Roman historian's admiration for the Persian messenger service. Their task was to keep the emperor informed about the doings throughout his vast domain. The USPS has no official creed or motto.
This misconception can be blamed on the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White. They designed the James A. Farley Building in New York City at 8th Ave. & 33rd St., also known as the U.S. General Post Office. Their plans included placing this phrase onto the building. As a trivial aside, the inscription was carved by Ira Schnapp. He later designed the Action Comics logo as well as other logos for DC Comics.
Originally, the receiver would pay for the letter. It wasn't until later that the postal service realized it would be more efficient and financially secure to have the sender pay for delivery up front. This brought about creation of the postage stamp. The idea of receiving the money up front probably came from another profession that predates even the ancient Persian messengers- as ever - BB
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