6 cryptograms to solve with a pencil. Each letter of the quote has been swapped for another letter, and the same swap holds all the way through.
20 pt ciphertext — the size a newspaper puzzle page never gives you. 26 pt ciphertext with wide letter spacing and room to write. Both sizes print on US Letter with the answer key on its own page.
Printing this web page instead? Press Ctrl+P (⌘+P on a Mac). The navigation and buttons drop away, and the answer key prints on its own page — open it below first if you want it included.
Decoder — write your answer under each cipher letter:
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Solver's cheat sheet
Most common letters
E T A O I N S H R D L U
Most common 1-letter words
A I
Most common 2-letter words
OF TO IN IT IS BE AS AT SO WE HE BY OR ON DO IF ME MY UP AN GO NO US AM
Most common 3-letter words
THE AND FOR ARE BUT NOT YOU ALL ANY CAN HER WAS ONE OUR OUT DAY GET HAS HIM HIS HOW MAN NEW NOW OLD SEE TWO WAY WHO BOY DID ITS LET PUT SAY SHE TOO USE
Common double letters
LL EE SS OO TT FF RR NN PP CC
Common word endings
-ING -ION -ENT -TION -LY -ED -ER -EST
After an apostrophe
T (don't) S (it's) RE (we're) VE (I've) LL (we'll) D (I'd)
“Remember that this which pulls the strings is the thing which is hidden within: this is the power of persuasion, this is life, this, if one may so say, is man.”— Marcus Aurelius, 1862, Meditations (George Long translation, 1862)Cipher key: A=D B=X C=A D=B E=Q F=G G=C H=Y I=S J=N K=T L=E M=L N=U O=H P=J Q=V R=P S=Z T=F U=O V=K W=M X=R Y=W Z=I
“Accommodated; that is, when a man is, as they say, accommodated; or when a man is, being, whereby a' may be thought to be accommodated, - which is an excellent thing.”— William Shakespeare, 1598, King Henry IV, Part II, Act III. Sc. 2 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=U B=F C=N D=T E=J F=B G=X H=K I=Z J=D K=V L=P M=I N=Y O=G P=E Q=R R=S S=M T=O U=L V=W W=A X=C Y=H Z=Q
“Slowly and sadly we laid him down, From the field of his fame fresh and gory; We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone, But we left him alone with his glory.”— Charles Wolfe, 1817, The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=C B=V C=J D=P E=W F=B G=L H=Q I=Z J=K K=T L=G M=I N=R O=H P=A Q=M R=O S=Y T=E U=S V=N W=F X=U Y=D Z=X
“It is the duty of all persons, when affairs are the most prosperous, then in especial to reflect within themselves in what way they are to endure adversity.”— Terence, 161 BC, Phormio, Act II. Sc. 1, 11. (241) (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=L B=E C=I D=V E=H F=G G=S H=A I=W J=U K=P L=N M=J N=F O=K P=M Q=Z R=D S=X T=C U=R V=B W=O X=Y Y=Q Z=T
“On the approach of spring I withdraw without reluctance from the noisy and extensive scene of crowds without company, and dissipation without pleasure.”— Edward Gibbon, 1796, Memoirs of My Life and Writings, Vol. I. p. 116 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=Z B=N C=U D=K E=H F=C G=V H=O I=R J=T K=G L=X M=D N=P O=J P=F Q=W R=Y S=I T=A U=M V=B W=Q X=S Y=E Z=L
“The life of man is a self-evolving circle, which, from a ring imperceptibly small, rushes on all sides outwards to new and larger circles, and that without end.”— Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841, Essays: First SeriesCipher key: A=Q B=F C=J D=B E=L F=N G=O H=W I=A J=G K=X L=U M=V N=D O=T P=Y Q=H R=S S=K T=I U=R V=Z W=M X=P Y=C Z=E