Would people in the nineteenth century have agreed with The White Lie’s judgment that Mrs. White’s literary borrowing constituted “wholesale” stealing? ^{5The White Lie, p. 136.}

Some would have, especially critics. For instance, in 1889, the Protestant pastors of Healdsburg, California, invited D. M. Canright, a recently apostatized Adventist minister, to come from Michigan and lecture against the Adventists and Ellen White. In those lectures, Canright raised the charge of plagiarism against Ellen White, and Adventist pastors William Healey and J. N. Loughborough responded, showing where Canright had overstated his case. When the debate was over, the opposing pastors published their parting shot in the local newspaper, accusing Ellen White of plagiarism. ^{6The White Lie, p. 203, mentions the charge, but not the historical background. See Ron Graybill, “D. M. Canright in Healdsburg: The Genesis of the Plagiarism Charge,” Insight, Oct. 21, 1980, pp. 7-10.} But these pastors were hardly unbiased judges. For centuries, the charge of plagiarism has been a favorite weapon used against religious leaders—John Bunyan and John Wesley were both vigorously accused. ^{7Regarding Bunyan, see William York Tindall, John Bunyan: Mechanick Preacher (New York: Russell & Russell, Inc., 1964), pp. 194ff. Regarding Wesley, see Donald H. Kirkham, “John Wesley’s ‘Calm Address’: The Response of the Critics,” Methodist History, October, 1975, pp. 13-23.}TAWL 2.9

In the nineteenth century, plagiarism was known and condemned, but uncredited paraphrasing was widely practiced. American humorist Mark Twain once wondered if there was “anything in any human utterance, oral or written, except plagiarism!” ^{8Quoted in Joseph P. Lash, Helen and Teacher (New York: Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence, 1980), p. 146.} Edgar Allen Poe was not so relaxed on the subject. He caused a considerable uproar when he accused Longfellow of plagiarism. Ironically, modern scholars find that Poe himself plagiarized. ^{9See George Hatvary, “Notes and Queries,” American Literature, November, 1966, pp. 365-372.} Literary borrowing is much more easily defined and condemned in the abstract than it is avoided in actual practice.TAWL 2.10

Even closer to Ellen White was Uriah Smith, who condemned the plagiarizing of his sister Annie’s poem, ^{10The White Lie, p. 224. See [Uriah Smith], The Review and Herald, September 6, 1864, p. 120.} while in his own writings on prophecy he made free use of the paraphrased words of George Storrs and Josiah Litch. ^{11See Merwin R. Thurber, “Uriah Smith and the Charge of Plagiarism,” Ministry, June, 1945, pp. 15, 16.} In this, Smith was not hypocritical. He, like other nineteenth-century writers, simply drew the line between plagiarism and legitimate borrowing at a different point than many would today.TAWL 2.11