Request for assistance with Gorky quote

[ROBERT A ROTHSTEIN]

While it's true that in 1925 Gorky wrote:  "Vysota kul'tury
opredeliaetsia otnosheniem k zhenshchine," in 1883 Ivan Franko
began his article "Zhinocha nevolia v rus'kykh pisniakh narodnykh" with
the following sentence:

        Koly se pravda, shcho miroiu kul'turnosti vsiakoho narodu
        mozhe sluzhyty to, iak toi narod obkhodit'sia z zhinkamy,
        to i se bezperechna pravda, shcho rus'ko-ukrains'kyi narod
        pislia sei miry pokazhet'sia vysoko kul'turnym u vidnoshenni
        do druhykh susidnikh narodiv.

Franko's formulation ("If it's true that...") suggests that he might
have been referring to an already existing aphorism, but I haven't yet
found an earlier source.
                                Bob Rothstein