 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
To see one's own civilization in a true perspective is by no means easy. There are three obvious means to this end, namely, travel, history, and anthropology... but no one of the three is as great a help to objectivity as it appears to be. The traveler sees only what interests him; for example, Marco Polo ever noticed Chinese women's small feet. ...
In spite of these drawbacks, travel, history, and anthropology are the best means, and we must make the most of them.
Source: In praise of Idleness, and Other Essays, 1935, chapter VIII: Western Civilization, p.157
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