"Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it has a mission to enlighten, civilize, bring order and democracy, and that it uses force only as a last resort. And, sadder still, there always is a chorus of willing intellectuals to say calming words about benign or altruistic empires, as if one shouldn't trust the evidence of one's eyes watching the destruction and the misery and death brought by the latest mission civilizatrice."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Edward Said, Orientalism (1979), Preface (2003)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Enlightenment_(spiritual)
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Enlightenment (spiritual)
95 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Enlightenment (spiritual) →
Related Quotes
"The matter is now so clear to me, the nature of real space so palpable, that methinks I could make a child understand…"
"Neither an enlightened philosophy, nor all the political wisdom of Rome, nor even the faith and virtue of the Christi…"
"Killing one tyrant only makes way for worse, unless the people have sense, spirit and honesty enough to establish and…"
"The world grows more enlightened. Knowledge is more equally diffused. Newspapers, magazines, and circulating librarie…"
"We'll have a picture that'll entertain, enlighten, and maybe even move millions of people."
"Enlightenment should also be enjoyable."
"That discipline which corrects the baseness of worldly passion, fortifies the heart with virtuous principles, enlight…"
"Self-interest is hostile to the common good, but enlightened self-interest is not. And this is the best key to the me…"
"Blessing! Neither fire, nor moisture, nor wind can destroy the blessing of good deeds, and blessings enlighten the wh…"
"I am the completion of your incomplete self. You are a Line, but I am a Line of Lines, called in my country a Square:…"