---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Savages we call them, because their…"
description: "\"Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; they think the same of theirs.\" — Benjamin Fra..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/benjamin-franklin-65_civility_savages-we-call-them-because-their-manne_2611192.png"
---

#  Savages we call them, because their manners differ from…

![“Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; they think the same of theirs.” quote by Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/benjamin-franklin-65_civility_savages-we-call-them-because-their-manne_2611192.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/benjamin-franklin-65_civility_savages-we-call-them-because-their-manne_2611192.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/benjamin-franklin-65_civility_savages-we-call-them-because-their-manne_2611192.png)

> “Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; they think the same of theirs.”

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Critiques ethnocentric judgments of others' manners, highlighting cultural relativism.

**In simple terms:** We label others savages due to our bias.

Key Takeaway

Embrace cultural differences.

Themes

cultural relativism ethnocentrism civilization

Mood

introspective critical

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- travel
- international work
- multicultural education

Key Concepts

anthropology social norms

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we better understand unfamiliar customs?
- What biases affect our judgments?

A Different Perspective

May oversimplify complex societies.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Civility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civility/) [Manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners/) [Perfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection/) [Savages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savages/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [Savages we call them because their manners differ from ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/savages-we-call-them-because-their-manners-differ-from-ours/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“In all ranks and all stations of life, how strangely characters and manners differ!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-burney/in-all-ranks-and-all-stations-of-life-how-strangely-characters-and/)

[Frances Burney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-burney/)

> [No greater glory can be handed down than to conquer the barbarian, to recall the savage and the pagan to civility, to draw the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hakluyt/no-greater-glory-can-be-handed-down-than-to-conquer-the-barbarian-to-2/)

Richard Hakluyt

> [“When you know you can do something, and you feel good about yourself, you do not have to devalue others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-hickey/when-you-know-you-can-do-something-and-you-feel-good-about-yourself/)

John Patrick Hickey

> [Bowing, ceremonious, formal compliments, stiff civilities, will never be politeness; that must be easy, natural, unstudied; and what will give this but a mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/bowing-ceremonious-formal-compliments-stiff-civilities-will-never-be/)

[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/)

> [Unfortunately civility is hard to codify or legislate, but you know it when you see it. It's possible to disagree without being disagreeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/unfortunately-civility-is-hard-to-codify-or-legislate-but-you-know-it/)

[Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/)

> [“Be a person that others will look for your posts daily because they know you will encourage them. Be the positive one and help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-hickey/be-a-person-that-others-will-look-for-your-posts-daily-because-they/)

John Patrick Hickey

> [“All the important roles shortly boiled down to one: remember your with other people; show some consideration.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/all-the-important-roles-shortly-boiled-down-to-one-remember-your-with/)

[Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/)

> [When people complain of the decay of manners they have in mind not the impudent abbreviations of the crowd, but the decline in bowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson-lynd/when-people-complain-of-the-decay-of-manners-they-have-in-mind-not/)

[Robert Wilson Lynd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson-lynd/)

> [Civility means a great deal more than just being nice to one another. It is complex and encompasses learning how to connect successfully and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-m-forni/civility-means-a-great-deal-more-than-just-being-nice-to-one-another/)

[P. M. Forni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-m-forni/)

> [Be civil to all; serviceable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/be-civil-to-all-serviceable-to-many-familiar-with-few-friend-to-one/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/be-civil-to-all-sociable-to-many-familiar-with-few-friend-to-one/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [The Gauls derided the hairy and gigantic savages of the North; their rustic manners, dissonant joy, voracious appetite, and their horrid appearance, equally disgusting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-gauls-derided-the-hairy-and-gigantic-savages-of-the-north-their/)

[Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/)

> [...how much savage coarseness is concealed in refined, cultivated manners...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/how-much-savage-coarseness-is-concealed-in-refined-cultivated-manners/)

[Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/)

> [“No European who has tasted savage life can afterwards bear to live in our societies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/no-european-who-has-tasted-savage-life-can-afterwards-bear-to-live-in/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

## More by Benjamin Franklin

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“Give me 26 lead soldiers and I will conquer the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/give-me-26-lead-soldiers-and-i-will-conquer-the-world/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Flowers are the alphabet of angels, whereby they write on the hills and fields mysterious truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/flowers-are-the-alphabet-of-angels-whereby-they-write-on-the-hills/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [In the affairs of this world, men are saved not by faith, but by the want of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/in-the-affairs-of-this-world-men-are-saved-not-by-faith-but-by-the/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [By heaven we understand a state of happiness infinite in degree, and endless in duration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/by-heaven-we-understand-a-state-of-happiness-infinite-in-degree-and/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [I have thought that wild flowers might be the alphabet of angels, — whereby they write on hills and fields mysterious truths, which it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/i-have-thought-that-wild-flowers-might-be-the-alphabet-of-angels/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [How do you become better tomorrow? By improving yourself, the world is made better. Be not afraid of growing too slowly. Be afraid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/how-do-you-become-better-tomorrow-by-improving-yourself-the-world-is/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Little leaks sink the ship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/little-leaks-sink-the-ship/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/who-is-rich-he-that-is-content-who-is-that-nobody/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“But on the whole, though I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/but-on-the-whole-though-i-never-arrived-at-the-perfection-i-had-been/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [The good particular men may do separately, in relieving the sick, is small, compared with what they may do collectively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/the-good-particular-men-may-do-separately-in-relieving-the-sick-is/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Love your Neighbour; yet don't pull down your Hedge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/love-your-neighbour-yet-don-t-pull-down-your-hedge/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Take counsel in wine, but resolve afterwards in water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/take-counsel-in-wine-but-resolve-afterwards-in-water/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [He that's secure is not safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/he-that-s-secure-is-not-safe/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

[Explore all 1,692 Benjamin Franklin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

## More Civility quotes

> [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/)

[Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/)

> [Most adults would not dream of belittling, humiliating, or bullying (verbally or physically) another adult. But many of the same adults think nothing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/most-adults-would-not-dream-of-belittling-humiliating-or-bullying/)

[Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/)

> [Martha Stewart contributes more to our civility than the Baptist Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/martha-stewart-contributes-more-to-our-civility-than-the-baptist/)

[Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/)

> [The Second World War had a precipitating effect in that it discredited the empires, as well as bankrupting them. Not only could you no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/the-second-world-war-had-a-precipitating-effect-in-that-it/)

[Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/)

> [How much wit, good-nature, indulgences, how many good offices and civilities, are required among friends to accomplish in some years what a lovely face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/how-much-wit-good-nature-indulgences-how-many-good-offices-and/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [They parted at last with mutual civility, and possibly a mutual desire of never meeting again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/they-parted-at-last-with-mutual-civility-and-possibly-a-mutual-desire/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“When someone has wronged you, continue to treat them with civility. It’s the ultimate mark of a mensch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruna-martinuzzi/when-someone-has-wronged-you-continue-to-treat-them-with-civility-it/)

[Bruna Martinuzzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruna-martinuzzi/)

> [“Elizabeth received them with all the forbearance of civility”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/elizabeth-received-them-with-all-the-forbearance-of-civility/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“Never in England were there so many gentlemen and so little gentleness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/never-in-england-were-there-so-many-gentlemen-and-so-little-gentleness/)

[C.J. Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/)

> [The insolent civility of a proud man is, if possible, more shocking than his rudeness could be; because he shows you, by his manner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/the-insolent-civility-of-a-proud-man-is-if-possible-more-shocking/)

[Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/)

> [A good word is an easy obligation; but not to speak ill requires only our silence, which costs us nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tillotson/a-good-word-is-an-easy-obligation-but-not-to-speak-ill-requires-only/)

[John Tillotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tillotson/)

> ['Playboy' operated with a patina of civility that granted the average man a presumption of pleasure that went one way - his. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/playboy-operated-with-a-patina-of-civility-that-granted-the-average/)

[Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/)

> [ \[T\]he politically correct are above the rules of ordinary civility, once they have identified you as an unbeliever in their religion. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/t-he-politically-correct-are-above-the-rules-of-ordinary-civility/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [Sanctions alone could not stop Iran's nuclear program. But they did help bring Iran to the negotiating table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/sanctions-alone-could-not-stop-iran-s-nuclear-program-but-they-did/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [Even here in America, we felt the cool, refreshing breeze of freedom when Nelson Mandela took the seat of Presidency in his country where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/even-here-in-america-we-felt-the-cool-refreshing-breeze-of-freedom/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

[Browse all 393 Civility quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civility/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; they think the same of theirs.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Benjamin Franklin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/savages-we-call-them-because-their-manners-differ-from-ours-which-we/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Civility"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/savages-we-call-them-because-their-manners-differ-from-ours-which-we/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/benjamin-franklin-65_civility_savages-we-call-them-because-their-manne_2611192.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/benjamin-franklin-65_civility_savages-we-call-them-because-their-manne_2611192.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/benjamin-franklin-65_civility_savages-we-call-them-because-their-manne_2611192.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility…” — Benjamin Franklin",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Benjamin Franklin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Savages we call them, because their...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/savages-we-call-them-because-their-manners-differ-from-ours-which-we/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/savages-we-call-them-because-their-manners-differ-from-ours-which-we/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
