--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each man calls barbarism whatever is not…" description: "\"Each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice; for indeed it seems we have no other test of truth and reason than the example and pattern o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarism_each-man-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not_2672148.jpg" --- # Each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice… ![“Each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice; for indeed it seems we have no other test of truth and reason than the example and pattern of the opinions and customs of the country we live in” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarism_each-man-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not_2672148.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarism_each-man-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not_2672148.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarism_each-man-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not_2672148.jpg) > “Each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice; for indeed it seems we have no other test of truth and reason than the example and pattern of the opinions and customs of the country we live in” [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People label opposing customs as barbaric because they lack their own standards; truth is judged by cultural context. **In simple terms:** We call others barbaric when they differ from us. Key Takeaway Question cultural bias. Themes cultural relativism bias truth customs barbarism Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - cross‑cultural dialogue - ethical debates - social critique Key Concepts philosophy anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How do you define barbarism? - Can truth be universal? A Different Perspective May ignore universal human rights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Barbarism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarism/) [Barbarism Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarism-practice-2511084/) [Calls Barbarism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calls-barbarism-2511083/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Customs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customs/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Opinions Customs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinions-customs-2511085/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Tests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tests/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-reason-252608/) ## Related quotes > [“Each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montaigne/each-man-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not-his-own-practice/) [Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montaigne/) > [Each person calls barbarism whatever is not his or her own practice… We may call Cannibals barbarians, in respect to the rulesof reason, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/each-person-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not-his-or-her-own-practice/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Truth and reason are common to everyone, and are no more his who spake them first than his who speaks them after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/truth-and-reason-are-common-to-everyone-and-are-no-more-his-who-spake/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [ “\[H\]e is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/h-e-is-a-barbarian-and-thinks-that-the-customs-of-his-tribe-and/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Everyone gives the title of barbarism to everything that is not in use in his own country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/everyone-gives-the-title-of-barbarism-to-everything-that-is-not-in/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The laws of conscience, which we pretend to be derived from nature, proceed from Custom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-of-conscience-which-we-pretend-to-be-derived-from-nature/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Custom is a violent and treacherous school mistress. She, by little and lithe, slyly and unperceived, slips in the foot of her authority; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/custom-is-a-violent-and-treacherous-school-mistress-she-by-little-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [A man may by custom fortify himself against pain, shame, and suchlike accidents; but as to death, we can experience it but once, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-may-by-custom-fortify-himself-against-pain-shame-and-suchlike/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Traveling through the world produces a marvelous clarity in the judgment of men. We are all of us confined and enclosed within ourselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/traveling-through-the-world-produces-a-marvelous-clarity-in-the/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Those that will combat use and custom by the strict rules of grammar do but jest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/those-that-will-combat-use-and-custom-by-the-strict-rules-of-grammar/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Laws gain their authority from actual possession and custom: it is perilous to go back to their origins; laws, like our rivers, get greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/laws-gain-their-authority-from-actual-possession-and-custom-it-is/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [For all parts of the body that we see fit to expose to the wind and air are found fit to endure it: face,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/for-all-parts-of-the-body-that-we-see-fit-to-expose-to-the-wind-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The common notions that we find in credit around us and infused into our souls by our fathers' seed, these seem to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-common-notions-that-we-find-in-credit-around-us-and-infused-into/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“The customs and practices of life in society sweep us along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-customs-and-practices-of-life-in-society-sweep-us-along/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [All forms of the state have democracy for their truth, and for that reason are false to the extent that they are not democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/all-forms-of-the-state-have-democracy-for-their-truth-and-for-that/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) ## More by Michel de Montaigne > [No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/no-man-is-exempt-from-saying-silly-things-the-mischief-is-to-say-them/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-one-rushes-elsewhere-and-into-the-future-because-no-one-wants/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The height and value of true virtue consists in the facility, utility, and pleasure of its exercise; so far from difficulty, that boys, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-height-and-value-of-true-virtue-consists-in-the-facility-utility/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-people-must-be-talking-about-me-i-would-have-it-to-be-truthfully/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Most pleasures embrace us but to strangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-pleasures-embrace-us-but-to-strangle/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [In true friendship, in which I am expert, I give myself to my friend more than I draw him to me. I not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-true-friendship-in-which-i-am-expert-i-give-myself-to-my-friend/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-as-many-and-innumerable-degrees-of-wit-as-there-are-cubits/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [A man has need of tough ears to hear himself fairly judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-has-need-of-tough-ears-to-hear-himself-fairly-judged/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I have a vocabulary all my own. I pass the time when itis wet and disagreeable. Whenit is fine I do not wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-have-a-vocabulary-all-my-own-i-pass-the-time-when-itis-wet-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) [Explore all 1,131 Michel de Montaigne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## More Barbarism quotes > [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Liberty is the condition of progress. Without Liberty, there remains only barbarism. Without Liberty, there can be no civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/liberty-is-the-condition-of-progress-without-liberty-there-remains/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [“Odd, don't you think? I have seen war, and invasions and riots. I have heard of massacres and brutalities beyond imagining, and I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-pears/odd-don-t-you-think-i-have-seen-war-and-invasions-and-riots-i-have/) [Iain Pears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-pears/) > [Christianity has carried civilization along with it, whithersoever it has gone; and, as if to show that the latter does not depend on physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/christianity-has-carried-civilization-along-with-it-whithersoever-it/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) > [ \[Much\] as war attracts me and fascinates my mind with its tremendous situations, I feel more deeply every year . . . what vile… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/much-as-war-attracts-me-and-fascinates-my-mind-with-its-tremendous/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Educational exchange can turn nations into people, contributing as no other form of communication can to the humanizing of international relations. Man's capacity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/educational-exchange-can-turn-nations-into-people-contributing-as-no/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [Human history, like all great movements, was cyclical, and returned to the point of beginning. The idea of indefinite progress in a right line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bellamy/human-history-like-all-great-movements-was-cyclical-and-returned-to/) [Edward Bellamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bellamy/) > [You think that a wall as solid as the earth separates civilization from barbarism. I tell you the division is a thread, a sheet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/you-think-that-a-wall-as-solid-as-the-earth-separates-civilization/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [Barbarism is the absence of standards to which appeal can be made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/barbarism-is-the-absence-of-standards-to-which-appeal-can-be-made/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [“The language of sword is less powerful than the language of word, but most of the people understand the language of sword with greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/the-language-of-sword-is-less-powerful-than-the-language-of-word-but/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [There is so much that must be done in a civilized barbarism like war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-earhart/there-is-so-much-that-must-be-done-in-a-civilized-barbarism-like-war/) [Amelia Earhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-earhart/) > [There is a barbarism in the American soul, and we must protect some of it by law. To root it out is to endanger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/there-is-a-barbarism-in-the-american-soul-and-we-must-protect-some-of/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [In discussing Barbarism and Christianity I have actually been discussing the Fall of Rome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/in-discussing-barbarism-and-christianity-i-have-actually-been/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [What we now want is closer contact and better understanding between individuals and communities all over the earth, and the elimination of egoism and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/what-we-now-want-is-closer-contact-and-better-understanding-between/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [“Magic begins in superstition, and ends in science. ... At every step the history of civilization teaches us how slight and superficial a structure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/magic-begins-in-superstition-and-ends-in-science-at-every-step-the/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) [Browse all 238 Barbarism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice; for indeed it seems we have no other test of truth and reason than the example and pattern of the opinions and customs of the country we live in", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel de Montaigne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/each-man-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not-his-own-practice-for-indeed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Barbarism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/each-man-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not-his-own-practice-for-indeed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarism_each-man-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not_2672148.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarism_each-man-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not_2672148.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarism_each-man-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not_2672148.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice; for indeed it seems we have no other test of…” — Michel de Montaigne", "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": "Michel de Montaigne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Each man calls barbarism whatever is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/each-man-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not-his-own-practice-for-indeed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/each-man-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not-his-own-practice-for-indeed/#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 } } ] } ```