--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each person calls barbarism whatever is…" description: "\"Each person calls barbarism whatever is not his or her own practice… We may call Cannibals barbarians, in respect to the rulesof reason, but not in res..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarians_each-person-calls-barbarism-whatever-is_2149671.jpg" --- # Each person calls barbarism whatever is not his or her own… ![“Each person calls barbarism whatever is not his or her own practice… We may call Cannibals barbarians, in respect to the rulesof reason, but not in respect to ourselves, who surpass them in every kind of barbarity.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarians_each-person-calls-barbarism-whatever-is_2149671.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarians_each-person-calls-barbarism-whatever-is_2149671.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarians_each-person-calls-barbarism-whatever-is_2149671.jpg) > “Each person calls barbarism whatever is not his or her own practice… We may call Cannibals barbarians, in respect to the rulesof reason, but not in respect to ourselves, who surpass them in every kind of barbarity.” [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 others as barbaric when they differ from their own customs, yet they ignore their own flaws. **In simple terms:** We call others barbaric but ignore our own barbarity. Key Takeaway Question your judgments of others. Themes cultural relativism ethics self‑awareness Mood reflective critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - social debates - education - intercultural dialogue - personal growth Key Concepts Moral philosophy cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - What standards do you use to judge others? - How can you recognize your own biases? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex cultural differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Barbarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarians/) [Barbarism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarism/) [Barbarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarity/) [Cannibalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cannibalism/) [Diversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diversity/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) ## Related quotes > [Each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice; for indeed it seems we have no other test of truth and reason than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/each-man-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not-his-own-practice-for-indeed/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“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/) > [“I unwrapped my love for her like one might unwrap leftovers. Gotta eat up the old stuff first, as a cannibal might say in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dark-jar-tin-zoo/i-unwrapped-my-love-for-her-like-one-might-unwrap-leftovers-gotta-eat/) Dark Jar Tin Zoo > [My own doctrine of organization is that any body of people coming together for a purpose (whatever it may be) should consist of persons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benton-mackaye/my-own-doctrine-of-organization-is-that-any-body-of-people-coming/) [Benton MacKaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benton-mackaye/) > [“He has been known to devour men.” “He’s a cannibal?” Cadmus asked in horror. “Well, not really,” Daemon replied. “He is a Cyclops. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sulari-gentill/he-has-been-known-to-devour-men-he-s-a-cannibal-cadmus-asked-in/) [Sulari Gentill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sulari-gentill/) > [“Be careful. You might find more than you bargained for in my larder, little goat.' I open the door of the fridge. The remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/be-careful-you-might-find-more-than-you-bargained-for-in-my-larder/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [“Go to the meat market of a Saturday night and see the crowds of live bipeds staring up at the long rows of dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/go-to-the-meat-market-of-a-saturday-night-and-see-the-crowds-of-live/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Thistle flashes a wicked smile. "Oh, you haven't heard that one? The government struck a bargain with a cannibal, and they use him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-heath/thistle-flashes-a-wicked-smile-oh-you-haven-t-heard-that-one-the/) [Jack Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-heath/) > [“I read the Cannibal Manifesto. The part where it says they like eating people is on page 289.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/i-read-the-cannibal-manifesto-the-part-where-it-says-they-like-eating/) [John Alejandro King aka The Covert Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/) > [The people of the future will say, 'meat-eaters!' in disgust and regard us in the same way that we regard cannibals and cannibalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-weaver/the-people-of-the-future-will-say-meat-eaters-in-disgust-and-regard/) [Dennis Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-weaver/) > [“Many a survivor of a plane crash who is or was against cannibalism and had never eaten human flesh once found themselves in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/many-a-survivor-of-a-plane-crash-who-is-or-was-against-cannibalism/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I think there will come a time when civilized people will look back in horror on our generation and the ones that have preceded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-weaver/i-think-there-will-come-a-time-when-civilized-people-will-look-back/) [Dennis Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-weaver/) > [Everyone calls barbarity what he is not accustomed to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/everyone-calls-barbarity-what-he-is-not-accustomed-to/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [You point out that war is only a symptom of the whole horrid business of human behavior, and cannot be isolated. And that, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/you-point-out-that-war-is-only-a-symptom-of-the-whole-horrid-business/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the South is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes—a justifier of the most appalling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-assert-most-unhesitatingly-that-the-religion-of-the-south-is-a-mere-2/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) ## 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 Barbarians quotes > [School curricula that ignore the arts produce highly educated Barbarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/school-curricula-that-ignore-the-arts-produce-highly-educated/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [One simply cannot engage in barbarous action without becoming a barbarian, because one cannot defend human values by calculated and unprovoked violence without doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/one-simply-cannot-engage-in-barbarous-action-without-becoming-a/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [Fain would we remain barbarians, if our claim to civilization were to be based on the gruesome glory of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fain-would-we-remain-barbarians-if-our-claim-to-civilization-were-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is Islam a religion of peace? I'm sure for some of the practitioners, but it's been hijacked by people who have an ideology that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/is-islam-a-religion-of-peace-i-m-sure-for-some-of-the-practitioners/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [If you go back to the Conan the Barbarian series, I really liked that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-braugher/if-you-go-back-to-the-conan-the-barbarian-series-i-really-liked-that/) [Andre Braugher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-braugher/) > [America's critics can be heard everywhere. It is too much in love with money - worshipping the god of the marketplace, the golden calf.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-saatchi/america-s-critics-can-be-heard-everywhere-it-is-too-much-in-love-with/) [Maurice Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-saatchi/) > [I believe that every single human being is entitled to the protection of our laws, whether they can vote or not. Whether they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/i-believe-that-every-single-human-being-is-entitled-to-the-protection/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [The waiter brought fresh-baked bread and cheese, a bottle of sparkling water for Annabeth, and a Coke with ice for me (because I’m a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/the-waiter-brought-fresh-baked-bread-and-cheese-a-bottle-of-sparkling/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Why is she afraid?" he asked. "She's not Anjin-san. Just a little nervous. Please excuse her. She's never seen a foreigner close to before."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clavell/why-is-she-afraid-he-asked-she-s-not-anjin-san-just-a-little-nervous/) [James Clavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clavell/) > [If all the barbarian conquerors had been annihilated in the same hour, their total destruction would not have restored the empire of the West:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/if-all-the-barbarian-conquerors-had-been-annihilated-in-the-same-hour/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/the-islamic-conquest-of-india-is-probably-the-bloodiest-story-in/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [In this metallic age of barbarians, only a relentless cultivation of our ability to dream, to analyse and to captivate can prevent our personality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/in-this-metallic-age-of-barbarians-only-a-relentless-cultivation-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [The member of a culture ... purposely avoids the relationship of intimacy; he wants the object somehow depicted and fictionalized. ... He is embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/the-member-of-a-culture-purposely-avoids-the-relationship-of-intimacy/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [“Politics is the moat, the walls, beyond which lie the barbarians. Fail to keep them at bay, and everything burns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/politics-is-the-moat-the-walls-beyond-which-lie-the-barbarians-fail/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) [Browse all 280 Barbarians quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarians/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Each person calls barbarism whatever is not his or her own practice… We may call Cannibals barbarians, in respect to the rulesof reason, but not in respect to ourselves, who surpass them in every kind of barbarity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel de Montaigne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/each-person-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not-his-or-her-own-practice/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Barbarians" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/each-person-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not-his-or-her-own-practice/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarians_each-person-calls-barbarism-whatever-is_2149671.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarians_each-person-calls-barbarism-whatever-is_2149671.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/michel-de-montaigne-142_barbarians_each-person-calls-barbarism-whatever-is_2149671.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Each person calls barbarism whatever is not his or her own practice… We may call Cannibals barbarians, in…” — 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 person calls barbarism whatever is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/each-person-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not-his-or-her-own-practice/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/each-person-calls-barbarism-whatever-is-not-his-or-her-own-practice/#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 } } ] } ```