--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the foreign country, we call the past…" description: "\"“In the foreign country, we call the past, crucifixion was a common punishment. It was invented by the Persians, carried back to Europe by Alexander th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/steven-pinker-526_crucifixion_in-the-foreign-country-we-call-the-past_157453.jpg" --- # In the foreign country, we call the past, crucifixion was… ![“In the foreign country, we call the past, crucifixion was a common punishment. It was invented by the Persians, carried back to Europe by Alexander the Great, and widely used in Mediterranean empires.” quote by Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/steven-pinker-526_crucifixion_in-the-foreign-country-we-call-the-past_157453.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/steven-pinker-526_crucifixion_in-the-foreign-country-we-call-the-past_157453.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/steven-pinker-526_crucifixion_in-the-foreign-country-we-call-the-past_157453.jpg) > ““In the foreign country, we call the past, crucifixion was a common punishment. It was invented by the Persians, carried back to Europe by Alexander the Great, and widely used in Mediterranean empires.”” [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical punishments like crucifixion spread across cultures via conquest, showing how violent practices can become normalized across societies. **In simple terms:** Violent punishments spread through conquest and become normalized. Key Takeaway Question and challenge inherited violent traditions. Themes history violence culture normalization Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - legal reform - human rights advocacy - education curricula Key Concepts ethical analysis historical diffusion social learning Questions to Reflect On - How do societies justify inherited violent practices? - What can be done to prevent the spread of harmful norms? A Different Perspective Historical context can be oversimplified, ignoring local nuances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crucifixion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crucifixion/) [Foreign country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-country/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Persians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persians/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Many Jews in the Byzantine Empire welcomed the Persians. Some saw their arrival as an opportunity to win independence or even just a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/many-jews-in-the-byzantine-empire-welcomed-the-persians-some-saw/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [Our enemies are Medes and Persians, men who for centuries have lived soft and luxurious lives; we of Macedon for generations past have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arrian/our-enemies-are-medes-and-persians-men-who-for-centuries-have-lived-2/) [Arrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arrian/) > [First of all, there are Persians and Arabs. The fact they share a religion, a Shiite religion, does not mean that they're close. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/first-of-all-there-are-persians-and-arabs-the-fact-they-share-a/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“Our enemies are Medes and Persians, men who for centuries have lived soft and luxurious lives; we of Macedon for generations past have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/our-enemies-are-medes-and-persians-men-who-for-centuries-have-lived/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [As the Persians wrote very little about how they ran their affairs, the Greek propaganda of the 5th century B.C. has for centuries gone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/as-the-persians-wrote-very-little-about-how-they-ran-their-affairs/) [Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/) > [“The Persian Version Truth-loving Persians do not dwell upon The trivial skirmish fought near Marathon. As for the Greek theatrical tradition Which represents that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/the-persian-version-truth-loving-persians-do-not-dwell-upon-the/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [The Iranians and Persians are excellent at the art of negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-iranians-and-persians-are-excellent-at-the-art-of-negotiation/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“Their fathers had been slaughtered over the stretch of a half-century by the Persians, their mothers raped. And still they had not caved in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/their-fathers-had-been-slaughtered-over-the-stretch-of-a-half-century/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [The Persians are very fond of wine ... It is also their general practice to deliberate upon affairs of weight when they are drunk;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herodotus/the-persians-are-very-fond-of-wine-it-is-also-their-general-practice/) [Herodotus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herodotus/) > [“We are conquering you for your own benefit,’ said the Persians.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/we-are-conquering-you-for-your-own-benefit-said-the-persians/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [It became clear when I got in my car that Persians are only really good for two things. Oil and hummus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/it-became-clear-when-i-got-in-my-car-that-persians-are-only-really/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [O man, whoever you are and wherever you come from, for I know you will come, I am Cyrus who won the Persians their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyrus-the-great/o-man-whoever-you-are-and-wherever-you-come-from-for-i-know-you-will/) [Cyrus the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyrus-the-great/) > [The Persians are called the French of the East; we will call the Arabs Oriental Italians. A gifted noble people; a people of wildstrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-persians-are-called-the-french-of-the-east-we-will-call-the-arabs/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [“...Turn our thoughts, in the next place, to the characters of learned men. The priesthood have, in all ancient nations, nearly monopolized learning. Read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/turn-our-thoughts-in-the-next-place-to-the-characters-of-learned-men/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [“I plan to march to the ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea,” the young King said, his mismatched eyes shining with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-ross/i-plan-to-march-to-the-ends-of-the-world-and-the-great-outer-sea-the/) Kat Ross ## More by Steven Pinker > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Consistent style prevents presentation from getting in the way of content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/consistent-style-prevents-presentation-from-getting-in-the-way-of/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I've never argued that humans are massively hot-wired. What I was trying to point out was that you can't understand how we learn unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-ve-never-argued-that-humans-are-massively-hot-wired-what-i-was/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [As many political writers have pointed out, commitment to political equality is not an empirical claim that people are clones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/as-many-political-writers-have-pointed-out-commitment-to-political/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Since violence is largely a male pastime, cultures that empower women tend to move away from the glorification of violence and are less likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/since-violence-is-largely-a-male-pastime-cultures-that-empower-women/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Morality is not just any old topic in psychology but close to our conception of the meaning of life. Moral goodness is what gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/morality-is-not-just-any-old-topic-in-psychology-but-close-to-our/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“The biblical story of the binding of Isaac shows that human sacrifice was far from unthinkable in the 1st millennium BCE. The Israelites boasted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-biblical-story-of-the-binding-of-isaac-shows-that-human-sacrifice/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Part of the bargain of being alive is that one takes a chance at dying a premature or painful death, be it from violence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/part-of-the-bargain-of-being-alive-is-that-one-takes-a-chance-at/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [In fact, without a specification of a creature's goals, the very idea of intelligence is meaningless. A toadstool could be given a genius award…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-fact-without-a-specification-of-a-creature-s-goals-the-very-idea/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-of-human-intuition-in-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [If you look in general at people who live in anarchy, they have quite high rates of death from either homicide or warfare or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/if-you-look-in-general-at-people-who-live-in-anarchy-they-have-quite/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“In some eras, self-control defines the paragon of a decent person: a grown-up, a person of dignity, a lady or a gentleman, a mensch.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-some-eras-self-control-defines-the-paragon-of-a-decent-person-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Knowledge is a continuous fabric, in which ideas are connected to other ideas. Reason-free zones, in which people can assert arbitrary beliefs safe from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/knowledge-is-a-continuous-fabric-in-which-ideas-are-connected-to/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Explore all 495 Steven Pinker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## More Crucifixion quotes > [“Intellectualism is a poor master over passion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twe-stephens/intellectualism-is-a-poor-master-over-passion/) Twe Stephens > [“The very mention of crucifixion was taboo in polite Roman circles, since it was the lowest form of capital punishment, reserved for slaves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-very-mention-of-crucifixion-was-taboo-in-polite-roman-circles/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“Mungu hutumia watu 'wajinga' na 'wapumbavu' kufanya mambo makubwa katika maisha yao na ya watu wengine. Katika Biblia, Musa aliitwa mjinga alipokiuka amri ya…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-hutumia-watu-wajinga-na-wapumbavu-kufanya-mambo-makubwa-katika/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [A high place of honor, although doubtless one to be obtained only after enduring the pangs of a prolonged crucifixion, awaits that philosophical biologist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-trumbull-ladd/a-high-place-of-honor-although-doubtless-one-to-be-obtained-only/) [George Trumbull Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-trumbull-ladd/) > [Every time that I think of the crucifixion of Christ, I commit the sin of envy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/every-time-that-i-think-of-the-crucifixion-of-christ-i-commit-the-sin/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [It costs God nothing, so far as we know, to create nice things: but to convert rebellious wills cost Him crucifixion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/it-costs-god-nothing-so-far-as-we-know-to-create-nice-things-but-to/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Pretty much all films I've seen that depict the life of Christ end with the Crucifixion, almost like the filmmakers don't know what to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-fiennes/pretty-much-all-films-i-ve-seen-that-depict-the-life-of-christ-end/) [Joseph Fiennes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-fiennes/) > [A Gustave Courbet portrait of a trout has more death in it than Rubens could get in a whole Crucifixion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/a-gustave-courbet-portrait-of-a-trout-has-more-death-in-it-than/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [How myopic it is to view His ministry as all crucifixion and no resurrection!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/how-myopic-it-is-to-view-his-ministry-as-all-crucifixion-and-no/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [Only with great care. For thousands, carols will be their only link with a church. At the same time, sentimentality is perhaps the single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-begbie/only-with-great-care-for-thousands-carols-will-be-their-only-link/) [Jeremy Begbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-begbie/) > [So shall we join the disciples of our Lord, keeping faith in Him in spite of the crucifixion, and making ready, by our loyalty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/so-shall-we-join-the-disciples-of-our-lord-keeping-faith-in-him-in/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [A dead Christ I must do everything for; a living Christ does everything for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-murray/a-dead-christ-i-must-do-everything-for-a-living-christ-does/) [Andrew Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-murray/) > [Let us look upon a crucified Christ, the remedy of all our miseries. His cross hath procured a crown, his passion hath expiated our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/let-us-look-upon-a-crucified-christ-the-remedy-of-all-our-miseries/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [ At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good, and \[he\] was known to be virtuous.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephus/at-this-time-there-was-a-wise-man-who-was-called-jesus-and-his/) [Josephus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephus/) > [“I don't think crucifixion is the answer. I believe in the resurrection. I like that part of the story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/i-don-t-think-crucifixion-is-the-answer-i-believe-in-the-resurrection/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) [Browse all 203 Crucifixion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crucifixion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In the foreign country, we call the past, crucifixion was a common punishment. 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