The priest has just baptized you a Christian with water; and I baptize you a Frenchman, daring child, with a dewdrop of champagne on your lips.
Paul ClaudelRead
Culture or civilization, taken in its wide ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society
Interpretation
What this quote means
Culture encompasses the various elements that define a society, including knowledge, beliefs, and artistic expressions.
Edward Burnett Tylor's quote highlights the complexity of culture as a composite of various human endeavors and societal practices. He defines culture in a broad sense, asserting that it includes everything from knowledge and beliefs to the art and customs that shape a group's identity and social interactions. Understanding culture in this way emphasizes the intricate interconnections between different aspects of human life and the ways in which societies develop and evolve over time.
Themes
CultureCivilizationBeliefArtKnowledgeSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of education, one might use this quote to illustrate how culture shapes learning.
Similar quotes
We are in the process of creating what deserves to be called the idiot culture. Not an idiot sub-culture, which every society has bubbling beneath the surface and which can provide harmless fun; but the culture itself. For the first time, the weird and the stupid and the coarse are becoming our cultural norm, even our cultural ideal.
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If America is a melting pot, then to me India is a thali--a selection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each tastes different, and does not necessarily mix with the next but they belong together on the same plate, and they complement each other in making the meal a satisfying repast.
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There is one day that is ours. There is one day when all we Americans who are not self-made go back to the old home to eat saleratus biscuits and marvel how much nearer to the porch the old pump looks than it used to. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American.
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I love having different cultures around, but when the parent culture kind of dissipates, you're left thinking, 'Well, what's going on?'
John CleeseRead