The
art of a cave man could be placed in our galleries. Why most of us
think that he or she should not seat at our table?
The
saints of today are not necessarily more saintly than those of a
thousand years ago; our artists are not necessarily greater than
those of early Greece; they are likely to be inferior; and, of
course, our man of science are not necessarily more intelligent than
those of old; yet one thing is certain, their knowledge is at once
more extensive and more accurate.
The
acquisition and systematization of positive knowledge is the only
human activity that is truly cumulative and progressive.
George
Sarton: History of science, Harvard University Press, 1952.
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