“To view an object in the proper light we must stand away from it. The study of the classical literatures gives the aloofness which cultivates insight. In learning to live with peoples and civilizations that have long ceased to be alive, we gain a vantage point, acquire an enlargement and elevation of thought, which enable us to study with a more impartial and liberal mind the condition of the society around us.”

— John Lancaster Spalding

Source: Aphorisms and Reflections (1901), p. 106

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John Lancaster Spalding 202

Catholic bishop 1840–1916

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