“ A man can understand astronomy only by being an astronomer ”
G. K. Chesterton, Heretics (1905). copy citation
| Author | G. K. Chesterton |
|---|---|
| Source | Heretics |
| Topic | astronomy understanding |
| Date | 1905 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/470/470-h/470-h.htm |
Context
“And even where this difficulty is overcome, and he is in some sense a student of human nature, this is only a very faint beginning of the painful progress towards being human. For the study of primitive race and religion stands apart in one important respect from all, or nearly all, the ordinary scientific studies. A man can understand astronomy only by being an astronomer; he can understand entomology only by being an entomologist (or, perhaps, an insect) ; but he can understand a great deal of anthropology merely by being a man. He is himself the animal which he studies.”
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