Early English Arabists judged Eastern wisdom superior to Western
Evidence
Ockley, an enthusiast for Oriental culture, did not think so very highly of his own: ‘So far as fear of God is concerned, the control of the appetites, prudence and sobriety in conduct of life, decency and moderation in all circumstances – in regard to all these things (and after all, they yield to none in importance) I declare that if the West has added one single iota to the accumulated wisdom of the East, my powers of perception have been strangely in abeyance.’ — Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing, 210
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to Edward Said’s thesis in Orientalism, where Orientalists are typically cast as condescending — here an early English Orientalist openly declares Eastern moral superiority.