To be used for anything


Quand le Roy Pyrrhus passa en Italie, apres qu'il eut recongneu l'ordonnance de l'armée que les Romains luy envoyoient au devant ; Je ne sçay, dit-il, quels barbares sont ceux-cy (car les Grecs appelloyent ainsi toutes les nations estrangeres) mais la disposition de cette armée que je voy, n'est aucunement barbare.

[When King Pyrrhus invaded Italy, having viewed and considered the order of the army the Romans sent out to meet him: "I know not," said he, "what kind of barbarians," (for so the Greeks called all other nations) "these may be; but the disposition of this army, that I see, has nothing of barbarism in it."]

(Montaigne, "Des Cannibales") 




But there is a devil of a difference between barbarians who are fit by nature to be used for anything, and civilized people who apply themselves to anything.

(Marx, Grundrisse)

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