William Winwood Reade
William Winwood Reade
Full Name and Common Aliases
William Winwood Reade was a British explorer, author, and historian who is often referred to by his initials, W.W. Reade.
Birth and Death Dates
Reade was born on December 11, 1838, in London, England, and passed away on February 23, 1875.
Nationality and Profession(s)
Reade was a British citizen and held multiple professions throughout his life: explorer, author, historian, and diplomat.
Early Life and Background
William Winwood Reade came from a family of modest means but demonstrated an early aptitude for learning. He was educated at Eton College and later at Trinity College in Cambridge, where he developed a keen interest in languages, history, and literature. After graduating from Cambridge, Reade took up the study of Arabic, Turkish, and Persian languages.
Major Accomplishments
Reade's most notable achievements include:
Explorations: He led two expeditions to Africa, one to Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) and another to Egypt.
Historical Research: Reade conducted extensive research on African history and culture, which formed the basis of his later writings.
Notable Works or Actions
Reade's notable works include:
"The Martyrdom of Man" (1872): A philosophical treatise that explores the development of human civilization from a naturalistic perspective.
"Sitten und Taten der alten Ägypter" (1873): An historical account of ancient Egyptian culture and society.
Impact and Legacy
Reade's work as an explorer, author, and historian has had a lasting impact on our understanding of African history and culture. His writings continue to be studied by scholars and historians today. Reade's philosophical ideas about human progress and the development of civilization remain influential in contemporary thought.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Reade is widely quoted for his insightful observations on human nature, society, and politics. His writings offer a unique perspective on the complexities of human history and culture. As an explorer and historian, Reade's work has contributed significantly to our understanding of Africa and its people. He remains remembered as a pioneering figure in the fields of African studies and historical research.
Throughout his life, William Winwood Reade demonstrated a remarkable ability to combine intellectual curiosity with practical action. His dedication to exploration, writing, and historical research has left an enduring legacy that continues to inspire new generations of scholars and thinkers.
Quotes by William Winwood Reade
William Winwood Reade's insights on:
The philosophic spirit of inquiry may be traced to brute curiosity, and that to the habit of examining all things in search of food.
Then, if the Earth-wife be fruitful, she will bear them children by hundreds and by thousands; and then calamity will come and teach them by torture to invent.
One fact must be familiar to all those who have any experience of human nature – a sincerely religious man is often an exceedingly bad man.
It is the first and indispensable condition of human progress that a people shall be married to a single land;.
Men prefer to believe that they are degenerated angels, rather than elevated apes.
Christians believe themselves to be the aristocracy of heaven upon earth, they are admitted to the spiritual court, while millions of men in foreign lands have never been presented. They bow their knees and say they are 'miserable sinners,' and their hearts rankle with abominable pride. Poor infatuated fools! Their servility is real and their insolence is real but their king is a phantom and their palace is a dream.
If Christianity were true religious persecution would become a pious and charitable duty: if God designs to punish men for their opinions it would be an act of mercy to mankind to extinguish such opinions. By burning the bodies of those who diffuse them many souls would be saved that would otherwise be lost, and so there would be an economy of torment in the long run. It is therefore not surprising that enthusiasts should be intolerant.
As for the system of the Commune, which makes it impossible for a man to rise or fall, it is merely the old caste system revived; if it could be put into force, all industry would be disheartened, emulation would cease, and mankind would go to sleep.
One fact must be familiar to all those who have any experience of human nature - a sincerely religious man is often an exceedingly bad man.
The essence of religion is inertia; the essence of science is change. It is the function of the one to preserve, it is the function of the other to improve. If, as in Egypt, they are firmly chained together, either science will advance, in which case the religion will be altered, or the religion will preserve its purity, and science will congeal.