Tao Te Ching

“Despite much research, we cannot tell of what race the Sumerians were, nor by what route they entered Sumeria... a synthesis of rough beginnings and occasional but brilliant mastery... Here within the limits of our present understanding [we find] the first states and empires, the first irrigation, the first use of gold and silver, the first business contracts, the first credit system, the first code of law, the first extensive development of writing, the first libraries and schools, the first literature and poetry, the first cosmetics and jewelry, the first sculpture, the first palaces and temples... the first large scale sins of civilization: slavery, despotism, ecclesiasticism, and imperialistic war.”

— Will Durant 1885 – 1981 CE
Philosophy apostle and popularizer of history's lessons
from Our Oriental Heritage