Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (Annotated)

by Mark Twain

To arrive at a just estimate of a renowned man's character one must judge it by the standards of his time, not ours. Judged by the standards of one century, the noblest characters of an earlier one lose much of their luster; judged by the standards of to-day, there is probably no illustrious man of four or five centuries ago whose character could meet the test at all points.

Ones character changes based on the cebtury in which he lived abd the century in which he is bejng judged

'Poor little creatures!' she said. 'What can a person's heart be made of that can pity a Christian's child and yet can't pity a devil's child, that a thousand times more needs it!'