The myth of the noble/good savage
Noble savage , in literature , an idealized concept of uncivilized man, who symbolizes the innate goodness of one not exposed to the corrupting influences of civilization. The glorification of the noble savage is a dominant theme in the romantics writings of the 18th and 19th centuries. The concept of the noble savage, however, can be traced to ancient Greece , where Homer, Pliny, and Xenophon idealized the Arcadians and other primitive groups, both real and imagined. Later Roman writers such as Horace , Virgil, and Ovid gave comparable treatment to the Scythians. First landing of Columbus , print of Theodore De Bry Harvest in a rice field , By Theodore De Bry, 1585 THE MYTH THROUGH A FEW STORIES L'enfant sauvage , François Truffaut : "The wild child" is a 1970 French film by