Zeev Sternhell argues that despite his shortcomings, Voltaire was a forerunner of liberal in his approach to history and non-European cultures. Voltaire wrote, "We have slandered the Chinese because their metaphysics is not the same as ours ... This great misunderstanding about Chinese rituals has come about because we have judged their usages by ours, for we carry the prejudices of our contentious spirit to the end of the world." In speaking of Persia, he condemned Europe's "ignorant audacity" and "ignorant credulity". When writing about India, he declares, "It is time for us to give up the shameful habit of slandering all sects and insulting all nations!" In "Essai sur les mœurs et l'esprit des nations", he defended the integrity of the Native Americans and wrote favorably of the Inca Empire.