I am looking for a quotation that is, in essense, the mark of a
civilized man (or person) is that he or she can look at a column of
figures and be moved to tears.  I do not have the correct wording or
the source.  I thought it was Dickens, but I cannot find it.

Thanks.

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Clarification of Question by timw-ga on 02 Nov 2002 16:43 PST

Well, Cooperator-ga has done most of the work.  Now, what is the
source for the Bertrand Russell quotation?

And thanks, Cooperator-ga.  Thanks very much.

TMW

This quote is being attributed to Bertram Russell by some folks on the
internet (I used Google to find these), but no print source is given.

From "Wanting More in an Age of Plenty" by David G. Myers, posted
5/3/00 to Christianity Today
(http://www.christianity.net/ct/2000/005/6.94.html): "Bertrand Russell
once said that the mark of a civilized human is the capacity to read a
column of numbers and weep."

Same quote used by David G. Myers in The American Paradox 
(http://www.davidmyers.org/paradox/chapter1.html).

Martin Seligman quoted in "Discussion Following Presentation by
Richard Lapchick Director, Centor for the Study of Sport in Society"
(http://www.upenn.edu/pnc/lapchick2.html):  "Bertrand Russell said
that the mark of a civilized human being--note the word
`civilized'--was the ability to read a column of numbers and then
weep."

Atanu Dey in an e-mail contribution to a sustainable agriculture
discussion list (http://www.ibiblio.org/london/agriculture/forums/sustainable-agriculture/msg02364.html):
 "Bertrand Russell wrote that the sign of a truly civilized human
being is the ability to read a column of numbers and then weep."