The proper means of increasing the love we bear our native country is to reside some time in a foreign one.

Shenstone’s aphorism argues that patriotism is often clarified by distance. Living abroad makes one experience different customs, laws, and social expectations; that contrast can sharpen awareness of what one values at home, turning “native country” from an unexamined habit into a consciously chosen attachment. The line also carries a mild corrective to complacent nationalism: love of country is not best cultivated by insularity or constant praise, but by comparison, humility, and the perspective gained from being an outsider. In this sense, travel functions as moral and emotional education—deepening gratitude while tempering prejudice.