develop yourself

[joham]

I read a sentence in one of my reference books written by Chinese teachers of English:
A good scientist must learn from the scientists of other countries. Only for this, he can develop himself.

This sentence sounds odd to me. I thought the second part should be 'Only by doing so/ in this way can he make progress.'

My questions are: Is the original sentence correct? Can 'develop' or 'improve' be followed by 'himself'?

Thank you very much.

[Anglika]

I read a sentence in one of my reference books written by Chinese teachers of English:
A good scientist must learn from the scientists of other countries. Only for this, he can develop himself.

This sentence sounds odd to me. I thought the second part should be 'Only by doing so/ in this way can he make progress.' I agree - the sentence does not make sense otherwise.

My questions are: Is the original sentence correct? Can 'develop' or 'improve' be followed by 'himself'? I think the sentence shows an confusion with English. In the context of the sentences, "Only by doing this can he himself develop" is one interpretation; "Only by doing this can he develop his knowledge and skills" is another.

Thank you very much.

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