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Civilisation Quotes

Centuries of progress, in a single line.

This civilisation quotes collection spans a long view of human contribution to shared progress and the image of ideas spreading like a spark growing into a blaze. Related reading: our Culture quotes.

It gave me a moment of exquisite satisfaction to find myself moving away from civilisation in this rude canvas canoe of a model that has served primitive races since men first went to sea.

Quotes by John Millington Synge

I think it's important to understand that in the big historical context of things, there has been land degradation from civilisation since the beginning of history. I mean, the Rajputana desert in India is a manmade desert caused by overgrazing.

Quotes by Joel Salatin

I can understand better than most the contradiction between the idealistic civilisation and religious morals of Europe and what they did with the slaves, because the root of the evil is only two generations away from me. Maybe this has...

Quotes by J. M. G. Le Clezio

In spite of overwhelming evidence, it is most difficult for a citizen of western Europe to bring thoroughly home to himself the truth that the civilisation which surrounds him is a rare exception in the history of the world.

Quotes by Henry James Sumner Maine

We must realise that man's nature will remain the same so long as he remains man; that civilisation is but a slight coverlet beneath which the dominant beast sleeps lightly and ever ready to awake. To preserve civilisation, we must...

Quotes by H. P. Lovecraft

Diaspora starts about a thousand years from now. Most of human civilisation has moved inside computers; essentially, a major branch of our descendants consists of conscious software.

Quotes by Greg Egan

I knew that Britain and the United States were beacons of freedom and democracy at a time when my life - and Western civilisation itself - was at grave risk.

Quotes by Frank Lowy

It's interesting that the treatment of historical events by art precedes the civilisation of people through democracy.

Quotes by Elfriede Jelinek

As long as our civilisation keeps trundling along generally forwards, then there is the possibility of a future where ethnicity is merely an interesting badge, not a uniform you can't take off.

Quotes by David Mitchell

I think that our civilisation is very much a visual civilisation - television and videos and all this.

Quotes by Daniel Barenboim

Galactic plankton is undoubtedly out there, but it's statistically highly likely there's also another intelligent civilisation out there somewhere. Unfortunately, the distances and time differences are so great, communication might remain impossible.

Quotes by Ben Miller

Environmental activism against the resource industry is widespread all over the world, but at the same time we have to realise that these are basic materials on which civilisation depends. We need to tap natural resources in a sustainable manner.

Quotes by Anil Agarwal

I can say that we are very clear in our mind about the responsibility of the national soldiers for the break with civilisation that was the Shoah. We are firmly convinced that this is something that will have to be...

Quotes by Angela Merkel

Myths are part of our DNA. We're a civilisation with a continuous culture. The effort to modernize it keeps it alive. Readers connect with it.

Quotes by Amish Tripathi

Chinese civilisation is so systematic that wild animals have been abolished on principle.

Quotes by Aleister Crowley

It is impossible to remain indifferent to Japanese culture. It is a different civilisation where all you have learnt must be forgotten. It is a great intellectual challenge and a gorgeous sensual experience.

Quotes by Alain Ducasse

Winston Churchill aroused this nation in heroic fashion to save civilisation in World War Two. We have everything we need except political will, but political will is a renewable resource.

Quotes by Al Gore

The Japanese keenly learned from Western civilisation in a bid to modernize and preserve the nation.

Quotes by Akihito

The World's Fair was the precursor to theme parks like Disneyworld, and the really sort of cheap, superficial promotional architecture that you see everywhere in the U.S. I think there's a danger when you start creating a civilisation that isn't...

Frequently Asked Questions

What broad themes do civilisation quotes cover?
They range from long-term human progress and shared contribution to more cautionary reflections on how fragile any civilisation ultimately is.
Is there a quote comparing progress to fire?
Yes, one likens how civilisation takes hold to a fire starting as a small spark before growing into a full blaze.
Do any quotes discuss ancient history?
One references the preservation of ancient archaeological sites tied to early Mesopotamian civilisation, without focusing on any particular ruler.
Is there a more unsettling perspective in this set?
Yes, one quote accepts that a civilisation could eventually collapse entirely and life could carry on in a different form afterward, as history has shown before.
How does this pair with our Culture quotes?
Civilisation quotes take the long historical view, while our Culture quotes focus more on everyday shared identity.

Other lines consider how ancient sites are preserved for study, and how any civilisation could eventually give way to something new. See our Art and Democracy quotes.