Civilization

Quotes

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The liberty of the individual is no gift of civilization. It was greatest before there was any civilization
The first requisite of civilization is that of justice
It is impossible to overlook the extent to which civilization is built upon a renunciation of instinct
Civilized society is perpetually menaced with disintegration through this primary hostility of men towards one another
Civilization is a process in the service of Eros, whose purpose is to combine single human individuals, and after that families, then races, peoples and nations, into one great unity, the unity of mankind. Why this has to happen, we do not know; the work of Eros is precisely this
Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock
A civilization which leaves so large a number of its participants unsatisfied and drives them into revolt neither has nor deserves the prospect of a lasting existence
Civilization degrades the many to exalt the few
Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in proportion to their readiness to doubt
Every advance in civilization has been denounced as unnatural while it was recent
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays