--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought to myself: this is how…" description: "\"“I thought to myself: this is how civilisation ends. Standards decline, accountability ends, the rule of law is impotent, the thugs take over and do wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd8/adam-nevill-28041_apocalypse_i-thought-to-myself-this-is-how-civilisa_3177716.jpg" --- # I thought to myself: this is how civilisation ends… ![“I thought to myself: this is how civilisation ends. Standards decline, accountability ends, the rule of law is impotent, the thugs take over and do what they will. And those of us softened by convention, courtesy and all the privileges of post-historical freedom are dispossessed, victimised and…” quote by Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd8/adam-nevill-28041_apocalypse_i-thought-to-myself-this-is-how-civilisa_3177716.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd8/adam-nevill-28041_apocalypse_i-thought-to-myself-this-is-how-civilisa_3177716.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd8/adam-nevill-28041_apocalypse_i-thought-to-myself-this-is-how-civilisa_3177716.jpg) > ““I thought to myself: this is how civilisation ends. Standards decline, accountability ends, the rule of law is impotent, the thugs take over and do what they will. And those of us softened by convention, courtesy and all the privileges of post-historical freedom are dispossessed, victimised and turned into refugees in our own neighbourhoods and homes.”” [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He warns that societal decay leads to lawlessness, where the privileged become victims in their own communities. **In simple terms:** Societal decline can turn the privileged into refugees. Key Takeaway Address systemic decay before it harms all. Themes societal decay lawlessness privilege refugees Mood cautionary reflective Type political philosophical When to use this quote - urban neighborhoods - political discourse - community planning Key Concepts social contract civil unrest power vacuums Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can protect communities? - How can privilege be used responsibly? A Different Perspective Complex issues may have multiple causes; not all decline is inevitable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accountability Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accountability-ends-5809765/) [Apocalypse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apocalypse/) [Civilisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilisation/) [Civilisation Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilisation-ends-5809762/) [Freedom Dispossessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-dispossessed-5809764/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Rule of law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-of-law/) [Thought Civilisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-civilisation-5809763/) ## Related quotes > [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [On this waterlogged landscape…are scattered palaces and hovels…It is here that the human spirit becomes perfect, and at the same time brutalised, that civilisation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/on-this-waterlogged-landscape-are-scattered-palaces-and-hovels-it-is/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [If the truth be told, we are a society that is dripping in racism. 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It's the mark of civilisation,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lachapelle/i-love-fashion-beauty-glamour-it-s-the-mark-of-civilisation/) [David LaChapelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lachapelle/) > [But the ear, let us not forget, starts operating on the forty-fifth day of the pregnancy of a woman. Seven and a half months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-barenboim/but-the-ear-let-us-not-forget-starts-operating-on-the-forty-fifth-day/) [Daniel Barenboim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-barenboim/) > [“the march of civilisation has given the modern girl a vocabulary and an ability to use it which her grandmother never had”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/the-march-of-civilisation-has-given-the-modern-girl-a-vocabulary-and/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [It crosses my mind that our generation may leave problems that are simply too hard for human society in the generations that follow. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-garnaut/it-crosses-my-mind-that-our-generation-may-leave-problems-that-are/) [Ross Garnaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-garnaut/) > [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The slow rhythm of the body, the insistent rhythm of the wit, were they becoming irreconcilable in modern civilisation? The sedentary life, frustration and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-williamson/the-slow-rhythm-of-the-body-the-insistent-rhythm-of-the-wit-were-they/) [Henry Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-williamson/) > [“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/there-is-a-great-deal-of-ruin-in-a-nation/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [We are producing urban places which are disjointed and disconnected and not worthy of our civilisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-safdie/we-are-producing-urban-places-which-are-disjointed-and-disconnected/) [Moshe Safdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-safdie/) > [In some ways, I lament the introduction of civilisation on such a huge scale, because it has given us a lot of room to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-of-civilisation-on-such-a-huge/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [If we ever talk to aliens, their civilisation will be far more advanced than ours (because of distances involved). They won't be religious!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-we-ever-talk-to-aliens-their-civilisation-will-be-far-more/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More by Adam Nevill > [“These great historical figures we admire for their conquests, their drive, their ambition, and the progress they are said to have been responsible for.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/these-great-historical-figures-we-admire-for-their-conquests-their/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [Hell was a living place inside every membrane of flesh that temporarily passed itself off as human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/hell-was-a-living-place-inside-every-membrane-of-flesh-that/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [“The world’s refusal to leave me out of its activities made me consider its destruction. Bring on the wave. Please, the asteroid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/the-world-s-refusal-to-leave-me-out-of-its-activities-made-me/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [“After millions of years of evolution, we start stupid cults of celebrity and feed the egos of maniacs until they take our money, fuck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/after-millions-of-years-of-evolution-we-start-stupid-cults-of/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [“But it would be broadcast, and in the great public theatre of his age; that unregulated market of braying narcissists, that Wild West of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/but-it-would-be-broadcast-and-in-the-great-public-theatre-of-his-age/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [“I believe the vulpine greed of the corporate world is cut from the very same cloth as the tyrant of history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/i-believe-the-vulpine-greed-of-the-corporate-world-is-cut-from-the/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [“At fifteen feet the soldier shot off the bereaved husband’s face, along with the top of his head, leaving just the jaw hanging down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/at-fifteen-feet-the-soldier-shot-off-the-bereaved-husband-s-face/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [Mobile phones ... they're not for communicating, they're for broadcasting. Broadcasting The Show Of Me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/mobile-phones-they-re-not-for-communicating-they-re-for-broadcasting/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [Folklore and mythology, as well as man's catastrophic disregard for nature, are the meat of Joseph D'Lacey's horror. But the prime cuts are always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/folklore-and-mythology-as-well-as-man-s-catastrophic-disregard-for/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [“He wanted to roar like a lion on a cement floor. And bellow like a polar bear with yellow fur worn down to pink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/he-wanted-to-roar-like-a-lion-on-a-cement-floor-and-bellow-like-a/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [“It’s like you said, it’s all about P.R. these days. Brand management. Social networking. The corporatization of our own experience. We’re all our very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/it-s-like-you-said-it-s-all-about-p-r-these-days-brand-management/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [“And I extend this to so many of our corporate leaders. I ask you to draw your eye down to our glorious professional leaders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/and-i-extend-this-to-so-many-of-our-corporate-leaders-i-ask-you-to/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [What I am I wished to be, and what I wished to be I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/what-i-am-i-wished-to-be-and-what-i-wished-to-be-i-am/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [“...there is something demoniac in human nature that we are unable to stop revering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/there-is-something-demoniac-in-human-nature-that-we-are-unable-to/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [Perhaps enlightenment, technology and secularism haven't cleared Europe of the oldest science of all - the occult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/perhaps-enlightenment-technology-and-secularism-haven-t-cleared/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) [Explore all 18 Adam Nevill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) ## More Apocalypse quotes > [People always wonder when the world is going to end. I believe that the world will end when everyone stops loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-fickes/people-always-wonder-when-the-world-is-going-to-end-i-believe-that/) [Nichole Fickes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichole-fickes/) > [A South Korean inventor has finally created the robot that mankind has been waiting for. Scientists who have been worried about the robot apocalypse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pesca/a-south-korean-inventor-has-finally-created-the-robot-that-mankind/) [Mike Pesca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pesca/) > [The end of the world begins the moment you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-end-of-the-world-begins-the-moment-you-die/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [If it makes you feel any better, this isn't my first apocalypse. There is hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/if-it-makes-you-feel-any-better-this-isn-t-my-first-apocalypse-there/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Funerals and weddings were commonplace, and nothing could have been so interesting to them as the coming of the end of the world ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eggleston/funerals-and-weddings-were-commonplace-and-nothing-could-have-been-so/) [Edward Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eggleston/) > [“The world did not end with a bang, nor did it end with a whimper. It was more of a chomp. And a slurp.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rudolph/the-world-did-not-end-with-a-bang-nor-did-it-end-with-a-whimper-it/) [J. Rudolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rudolph/) > [Nuclear apocalypse-who do you need? Actors are probably not top of the list. What can I do for you? I can pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-bale/nuclear-apocalypse-who-do-you-need-actors-are-probably-not-top-of-the/) [Christian Bale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-bale/) > [“It was a comfortable, familiar apocalypse,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-barnes/it-was-a-comfortable-familiar-apocalypse/) [Adrian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-barnes/) > [In the New Testament alone there are Gospels, acts, epistles, and an apocalypse. Gospels contain literary forms like miracles, parables, pronouncements, proverbs, farewell discourses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-blomberg/in-the-new-testament-alone-there-are-gospels-acts-epistles-and-an/) [Craig Blomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-blomberg/) > [The day came. The wrath descended. Sin, guilt, and retribution? The manic psychoses of those entities we referred to as states, institutions, systems -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-day-came-the-wrath-descended-sin-guilt-and-retribution-the-manic/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/people-have-always-been-good-at-imagining-the-end-of-the-world-which/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [The awkward moment when you predict the end of the world and nothing happens :P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-awkward-moment-when-you-predict-the-end-of-the-world-and-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I once fed a dog-fight operator to the dogs he had abused for so long, and do you want to know something? It felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-nye/i-once-fed-a-dog-fight-operator-to-the-dogs-he-had-abused-for-so-long/) [Cedric Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-nye/) > [“You and I are victims of the same disease. 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