--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our Twentieth Century has proved to be…" description: "\"Our Twentieth Century has proved to be more cruel than preceding centuries, and the first fifty years have not erased all its horrors. Our world is ren..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f45/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_20th-century_our-twentieth-century-has-proved-to-be-m_1387355.jpg" --- # Our Twentieth Century has proved to be more cruel than… ![“Our Twentieth Century has proved to be more cruel than preceding centuries, and the first fifty years have not erased all its horrors. Our world is rent asunder by those same old cave-age emotions of greed, envy, lack of control, mutual hostility which have picked up in passing respectable…” quote by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f45/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_20th-century_our-twentieth-century-has-proved-to-be-m_1387355.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f45/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_20th-century_our-twentieth-century-has-proved-to-be-m_1387355.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f45/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-671_20th-century_our-twentieth-century-has-proved-to-be-m_1387355.jpg) > “Our Twentieth Century has proved to be more cruel than preceding centuries, and the first fifty years have not erased all its horrors. Our world is rent asunder by those same old cave-age emotions of greed, envy, lack of control, mutual hostility which have picked up in passing respectable pseudonyms like class struggle, radical conflict, struggle of the masses, trade-union disputes.” [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The modern era is more brutal than earlier ones, and its early decades failed to eliminate deep-rooted human vices that now appear under new labels. **In simple terms:** Modern cruelty persists, hidden behind new political terms. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront timeless vices behind contemporary rhetoric. Themes history human nature politics violence societal critique Mood somber critical reflective Type philosophical political historical When to use this quote - political analysis - educational curricula - media literacy - activist organizing Key Concepts Moral decay systemic oppression ideological manipulation Questions to Reflect On - How do you see ancient vices manifest in today’s politics? - What steps can reduce the influence of greed and envy in society? A Different Perspective The quote may overlook progress made in human rights and democratic institutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [20th century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20th-century/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Caves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caves/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Class struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-struggle/) [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Disputes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disputes/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Emotions Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotions-greed-686182/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Fifty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifty/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Greed Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed-envy-1015568/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Hostility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hostility/) [Lack of control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lack-of-control/) [Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Mutual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutual/) [Mutual Hostility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutual-hostility-3255806/) [Our world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-world/) [Passing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing/) [Passings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passings/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Pseudonyms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pseudonyms/) [Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical/) [Respectable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respectable/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade/) [Trade unions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade-unions/) [Twentieth century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twentieth-century/) [Unions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unions/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [The same old caveman feeling-greed, envy, violence, and mutual hate, which along the way assumed respectable pseudonyms like class struggle, racial struggle, mass struggle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/the-same-old-caveman-feeling-greed-envy-violence-and-mutual-hate/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [We call it a Society; and go about professing openly the totalest separation, isolation. 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I can no longer look and see the beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curly-girl/i-look-around-me-and-i-find-the-things-ive-seen-have-made-me-blind-i/) [Curly Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curly-girl/) > [The greed and envy of the nonproducer is insatiable, so that eventually nothing short of 100% taxation will appease him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ringer/the-greed-and-envy-of-the-nonproducer-is-insatiable-so-that/) [Robert Ringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ringer/) > [I can see the greed and envy in your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelly/i-can-see-the-greed-and-envy-in-your-eyes/) [Nelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelly/) > [Failure comes from ego, greed, envy, fear, imitation. I have success not because I am smart, but because I am rational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/failure-comes-from-ego-greed-envy-fear-imitation-i-have-success-not/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Greed, envy, sloth, pride and gluttony: these are not vices anymore. No, these are marketing tools. Lust is our way of life. Envy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/greed-envy-sloth-pride-and-gluttony-these-are-not-vices-anymore-no/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [In the race of men is much greed and envy; but of truth, little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/in-the-race-of-men-is-much-greed-and-envy-but-of-truth-little/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [Everything - our houses, our clothes, our hairstyles - is meant to help us forget ourselves and to protect us from vanity, greed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/everything-our-houses-our-clothes-our-hairstyles-is-meant-to-help-us/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [To answer oppression with appropriate resistance requires knowledge of two kinds: in the first place, self-knowledge by the victim, which means awareness that oppression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/to-answer-oppression-with-appropriate-resistance-requires-knowledge/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [In January 2012, Google Plus started to roll out support for nicknames and pseudonyms, but those registering with a name other than their real-life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/in-january-2012-google-plus-started-to-roll-out-support-for-nicknames/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) ## More by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn > [If you wanted to put the world to rights, who should you begin with: yourself or others?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/if-you-wanted-to-put-the-world-to-rights-who-should-you-begin-with/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“...you are strong only as long as you don't deprive people of everything . For a person you've taken everything from is no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/you-are-strong-only-as-long-as-you-don-t-deprive-people-of-everything/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Woe to that nation whose literature is cut short by the intrusion of force. This is not merely interference with freedom of the press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/woe-to-that-nation-whose-literature-is-cut-short-by-the-intrusion-of/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Literature becomes the living memory of a nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/literature-becomes-the-living-memory-of-a-nation/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [If there were no executioners, there would be no executions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/if-there-were-no-executioners-there-would-be-no-executions/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Not everything has a name. Some things lead us into a realm beyond words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/not-everything-has-a-name-some-things-lead-us-into-a-realm-beyond/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [It is almost always impossible to evaluate at the time events which you have already experienced, and to understand their meaning with the guidance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-is-almost-always-impossible-to-evaluate-at-the-time-events-which/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Human nature is full of riddles; . . . one of those riddles is: how is it that people who have been crushed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/human-nature-is-full-of-riddles-one-of-those-riddles-is-how-is-it/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“It was astonishing that the pseudo wreckers, who knew perfectly well that they weren't wreckers, believed that military men and priests were being shaken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-was-astonishing-that-the-pseudo-wreckers-who-knew-perfectly-well/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [When the whole discussion of "developing a national idea" hastily began in post-Soviet Russia, I tried to pour cold water on it with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/when-the-whole-discussion-of-developing-a-national-idea-hastily-began/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“It was granted me to carry away from my prison years on my bent back, which nearly broke beneath its load, this essential experience;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-was-granted-me-to-carry-away-from-my-prison-years-on-my-bent-back/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Call no day happy 'til it is done; call no man happy til he is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/call-no-day-happy-til-it-is-done-call-no-man-happy-til-he-is-dead/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Whenever the tissue of life is woven of legalistic relationships, this creates an atmosphere of spiritual mediocrity that paralyzes a person's noblest impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/whenever-the-tissue-of-life-is-woven-of-legalistic-relationships-this/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [The same old caveman feeling-greed, envy, violence, and mutual hate, which along the way assumed respectable pseudonyms like class struggle, racial struggle, mass struggle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/the-same-old-caveman-feeling-greed-envy-violence-and-mutual-hate/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Surrender one hair, and you'll end up beardless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/surrender-one-hair-and-you-ll-end-up-beardless/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) [Explore all 412 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) ## More 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. 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Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) [Browse all 672 20th century quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20th-century/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our Twentieth Century has proved to be more cruel than preceding centuries, and the first fifty years have not erased all its horrors. 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