--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But old families are like civilizations…" description: "\"“But old families are like civilizations. One day they just wither and die.”\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/anonymous-1_civilizations_but-old-families-are-like-civilizations_804657.jpg" --- # But old families are like civilizations. One day they just… ![“But old families are like civilizations. One day they just wither and die.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/anonymous-1_civilizations_but-old-families-are-like-civilizations_804657.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/anonymous-1_civilizations_but-old-families-are-like-civilizations_804657.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/anonymous-1_civilizations_but-old-families-are-like-civilizations_804657.jpg) > ““But old families are like civilizations. One day they just wither and die.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Old families eventually decline like any civilization, suggesting impermanence of legacy. **In simple terms:** Families fade over time. Key Takeaway Accept change and cherish present moments. Themes impermanence family legacy change Mood thoughtful somber Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - family gatherings - historical analysis - personal heritage Key Concepts sociology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What traditions can you preserve to sustain family continuity? - How do you cope with the loss of family ties? A Different Perspective Not all families fade; some endure through adaptation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilizations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilizations/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) ## Related quotes > [I've always noticed that Old Families, like plumbers and barbers and possibly drummers and detectives, seem to have some kind of reciprocity arrangement in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celestine-sibley/i-ve-always-noticed-that-old-families-like-plumbers-and-barbers-and/) Celestine Sibley > [old emotions like old families have intermarried and have many connections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/old-emotions-like-old-families-have-intermarried-and-have-many/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Generations pass while some tree stands, and old families last not three oaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/generations-pass-while-some-tree-stands-and-old-families-last-not/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [“Our Fathers finde their graves in our short memories… Generations passe while some trees stand, and old Families last not three Oaks.” His”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-taylor/our-fathers-finde-their-graves-in-our-short-memories-generations/) J.D. Taylor > [“They lived on the even tenor found advisable in the experience of old families of the Western world, brought up rather than brought out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/they-lived-on-the-even-tenor-found-advisable-in-the-experience-of-old/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [If one looks into the genealogies of many 'old families,' one discovers episodes of slave trafficking, bootlegging, gun running, opium trading, falsified land claims,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/if-one-looks-into-the-genealogies-of-many-old-families-one-discovers/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) > [I believe that the capital of the Republic of Albania is a suitable venue for discussing the dialogue among religions and civilizations, notably in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-believe-that-the-capital-of-the-republic-of-albania-is-a-suitable/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It was a truism that all civilizations were basically neurotic until they made contact with everybody else and found their place within the ever-changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-a-truism-that-all-civilizations-were-basically-neurotic-until/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Words outlive people, institutions, civilizations. Words spur images, associations, memories, inspirations and synapse pulsations. Words send off physical resonations of thought into the nethersphere.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inga-muscio/words-outlive-people-institutions-civilizations-words-spur-images/) [Inga Muscio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inga-muscio/) > [Civilizations evolve over time, and most scholars of civilization, including people like Carol Quigley, argue that they go through periods of warring states, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/civilizations-evolve-over-time-and-most-scholars-of-civilization/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [That is the key to history. Terrific energy is expended - civilizations are built up - excellent institutions devised; but each time something goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/that-is-the-key-to-history-terrific-energy-is-expended-civilizations/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [All the civilizations we know have been created and directed by small intellectual aristocracies, never by people in the mass. The power of crowds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-le-bon/all-the-civilizations-we-know-have-been-created-and-directed-by-small/) [Gustave Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-le-bon/) > [Each succeeding civilization forgets its predecessor. Civilizations are ghouls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/each-succeeding-civilization-forgets-its-predecessor-civilizations/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [In all civilizations we've studied, all cultures that we know of across the Earth and across time have invested some kind of attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-all-civilizations-we-ve-studied-all-cultures-that-we-know-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We civilizations now know ourselves mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/we-civilizations-now-know-ourselves-mortal/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Civilizations quotes > [We civilizations now know ourselves mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/we-civilizations-now-know-ourselves-mortal/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [In all civilizations we've studied, all cultures that we know of across the Earth and across time have invested some kind of attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-all-civilizations-we-ve-studied-all-cultures-that-we-know-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Each succeeding civilization forgets its predecessor. Civilizations are ghouls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/each-succeeding-civilization-forgets-its-predecessor-civilizations/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [All the civilizations we know have been created and directed by small intellectual aristocracies, never by people in the mass. The power of crowds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-le-bon/all-the-civilizations-we-know-have-been-created-and-directed-by-small/) [Gustave Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-le-bon/) > [That is the key to history. Terrific energy is expended - civilizations are built up - excellent institutions devised; but each time something goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/that-is-the-key-to-history-terrific-energy-is-expended-civilizations/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Civilizations evolve over time, and most scholars of civilization, including people like Carol Quigley, argue that they go through periods of warring states, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/civilizations-evolve-over-time-and-most-scholars-of-civilization/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Words outlive people, institutions, civilizations. Words spur images, associations, memories, inspirations and synapse pulsations. Words send off physical resonations of thought into the nethersphere.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inga-muscio/words-outlive-people-institutions-civilizations-words-spur-images/) [Inga Muscio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inga-muscio/) > [Civilizations proceed from the heart rather than from the head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/civilizations-proceed-from-the-heart-rather-than-from-the-head/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Isolationists believed that the ancient civilizations all developed independent of one another. Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, China, Egypt—all crossed a threshold into civilization about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doherty/isolationists-believed-that-the-ancient-civilizations-all-developed/) Robert Doherty > [“Future civilizations - better civilizations than this one - are going to judge all men by the extent to which they've been artists. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/future-civilizations-better-civilizations-than-this-one-are-going-to/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I do not believe that civilizations have to die because civilization is not an organism. It is a product of wills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/i-do-not-believe-that-civilizations-have-to-die-because-civilization/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [In the long run, the aggressive civilizations destroy themselves, almost always. It's their nature. They can't help it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-the-long-run-the-aggressive-civilizations-destroy-themselves/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [I am the son of two civilizations that at a certain age in history have formed a happy marriage. The first of these, seven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/i-am-the-son-of-two-civilizations-that-at-a-certain-age-in-history/) [Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/) > [“Their history wasn’t so far off the mean track, they were going through what a thousand other civilizations had gone through, and no doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/their-history-wasn-t-so-far-off-the-mean-track-they-were-going/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [Technological civilizations don't last long. You're all right until you get a printing press. Then a race starts between technology and common sense. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/technological-civilizations-don-t-last-long-you-re-all-right-until/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) [Browse all 164 Civilizations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilizations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But old families are like civilizations. 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