--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The luxuries of civilization satisfy only…" description: "\"The luxuries of civilization satisfy only those wants which they themselves create.\" — Apsley Cherry-Garrard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/apsley-cherry-garrard-31034_civilization_the-luxuries-of-civilization-satisfy-onl_2640952.jpg" --- # The luxuries of civilization satisfy only those wants… ![“The luxuries of civilization satisfy only those wants which they themselves create.” quote by Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/apsley-cherry-garrard-31034_civilization_the-luxuries-of-civilization-satisfy-onl_2640952.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/apsley-cherry-garrard-31034_civilization_the-luxuries-of-civilization-satisfy-onl_2640952.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/apsley-cherry-garrard-31034_civilization_the-luxuries-of-civilization-satisfy-onl_2640952.jpg) > “The luxuries of civilization satisfy only those wants which they themselves create.” [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Civilization’s luxuries only fulfill desires that the civilization itself creates. **In simple terms:** Luxuries create their own needs. Key Takeaway Question the necessity of modern comforts. Themes society consumerism psychology Mood critical contemplative Type sociological economic When to use this quote - environmental impact - economic inequality Key Concepts advertising influence technological dependency Questions to Reflect On - What luxuries are truly essential? - How does consumer culture shape personal wants? A Different Perspective Desires may be artificially manufactured. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Satisfy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-satisfy-2268152/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Luxuries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxuries/) [Luxuries Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxuries-civilization-2268151/) [Luxury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury/) [Satisfy Wants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfy-wants-2268153/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [It has been well said that tea is suggestive of a thousand wants, from which spring the decencies and luxuries of civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/it-has-been-well-said-that-tea-is-suggestive-of-a-thousand-wants-from/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [We want men and women who shall renovate life and our social state but we see that most natures are insolvent, cannot satisfy their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-want-men-and-women-who-shall-renovate-life-and-our-social-state/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“It is not a true civilization, and has nothing in it to satisfy a mature and fully developed human mind. It is attuned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/it-is-not-a-true-civilization-and-has-nothing-in-it-to-satisfy-a/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [Revenue on the consumption of foreign articles is paid cheerfully by those who can afford to add foreign luxuries to domestic comforts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/revenue-on-the-consumption-of-foreign-articles-is-paid-cheerfully-by/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [First-class travel, provided one hasn't to pay for it oneself, is the most insidiously addictive of life's luxuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james/first-class-travel-provided-one-hasn-t-to-pay-for-it-oneself-is-the/) [P. D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james/) > [Capitalism is about turning luxuries into necessities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-carnegie/capitalism-is-about-turning-luxuries-into-necessities/) [Andrew Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-carnegie/) > [Never economize on the small luxuries of life. Drinking fine wine and eating chocolate won't solve your problems - but they won't hurt either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-j-zelinski/never-economize-on-the-small-luxuries-of-life-drinking-fine-wine-and/) [Ernie J Zelinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-j-zelinski/) > [Luxuries are easy to take up but very difficult to give up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/luxuries-are-easy-to-take-up-but-very-difficult-to-give-up/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [We are developing new types of destitutes-the automobileless, the yachtless, the Newportcottageless. The subtlest luxuries of today reaches very high in the social scale...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-weyl/we-are-developing-new-types-of-destitutes-the-automobileless-the/) [Walter Weyl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-weyl/) > [One of the few luxuries left is travel, and the aspect of travel that is luxurious is not the movement, but the being there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-balazs/one-of-the-few-luxuries-left-is-travel-and-the-aspect-of-travel-that/) [Andre Balazs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-balazs/) > [“She indulged in melancholy, that cheapest and most accessible of luxuries...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/she-indulged-in-melancholy-that-cheapest-and-most-accessible-of/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [No man receives the full culture of a man in whom the sensibility to the beautiful is not cherished; and there is no condition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/no-man-receives-the-full-culture-of-a-man-in-whom-the-sensibility-to/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Another ingredient in a happy marriage: Budget the luxuries first!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/another-ingredient-in-a-happy-marriage-budget-the-luxuries-first/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If this world affords true happiness, it is to be found in a home where love and confidence increase with the years, where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-edward-newton/if-this-world-affords-true-happiness-it-is-to-be-found-in-a-home/) [A. Edward Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-edward-newton/) > [Our obsession with material things and lack of self-worth is evident in our need for an abundance of momentary luxuries and must-have amenities that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-i/our-obsession-with-material-things-and-lack-of-self-worth-is-evident/) [T.I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-i/) ## More by Apsley Cherry-Garrard > [I am glad The Worst Journey is coming out in Penguins: after all it is largely about penguins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/i-am-glad-the-worst-journey-is-coming-out-in-penguins-after-all-it-is/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [For a joint scientific and geographical piece of organization, give me Scott; for a winter journey, give me Wilson; for a dash to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/for-a-joint-scientific-and-geographical-piece-of-organization-give-me/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [Exploration is the physical expression of the Intellectual Passion. And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/exploration-is-the-physical-expression-of-the-intellectual-passion/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [We traveled for science: those three small embryos from Cape Crozier, that weight of fossils from Barkley Island, and that mass of material less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/we-traveled-for-science-those-three-small-embryos-from-cape-crozier/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [In Antarctica you get to know people so well that in comparison you do not seem to know the people in civilization at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/in-antarctica-you-get-to-know-people-so-well-that-in-comparison-you/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [“The point, one begins to see, was not merely to survive; it was to come through intact, true to one’s most decent self —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/the-point-one-begins-to-see-was-not-merely-to-survive-it-was-to-come/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [Some will tell you that you are mad, and nearly all will say, 'What is the use?' For we are a nation of shopkeepers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/some-will-tell-you-that-you-are-mad-and-nearly-all-will-say-what-is/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [I might have speculated on my chances of going to Heaven; but candidly I did not care. I could not have wept if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/i-might-have-speculated-on-my-chances-of-going-to-heaven-but-candidly/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [Take it all in all, I do not believe anybody on earth has a worse time than an Emperor penguin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/take-it-all-in-all-i-do-not-believe-anybody-on-earth-has-a-worse-time/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [We are a nation of shop keepers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/we-are-a-nation-of-shop-keepers/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [If you march your Winter Journeys you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin's egg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/if-you-march-your-winter-journeys-you-will-have-your-reward-so-long/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [“committing suicide, both for your own sake and that of your companions. Both sexually and socially the polar explorer must make up his mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/committing-suicide-both-for-your-own-sake-and-that-of-your-companions/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [“Take it all in all, I do not believe anybody on Earth has it worse than an Emperor penguin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/take-it-all-in-all-i-do-not-believe-anybody-on-earth-has-it-worse/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [Polar exploration is at once the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time which has been devised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/polar-exploration-is-at-once-the-cleanest-and-most-isolated-way-of/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) > [And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physical expression, go out and explore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/and-i-tell-you-if-you-have-the-desire-for-knowledge-and-the-power-to/) [Apsley Cherry-Garrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) [Explore all 17 Apsley Cherry-Garrard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-josiah-brewer/our-laws-and-our-institutions-must-necessarily-be-based-upon-and/) [David Josiah Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-josiah-brewer/) [Browse all 4,084 Civilization quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The luxuries of civilization satisfy only those wants which they themselves create.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Apsley Cherry-Garrard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/the-luxuries-of-civilization-satisfy-only-those-wants-which-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilization" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/the-luxuries-of-civilization-satisfy-only-those-wants-which-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/apsley-cherry-garrard-31034_civilization_the-luxuries-of-civilization-satisfy-onl_2640952.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/apsley-cherry-garrard-31034_civilization_the-luxuries-of-civilization-satisfy-onl_2640952.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/apsley-cherry-garrard-31034_civilization_the-luxuries-of-civilization-satisfy-onl_2640952.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The luxuries of civilization satisfy only those wants which they themselves create.” — Apsley Cherry-Garrard", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Apsley Cherry-Garrard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apsley-cherry-garrard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The luxuries of civilization satisfy only...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/the-luxuries-of-civilization-satisfy-only-those-wants-which-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apsley-cherry-garrard/the-luxuries-of-civilization-satisfy-only-those-wants-which-they/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```