--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Civilization is a movement and not a…" description: "\"Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor.\" — Arnold J. Toynbee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/arnold-j-toynbee-12041_civilization_civilization-is-a-movement-and-not-a-con_1876766.jpg" --- # Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage… ![“Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor.” quote by Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/arnold-j-toynbee-12041_civilization_civilization-is-a-movement-and-not-a-con_1876766.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/arnold-j-toynbee-12041_civilization_civilization-is-a-movement-and-not-a-con_1876766.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/arnold-j-toynbee-12041_civilization_civilization-is-a-movement-and-not-a-con_1876766.jpg) > “Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor.” [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Civilization evolves through active progress, not static existence. **In simple terms:** Progress, not stagnation. Key Takeaway Embrace change and movement. Themes history civilization progress philosophy Mood analytical inspirational Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - educators - policy makers - community leaders - students Key Concepts dynamic systems collective identity Questions to Reflect On - What drives a civilization’s momentum? - How can societies manage transition? A Different Perspective Change can be uneven and disruptive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-movement-2625613/) [Condition Voyage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condition-voyage-2625615/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Movement Condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement-condition-2625614/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Voyage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voyage/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [Human history, like all great movements, was cyclical, and returned to the point of beginning. The idea of indefinite progress in a right line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bellamy/human-history-like-all-great-movements-was-cyclical-and-returned-to/) [Edward Bellamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bellamy/) > [Love is a voyage,not a destination ! <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-a-voyage-not-a-destination-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-voyage-of-discovery-is-not-in-seeking-new-landscapes-but-in/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-hayden/to-be-truly-challenging-a-voyage-like-a-life-must-rest-on-a-firm/) [Sterling Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-hayden/) > [My guilty pleasures tend to be weird, old shows that I find on channel 20 that I've never seen before like 'Voyage to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kitsis/my-guilty-pleasures-tend-to-be-weird-old-shows-that-i-find-on-channel/) [Edward Kitsis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kitsis/) > [“To live is to travel, on a voyage more epic than the odysseys of myth - not from place to place, but through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-rese/to-live-is-to-travel-on-a-voyage-more-epic-than-the-odysseys-of-myth/) [T.L. Rese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-rese/) > [“Never did the world make a queen of a girl who hides in houses and dreams without traveling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/never-did-the-world-make-a-queen-of-a-girl-who-hides-in-houses-and/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [“As we sail in the voyage of life, the love and joy we shared count more than anything else. Let them feel the rhythm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelica-hopes/as-we-sail-in-the-voyage-of-life-the-love-and-joy-we-shared-count/) [Angelica Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelica-hopes/) > [Le veritable voyage de decouverte ne consiste pas a chercher de nouveaux paysages, mais a avoir de nouveaux yeux. (The real voyage of discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/le-veritable-voyage-de-decouverte-ne-consiste-pas-a-chercher-de/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“voyage to render their seeming eccentricities consistent forever. I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/voyage-to-render-their-seeming-eccentricities-consistent-forever-i/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [No friend to Love like a long voyage at sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aphra-behn/no-friend-to-love-like-a-long-voyage-at-sea/) [Aphra Behn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aphra-behn/) > [Voyage, travel, and change of place impart vigor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/voyage-travel-and-change-of-place-impart-vigor/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be the inner journeys, be the outer travels, all trips elevate man, all voyages lift him up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/be-the-inner-journeys-be-the-outer-travels-all-trips-elevate-man-all/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“These are my enticements, and they are sufficient to conquer all fear of danger or death and to induce me to commence this laborious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/these-are-my-enticements-and-they-are-sufficient-to-conquer-all-fear/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) ## More by Arnold J. Toynbee > [Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/apathy-can-be-overcome-by-enthusiasm/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [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/) > [Material power that is not counterbalanced by adequate spiritual power, that is, by love and wisdom, is a curse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/material-power-that-is-not-counterbalanced-by-adequate-spiritual/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have to have an Indian ending if it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/it-is-already-becoming-clear-that-a-chapter-which-had-a-western/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [The absolute value of love makes life worth while, and so makes Man's strange and difficult situation acceptable. Love cannot save life from death;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/the-absolute-value-of-love-makes-life-worth-while-and-so-makes-man-s/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [Religion holds the solution to all problems of human relationship, whether they are between parents and children or nation and nation. Sooner or later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/religion-holds-the-solution-to-all-problems-of-human-relationship/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [We human beings do have some genuine freedom of choice and therefore some effective control over our own destinies. I am not a determinist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/we-human-beings-do-have-some-genuine-freedom-of-choice-and-therefore/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [Our western science is a child of moral virtues; and it must now become the father of further moral virtues if its extraordinary material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/our-western-science-is-a-child-of-moral-virtues-and-it-must-now/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [The aim of all education is, or should be, to teach people to educate themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/the-aim-of-all-education-is-or-should-be-to-teach-people-to-educate/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [America is a large friendly dog in a small room. Every time it wags its tail it knocks over a chair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/america-is-a-large-friendly-dog-in-a-small-room-every-time-it-wags/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/the-extinction-of-race-consciousness-as-between-muslims-is-one-of-the/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/it-is-a-paradoxical-but-profoundly-true-and-important-principle-of/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [Of the twenty-two civilizations that have appeared in history, nineteen of them collapsed when they reached the moral state the United States is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/of-the-twenty-two-civilizations-that-have-appeared-in-history/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [The equation of religion with belief is rather recent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/the-equation-of-religion-with-belief-is-rather-recent/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [The course of human history consists of a series of encounters between individual human beings and God in which each man and woman or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/the-course-of-human-history-consists-of-a-series-of-encounters/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) [Explore all 56 Arnold J. Toynbee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) ## 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": "Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arnold J. Toynbee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/civilization-is-a-movement-and-not-a-condition-a-voyage-and-not-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilization" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/civilization-is-a-movement-and-not-a-condition-a-voyage-and-not-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/arnold-j-toynbee-12041_civilization_civilization-is-a-movement-and-not-a-con_1876766.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/arnold-j-toynbee-12041_civilization_civilization-is-a-movement-and-not-a-con_1876766.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/arnold-j-toynbee-12041_civilization_civilization-is-a-movement-and-not-a-con_1876766.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor.” — Arnold J. Toynbee", "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": "Arnold J. Toynbee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Civilization is a movement and not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/civilization-is-a-movement-and-not-a-condition-a-voyage-and-not-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/civilization-is-a-movement-and-not-a-condition-a-voyage-and-not-a/#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 } } ] } ```