--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are heirs of the ages because…" description: "\"We are heirs of the ages because throughout the ages mankind has devised and fashioned new things, and step by step added new conquests to our domain i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/arthur-lynch-24442_acquisition_we-are-heirs-of-the-ages-because-through_2114472.jpg" --- # We are heirs of the ages because throughout the ages… ![“We are heirs of the ages because throughout the ages mankind has devised and fashioned new things, and step by step added new conquests to our domain in that incessant contest with nature which means life. But we are decadent heirs if we cannot use the instruments that the ages have put into our…” quote by Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/arthur-lynch-24442_acquisition_we-are-heirs-of-the-ages-because-through_2114472.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/arthur-lynch-24442_acquisition_we-are-heirs-of-the-ages-because-through_2114472.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/arthur-lynch-24442_acquisition_we-are-heirs-of-the-ages-because-through_2114472.jpg) > “We are heirs of the ages because throughout the ages mankind has devised and fashioned new things, and step by step added new conquests to our domain in that incessant contest with nature which means life. But we are decadent heirs if we cannot use the instruments that the ages have put into our hands. The acquisition of these, in the largest scope, is education.” [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human progress depends on using tools created by past generations; neglecting them makes us decadent. **In simple terms:** Use past inventions wisely to avoid decadence. Key Takeaway Embrace education and apply new tools. Themes progress technology education Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - classroom learning - technology adoption - skill training - policy making Key Concepts innovation cumulative knowledge Questions to Reflect On - What modern tools are you underutilizing? - How can you balance tool use with independent thought? A Different Perspective Overreliance on tools can reduce critical thinking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acquisition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquisition/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Ages Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ages-mankind-4029439/) [Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquest/) [Contests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contests/) [Decadent Heirs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decadent-heirs-4284773/) [Domain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domain/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Heirs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heirs/) [Heirs Ages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heirs-ages-3711348/) [Heirs Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heirs-use-4284774/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Incessant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incessant/) [Instruments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instruments/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Meaning life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning-life/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [New things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-things/) [Scope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scope/) [Step By Step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/step-by-step/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [your actions live after you till this globe is dissolved; they pass inevitably down as an inheritance from one generation to another. ... decency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bentley/your-actions-live-after-you-till-this-globe-is-dissolved-they-pass/) [Phyllis Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bentley/) > [We are the heirs of the ages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/we-are-the-heirs-of-the-ages/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The great ideals of the past failed not by being outlived (which must mean over-lived), but by not being lived enough. Mankind has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-great-ideals-of-the-past-failed-not-by-being-outlived-which-must/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [I sadly want a reform in the construction of children. Nature's only idea seems to be to make them machines for the production of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/i-sadly-want-a-reform-in-the-construction-of-children-nature-s-only/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [I would not call myself an optimist, even though I would aspire to be. I am innately a skeptic. There's kind of an incessant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-would-not-call-myself-an-optimist-even-though-i-would-aspire-to-be/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Mathematics does not grow through a monotonous increase of the number of indubitably established theorems but through the incessant improvement of guesses by speculation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-lakatos/mathematics-does-not-grow-through-a-monotonous-increase-of-the-number/) [Imre Lakatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-lakatos/) > [MR. KHARIS: 'Does Mr. Celine seriously suggest that the United States Government is in need of a guardian?' MR. CELINE: 'I am merely offering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/mr-kharis-does-mr-celine-seriously-suggest-that-the-united-states/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [We live with incessant music, all the time. It's like some weird musical purgatory, there is absolutely no rest for the ears, no space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-blake/we-live-with-incessant-music-all-the-time-it-s-like-some-weird/) [James Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-blake/) > [The mark of genius is an incessant activity of mind. Genius is a spiritual greed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/the-mark-of-genius-is-an-incessant-activity-of-mind-genius-is-a/) [V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/) > [What is the world, O soldiers? It is I, I, this incessant snow, This northern sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-de-la-mare/what-is-the-world-o-soldiers-it-is-i-i-this-incessant-snow-this/) [Walter de La Mare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-de-la-mare/) > [You & I, Love, together we ratify the silence, while the sea destroys its perpetual statues, collapses its towers of wild speed and whiteness:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-i-love-together-we-ratify-the-silence-while-the-sea-destroys-its/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I am already sensible of decay in the power of walking, and find my memory not so faithful as it used to be. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-already-sensible-of-decay-in-the-power-of-walking-and-find-my/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Silence? What can New York-noisy, roaring, rumbling, tumbling, bustling, story, turbulent New York-have to do with silence? Amid the universal clatter, the incessant din…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/silence-what-can-new-york-noisy-roaring-rumbling-tumbling-bustling/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-will-be-of-little-avail-to-the-people-that-the-laws-are-made-by/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Arthur Lynch > [There are tides of justice surging to the unknown shores of right; Stars of truth that seek a setting in the dark, untutored night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/there-are-tides-of-justice-surging-to-the-unknown-shores-of-right/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [Vanity is easily forgiven, for we are all vain, and even as we laugh at the weakness of others we feel that their vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/vanity-is-easily-forgiven-for-we-are-all-vain-and-even-as-we-laugh-at/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [A disbelief in God does not result in a belief in nothing; disbelief in God usually results in a belief in anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/a-disbelief-in-god-does-not-result-in-a-belief-in-nothing-disbelief/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [A disbelief in God does not result in a belief in nothing; disbelief in God usuallyresults in a belief in anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/a-disbelief-in-god-does-not-result-in-a-belief-in-nothing-disbelief-2/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [The accumulation of facts, even if interesting in themselves, should not constitute the main part of education; these facts, whether they be of classical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/the-accumulation-of-facts-even-if-interesting-in-themselves-should/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [So this is happiness, that journeyman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/so-this-is-happiness-that-journeyman/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [The future seems a little gloomy! Go to bed early, sleep well, eat moderately at breakfast; the future looks brighter. The world's outlook may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/the-future-seems-a-little-gloomy-go-to-bed-early-sleep-well-eat/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [Wit is something more than a gymnastic trick of the intellect; true wit implies a beam of thought into the essence of a question,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/wit-is-something-more-than-a-gymnastic-trick-of-the-intellect-true/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [Those who have suffered, who have known poverty or oppression, are generally the most prone to kindness. Perhaps it is well to endure some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/those-who-have-suffered-who-have-known-poverty-or-oppression-are/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [Tact is not a small thing; in the battle of life it is more powerful than a bludgeon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/tact-is-not-a-small-thing-in-the-battle-of-life-it-is-more-powerful/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [Children should not be coddled in their intellectual training any more than in their physical; and though the studies should be made interesting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/children-should-not-be-coddled-in-their-intellectual-training-any/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [Life asks for a preparation as complete as we can afford; the great contest should be fought with spirit but with good temper always;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/life-asks-for-a-preparation-as-complete-as-we-can-afford-the-great/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [Life is magical. There is something wonderful in being alive, in having within one's self all sorts of possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/life-is-magical-there-is-something-wonderful-in-being-alive-in-having/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [The only atheism is the denial of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/the-only-atheism-is-the-denial-of-truth/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) > [Pessimism is a product of our civilization. It is not natural to the savage; he feels pain, or discomfort, and suffers from these palpable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lynch/pessimism-is-a-product-of-our-civilization-it-is-not-natural-to-the/) [Arthur Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) [Explore all 24 Arthur Lynch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lynch/) ## More Acquisition quotes > [The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”: “The differences between expert performers and normal adults are not immutable, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-anders-ericsson/the-role-of-deliberate-practice-in-the-acquisition-of-expert/) [K. Anders Ericsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-anders-ericsson/) > [ No one suffers so much as he \[the genius\] with the people, and, therefore, for the people, with whom he lives. For, in a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/no-one-suffers-so-much-as-he-the-genius-with-the-people-and-therefore/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [Personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a checklist of acquisition. Your qualifications are not your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/personal-happiness-lies-in-knowing-that-life-is-not-a-checklist-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We may... affirm that the balance of power in a society accompanies the balance of property in land. The only possible way, then, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/we-may-affirm-that-the-balance-of-power-in-a-society-accompanies-the/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [Learning to play the guitar is a combination of mental and motor skill acquisition. And to develop motor skill, repetition is essential... Whenever musicians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-roberts/learning-to-play-the-guitar-is-a-combination-of-mental-and-motor/) [Howard Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-roberts/) > [All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milarepa/all-worldly-pursuits-have-but-one-unavoidable-and-inevitable-end/) [Milarepa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milarepa/) > [When ice appears out of doors, and boys seize it up while it is solid, at first they experience new pleasures. But in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/when-ice-appears-out-of-doors-and-boys-seize-it-up-while-it-is-solid/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Accounting consequences do not influence our operating or capital-allocation decisions. When acquisition costs are similar, we much prefer to purchase $2 of earnings that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/accounting-consequences-do-not-influence-our-operating-or-capital/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [A sustainable economy represents nothing less than a higher social order one as concerned with future generations as with our own, and more focused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-r-brown/a-sustainable-economy-represents-nothing-less-than-a-higher-social/) [Lester R. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-r-brown/) > [One industrial age belief is that GDP or GNP is a measure of progress. I don't care if you're the President of China or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/one-industrial-age-belief-is-that-gdp-or-gnp-is-a-measure-of-progress/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [I ended up doing four or five plays in college and being an English major with my thesis in language acquisition, which I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-ended-up-doing-four-or-five-plays-in-college-and-being-an-english/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [But most automotive dealerships are set up for customer acquisition - which is crazy when you consider the average cost of customer acquisition is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hughes/but-most-automotive-dealerships-are-set-up-for-customer-acquisition/) [Arthur Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hughes/) > [As priestcraft was always the enemy of knowledge, because priestcraft supports itself by keeping people in delusion and ignorance, it was consistent with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/as-priestcraft-was-always-the-enemy-of-knowledge-because-priestcraft/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Even as the unborn babe is in the womb of his mother, these five are fixed as his life destiny: his life span, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-as-the-unborn-babe-is-in-the-womb-of-his-mother-these-five-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What becomes of a man who acquires a beautiful woman, with her "beauty" his sole target? He sabotages himself. He has gained no friend,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/what-becomes-of-a-man-who-acquires-a-beautiful-woman-with-her-beauty/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) [Browse all 395 Acquisition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquisition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are heirs of the ages because throughout the ages mankind has devised and fashioned new things, and step by step added new conquests to our domain in that incessant contest with nature which means life. But we are decadent heirs if we cannot use the instruments that the ages have put into our hands. 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