--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In civilized places idleness, once the…" description: "\"In civilized places idleness, once the prerequisite for abstract thought, poetry, religion, philosophy, and falling in love, has become a character fla..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/barbara-holland-10950_abstract_in-civilized-places-idleness-once-the-pr_3070704.jpg" --- # In civilized places idleness, once the prerequisite for… ![“In civilized places idleness, once the prerequisite for abstract thought, poetry, religion, philosophy, and falling in love, has become a character flaw. In America we've managed to stamp it out almost completely, and few people under forty can remember a single moment of it, even in earliest…” quote by Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/barbara-holland-10950_abstract_in-civilized-places-idleness-once-the-pr_3070704.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/barbara-holland-10950_abstract_in-civilized-places-idleness-once-the-pr_3070704.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/barbara-holland-10950_abstract_in-civilized-places-idleness-once-the-pr_3070704.jpg) > “In civilized places idleness, once the prerequisite for abstract thought, poetry, religion, philosophy, and falling in love, has become a character flaw. In America we've managed to stamp it out almost completely, and few people under forty can remember a single moment of it, even in earliest childhood. The phrase 'spare time' has vanished from the land.” [Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-holland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Idleness once fostered creativity and deep thought, but modern culture views it as a flaw, eroding time for reflection. **In simple terms:** Idle time once nurtured art and thought, now seen as wasteful. Key Takeaway Value and protect moments of unstructured time. Themes creativity reflection culture productivity leisure Mood nostalgic critical thoughtful Type observational analytical When to use this quote - personal development - creative writing - spiritual practice - education - mental health Key Concepts philosophy of work modernism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can we reintroduce purposeful idleness? - What activities suffer without idle time? A Different Perspective Modern demands may limit deep thinking despite its benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstract Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-thought-244447/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character flaws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-flaws/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Civilized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Falling in love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-in-love/) [Flaws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaws/) [Forty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forty/) [Idleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idleness/) [Idleness Prerequisite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idleness-prerequisite-5193076/) [Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy Falling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-falling-5193077/) [Philosophy of religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-religion/) [Phrases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phrases/) [Places Idleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/places-idleness-5193075/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Prerequisites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prerequisites/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Single mom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-mom/) [Single moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-moment/) [Spare time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spare-time/) [Spares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spares/) [Stamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stamps/) ## Related quotes > [You have something that exists in your head, and getting that abstract thought from your head into something that actually exists is a difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lazaro-hernandez/you-have-something-that-exists-in-your-head-and-getting-that-abstract/) [Lazaro Hernandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lazaro-hernandez/) > [To those who have exhausted politics, nothing remains but abstract thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/to-those-who-have-exhausted-politics-nothing-remains-but-abstract/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“They make life unnecessarily difficult for themselves by looking for deep thoughts and ideas everywhere and putting them into everything. just have the courage to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/1827-goethe-to-eckerman-describing-german-culture-at-moments-of-distress/they-make-life-unnecessarily-difficult-for-themselves-by-looking-for/) [1827 Goethe to Eckerman Describing German Culture at Moments of Distress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/1827-goethe-to-eckerman-describing-german-culture-at-moments-of-distress/) > [I love the idea of leaving some of the original abstract thought in, because the problem is that when you pick up a pen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hansard/i-love-the-idea-of-leaving-some-of-the-original-abstract-thought-in/) [Glen Hansard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hansard/) > [We know that the ability to take on complex ideas, to handle the notion of a multiplicity of viewpoints, to deal in abstract thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rosen/we-know-that-the-ability-to-take-on-complex-ideas-to-handle-the/) [Michael Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-rosen/) > [You've got a lot of time for abstract thought when you've got your hand stuck up a dead badger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-ve-got-a-lot-of-time-for-abstract-thought-when-you-ve-got-your/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [As you see, I do not treat the creation of fiction, that to say the invention and development of fantasies,as a form of abstract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee-2/as-you-see-i-do-not-treat-the-creation-of-fiction-that-to-say-the/) [J. 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What we refer to as 'home' may be a place we haven't seen in years; a place where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-holland/we-re-a-shifty-sliding-population-what-we-refer-to-as-home-may-be-a/) [Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-holland/) > [Single life should be experimental in nature and open to accidents. Some accidents are happy ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-holland/single-life-should-be-experimental-in-nature-and-open-to-accidents/) [Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-holland/) > [Subtly, in the little ways, joy has been leaking out of our lives. 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