---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Crush humanity out of shape once more…"
description: "\"Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seeds of rapacious li..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/charles-dickens-34_crush_crush-humanity-out-of-shape-once-more-un_939734.jpg"
---

#  Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar…

![“Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seeds of rapacious licence and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit according to its kind.” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/charles-dickens-34_crush_crush-humanity-out-of-shape-once-more-un_939734.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/charles-dickens-34_crush_crush-humanity-out-of-shape-once-more-un_939734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/charles-dickens-34_crush_crush-humanity-out-of-shape-once-more-un_939734.jpg)

> “Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seeds of rapacious licence and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit according to its kind.”

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Repeated oppression reproduces similar suffering; without change, humanity repeats its own torment

**In simple terms:** Oppression be its own cycle of pain

Key Takeaway

Break cycles of oppression through conscious change

Themes

social justice history human nature

Mood

somber determined

Type

political philosophical

When to use this quote

- activism
- education reform
- community building

Key Concepts

systemic inequality reform collective responsibility

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies prevent repeating past injustices?
- What role does individual agency play in systemic change?

A Different Perspective

Change requires collective will, not just individual effort

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Crush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/) [Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruit/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/)

## Related quotes

> [“Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/crush-humanity-out-of-shape-once-more-under-similar-hammers-and-it-2/)

Various

> [“That’s the cost. That’s the price. Get ready, because when you crush the humanity out of humans, you’re left with humans with no humanity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/that-s-the-cost-that-s-the-price-get-ready-because-when-you-crush-the/)

[Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/)

> [“Its very pulse, if I may use the word, was like no other clock. It did not mark the flight of every moment with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/its-very-pulse-if-i-may-use-the-word-was-like-no-other-clock-it-did/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [The giants of the race have been men of concentration, who have struck sledge-hammer blows in one place until they have accomplished their purpose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-giants-of-the-race-have-been-men-of-concentration-who-have-struck/)

[Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/)

> [Give a small boy a hammer and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kaplan/give-a-small-boy-a-hammer-and-he-will-find-that-everything-he/)

[Abraham Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kaplan/)

> [Like other beautiful things in this world, its end (that of a shaft) is to be beautiful; and, in proportion to its beauty, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/like-other-beautiful-things-in-this-world-its-end-that-of-a-shaft-is/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [I know that with consecration on the part of believers, separation from the world, disentanglement from enslaving sins, and a mighty baptism of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbott-eliot-kittredge/i-know-that-with-consecration-on-the-part-of-believers-separation/)

[Abbott Eliot Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbott-eliot-kittredge/)

> [With no chance to take off, I had to play my role, searching for the rendezvous spot, which gave me the excuse to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/with-no-chance-to-take-off-i-had-to-play-my-role-searching-for-the/)

[Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/)

> [You remind me of someone with a bad toothache who's hitting herself in the head with a hammer to distract herself from the pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/you-remind-me-of-someone-with-a-bad-toothache-who-s-hitting-herself/)

[Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/)

> [Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/art-is-not-a-mirror-held-up-to-reality-but-a-hammer-with-which-to/)

[Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/)

> [I believe that inside every tool is a hammer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-savage/i-believe-that-inside-every-tool-is-a-hammer/)

[Adam Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-savage/)

> [If I paint a hammer and sickle people may think it is a representation of Communism, but for me it is only a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-hammer-and-sickle-people-may-think-it-is-a/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [I'm just counting all this money, and buying all these hammers. So when these niggas play, I let my shooters go bananas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meek-mill/i-m-just-counting-all-this-money-and-buying-all-these-hammers-so-when/)

[Meek Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meek-mill/)

> [The book is like the spoon, scissors, the hammer, the wheel. Once invented, it cannot be improved. You cannot make a spoon that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-book-is-like-the-spoon-scissors-the-hammer-the-wheel-once/)

[Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/)

> [A furious Peeta hammers Haymitch with the atrocity he could become party to, but I can feel Haymitch watching me. This is the moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/a-furious-peeta-hammers-haymitch-with-the-atrocity-he-could-become/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

## More by Charles Dickens

> [“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/all-other-swindlers-upon-earth-are-nothing-to-the-self-swindlers-and/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-can-be-no-disparity-in-marriage-like-unsuitability-of-mind-and/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-joe-was-a-very-clean-housekeeper-but-had-an-exquisite-art-of/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“Besides which, all that I could have said of the Story to any purpose, I had endeavoured to say in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/besides-which-all-that-i-could-have-said-of-the-story-to-any-purpose/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“The wheels rolled on, and rolled down by the Monument, and by the Tower; and by the Docks; down by Ratcliffe, and by Rotherhithe;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-wheels-rolled-on-and-rolled-down-by-the-monument-and-by-the-tower/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“The three customers pulled off their hats to Madame Defarge, with three flourishes. She acknowledged their homage by bending her head, and giving them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-three-customers-pulled-off-their-hats-to-madame-defarge-with/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“What a situation!' cried Miss Squeers; '...What is the reason that men fall in love with me, whether I like it or not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-a-situation-cried-miss-squeers-what-is-the-reason-that-men-fall/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“Mr. Pickwick was a philosopher, but philosophers are only men in armour, after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-pickwick-was-a-philosopher-but-philosophers-are-only-men-in-armour/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

[Explore all 2,309 Charles Dickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

## More Crush quotes

> [Mortals are such fragile things. Just tender feelings walking around exposed in their delicate shells...Easy to crush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-marr/mortals-are-such-fragile-things-just-tender-feelings-walking-around/)

[Melissa Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-marr/)

> [Each child’s story is worthy of telling. There shouldn’t be a sliding scale of death. The weight of it is crushing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anderson-cooper/each-child-s-story-is-worthy-of-telling-there-shouldn-t-be-a-sliding/)

[Anderson Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anderson-cooper/)

> [I wish that I coul be her. but in the mean time dont forget about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenzie-ann/i-wish-that-i-coul-be-her-but-in-the-mean-time-dont-forget-about-me/)

[Kenzie-ann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenzie-ann/)

> [I had to smile when stories emerged questioning whether I was gay. Obviously I knew I wasn't but people were curiously desperate to suggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-radcliffe/i-had-to-smile-when-stories-emerged-questioning-whether-i-was-gay/)

[Daniel Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-radcliffe/)

> [I already know that u know that I like u, the question is Wat r u going to do with that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/i-already-know-that-u-know-that-i-like-u-the-question-is-wat-r-u/)

[Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/)

> [“My mom believed that you make your own luck. Over the stove she had hung these old, maroon painted letters that spell out, “MANIFEST.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-laybourne/my-mom-believed-that-you-make-your-own-luck-over-the-stove-she-had/)

[Emmy Laybourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-laybourne/)

> [I'm very disturbed to find out that the leader of the Townies has a soul and I'm beginning to develop a bit of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-m-very-disturbed-to-find-out-that-the-leader-of-the-townies-has-a/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [“Connor Crane was currently the secret crush of half the female HHH population. And a couple of the males, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-halliday/connor-crane-was-currently-the-secret-crush-of-half-the-female-hhh/)

[Gemma Halliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-halliday/)

> [My dream would be to hear rocks at my window n to look out and see u just standing there, in the pouring rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blondie/my-dream-would-be-to-hear-rocks-at-my-window-n-to-look-out-and-see-u/)

[Blondie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blondie/)

> [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [...It's an unmeetable level of writing. But even if it's something I feel like I can't ever attain, it doesn't crush my spirit. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-banks/it-s-an-unmeetable-level-of-writing-but-even-if-it-s-something-i-feel/)

[Paul Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-banks/)

> [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [Hold tenderly that which you cherish, for it is precious and a tight grip may crush it. Do not let the fear of dropping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-alberti/hold-tenderly-that-which-you-cherish-for-it-is-precious-and-a-tight/)

Bob Alberti

> [In love, making your crush jealous is not going to help it would just make it more complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-valdez/in-love-making-your-crush-jealous-is-not-going-to-help-it-would-just/)

[Sarah Valdez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-valdez/)

[Browse all 2,147 Crush quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seeds of rapacious licence and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit according to its kind.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Dickens"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/crush-humanity-out-of-shape-once-more-under-similar-hammers-and-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Crush"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/crush-humanity-out-of-shape-once-more-under-similar-hammers-and-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/charles-dickens-34_crush_crush-humanity-out-of-shape-once-more-un_939734.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/charles-dickens-34_crush_crush-humanity-out-of-shape-once-more-un_939734.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/charles-dickens-34_crush_crush-humanity-out-of-shape-once-more-un_939734.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same…” — Charles Dickens",
                "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": "Charles Dickens",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Crush humanity out of shape once...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/crush-humanity-out-of-shape-once-more-under-similar-hammers-and-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/crush-humanity-out-of-shape-once-more-under-similar-hammers-and-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
