--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This freedom of political discussion on…" description: "\"This freedom of political discussion on the highest level is something which Western civilization has in common with that of classical antiquity, but w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be5/christopher-dawson-15516_antiquity_this-freedom-of-political-discussion-on_1514421.jpg" --- # This freedom of political discussion on the highest level… ![“This freedom of political discussion on the highest level is something which Western civilization has in common with that of classical antiquity, but with no other” quote by Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be5/christopher-dawson-15516_antiquity_this-freedom-of-political-discussion-on_1514421.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be5/christopher-dawson-15516_antiquity_this-freedom-of-political-discussion-on_1514421.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be5/christopher-dawson-15516_antiquity_this-freedom-of-political-discussion-on_1514421.jpg) > “This freedom of political discussion on the highest level is something which Western civilization has in common with that of classical antiquity, but with no other” [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Western political discourse mirrors ancient classical debates, yet lacks a comparable counterpart elsewhere. **In simple terms:** Western debate resembles ancient times. Key Takeaway Learn from classical political thought. Themes politics history civilization Mood analytical reflective Type historical comparative When to use this quote - parliamentary debates - academic curricula - public policy Key Concepts democracy classical antiquity Questions to Reflect On - What lessons can modern politics draw from antiquity? - How do we recognize non‑Western political contributions? A Different Perspective Other cultures also have rich political traditions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antiquity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiquity/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) [Western civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western-civilization/) ## Related quotes > [“To be skeptical of the resultant text of the New Testament books is to allow all of classical antiquity to slip into obscurity, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warwick-montgomery/to-be-skeptical-of-the-resultant-text-of-the-new-testament-books-is/) John Warwick Montgomery > [Barring a miracle, the family that has existed since antiquity will likely crumble, presaging the fall of Western civilization itself. 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Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [Every great movement in the history of Western civilization from the Carolingian age to the nineteenth century has been an international movement which owed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/every-great-movement-in-the-history-of-western-civilization-from-the/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [No doubt Western civilization has in the past been full of wars and revolutions, and the national elements in our culture, even when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/no-doubt-western-civilization-has-in-the-past-been-full-of-wars-and/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [Astrology is knocking at the gates of our universities: A Tübingen professor has switched over to astrology and a course on astrology was given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/astrology-is-knocking-at-the-gates-of-our-universities-a-t-bingen/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The clatter of a changing world is not pleasant, and those who have enjoyed the comforts and protection of the old order may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-clatter-of-a-changing-world-is-not-pleasant-and-those-who-have/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) ## More by Christopher Dawson > [You can give men food and leisure and amusements and good conditions of work, and still they will remain unsatisfied. You can deny them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/you-can-give-men-food-and-leisure-and-amusements-and-good-conditions/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [It is Christian culture that has created Western man and the Western way of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/it-is-christian-culture-that-has-created-western-man-and-the-western/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [No civilisation, not even that of ancient Greece, has ever undergone such a continuous and profound process of change as Western Europe has done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/no-civilisation-not-even-that-of-ancient-greece-has-ever-undergone/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [The present age has seen a great slump in humanist values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/the-present-age-has-seen-a-great-slump-in-humanist-values/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [Man can know his world without falling back on revelation; he can live his life without feeling his utter dependence on supernatural powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/man-can-know-his-world-without-falling-back-on-revelation-he-can-live/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [The intercourse between the Mediterranean and the North or between the Atlantic and Central Europe was never purely economic or political; it also meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/the-intercourse-between-the-mediterranean-and-the-north-or-between/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [The chief safeguard of personal freedom in a democratic society is the anarchy and disorder of capitalist individualism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/the-chief-safeguard-of-personal-freedom-in-a-democratic-society-is/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [And so, today, if the state can no longer appeal to the old moral principles that belong to the Christian tradition, it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/and-so-today-if-the-state-can-no-longer-appeal-to-the-old-moral/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [Humanism and Divinity are as complementary to one another in theorder of culture, as are Nature and Grace in the order of being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/humanism-and-divinity-are-as-complementary-to-one-another-in-theorder/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [We have entered a new phase of culture - we may call it the Age of the Cinema - in which the most amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/we-have-entered-a-new-phase-of-culture-we-may-call-it-the-age-of-the/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [“Culture was actually humanity’s attempt to extend the womb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/culture-was-actually-humanity-s-attempt-to-extend-the-womb/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [For humanism also appeals to man as man. It seeks to liberate the universal qualities of human nature from the narrow limitations of blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/for-humanism-also-appeals-to-man-as-man-it-seeks-to-liberate-the/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [The Church as a divine society possess an internal principle of life which is capable of assimilating the most diverse materials and imprinting her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/the-church-as-a-divine-society-possess-an-internal-principle-of-life/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [If man attempts to suppress the animal side of his nature by a sheer effort of conscious will, nature finds a hundred unexpected and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/if-man-attempts-to-suppress-the-animal-side-of-his-nature-by-a-sheer/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [The modern dilemma is essentially a spiritual one, and every one of its main aspects, moral, political and scientific, brings us back to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/the-modern-dilemma-is-essentially-a-spiritual-one-and-every-one-of/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) [Explore all 43 Christopher Dawson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) ## More Antiquity quotes > [The clatter of a changing world is not pleasant, and those who have enjoyed the comforts and protection of the old order may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-clatter-of-a-changing-world-is-not-pleasant-and-those-who-have/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Astrology is knocking at the gates of our universities: A Tübingen professor has switched over to astrology and a course on astrology was given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/astrology-is-knocking-at-the-gates-of-our-universities-a-t-bingen/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Everyone who wants to know what will happen ought to examine what has happened: everything in this world in any epoch has their replicas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/everyone-who-wants-to-know-what-will-happen-ought-to-examine-what-has/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“A very long time ago, some 2.5 million years B.C., the mother of human species as we know it, our ultimate ancestor, appeared in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/a-very-long-time-ago-some-2-5-million-years-b-c-the-mother-of-human/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [What subsists to-day by violence continues to-morrow by acquiescence and is perpetuated by tradition; till at last the hoary abuse shakes the gray hairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett/what-subsists-to-day-by-violence-continues-to-morrow-by-acquiescence/) [Edward Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett/) > [“Since antiquity, men have defined themselves by those who are excluded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-robinson/since-antiquity-men-have-defined-themselves-by-those-who-are-excluded/) Jim Robinson > [While the business of education in Europe consists in lectures upon the ruins of Palmyra and the antiquities of Herculaneum , or in disputes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-rush/while-the-business-of-education-in-europe-consists-in-lectures-upon/) [Benjamin Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-rush/) > [In antiquity there was only silence. In the nineteenth century, with the invention of the machine, Noise was born. Today, Noise triumphs and reigns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-russolo/in-antiquity-there-was-only-silence-in-the-nineteenth-century-with/) [Luigi Russolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-russolo/) > [Arles is certainly one of the most interesting towns I have ever seen, whether viewed as a place remarkable for the objects of antiquity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/arles-is-certainly-one-of-the-most-interesting-towns-i-have-ever-seen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An established government has an infinite advantage, by that very circumstance of its being established--the bulk of mankind being governed by authority, not reason,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/an-established-government-has-an-infinite-advantage-by-that-very/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [In antiquity slaves were, in all honesty called slaves. In the middle ages, they took the name of serfs. Nowadays they are called wage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/in-antiquity-slaves-were-in-all-honesty-called-slaves-in-the-middle/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [I was brought up in Florence, a beautiful medieval town whose rhythm is completely in antiquity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleg-cassini/i-was-brought-up-in-florence-a-beautiful-medieval-town-whose-rhythm/) [Oleg Cassini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleg-cassini/) > [Although Damascus is considered the oldest city in the world, the date of its foundation going beyond tradition, there are very few relics of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/although-damascus-is-considered-the-oldest-city-in-the-world-the-date/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [“Educated and ambitious, with their own forthright opinions, the women of the Garvey set did more to determine political direction than many councillors. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-h-septimius/educated-and-ambitious-with-their-own-forthright-opinions-the-women/) [A. H. Septimius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-h-septimius/) > [Book burning is a charming old custom, hallowed by antiquity. It has been practiced for centuries by fascists, communists, atheists, school children, rival authors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armour/book-burning-is-a-charming-old-custom-hallowed-by-antiquity-it-has/) [Richard Armour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armour/) [Browse all 244 Antiquity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiquity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This freedom of political discussion on the highest level is something which Western civilization has in common with that of classical antiquity, but with no other", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Dawson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/this-freedom-of-political-discussion-on-the-highest-level-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Antiquity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/this-freedom-of-political-discussion-on-the-highest-level-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be5/christopher-dawson-15516_antiquity_this-freedom-of-political-discussion-on_1514421.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be5/christopher-dawson-15516_antiquity_this-freedom-of-political-discussion-on_1514421.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be5/christopher-dawson-15516_antiquity_this-freedom-of-political-discussion-on_1514421.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This freedom of political discussion on the highest level is something which Western civilization has in…” — Christopher Dawson", "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": "Christopher Dawson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This freedom of political discussion on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/this-freedom-of-political-discussion-on-the-highest-level-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/this-freedom-of-political-discussion-on-the-highest-level-is/#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 } } ] } ```