--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The main trouble with this civilized…" description: "\"The main trouble with this civilized world isn't that we adventure too much, but that we fail to adventure enough.\" — Cornelia Parker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/cornelia-parker-4217_adventure_the-main-trouble-with-this-civilized-wor_176345.jpg" --- # The main trouble with this civilized world isn't that we… ![“The main trouble with this civilized world isn't that we adventure too much, but that we fail to adventure enough.” quote by Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/cornelia-parker-4217_adventure_the-main-trouble-with-this-civilized-wor_176345.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/cornelia-parker-4217_adventure_the-main-trouble-with-this-civilized-wor_176345.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/cornelia-parker-4217_adventure_the-main-trouble-with-this-civilized-wor_176345.jpg) > “The main trouble with this civilized world isn't that we adventure too much, but that we fail to adventure enough.” [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques modern society for lacking adventure, suggesting we should pursue more exploration and novelty. **In simple terms:** We adventure too little in modern life. Key Takeaway Embrace new experiences regularly. Themes adventure society exploration Mood motivational reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - travel - learning new skills - creative projects Key Concepts risk-taking curiosity Questions to Reflect On - What small adventure can you start today? - How does fear limit your adventures? A Different Perspective Adventure can be risky or impractical. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Adventure Fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure-fail-1896461/) [Civilized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized/) [Civilized World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized-world-345927/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Fail Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fail-adventure-1896462/) [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) [Trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble/) [Trouble Civilized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble-civilized-1896460/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [There has never in the history of the civilized world been a cohort of kids that is so little affected by adult guidance and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-damon/there-has-never-in-the-history-of-the-civilized-world-been-a-cohort/) [William Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-damon/) > [The one thing I've learned, getting out to all those foreign and domestic locales, is that people in every country of the 'civilized' world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfman-jack/the-one-thing-i-ve-learned-getting-out-to-all-those-foreign-and/) [Wolfman Jack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfman-jack/) > [There is something about men more capable of shaking despotic power than lightening, whirlwind, or earthquake, that is, the threatened indignation of the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/there-is-something-about-men-more-capable-of-shaking-despotic-power/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [No nation, no society, no community can hold its head high and claim to be part of the civilized world if it condones the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manmohan-singh/no-nation-no-society-no-community-can-hold-its-head-high-and-claim-to/) [Manmohan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manmohan-singh/) > [Hard to believe that so nearby, just across the Channel, such atrocities could still occur in their supposedly civilized world, that one could wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/hard-to-believe-that-so-nearby-just-across-the-channel-such/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [By the time Congress is even authorized to act after the President has launched nuclear weapons, there may no longer be a civilized world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/by-the-time-congress-is-even-authorized-to-act-after-the-president/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [Coffee - the favorite drink of the civilized world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/coffee-the-favorite-drink-of-the-civilized-world/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Wealth and speed are what the world admires, what each pursues. Railways, express mails, steamships and every possible facility for communications are the achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/wealth-and-speed-are-what-the-world-admires-what-each-pursues/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“You're obliged to pretend respect for people and institutions you think absurd. 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The world was very combustible, the human body was partible in ways heretofore unimagined. What held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulette-jiles/the-world-was-in-truth-made-of-jackstraws-the-world-was-very/) [Paulette Jiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulette-jiles/) > [“All scientific effort must now be concentrated in the area of defence (sic). We have learned our lesson. We, the most civilized of people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/all-scientific-effort-must-now-be-concentrated-in-the-area-of-defence/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Oil. The great addiction of the civilized world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-warren/oil-the-great-addiction-of-the-civilized-world/) [Andrew Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-warren/) ## More by Cornelia Parker > [People often want the big dramatic works, not the smaller quieter ones, but I don't worry about how it fits together anymore; I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/people-often-want-the-big-dramatic-works-not-the-smaller-quieter-ones/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I like the idea of taking three-dimensional objects and making them two-dimensional so that they look like cartoons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-like-the-idea-of-taking-three-dimensional-objects-and-making-them/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [As you get older, things don't work as well. I do Pilates, and that helps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/as-you-get-older-things-don-t-work-as-well-i-do-pilates-and-that-helps/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I'm from a working-class background - I had free school meals all my life and then spent six years in art school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-m-from-a-working-class-background-i-had-free-school-meals-all-my/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [Violence is part of everybody's life, whether you like or express it or not. 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It's like reading 'Nineteen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-think-my-work-is-like-a-spiral-you-keep-coming-back-on-yourself-but/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I think your subconscious knows far more than your conscious, so I trust it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-think-your-subconscious-knows-far-more-than-your-conscious-so-i/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [Paul Auster is my favourite writer, and I'm sure he'd be a very interesting person to share a journey with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/paul-auster-is-my-favourite-writer-and-i-m-sure-he-d-be-a-very/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [Heaven grants the human being who has learned to live alone a deep measure of such rewards that verily would one hesitate to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/heaven-grants-the-human-being-who-has-learned-to-live-alone-a-deep/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I was very physical as a child - we lived on a smallholding, and I was always outside making mud pies or building structures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-was-very-physical-as-a-child-we-lived-on-a-smallholding-and-i-was/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [As a working-class girl, receiving free school dinners, I studied art history. Having never had the chance to visit art galleries, I devoured the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/as-a-working-class-girl-receiving-free-school-dinners-i-studied-art/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [My mother was German, and I was brought up with 'Struwwelpeter' stories, which are invested with all sorts of horrors waiting for you if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/my-mother-was-german-and-i-was-brought-up-with-struwwelpeter-stories/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) [Explore all 114 Cornelia Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) ## More Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. 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I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) [Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) [Kevin McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcleod/) > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. 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Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [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/) [Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The main trouble with this civilized world isn't that we adventure too much, but that we fail to adventure enough.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornelia Parker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/the-main-trouble-with-this-civilized-world-isn-t-that-we-adventure/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adventure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/the-main-trouble-with-this-civilized-world-isn-t-that-we-adventure/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/cornelia-parker-4217_adventure_the-main-trouble-with-this-civilized-wor_176345.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/cornelia-parker-4217_adventure_the-main-trouble-with-this-civilized-wor_176345.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/cornelia-parker-4217_adventure_the-main-trouble-with-this-civilized-wor_176345.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The main trouble with this civilized world isn't that we adventure too much, but that we fail to adventure…” — Cornelia Parker", "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": "Cornelia Parker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The main trouble with this civilized...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/the-main-trouble-with-this-civilized-world-isn-t-that-we-adventure/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/the-main-trouble-with-this-civilized-world-isn-t-that-we-adventure/#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 } } ] } ```