Magna carta Quote by David Mitchell
““Consider this, Mr. D’Arnoq urged us. Two thousand savages (Mr. Evans’s best guess) enshrine “Thou Shalt Not Kill” in word & in deed & frame an oral “Magna Carta” to create a harmony unknown elsewhere for the sixty centuries since Adam tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. War was as alien a concept to the Moriori as the telescope is to the Pygmy. Peace, not a hiatus betwixt wars but millennia of imperishable peace, rules these far-flung islands. Who can deny Old Rēkohu lay closer to More’s Utopia than our States of Progress governed by war-hungry princelings in Versailles & Vienna, Washington & Westminster? “Here,” declaimed Mr. D’Arnoq, “and here only, were those elusive phantasms, the noble savages, framed in flesh & blood!””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, 2004
The passage contrasts the peaceful, war‑free existence of the Moriori with the perpetual conflict of modern societies, suggesting a lost utopia of lasting harmony.
In simple terms: Moriori lived in peace while modern societies wage war.
Key Takeaway
Seek lasting peace over temporary truces.
Themes
peace
war
utopia
history
colonialism
Mood
reflective
critical
thought‑provoking
Type
philosophical
historical
political
When to use this quote
- anthropological study
- policy making
- education reform
- conflict resolution
Key Concepts
cultural relativism
anthropology
political critique
Questions to Reflect On
- What would a truly war‑free society look like?
- How can modern nations learn from the Moriori example?
A Different Perspective
Peace may be idealized and ignore internal tensions.
![“[from Some words about 'War and Peace' ] In those days also people loved, envied, sought truth and virtue, and where carried away by passions; and there was the same complex mental and moral life among the upper classes, where were in some instances even more refined than now. If we have come to…” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5d6/leo-tolstoy-55_history_from-some-words-about-war-and-peace-in-t_2034144.jpg)
![“This [Magna Carta] has been forced from the King. It constitutes an insult to the Holy See, a serious weakening of the royal power, a disgrace to the English nation, a danger to all Christendom, since this civil war obstructs the crusade. Therefore?we condemn the charter and forbid the King to…” quote by Pope Innocent III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ca8/pope-innocent-iii-32111_charter_this-magna-carta-has-been-forced-from-th_924819.jpg)
