--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have known Nature. I have known…" description: "\"“I have known Nature. I have known Civilization. Civilization is better.”\" — Donna Boyd" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/donna-boyd-73634_civilization_i-have-known-nature-i-have-known-civiliz_2407985.jpg" --- # I have known Nature. I have known Civilization… ![“I have known Nature. I have known Civilization. Civilization is better.” quote by Donna Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/donna-boyd-73634_civilization_i-have-known-nature-i-have-known-civiliz_2407985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/donna-boyd-73634_civilization_i-have-known-nature-i-have-known-civiliz_2407985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/donna-boyd-73634_civilization_i-have-known-nature-i-have-known-civiliz_2407985.jpg) > ““I have known Nature. I have known Civilization. Civilization is better.”” Donna Boyd ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that human societies have progressed beyond natural existence, implying superiority of civilization. **In simple terms:** Civilization surpasses nature. Key Takeaway Recognize benefits of societal development. Themes progress humanism environment Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - urban planning - education reform - technology adoption - cultural preservation Key Concepts civilizational theory anthropology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Is civilization truly better for humanity? - How can we balance nature and progress? A Different Perspective Overlooks environmental costs of civilization. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [God is known by nature in his works, and by doctrine in his revealed word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/god-is-known-by-nature-in-his-works-and-by-doctrine-in-his-revealed/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [I oppose preserving civilization because I have a better chance of getting laid in a post-apocalyptic world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-oppose-preserving-civilization-because-i-have-a-better-chance-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Back before our civilization despised itself, we applauded tough men. But you can't produce tough men - or honorable women - without tough love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/back-before-our-civilization-despised-itself-we-applauded-tough-men/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“What a pitiable thing it is that our civilization can do no better for us than to make us slaves to indoor life, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wharton-james/what-a-pitiable-thing-it-is-that-our-civilization-can-do-no-better/) George Wharton James > [“Fine buildings, fine pictures and books and everything that is beautiful are certainly signs of civilization. But an even better sign is a fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/fine-buildings-fine-pictures-and-books-and-everything-that-is/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [Unless man has the wit and the grit to build his civilization on something better than material power, it is surely idle to talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bowes-sayre-sr/unless-man-has-the-wit-and-the-grit-to-build-his-civilization-on/) Francis Bowes Sayre, Sr > [Allen's Law of Civilization: It is better for civilization to be going down the drain than to be coming up it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dickson/allen-s-law-of-civilization-it-is-better-for-civilization-to-be-going/) [Paul Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dickson/) > [Nations are reorienting toward the national interest and away from Malthusianism and neoliberalism, which is good for nuclear and bad for renewables. The evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shellenberger/nations-are-reorienting-toward-the-national-interest-and-away-from/) [Michael Shellenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shellenberger/) > [My American undergraduate education probably gave me a better idea of the fundamentals of what European civilization is about, better than the undergraduate education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toomas-hendrik-ilves/my-american-undergraduate-education-probably-gave-me-a-better-idea-of/) [Toomas Hendrik Ilves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toomas-hendrik-ilves/) > [“It wasn’t a city, it was a process, a weight on the world that distorted the land for hundreds of miles around. People who’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-wasn-t-a-city-it-was-a-process-a-weight-on-the-world-that/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“A very civilized thing, glass—almost an index of civilization. When civilization retreats, it leaves behind broken glass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/a-very-civilized-thing-glass-almost-an-index-of-civilization-when/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [The home is the most important factor in civilization, and that civilization is to be measured at different stages largely by the development in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-home-is-the-most-important-factor-in-civilization-and-that/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [There has never yet been a human society worthy of the name of civilization. Civilization remains a remote ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-has-never-yet-been-a-human-society-worthy-of-the-name-of/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The basic problem is that our civilization, which is a civilization of machines, can teach man everything except how to be a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-basic-problem-is-that-our-civilization-which-is-a-civilization-of/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) ## More by Donna Boyd > [“You are the best of us. We are the best of you. What becomes of us will, inevitably, become of you. That is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-boyd/you-are-the-best-of-us-we-are-the-best-of-you-what-becomes-of-us-will/) Donna Boyd > [“Are you reading this, human? I hope so. Becuase here is the truth. I am a werewolf. Quod Hominem, genus gerulfos, Warwoof, wehrwulf, wearul,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-boyd/are-you-reading-this-human-i-hope-so-becuase-here-is-the-truth-i-am-a/) Donna Boyd > [“Nature is evil. Nature is conflict, violence, betrayal; worms that crawl through the skin and breen in the gut; thorns that poison; snakes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-boyd/nature-is-evil-nature-is-conflict-violence-betrayal-worms-that-crawl/) Donna Boyd Explore all 4 Donna Boyd quotes ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [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/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-josiah-brewer/our-laws-and-our-institutions-must-necessarily-be-based-upon-and/) [David Josiah Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-josiah-brewer/) [Browse all 4,084 Civilization quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have known Nature. I have known Civilization. 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