--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a characteristic of any decaying…" description: "\"It is a characteristic of any decaying civilization that the great masses of the people are unconscious of the tragedy. Humanity in a crisis is general..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/fulton-j-sheen-675_accusation_it-is-a-characteristic-of-any-decaying-c_1154955.png" --- # It is a characteristic of any decaying civilization that… ![“It is a characteristic of any decaying civilization that the great masses of the people are unconscious of the tragedy. Humanity in a crisis is generally insensitive to the gravity of the times in which it lives. Men do not want to believe their own times are wicked, partly because it involves too…” quote by Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/fulton-j-sheen-675_accusation_it-is-a-characteristic-of-any-decaying-c_1154955.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/fulton-j-sheen-675_accusation_it-is-a-characteristic-of-any-decaying-c_1154955.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/fulton-j-sheen-675_accusation_it-is-a-characteristic-of-any-decaying-c_1154955.png) > “It is a characteristic of any decaying civilization that the great masses of the people are unconscious of the tragedy. Humanity in a crisis is generally insensitive to the gravity of the times in which it lives. Men do not want to believe their own times are wicked, partly because it involves too much self-accusation and principally because they have no standards outside of themselves by which to measure their times.” [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societies often ignore their own decline, lacking external standards to judge their era. **In simple terms:** People ignore their own era's decline. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront societal decay. Themes history selfawareness morality Mood reflective critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - political analysis - education reform - media critique - personal reflection Key Concepts civilization decay collective denial Questions to Reflect On - How can societies develop external standards for self‑evaluation? - What personal habits reveal collective denial? A Different Perspective People may resist acknowledging decline due to self‑accusation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accusation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accusation/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Characteristics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristics/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Crisis Generally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis-generally-3281805/) [Gravity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravity/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humanity Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-crisis-3281804/) [Insensitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insensitive/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Standards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Tragedy Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-humanity-2501614/) [Unconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconscious/) [Unconscious Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconscious-tragedy-3281806/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wicked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wicked/) ## Related quotes > [The calamity of war, wherever, whenever and upon whomever it descends, is a tragedy for the whole of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raisa-gorbacheva/the-calamity-of-war-wherever-whenever-and-upon-whomever-it-descends/) [Raisa Gorbacheva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raisa-gorbacheva/) > [I put on an act sometimes, and people think I’m insensitive. Really, it’s like a kind of armor because I’m too sensitive. If there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-brando/i-put-on-an-act-sometimes-and-people-think-i-m-insensitive-really-it/) [Marlon Brando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-brando/) > [“Everyone is always busy, not until it is something that benefits them, or that which concerns whom they love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/everyone-is-always-busy-not-until-it-is-something-that-benefits-them/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [I don't want to tell your story because you're a insensitive, self-centered moron. I've told a lot of stories about young people, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-schumacher/i-don-t-want-to-tell-your-story-because-you-re-a-insensitive-self/) [Joel Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-schumacher/) > [“He was thoughtless, not because he was insensitive, but because I had just eaten his brain and his skull was empty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/he-was-thoughtless-not-because-he-was-insensitive-but-because-i-had/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Since lawyers are thinkers and not feelers, and their moral development is locked into the rigidity of maintaining law and order, they often come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thane-rosenbaum/since-lawyers-are-thinkers-and-not-feelers-and-their-moral/) [Thane Rosenbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thane-rosenbaum/) > [I'M OFFENDED, because of the insulting comments I've seen that are not only insensitive but dismissive to the painful experiences of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-watson/i-m-offended-because-of-the-insulting-comments-i-ve-seen-that-are-not/) [Benjamin Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-watson/) > [Frequent risk-takers have had their fair shares of failures and successes, hence, being confident in reaching their goals, they will usually seem insensitive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/frequent-risk-takers-have-had-their-fair-shares-of-failures-and/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [But while ignorance can make you insensitive, familiarity can also numb. Entering the second half-century of an information age, our cumulative knowledge has changed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/but-while-ignorance-can-make-you-insensitive-familiarity-can-also/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Science tells us what we can know, but what we can know is little, and if we forget how much we cannot know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/science-tells-us-what-we-can-know-but-what-we-can-know-is-little-and/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [While I complain of being able to glimpse no more than the shadow of the past, I may be insensitive to reality as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/while-i-complain-of-being-able-to-glimpse-no-more-than-the-shadow-of/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Daphne," he said with controlled gentleness, "what is wrong?" She sat down opposite him and placed a hand on his cheek. "I'm so insensitive,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/daphne-he-said-with-controlled-gentleness-what-is-wrong-she-sat-down/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [It is something like the way dame Nature gathers round a foreign body an envelope of some insensitive tissue which can protect from evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/it-is-something-like-the-way-dame-nature-gathers-round-a-foreign-body/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“The rich eat life, the poor eat death; so what is the problem they ask?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/the-rich-eat-life-the-poor-eat-death-so-what-is-the-problem-they-ask/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [My political views have never made me insensitive to the pain and suffering caused to the innocent victims of events such as the Warrington…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-fox/my-political-views-have-never-made-me-insensitive-to-the-pain-and/) [Claire Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-fox/) ## More by Fulton J. Sheen > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [There are 200 million poor in the world who would gladly take the vow of poverty if they could eat, dress and have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/there-are-200-million-poor-in-the-world-who-would-gladly-take-the-vow/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is the key to the mystery. Love by its very nature is not selfish, but generous. It seeks not its own, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/love-is-the-key-to-the-mystery-love-by-its-very-nature-is-not-selfish/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“This is what Aristotle meant when he said that the object of science is the necessary and the universal; man and not this man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/this-is-what-aristotle-meant-when-he-said-that-the-object-of-science/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Pride is an admission of weakness; it secretly fears all competition and dreads all rivals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/pride-is-an-admission-of-weakness-it-secretly-fears-all-competition/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Calamity, war, famine, plague, death, adversity, disease, injury do not necessarily produce repentance. We may become better in a calamity but it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/calamity-war-famine-plague-death-adversity-disease-injury-do-not/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [No one has ever laughed at a pun who did not see in the one word a twofold meaning. To materialists this world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/no-one-has-ever-laughed-at-a-pun-who-did-not-see-in-the-one-word-a/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is a mutual self-giving which ends in self-recovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/love-is-a-mutual-self-giving-which-ends-in-self-recovery/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [The Soviet Union is like the Cross without Christ, while American culture is like Christ without the Cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-soviet-union-is-like-the-cross-without-christ-while-american/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“The 'fullness of reality' in the second sense of the term is perceived by a combination of both intellect and sense, the senses knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-fullness-of-reality-in-the-second-sense-of-the-term-is-perceived/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“The mathematical method is disinterested in the efficient cause and the final cause or the goodness of a thing and it should not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-mathematical-method-is-disinterested-in-the-efficient-cause-and/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“The Church makes no man less free than he was before. But we chiefly value freedom in order to give it away; every man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-church-makes-no-man-less-free-than-he-was-before-but-we-chiefly/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“To those who rejected Him, righteousness would one day appear as a terrible justice; to the sinful men who accepted Him and allied themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/to-those-who-rejected-him-righteousness-would-one-day-appear-as-a/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [It is easy to find truth, though it is hard to face it, and harder still to follow it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/it-is-easy-to-find-truth-though-it-is-hard-to-face-it-and-harder/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [One function of the angels is illumination, and the other function is that of being a guardian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/one-function-of-the-angels-is-illumination-and-the-other-function-is/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) [Explore all 414 Fulton J. Sheen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) ## More Accusation quotes > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [This hype word bothers me though It always sounds like an accusation, what does it mean, advertising, column inches in the press? Bands themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-johnson/this-hype-word-bothers-me-though-it-always-sounds-like-an-accusation/) [Holly Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-johnson/) > [Knowledge of God's Word is a bulwark against deception, temptation, accusation, even persecution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-louis-cole/knowledge-of-god-s-word-is-a-bulwark-against-deception-temptation/) [Edwin Louis Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-louis-cole/) > [I never mind the accusations of domesticity, as long as people recognise that all of us, even the luckiest, will live lives in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-never-mind-the-accusations-of-domesticity-as-long-as-people/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [As so often, a political event involving Donald Trump looks like swinging wildly between melodrama and farce. The Republican National Convention in Cleveland has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-colvin/as-so-often-a-political-event-involving-donald-trump-looks-like/) [Mark Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-colvin/) > [Great literature has always been written in a like spirit, and is, indeed, the Forgiveness of Sin, and when we find it becoming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/great-literature-has-always-been-written-in-a-like-spirit-and-is/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“I had wanted to hate you that day. Believe me, I had. And then suddenly, staring at me incredulously, your extra half-tooth had blurted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/i-had-wanted-to-hate-you-that-day-believe-me-i-had-and-then-suddenly/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“Looks sure can be deceiving: not every ‘ugly’ person is a ‘bad’ person (or is guilty of whatever it is that they are accused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/looks-sure-can-be-deceiving-not-every-ugly-person-is-a-bad-person-or/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [How many voices have escaped you until now, the venting furnace, the floorboards underfoot, the steady accusations of the clock numbering the minutes no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/how-many-voices-have-escaped-you-until-now-the-venting-furnace-the/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [Hermione, will you please —” “Don’t you tell me what to do, Harry Potter!” she screeched. “Don’t you dare! Give it back now! And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hermione-will-you-please-don-t-you-tell-me-what-to-do-harry-potter/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sentimentalist” is the abuse with which people counter the accusation that they are cruel, thereby implying that to be sentimental is worse than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-brophy/sentimentalist-is-the-abuse-with-which-people-counter-the-accusation/) [Brigid Brophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-brophy/) > [In every relationship, sooner or later, there is a court scene. Accusations, counter-accusations, a trial, a verdict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/in-every-relationship-sooner-or-later-there-is-a-court-scene/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“It will forever remain an accusation and a challenge to all men and women of conscience that it took as long as it has,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/it-will-forever-remain-an-accusation-and-a-challenge-to-all-men-and/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [A moral argument about whether censorship is good or bad deteriorates quickly into accusations about who is more or less patriotic, moral, pious, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/a-moral-argument-about-whether-censorship-is-good-or-bad-deteriorates/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [Guilt has very quick ears to an accusation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/guilt-has-very-quick-ears-to-an-accusation/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) [Browse all 264 Accusation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accusation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is a characteristic of any decaying civilization that the great masses of the people are unconscious of the tragedy. Humanity in a crisis is generally insensitive to the gravity of the times in which it lives. Men do not want to believe their own times are wicked, partly because it involves too much self-accusation and principally because they have no standards outside of themselves by which to measure their times.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fulton J. Sheen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/it-is-a-characteristic-of-any-decaying-civilization-that-the-great/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accusation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/it-is-a-characteristic-of-any-decaying-civilization-that-the-great/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/fulton-j-sheen-675_accusation_it-is-a-characteristic-of-any-decaying-c_1154955.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/fulton-j-sheen-675_accusation_it-is-a-characteristic-of-any-decaying-c_1154955.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/fulton-j-sheen-675_accusation_it-is-a-characteristic-of-any-decaying-c_1154955.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a characteristic of any decaying civilization that the great masses of the people are unconscious of…” — Fulton J. Sheen", "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": "Fulton J. Sheen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is a characteristic of any...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/it-is-a-characteristic-of-any-decaying-civilization-that-the-great/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/it-is-a-characteristic-of-any-decaying-civilization-that-the-great/#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 } } ] } ```