--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To accept civilization as it is…" description: "\"To accept civilization as it is practically means accepting decay.\" — George Orwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/george-orwell-57_accepting_to-accept-civilization-as-it-is-practica_1157712.jpg" --- # To accept civilization as it is practically means… ![“To accept civilization as it is practically means accepting decay.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/george-orwell-57_accepting_to-accept-civilization-as-it-is-practica_1157712.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/george-orwell-57_accepting_to-accept-civilization-as-it-is-practica_1157712.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/george-orwell-57_accepting_to-accept-civilization-as-it-is-practica_1157712.jpg) > “To accept civilization as it is practically means accepting decay.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Accepting civilization as it stands implies accepting its inevitable decline and corruption. **In simple terms:** Accepting society means accepting decay. Key Takeaway Question decay, seek reform. Themes civilization decay politics critique Mood critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - urban planning - policy making - environmental activism - cultural preservation Key Concepts social contract entropy impermanence Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of modern life feel decayed? - How can we balance acceptance with improvement? A Different Perspective Societal change can be resisted by complacency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) ## Related quotes > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Having children can smooth the relationship, too. Mother and daughter are now equals. That is hard to imagine, even harder to accept, for among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/having-children-can-smooth-the-relationship-too-mother-and-daughter/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Of course I’ll hurt you. Of course you’ll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/of-course-i-ll-hurt-you-of-course-you-ll-hurt-me-of-course-we-will/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Letting go doesn't mean you're giving up, rather it means accepting that there are things that cannot be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/letting-go-doesn-t-mean-you-re-giving-up-rather-it-means-accepting/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being an adult means accepting those situations where no action is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/being-an-adult-means-accepting-those-situations-where-no-action-is/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [Accepting trial and error means accepting error. It means taking problems in our stride when a decision doesn't work out, whether through luck or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/accepting-trial-and-error-means-accepting-error-it-means-taking/) [Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/) > [Healing means accepting all parts of ourselves, not just the parts we like, but all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/healing-means-accepting-all-parts-of-ourselves-not-just-the-parts-we/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [It takes a lot more courage to let something go than it does to hang on to it, trying to make it better. Letting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/it-takes-a-lot-more-courage-to-let-something-go-than-it-does-to-hang/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [Moving on means accepting reality and that's accepting what's NOT meant to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/moving-on-means-accepting-reality-and-that-s-accepting-what-s-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surrender means accepting this moment, this body, and this life with open arms. Surrender involves getting out of your own way and living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/surrender-means-accepting-this-moment-this-body-and-this-life-with/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Acceptance of one's life has nothing to do with resignation; it does not mean running away from the struggle. On the contrary, it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tournier/acceptance-of-one-s-life-has-nothing-to-do-with-resignation-it-does/) [Paul Tournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tournier/) > [Of course Ill hurt you. Of course youll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalini/of-course-ill-hurt-you-of-course-youll-hurt-me-of-course-we-will-hurt/) [Shalini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalini/) > [Being in a good relationship means accepting each other's faults more than loving each other's attributes, because everyone's not perfect and you can't just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-in-a-good-relationship-means-accepting-each-other-s-faults-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes change means accepting things about ourselves that we'd rather not face up to. The truth hurts, but then it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-change-means-accepting-things-about-ourselves-that-we-d/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“repotting means accepting that the way is forward, not back. it means realizing that we won't again fit into our old shells. but that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cochran/repotting-means-accepting-that-the-way-is-forward-not-back-it-means/) [Heather Cochran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cochran/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To accept civilization as it is practically means accepting decay.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-accept-civilization-as-it-is-practically-means-accepting-decay/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accepting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-accept-civilization-as-it-is-practically-means-accepting-decay/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/george-orwell-57_accepting_to-accept-civilization-as-it-is-practica_1157712.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/george-orwell-57_accepting_to-accept-civilization-as-it-is-practica_1157712.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/george-orwell-57_accepting_to-accept-civilization-as-it-is-practica_1157712.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To accept civilization as it is practically means accepting decay.” — George Orwell", "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": "George Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To accept civilization as it is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-accept-civilization-as-it-is-practically-means-accepting-decay/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-accept-civilization-as-it-is-practically-means-accepting-decay/#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 } } ] } ```