--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The home is the most important factor in…" description: "\"The home is the most important factor in civilization, and that civilization is to be measured at different stages largely by the development in the ho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/herbert-spencer-1765_civilization_the-home-is-the-most-important-factor-in_1487278.jpg" --- # The home is the most important factor in civilization, and… ![“The home is the most important factor in civilization, and that civilization is to be measured at different stages largely by the development in the home.” quote by Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/herbert-spencer-1765_civilization_the-home-is-the-most-important-factor-in_1487278.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/herbert-spencer-1765_civilization_the-home-is-the-most-important-factor-in_1487278.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/herbert-spencer-1765_civilization_the-home-is-the-most-important-factor-in_1487278.jpg) > “The home is the most important factor in civilization, and that civilization is to be measured at different stages largely by the development in the home.” [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quality of a society is judged by the health and development of its households. **In simple terms:** A strong home underpins a strong civilization. Key Takeaway Invest in family well‑being. Themes family social structure civilization Mood analytical concerned Type theoretical observational When to use this quote - parenting - housing policy - community building - education reform Key Concepts sociology domestic economics cultural development Questions to Reflect On - How can we strengthen homes to benefit society? - What policies support healthy family environments? A Different Perspective Focusing only on the home may overlook broader systemic factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) ## Related quotes > [A commonplace of political rhetoric has it that the quality of a civilization may be measured by how it cares for its elderly. Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/a-commonplace-of-political-rhetoric-has-it-that-the-quality-of-a/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [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 quantity of civilization is measured by the quality of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-quantity-of-civilization-is-measured-by-the-quality-of-imagination/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“A nation’s level of civilization can be measured by the way it treats its oldest and weakest citizens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-groen/a-nation-s-level-of-civilization-can-be-measured-by-the-way-it-treats/) [Hendrik Groen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-groen/) > [The moral development of a civilization is measured by the breadth of its sense of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatol-rapoport/the-moral-development-of-a-civilization-is-measured-by-the-breadth-of/) [Anatol Rapoport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatol-rapoport/) > [In the last analysis civilization itself is measured by the way in which children will live and what chance they will have in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-heaton-vorse/in-the-last-analysis-civilization-itself-is-measured-by-the-way-in/) [Mary Heaton Vorse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-heaton-vorse/) > [The Strength of a civilization is not measured by its ability to fight wars, but rather by its ability to prevent them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-roddenberry/the-strength-of-a-civilization-is-not-measured-by-its-ability-to/) [Gene Roddenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-roddenberry/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [To us it seems that West-European civilization is civilization, but this is a narrow view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/to-us-it-seems-that-west-european-civilization-is-civilization-but/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“I have known Nature. I have known Civilization. Civilization is better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-boyd/i-have-known-nature-i-have-known-civilization-civilization-is-better/) Donna Boyd > [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/) > [You don't fight to protect warships or old men. Like the book says, you fight to save your civilization. And so often it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/you-don-t-fight-to-protect-warships-or-old-men-like-the-book-says-you/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [War is a damnable, filthy thing and has destroyed civilization after civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-noel-baker-baron-noel-baker/war-is-a-damnable-filthy-thing-and-has-destroyed-civilization-after/) Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker > [“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/) ## More by Herbert Spencer > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Any piece of knowledge which the pupil has himself acquired- any problem which he has himself solved, becomes, by virtue of the conquest, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/any-piece-of-knowledge-which-the-pupil-has-himself-acquired-any/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Conservatism defends those coercive arrangements which a still-lingering savageness makes requisite. Radicalism endeavours to realize a state more in harmony with the character of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/conservatism-defends-those-coercive-arrangements-which-a-still/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Absolute morality is the regulation of conduct in such a way that pain shall not be inflicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/absolute-morality-is-the-regulation-of-conduct-in-such-a-way-that/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [When a man's knowledge is not in order, the more of it he has the greater will be his confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/when-a-man-s-knowledge-is-not-in-order-the-more-of-it-he-has-the/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The cruelty of a Fijian god, who, represented as devouring the souls of the dead, may be supposed to inflict torture during the process,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-cruelty-of-a-fijian-god-who-represented-as-devouring-the-souls-of/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The liberty the citizen enjoys is to be measured not by governmental machinery he lives under, whether representative or other, but by the paucity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-liberty-the-citizen-enjoys-is-to-be-measured-not-by-governmental/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [I had a great dislike to the annoyances entailed by baggage; and it was always with some feeling of elation that I cut myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/i-had-a-great-dislike-to-the-annoyances-entailed-by-baggage-and-it/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Progress, therefore, is not an accident, but a necessity…It is a part of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/progress-therefore-is-not-an-accident-but-a-necessity-it-is-a-part-of/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Surely in much talk there cannot choose but be much vanity. Loquacity is the fistula of the mind,--ever-running and almost incurable, let every man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/surely-in-much-talk-there-cannot-choose-but-be-much-vanity-loquacity/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [No one can be perfectly free till all are free; no one can be perfectly moral till all are moral; no one can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-one-can-be-perfectly-free-till-all-are-free-no-one-can-be/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Only when Genius is married to Science can the highest results be produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/only-when-genius-is-married-to-science-can-the-highest-results-be/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [It cannot but happen?that those will survive whose functions happen to be most nearly in equilibrium with the modified aggregate of external forces? This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/it-cannot-but-happen-that-those-will-survive-whose-functions-happen/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“Before he can remake his society, his society must make him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/before-he-can-remake-his-society-his-society-must-make-him/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) [Explore all 210 Herbert Spencer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) ## 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. 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