--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was as though the whole world was…" description: "\"“It was as though the whole world was thrown back six or seven hundred years without having the organizations those ancient peoples had.\" He paused, br..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/hugh-maclennan-30554_good-man_it-was-as-though-the-whole-world-was-thr_2862509.jpg" --- # It was as though the whole world was thrown back six or… ![“It was as though the whole world was thrown back six or seven hundred years without having the organizations those ancient peoples had." He paused, breathing heavily. "Of course, there were many survivors who understood small skills. Some of them would repair small engines, but they couldn't…” quote by Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/hugh-maclennan-30554_good-man_it-was-as-though-the-whole-world-was-thr_2862509.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/hugh-maclennan-30554_good-man_it-was-as-though-the-whole-world-was-thr_2862509.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/hugh-maclennan-30554_good-man_it-was-as-though-the-whole-world-was-thr_2862509.jpg) > ““It was as though the whole world was thrown back six or seven hundred years without having the organizations those ancient peoples had." He paused, breathing heavily. "Of course, there were many survivors who understood small skills. Some of them would repair small engines, but they couldn't manufacture them. They couldn't refine fuels. Fortunately a good many doctors who had practiced in small towns and in the country survived. They had their medical books, but they could no longer get the drugs they needed. Anyway, medicine survived after a fashion. Then gradually little patterns of order began to appear and another Bureaucracy came into being.”” [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal collapse erases technology, but basic skills and medicine persist, eventually forming new bureaucratic order. **In simple terms:** When tech fails, simple knowledge keeps people alive and societies rebuild. Key Takeaway Preserve and teach fundamental skills. Themes survival technology societal change medicine bureaucracy Mood hopeful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - post‑apocalypse community - rural health clinics - small‑scale engineering - emergency response - government formation Key Concepts resilience knowledge loss reconstruction institution building Questions to Reflect On - What essential skills are most at risk today? - How can communities safeguard knowledge for future crises? A Different Perspective Rebuilding may be slow and uneven, with power vacuums and inequality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Small towns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-towns/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) ## Related quotes > [“If doctors practiced medicine the way many companies practice management, there would be far more sick and dead patients, and many more doctors would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/if-doctors-practiced-medicine-the-way-many-companies-practice/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [My nation faces a fundamental challenge - survival. The regime is more threatened than ever before. My forefathers had it easy. The Great Leader,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-jong-un/my-nation-faces-a-fundamental-challenge-survival-the-regime-is-more/) [Kim Jong-un](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-jong-un/) > [After the collapse of Wall Street in the 1920s, the culture stopped being all about money, and the country survived and ultimately flourished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/after-the-collapse-of-wall-street-in-the-1920s-the-culture-stopped/) [Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/) > [I suppose more than anything, it's the way of life in this part of the country that influences my writing. In Eastern North Carolina,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/i-suppose-more-than-anything-it-s-the-way-of-life-in-this-part-of-the/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“The Republicans did not set out to establish a strong national state or to facilitate the industrial revolution. They believed strongly in the American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-goldfield/the-republicans-did-not-set-out-to-establish-a-strong-national-state/) David R. Goldfield > [I did stories about unexpected encounters, back roads, small towns and ordinary folk, sometimes doing something a little extraordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kuralt/i-did-stories-about-unexpected-encounters-back-roads-small-towns-and/) [Charles Kuralt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kuralt/) > [Those who live in small towns definitely are the ones who have so much of apnapan, as compared to the cold-hearted people in metros…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manini-mishra/those-who-live-in-small-towns-definitely-are-the-ones-who-have-so/) [Manini Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manini-mishra/) > [Small towns and local publications love to have a hero of some kind. For Portland, it's definitely Ian Karmel and Ron Funches, but every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-miller/small-towns-and-local-publications-love-to-have-a-hero-of-some-kind/) Amy Miller > [But instead of that stuff you get relationships with people and neighbors that you would never get in a city. People in small towns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-gorder/but-instead-of-that-stuff-you-get-relationships-with-people-and/) [Genevieve Gorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-gorder/) > [I want people who live in small towns to know I hear them, I see them and I know what it's like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-kahan/i-want-people-who-live-in-small-towns-to-know-i-hear-them-i-see-them/) [Noah Kahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-kahan/) > [The tyranny of public opinion (and what an opinion!) is as fatuous in the small towns of France as it is in the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/the-tyranny-of-public-opinion-and-what-an-opinion-is-as-fatuous-in/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [“Jesus. Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, Phoenix, L.A., and Seattle, plus two small towns she'd never heard of in the Gulf Coast region. The unit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/jesus-chicago-kansas-city-denver-phoenix-l-a-and-seattle-plus-two/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [ I've seen it \[Australia\] go from a lot of small towns to big towns, but I think it has found its identity in all… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzi-quatro/i-ve-seen-it-australia-go-from-a-lot-of-small-towns-to-big-towns-but/) [Suzi Quatro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzi-quatro/) > [I was born in New York City. But my family moved when I was still an infant. Except for a year and half when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-konigsburg/i-was-born-in-new-york-city-but-my-family-moved-when-i-was-still-an/) [E. L. Konigsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-konigsburg/) > [I enjoy going on motorcycle trips and stopping in small towns and enjoying drinks with the locals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/i-enjoy-going-on-motorcycle-trips-and-stopping-in-small-towns-and/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) ## More by Hugh MacLennan > [But that night as I drove back to Montreal, I at least discovered this: that there is no simple explanation for anything important any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/but-that-night-as-i-drove-back-to-montreal-i-at-least-discovered-this/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [“Happiness annihilates time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/happiness-annihilates-time/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [The Socialists can scheme their schemes and the Liberals can dream their dreams, but we, at least, have work to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/the-socialists-can-scheme-their-schemes-and-the-liberals-can-dream/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [The farmer's way of saving money: to be owed by someone he trusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/the-farmer-s-way-of-saving-money-to-be-owed-by-someone-he-trusted/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [In comparison with a loving human being, everything else is worthless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/in-comparison-with-a-loving-human-being-everything-else-is-worthless/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [“Timothy's eyes followed the straight back, the high shoulders, and the crisp white hair out of the door and out of his life --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/timothy-s-eyes-followed-the-straight-back-the-high-shoulders-and-the/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [“This campus was an island of quiet in the city's roar, and at night it was an island of dark in the city's blaze.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/this-campus-was-an-island-of-quiet-in-the-city-s-roar-and-at-night-it/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [“Marx is only half right when he calls religion the opium of the people. It may turn a lot of people into sheep, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/marx-is-only-half-right-when-he-calls-religion-the-opium-of-the/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [Love, sought as an escape from the burden of the self, turns rapidly into a captivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/love-sought-as-an-escape-from-the-burden-of-the-self-turns-rapidly/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [“Death suddenly seemed unimportant and life seemed everything”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/death-suddenly-seemed-unimportant-and-life-seemed-everything/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [Man is a thinking animal, a talking animal, a toolmaking animal, a building animal, a political animal, a fantasizing animal. But, in the twilight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/man-is-a-thinking-animal-a-talking-animal-a-toolmaking-animal-a/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [“There is no simple explanation for anything important any of us do, and the human tragedy, or the human irony, consists in the necessity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/there-is-no-simple-explanation-for-anything-important-any-of-us-do/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [“Wise Penelope! That's was Odysseus said to his wife when he got home. I don't think he ever told her he loved her. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/wise-penelope-that-s-was-odysseus-said-to-his-wife-when-he-got-home-i/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [“He sat down again. He wanted her body, even though there were plenty of other bodies he could have. Which meant, I suppose, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/he-sat-down-again-he-wanted-her-body-even-though-there-were-plenty-of/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) > [The Greeks, who knew everything, understood that without the orgy there is no middle ground between bedlam and Toronto ... we need the healing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-maclennan/the-greeks-who-knew-everything-understood-that-without-the-orgy-there/) [Hugh MacLennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) [Explore all 17 Hugh MacLennan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-maclennan/) ## More Good man quotes > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Good manners are not bred in moments, but in years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-mcnair-wright/good-manners-are-not-bred-in-moments-but-in-years/) [Julia McNair Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-mcnair-wright/) > [Troy was a sweet, good man. We just were never destined to be married. We just didn't have the same values. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-pleshette/troy-was-a-sweet-good-man-we-just-were-never-destined-to-be-married/) [Suzanne Pleshette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-pleshette/) > [The life of a good man was a continual warfare with his passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/the-life-of-a-good-man-was-a-continual-warfare-with-his-passions/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [ I don't see \[ Trainspotting \] as an albatross, I see it more as a calling card. It's got me out to Hollywood, I've… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-don-t-see-trainspotting-as-an-albatross-i-see-it-more-as-a-calling/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [“I put no stock in religion. By the word religion I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-put-no-stock-in-religion-by-the-word-religion-i-have-seen-the/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [To follow good manners willingly is like paving the road and to tell somebody to follow them is like the road which is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/to-follow-good-manners-willingly-is-like-paving-the-road-and-to-tell/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [“It is said that the hallmark of a gentleman is that he is only ever rude intentionally. Arthur Bryant was no gentleman. His rudeness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fowler/it-is-said-that-the-hallmark-of-a-gentleman-is-that-he-is-only-ever/) [Christopher Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fowler/) > [I'm a good man with a good heart had a tough time, got a rough start But I finally learned to let it go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-a-good-man-with-a-good-heart-had-a-tough-time-got-a-rough-start/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [ I've often thought about that and the only suitable member to join me on that climb \[to Everest\] was George Lowe: he was strong,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-hillary/i-ve-often-thought-about-that-and-the-only-suitable-member-to-join-me/) [Edmund Hillary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-hillary/) > [Of course, when you play football yourself you can think you want to become a manager but it does not make you a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaap-stam/of-course-when-you-play-football-yourself-you-can-think-you-want-to/) [Jaap Stam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaap-stam/) > [“Falsehood of a good man is better than truth of a bad one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/falsehood-of-a-good-man-is-better-than-truth-of-a-bad-one/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [“Atticus adjusted his glasses as he peered down at the blanket. “Hey, is that the book Nellie told us about?” Jake’s eyes flicked to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jude-watson/atticus-adjusted-his-glasses-as-he-peered-down-at-the-blanket-hey-is/) [Jude Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jude-watson/) > [A good man therefore is a standing lesson to us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/a-good-man-therefore-is-a-standing-lesson-to-us-all/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [“Grits Glossary blues \\’blüz\\ n: nothing but a good man singing about hardship, sorrow, and the things he’s done wrong--but sake’s alive, they make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/grits-glossary-blues-bl-z-n-nothing-but-a-good-man-singing-about/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) [Browse all 2,081 Good man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was as though the whole world was thrown back six or seven hundred years without having the organizations those ancient peoples had.\" He paused, breathing heavily. \"Of course, there were many survivors who understood small skills. 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