--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Civilization is like air or water…" description: "\"“Civilization is like air or water. Wherever there is a passage, be it only a fissure, it will penetrate and modify the conditions of a country.”\" — Ju..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/jules-verne-795_civilization_civilization-is-like-air-or-water-wherev_2750379.jpg" --- # Civilization is like air or water. Wherever there is a… ![“Civilization is like air or water. Wherever there is a passage, be it only a fissure, it will penetrate and modify the conditions of a country.” quote by Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/jules-verne-795_civilization_civilization-is-like-air-or-water-wherev_2750379.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/jules-verne-795_civilization_civilization-is-like-air-or-water-wherev_2750379.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/jules-verne-795_civilization_civilization-is-like-air-or-water-wherev_2750379.jpg) > ““Civilization is like air or water. Wherever there is a passage, be it only a fissure, it will penetrate and modify the conditions of a country.”” [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Civilization spreads like a fluid, infiltrating societies through even the smallest openings, altering conditions. **In simple terms:** Civilization spreads like water. Key Takeaway Recognize subtle influences on culture. Themes society influence change Mood thoughtful analytical Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - urban development - cultural exchange - policy - technology Key Concepts political science history Questions to Reflect On - How do minor influences shape societies? - Can you identify a 'fissure' in your community? A Different Perspective Small changes may not always be positive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) ## Related quotes > [“Suppose two thousand years ago, or even earlier, humanity learned that an alien invasion fleet would arrive a few thousand years later. What would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/suppose-two-thousand-years-ago-or-even-earlier-humanity-learned-that/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) > [More and more I come to value charity and love of one's fellow being above everything else...All our lauded technological progress-our very civilization-is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/more-and-more-i-come-to-value-charity-and-love-of-one-s-fellow-being/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Civilization was like a mad dash that lasted fie thousand years. Progress begot more progress; countless miracles gave birth to more miracles; humankind seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/civilization-was-like-a-mad-dash-that-lasted-fie-thousand-years/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) > [“Human civilization was like a young, unworldly person walking alone across the desert of the universe, who has found out about the existence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/human-civilization-was-like-a-young-unworldly-person-walking-alone/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) > [Civilization, like an airplane in flight, survives only as it keeps going forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-like-an-airplane-in-flight-survives-only-as-it-keeps/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“The veneer of civilization is like that on the kitchen counter - very thin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-watts/the-veneer-of-civilization-is-like-that-on-the-kitchen-counter-very/) [Malcolm Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-watts/) > [Civilization is to groups what intelligence is to individuals. It is a means of combining the intelligence of many to achieve ongoing group adaptation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/civilization-is-to-groups-what-intelligence-is-to-individuals-it-is-a-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Civilization is like a thin layer of ice upon a deep ocean of chaos and darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/civilization-is-like-a-thin-layer-of-ice-upon-a-deep-ocean-of-chaos/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [Love is like air we can't see it but feel it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blackie/love-is-like-air-we-can-t-see-it-but-feel-it/) Blackie > [Money is kind of just like air - if you don't have air, you can't breathe. If you don't have money, I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/money-is-kind-of-just-like-air-if-you-don-t-have-air-you-can-t/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [The press is like the air, a chartered libertine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-pitt/the-press-is-like-the-air-a-chartered-libertine/) [William Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-pitt/) > [“Breathing dreams like air”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/breathing-dreams-like-air/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I'm never gonna stop music, it's like air to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-dre/i-m-never-gonna-stop-music-it-s-like-air-to-me/) [Dr. Dre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-dre/) > [Why do I love u this much?i really can't find a reason, all I know is that you're my world, you're like an air…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena/why-do-i-love-u-this-much-i-really-can-t-find-a-reason-all-i-know-is/) Sheena > [Love is all around you like the air and is the very breath of your being. But you cannot know it, feel its unfeeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-long/love-is-all-around-you-like-the-air-and-is-the-very-breath-of-your/) [Barry Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-long/) ## More by Jules Verne > [Look with all your eyes, look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/look-with-all-your-eyes-look/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [“As I remarked before, the Asiatic elephant is smaller than the African, which is frequently twelve feet high, and its tusks are in proportion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/as-i-remarked-before-the-asiatic-elephant-is-smaller-than-the-african/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [As long as a man's heart beats, as long as a man's flesh quivers, I do not allow that a being gifted with thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/as-long-as-a-man-s-heart-beats-as-long-as-a-man-s-flesh-quivers-i-do/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [Now, when an American has an idea, he directly seeks a second American to share it. If there be three, they elect a president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/now-when-an-american-has-an-idea-he-directly-seeks-a-second-american/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [Well, my friend, this earth will one day be that cold corpse; it will become uninhabitable and uninhabited like the moon, which has long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/well-my-friend-this-earth-will-one-day-be-that-cold-corpse-it-will/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [Ah! Young people, travel if you can, and if you cannot - travel all the same!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/ah-young-people-travel-if-you-can-and-if-you-cannot-travel-all-the/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [It is always a vulgar and often an unhealthy pastime, and it is a vice which does not go alone; the man who gambles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/it-is-always-a-vulgar-and-often-an-unhealthy-pastime-and-it-is-a-vice/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [“My uncle” is the natives’ usual name for the tiger, they believing that the soul of each of their ancestors is lodged for eternity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/my-uncle-is-the-natives-usual-name-for-the-tiger-they-believing-that/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [“Kâlagani evidently knew this thinly-peopled region perfectly, and guided us across it most admirably. On the 29th September our train began to ascend the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/k-lagani-evidently-knew-this-thinly-peopled-region-perfectly-and/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [Well, I feel that we should always put a little art into what we do. It's better that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/well-i-feel-that-we-should-always-put-a-little-art-into-what-we-do-it/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [“— Isola in vendita per contanti, più le spese, al miglior offerente! — andava ripetendo a perdifiato Dean Felporg, banditore dell'auction, in cui venivano…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/isola-in-vendita-per-contanti-pi-le-spese-al-miglior-offerente-andava/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [It is certain," exclaimed my uncle in a tone of triumph. "But silence, do you hear me? silence upon the whole subject; and let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/it-is-certain-exclaimed-my-uncle-in-a-tone-of-triumph-but-silence-do/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [Man, a mere inhabitant of the earth, cannot overstep its boundaries! But though he is confined to its crust, he may penetrate into all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/man-a-mere-inhabitant-of-the-earth-cannot-overstep-its-boundaries-but/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [On the surface of the ocean, men wage war and destroy each other; but down here, just a few feet beneath the surface, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/on-the-surface-of-the-ocean-men-wage-war-and-destroy-each-other-but/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [In presence of Nature's grand convulsions man is powerless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/in-presence-of-nature-s-grand-convulsions-man-is-powerless/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) [Explore all 331 Jules Verne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) ## 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": "“Civilization is like air or water. 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