--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Music has power to create a universe or…" description: "\"Music has power to create a universe or to destroy a civilization.\" — Katherine Neville" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/katherine-neville-42127_civilization_music-has-power-to-create-a-universe-or_679278.png" --- # Music has power to create a universe or to destroy a… ![“Music has power to create a universe or to destroy a civilization.” quote by Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/katherine-neville-42127_civilization_music-has-power-to-create-a-universe-or_679278.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/katherine-neville-42127_civilization_music-has-power-to-create-a-universe-or_679278.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/katherine-neville-42127_civilization_music-has-power-to-create-a-universe-or_679278.png) > “Music has power to create a universe or to destroy a civilization.” [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music can build immersive worlds or cause widespread destruction, reflecting its powerful societal influence. **In simple terms:** Music can create or destroy. Key Takeaway Use music responsibly. Themes power creation destruction Mood thoughtful cautious Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - film scoring - political propaganda - community events - educational tools Key Concepts cultural influence social impact Questions to Reflect On - When has music changed history? - How can we harness music for good? A Different Perspective May overstate influence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Power of music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-of-music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [The power of music, and the power of your determination in life, especially when you're playing extreme metal like this... it just conquers. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-jordison/the-power-of-music-and-the-power-of-your-determination-in-life/) [Joey Jordison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-jordison/) > [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/) > [If we built houses the way we build software, the first woodpecker to come along would destroy civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-stoll/if-we-built-houses-the-way-we-build-software-the-first-woodpecker-to/) [Clifford Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-stoll/) > [There is a one-in-300 chance that Earth will be struck on March 16, 2880, by an asteroid large enough to destroy civilization and possibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/there-is-a-one-in-300-chance-that-earth-will-be-struck-on-march-16/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [There is held to be no surer test of civilization than the increase per head of the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Yet alcohol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/there-is-held-to-be-no-surer-test-of-civilization-than-the-increase/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [“Politics is the application of Sufism to earthlife...To refuse to act politically is to starve your children, destroy civilization.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shamcher-bryn-beorse/politics-is-the-application-of-sufism-to-earthlife-to-refuse-to-act/) Shamcher Bryn Beorse > [All my life I have studies the peculiar powers of music. It has a force of its own that few would deny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/all-my-life-i-have-studies-the-peculiar-powers-of-music-it-has-a/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) > [I have to bring to your notice a terrifying reality: with the development of nuclear weapons Man has acquired, for the first time in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-rotblat/i-have-to-bring-to-your-notice-a-terrifying-reality-with-the/) [Joseph Rotblat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-rotblat/) > [“There is always a possibility that a higher civilization in the universe could visit the Earth and destroy our civilization, or on the contrary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/there-is-always-a-possibility-that-a-higher-civilization-in-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The Western front is the important one in this war - the intersection between Islam and a liberal democratic tradition so mired in self-loathing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/the-western-front-is-the-important-one-in-this-war-the-intersection/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [America is experiencing an Islamist cultural-political offensive designed to undermine and destroy our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/america-is-experiencing-an-islamist-cultural-political-offensive/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [“Music has the power to shake society, especially if the bass is turned way up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/music-has-the-power-to-shake-society-especially-if-the-bass-is-turned/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“There was power in that music, a power which seemed to most rightfully belong to all the skinny kids, fat kids, ugly kids, shy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-was-power-in-that-music-a-power-which-seemed-to-most-rightfully/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Music has the power to stop time. But music also keeps time,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/questlove/music-has-the-power-to-stop-time-but-music-also-keeps-time/) [Questlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/questlove/) > [If my music has power, I don't have to hashtag anything. If it has to connect with someone, it will. That has been my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atif-aslam/if-my-music-has-power-i-don-t-have-to-hashtag-anything-if-it-has-to/) [Atif Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atif-aslam/) ## More by Katherine Neville > [Muses had a way of killing those whom they inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/muses-had-a-way-of-killing-those-whom-they-inspired/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) > [“Las musas tenían por costumbre aniquilar a los que inspiraban.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/las-musas-ten-an-por-costumbre-aniquilar-a-los-que-inspiraban/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) > [Write. Remember, people may keep you (or me) from being a published author but no one can stop you from being a writer. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/write-remember-people-may-keep-you-or-me-from-being-a-published/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) > [Only boring people are bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/only-boring-people-are-bored/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) > [Privacy - like eating and breathing - is one of life's basic requirements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/privacy-like-eating-and-breathing-is-one-of-life-s-basic-requirements/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) > [All my life I have studies the peculiar powers of music. It has a force of its own that few would deny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/all-my-life-i-have-studies-the-peculiar-powers-of-music-it-has-a/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) > [“Nim unwrapped a loaf of fresh dilled rye bread and opened a crock of trout mousse. He slathered up a big slice and handed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/nim-unwrapped-a-loaf-of-fresh-dilled-rye-bread-and-opened-a-crock-of/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) > [The laws of chess are as beautiful as those governing the universe - and as deadly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/the-laws-of-chess-are-as-beautiful-as-those-governing-the-universe/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) > [Affaires meant 'business.' How like the French to kill two birds with one stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/affaires-meant-business-how-like-the-french-to-kill-two-birds-with/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) [Explore all 10 Katherine Neville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) ## 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. 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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": "Music has power to create a universe or to destroy a civilization.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Katherine Neville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/music-has-power-to-create-a-universe-or-to-destroy-a-civilization/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilization" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/music-has-power-to-create-a-universe-or-to-destroy-a-civilization/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/katherine-neville-42127_civilization_music-has-power-to-create-a-universe-or_679278.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/katherine-neville-42127_civilization_music-has-power-to-create-a-universe-or_679278.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/katherine-neville-42127_civilization_music-has-power-to-create-a-universe-or_679278.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Music has power to create a universe or to destroy a civilization.” — Katherine Neville", "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": "Katherine Neville", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Music has power to create a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/music-has-power-to-create-a-universe-or-to-destroy-a-civilization/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/music-has-power-to-create-a-universe-or-to-destroy-a-civilization/#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 } } ] } ```