--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All great civilisations, in their early…" description: "\"All great civilisations, in their early stages, are based on success in war.\" — Kenneth Clark" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2d/kenneth-clark-9681_civilisation_all-great-civilisations-in-their-early-s_1404807.png" --- # All great civilisations, in their early stages, are based… ![“All great civilisations, in their early stages, are based on success in war.” quote by Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2d/kenneth-clark-9681_civilisation_all-great-civilisations-in-their-early-s_1404807.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2d/kenneth-clark-9681_civilisation_all-great-civilisations-in-their-early-s_1404807.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2d/kenneth-clark-9681_civilisation_all-great-civilisations-in-their-early-s_1404807.png) > “All great civilisations, in their early stages, are based on success in war.” [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early societies thrive by mastering warfare, which shapes their development. **In simple terms:** War success underpins early civilization. Key Takeaway Study the role of conflict in history. Themes war civilization power dynamics Mood analytical historical Type academic reflective When to use this quote - military strategy - education curricula - policy analysis Key Concepts history political science Questions to Reflect On - How did non‑military societies prosper? - Can peace replace war as a foundation? A Different Perspective War is not the only path to success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilisation/) [Civilisations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilisations/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Most civilisations, perhaps, look shinier in general terms and from several light-years away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/most-civilisations-perhaps-look-shinier-in-general-terms-and-from/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Some moments arrive and we wish to see no trace at all from the civilisation! 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After all, at least half of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nonviolent-action-on-behalf-of-justice-is-no-automatic-forumla-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Procrastination and fear are the enemies of success; the war is lifelong, but the battles are daily.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-dejesus/procrastination-and-fear-are-the-enemies-of-success-the-war-is/) [Noel DeJesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-dejesus/) > [“Since when is the success of war determined by your own body count?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pavlinek/since-when-is-the-success-of-war-determined-by-your-own-body-count/) Pavlinek > [Success in war was the only success that counted; failure was a disgrace to be wiped out only by starting another war and winning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-holland/success-in-war-was-the-only-success-that-counted-failure-was-a/) [Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-holland/) ## More by Kenneth Clark > [To hurry through the rise and fall of a fine, full sentence is like defying the role of time in human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/to-hurry-through-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-fine-full-sentence-is-like/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [All color is no color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/all-color-is-no-color/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [The nude does not simply represent the body, but relates it, by analogy, to all structures that have become part of our imaginative experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/the-nude-does-not-simply-represent-the-body-but-relates-it-by-analogy/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [Ruthless, greedy, tyrannical, disreputable they have had one principle worth all the rest, the principle of delight!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/ruthless-greedy-tyrannical-disreputable-they-have-had-one-principle/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [Those who wish, in the interest of morality, to reduce Leonardo, that inexhaustible source of creative power, to a neutral or sexless agency, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/those-who-wish-in-the-interest-of-morality-to-reduce-leonardo-that/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [It is often said that Leonardo drew so well because he knew about things; it is truer to say that he knew about things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/it-is-often-said-that-leonardo-drew-so-well-because-he-knew-about/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [A lot of people you think you know you don't know until you find out you don't know then it may be too late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/a-lot-of-people-you-think-you-know-you-don-t-know-until-you-find-out/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [The dark ghettos are social, political, educational and-above all-economic colonies. 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It is perhaps the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/energy-is-eternal-delight-and-from-the-earliest-times-human-beings/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [All great civilizations, in their early stages, are based on success in war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/all-great-civilizations-in-their-early-stages-are-based-on-success-in/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [This became Delacroix 's theme: that the achievements of the spirit all that a great library contained were the result of a state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/this-became-delacroix-s-theme-that-the-achievements-of-the-spirit-all/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) [Explore all 71 Kenneth Clark quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) ## More Civilisation quotes > [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [In some ways, I lament the introduction of civilisation on such a huge scale, because it has given us a lot of room to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-of-civilisation-on-such-a-huge/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [We are producing urban places which are disjointed and disconnected and not worthy of our civilisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-safdie/we-are-producing-urban-places-which-are-disjointed-and-disconnected/) [Moshe Safdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-safdie/) > [“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/there-is-a-great-deal-of-ruin-in-a-nation/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [The slow rhythm of the body, the insistent rhythm of the wit, were they becoming irreconcilable in modern civilisation? The sedentary life, frustration and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-williamson/the-slow-rhythm-of-the-body-the-insistent-rhythm-of-the-wit-were-they/) [Henry Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-williamson/) > [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It crosses my mind that our generation may leave problems that are simply too hard for human society in the generations that follow. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-garnaut/it-crosses-my-mind-that-our-generation-may-leave-problems-that-are/) [Ross Garnaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-garnaut/) > [“the march of civilisation has given the modern girl a vocabulary and an ability to use it which her grandmother never had”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/the-march-of-civilisation-has-given-the-modern-girl-a-vocabulary-and/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [But the ear, let us not forget, starts operating on the forty-fifth day of the pregnancy of a woman. Seven and a half months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-barenboim/but-the-ear-let-us-not-forget-starts-operating-on-the-forty-fifth-day/) [Daniel Barenboim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-barenboim/) > [I love fashion, beauty, glamour. It's the mark of civilisation,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lachapelle/i-love-fashion-beauty-glamour-it-s-the-mark-of-civilisation/) [David LaChapelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lachapelle/) > [Civilisation is never so charming as when it is an island in the middle of simplicity, or of a civilisation of an alien kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hurrell-mallock/civilisation-is-never-so-charming-as-when-it-is-an-island-in-the/) [William Hurrell Mallock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hurrell-mallock/) > [Western civilisation needs a complete overhaul or it will fall apart one day or another. It has realised the most complete perversion of any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-evola/western-civilisation-needs-a-complete-overhaul-or-it-will-fall-apart/) [Julius Evola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-evola/) > [If the truth be told, we are a society that is dripping in racism. This is not in the least surprising. 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