--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Civilization is a thin veil over our…" description: "\"“Civilization is a thin veil over our savage selves, easily lifted by some for personal glorification.”\" — Lilo Abernathy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/lilo-abernathy-36281_culture_civilization-is-a-thin-veil-over-our-sav_1913655.jpg" --- # Civilization is a thin veil over our savage selves, easily… ![“Civilization is a thin veil over our savage selves, easily lifted by some for personal glorification.” quote by Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/lilo-abernathy-36281_culture_civilization-is-a-thin-veil-over-our-sav_1913655.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/lilo-abernathy-36281_culture_civilization-is-a-thin-veil-over-our-sav_1913655.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/lilo-abernathy-36281_culture_civilization-is-a-thin-veil-over-our-sav_1913655.jpg) > ““Civilization is a thin veil over our savage selves, easily lifted by some for personal glorification.”” [Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Civilization merely masks our primal instincts, which can be exploited for personal gain. **In simple terms:** Society hides our wild nature, which can be misused. Key Takeaway Beware of hidden motives. Themes civilization human nature ethics Mood critical cautionary Type essay philosophical When to use this quote - political campaigns - corporate branding - personal relationships Key Concepts psychology of power social masks Questions to Reflect On - What masks do you see in daily life? - How can you stay authentic? A Different Perspective Not all masks are intentional. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Veil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-veil-2896744/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Glorification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glorification/) [Personal Glorification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-glorification-2896745/) [Savage Selves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savage-selves-2896746/) [Veil Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/veil-savage-2896747/) ## Related quotes > [War with all its glorification of brute force is essentially a degrading thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/war-with-all-its-glorification-of-brute-force-is-essentially-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [And as long as man has walked on this Earth, there has been God. And man's purpose is for the glorification of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamey-johnson/and-as-long-as-man-has-walked-on-this-earth-there-has-been-god-and/) [Jamey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamey-johnson/) > [Nothing disturbs me more than the glorification of stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/nothing-disturbs-me-more-than-the-glorification-of-stupidity/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Pride takes innumerable forms but has only one end: self-glorification. That’s the motive and ultimate purpose of pride—to rob God of legitimate glory and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-mahaney/pride-takes-innumerable-forms-but-has-only-one-end-self-glorification/) [C. J. Mahaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-mahaney/) > [“The glorification of God in heaven brings unspeakable, eternal, uninterrupted joy. Jesus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul-2/the-glorification-of-god-in-heaven-brings-unspeakable-eternal/) [R.C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul-2/) > [That opinion, which supposes personal sanctification to be unnecessary to final glorification, stands in direct opposition to every dictate of reason, to every declaration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-toplady/that-opinion-which-supposes-personal-sanctification-to-be-unnecessary/) [Augustus Toplady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-toplady/) > ['The Godfather' was the glorification of a bunch of bums who never existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/the-godfather-was-the-glorification-of-a-bunch-of-bums-who-never/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [The dangerous glorification of the nation state, and the baiting of minorities that goes along with it, releases an anti-democratic energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/the-dangerous-glorification-of-the-nation-state-and-the-baiting-of/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [I think it makes small difference to the dead, if they are buried in the tokens of luxury. All that is an empty glorification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/i-think-it-makes-small-difference-to-the-dead-if-they-are-buried-in/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“Self glorification makes life hungry & empty. Glorifying God (giving back all glory to God) fulfills it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indonesia123/self-glorification-makes-life-hungry-empty-glorifying-god-giving-back/) [indonesia123](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indonesia123/) > [Continuously, we have to fight to defeat the primitive tendency towards the glorification of arms, the adulation of force, born of the illusion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/continuously-we-have-to-fight-to-defeat-the-primitive-tendency/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“To give up faith in Christ is to give up faith in humanity; to believe in Christ is to believe in the redemption and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-give-up-faith-in-christ-is-to-give-up-faith-in-humanity-to-believe/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I may be wrong, but it seems rare in our age to find a widely praised person whose own mouth is not the source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/i-may-be-wrong-but-it-seems-rare-in-our-age-to-find-a-widely-praised/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [Since violence is largely a male pastime, cultures that empower women tend to move away from the glorification of violence and are less likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/since-violence-is-largely-a-male-pastime-cultures-that-empower-women/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [God defend me from being an honest man according to the description which every day I see made by each man to his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/god-defend-me-from-being-an-honest-man-according-to-the-description/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## More by Lilo Abernathy > [“I walk the path of light. I will not divert. You walk the path of darkness. You will not understand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/i-walk-the-path-of-light-i-will-not-divert-you-walk-the-path-of/) [Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) > [“Due to the nature of the prejudice that permeates our society, I am not new to hate rhetoric. Still, it hurts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/due-to-the-nature-of-the-prejudice-that-permeates-our-society-i-am/) [Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) > [“You are only responsible for your own actions, and what you do today speaks to who you are now, not what your people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/you-are-only-responsible-for-your-own-actions-and-what-you-do-today/) [Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) > [“This is no loving kiss or asking kiss. This is a claiming kiss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/this-is-no-loving-kiss-or-asking-kiss-this-is-a-claiming-kiss/) [Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) > [“You have a chance at the rest of your life. And you need to decide how to use it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/you-have-a-chance-at-the-rest-of-your-life-and-you-need-to-decide-how/) [Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) > [“The kids who are taught to hate early rarely have enough strength to break away from a family culture of hatred.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/the-kids-who-are-taught-to-hate-early-rarely-have-enough-strength-to/) [Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) > [“I don't have time to defend my pride today, so I just keep my chin up and proceed with strong strides.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/i-don-t-have-time-to-defend-my-pride-today-so-i-just-keep-my-chin-up/) [Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) > [“The Paco's Loco Tacos sign on my right lures me in. Not for the first time, I wonder if the tacos are crazy, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/the-paco-s-loco-tacos-sign-on-my-right-lures-me-in-not-for-the-first/) [Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) > [“I feel the grief and pain of everyone on this dark night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/i-feel-the-grief-and-pain-of-everyone-on-this-dark-night/) [Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) > [“We spend all our time trying to protect these people, and half of them hate us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/we-spend-all-our-time-trying-to-protect-these-people-and-half-of-them/) [Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) > [“It's fear that drives them this night, and no proclamations of innocence or fond memories will help me now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/it-s-fear-that-drives-them-this-night-and-no-proclamations-of/) [Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) > [“The eternal wave of hate never stops.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/the-eternal-wave-of-hate-never-stops/) [Lilo Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) [Explore all 13 Lilo Abernathy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/) ## 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 a thin veil over our savage selves, easily lifted by some for personal glorification.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lilo Abernathy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/civilization-is-a-thin-veil-over-our-savage-selves-easily-lifted-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilization" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/civilization-is-a-thin-veil-over-our-savage-selves-easily-lifted-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/lilo-abernathy-36281_culture_civilization-is-a-thin-veil-over-our-sav_1913655.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/lilo-abernathy-36281_culture_civilization-is-a-thin-veil-over-our-sav_1913655.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/lilo-abernathy-36281_culture_civilization-is-a-thin-veil-over-our-sav_1913655.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Civilization is a thin veil over our savage selves, easily lifted by some for personal glorification.” — Lilo Abernathy", "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": "Lilo Abernathy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilo-abernathy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Civilization is a thin veil over...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/civilization-is-a-thin-veil-over-our-savage-selves-easily-lifted-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilo-abernathy/civilization-is-a-thin-veil-over-our-savage-selves-easily-lifted-by/#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 } } ] } ```