---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Civilization is not an incurable disease…"
description: "\"Civilization is not an incurable disease, but it should never be forgotten that the English people are at present afflicted by it.\" — Mahatma Gandhi"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/mahatma-gandhi-23_civilization_civilization-is-not-an-incurable-disease_814046.jpg"
---

#  Civilization is not an incurable disease, but it should…

![“Civilization is not an incurable disease, but it should never be forgotten that the English people are at present afflicted by it.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/mahatma-gandhi-23_civilization_civilization-is-not-an-incurable-disease_814046.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/mahatma-gandhi-23_civilization_civilization-is-not-an-incurable-disease_814046.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/mahatma-gandhi-23_civilization_civilization-is-not-an-incurable-disease_814046.jpg)

> “Civilization is not an incurable disease, but it should never be forgotten that the English people are at present afflicted by it.”

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Civilization can be harmful, yet the English are currently affected by it.

**In simple terms:** Civilization can be a disease; England suffers.

Key Takeaway

Reflect on civilization's impact.

Themes

civilization history critique

Mood

critical thoughtful

Type

historical philosophical

When to use this quote

- political discourse
- academic study
- public policy

Key Concepts

social decay colonial legacy

Questions to Reflect On

- Is civilization inherently harmful?
- What specific issues affect England?

A Different Perspective

The statement may overgeneralize.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [English language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/) [English people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-people/) [Incurable disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incurable-disease/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

## Related quotes

> [My motto is "Unite now, today if you can; fight if you must. But in every case avoid British intervention."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-motto-is-unite-now-today-if-you-can-fight-if-you-must-but-in-every/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I claim to have been a lifelong and wholly disinterested friend of the British people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-claim-to-have-been-a-lifelong-and-wholly-disinterested-friend-of/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [The builders of the British Indian Empire have patiently built its four pillars-the European interests, the army, the Indian princes and the communal divisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-builders-of-the-british-indian-empire-have-patiently-built-its/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [That I want to destroy British imperialism is another matter, but I want to do so by converting those who are associated with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/that-i-want-to-destroy-british-imperialism-is-another-matter-but-i/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [The Britisher is the top dog and the Indian the underdog in his own country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-britisher-is-the-top-dog-and-the-indian-the-underdog-in-his-own/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Englishmen must learn to be Brahmins, not banias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/englishmen-must-learn-to-be-brahmins-not-banias/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [When a tiger changes his nature, Englishmen will change theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/when-a-tiger-changes-his-nature-englishmen-will-change-theirs/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [To get rid of the infatuation for English is one of the essentials of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/to-get-rid-of-the-infatuation-for-english-is-one-of-the-essentials-of/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I must fight unto the death the unholy attempt to impose British methods and British institutions on India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-must-fight-unto-the-death-the-unholy-attempt-to-impose-british/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [The Indian struggle is not anti-British, it is anti-exploitation, anti-foreign rule, not anti-foreigners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-indian-struggle-is-not-anti-british-it-is-anti-exploitation-anti/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [My love of the British is equal to that of my own people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-love-of-the-british-is-equal-to-that-of-my-own-people/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Personally I crave not for 'independence', which I do not understand, but I long for freedom from the English yoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/personally-i-crave-not-for-independence-which-i-do-not-understand-but/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [My attitude towards the British is one of utter friendliness and respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-attitude-towards-the-british-is-one-of-utter-friendliness-and/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [The collectors of revenue and the policeman are the only symbols by which millions in India's villages know British rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-collectors-of-revenue-and-the-policeman-are-the-only-symbols-by/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I believe in the capacity of India to offer nonviolent battle to the English rulers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-believe-in-the-capacity-of-india-to-offer-nonviolent-battle-to-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

## More by Mahatma Gandhi

> [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Devotion required by the Gita is no soft-hearted effusiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/devotion-required-by-the-gita-is-no-soft-hearted-effusiveness/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-a-kingdom-or-heaven-what-i-want-is-to-remove-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Religions are not for separating men from one another, they are meant to bind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/religions-are-not-for-separating-men-from-one-another-they-are-meant/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-flesh-food-to-be-unsuited-to-our-species-we-err-in-copying-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“It was only in South Africa that I got over this shyness, though I never completely overcame it. It was impossible for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-was-only-in-south-africa-that-i-got-over-this-shyness-though-i/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“Where there is life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/where-there-is-life/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [If it was wrong to seek God in a stone, how was it right to seek Him in a book called the Gita, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-it-was-wrong-to-seek-god-in-a-stone-how-was-it-right-to-seek-him/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-spirit-of-democracy-cannot-be-established-in-the-midst-of/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, a vison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/champions-are-made-from-something-they-have-deep-inside-of-them-a/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [My motto is "Unite now, today if you can; fight if you must. But in every case avoid British intervention."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-motto-is-unite-now-today-if-you-can-fight-if-you-must-but-in-every/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I have no disciples, being myself an aspirant after discipleship and in search of a guru.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-have-no-disciples-being-myself-an-aspirant-after-discipleship-and/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Man becomes not the lord and master of all creation but he is its servant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/man-becomes-not-the-lord-and-master-of-all-creation-but-he-is-its/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

[Explore all 3,284 Mahatma Gandhi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

## 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 not an incurable disease, but it should never be forgotten that the English people are at present afflicted by it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mahatma Gandhi"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/civilization-is-not-an-incurable-disease-but-it-should-never-be/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Civilization"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/civilization-is-not-an-incurable-disease-but-it-should-never-be/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/mahatma-gandhi-23_civilization_civilization-is-not-an-incurable-disease_814046.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/mahatma-gandhi-23_civilization_civilization-is-not-an-incurable-disease_814046.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/mahatma-gandhi-23_civilization_civilization-is-not-an-incurable-disease_814046.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Civilization is not an incurable disease, but it should never be forgotten that the English people are at…” — Mahatma Gandhi",
                "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": "Mahatma Gandhi",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Civilization is not an incurable disease,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/civilization-is-not-an-incurable-disease-but-it-should-never-be/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/civilization-is-not-an-incurable-disease-but-it-should-never-be/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
