--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This civilization is such that one has…" description: "\"This civilization is such that one has only to be patient and it will be self-destroyed.\" — Mahatma Gandhi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/mahatma-gandhi-23_be-patient_this-civilization-is-such-that-one-has-o_1433247.jpg" --- # This civilization is such that one has only to be patient… ![“This civilization is such that one has only to be patient and it will be self-destroyed.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/mahatma-gandhi-23_be-patient_this-civilization-is-such-that-one-has-o_1433247.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/mahatma-gandhi-23_be-patient_this-civilization-is-such-that-one-has-o_1433247.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/mahatma-gandhi-23_be-patient_this-civilization-is-such-that-one-has-o_1433247.jpg) > “This civilization is such that one has only to be patient and it will be self-destroyed.” [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. Patience can be a passive force that allows oppressive systems to collapse without direct confrontation. **In simple terms:** Patience can erode unjust systems. Key Takeaway Practice patient resistance. Themes politics patience nonviolence change strategy Mood hopeful serene strategic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - civil rights movements - environmental activism - long‑term reforms - community organizing - education campaigns Key Concepts social dynamics power structures historical cycles Questions to Reflect On - When is active intervention necessary? - How does patience complement direct action? A Different Perspective Patience alone may not stop urgent harms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Be patient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-patient/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Patient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-patient-5108674/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroyed/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Patient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patient/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-destroyed-3943776/) ## Related quotes > [“To be self-centered is to be self-destroyed…The preservation of self is the surest path to self-destruction (Crowded to Christ, p. 128).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-maxwell/to-be-self-centered-is-to-be-self-destroyed-the-preservation-of-self/) [L. E. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-maxwell/) > [The cure for impatience with the fulfillment of God's timetable is to believe His promises, obey His will, and leave the results to Him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/the-cure-for-impatience-with-the-fulfillment-of-god-s-timetable-is-to/) [Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/) > [I'd be smiling if I wasn't so desperate. I'd be patient if I had the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeli-sande/i-d-be-smiling-if-i-wasn-t-so-desperate-i-d-be-patient-if-i-had-the/) [Emeli Sande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeli-sande/) > [Our duty is to be patient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-yusuf/our-duty-is-to-be-patient/) [Hamza Yusuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamza-yusuf/) > [But you must be patient and careful; nor should you expect to become an accomplished archer without long and severe training.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-thompson/but-you-must-be-patient-and-careful-nor-should-you-expect-to-become/) [Maurice Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-thompson/) > [Be patient, be diligent. Consistency is the key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mir/be-patient-be-diligent-consistency-is-the-key/) [Frank Mir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mir/) > [In previous years I was so fired up at times I made little mistakes. So I kept telling myself to be patient, relax, play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-cunningham/in-previous-years-i-was-so-fired-up-at-times-i-made-little-mistakes/) [Randall Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-cunningham/) > [Looking deeper into African way of life, it wasn't religious; it was spiritual. When you go into spiritualism, spiritualism will teach you about virtues,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/femi-kuti/looking-deeper-into-african-way-of-life-it-wasn-t-religious-it-was/) [Femi Kuti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/femi-kuti/) > [However, to be a coach I think you have to have a lot of patience. You have to understand what they have going on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-farina/however-to-be-a-coach-i-think-you-have-to-have-a-lot-of-patience-you/) [Robin Farina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-farina/) > [Wait on God and He will work, but don't wait in spiritual sulks because you cannot see an inch in front of you! Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/wait-on-god-and-he-will-work-but-don-t-wait-in-spiritual-sulks/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Those times when you feel like quitting can be times of great opportunity, for God uses your troubles to help you grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-w-wiersbe/those-times-when-you-feel-like-quitting-can-be-times-of-great/) [Warren W. Wiersbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-w-wiersbe/) > [Those type of whites who are always going to jail with Negroes are the ones who tell Negroes to be loving and be kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/those-type-of-whites-who-are-always-going-to-jail-with-negroes-are/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [There is nothing which so certifies the genuineness of a man's faith as his patience and his patient endurance, his keeping on steadily in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-nothing-which-so-certifies-the-genuineness-of-a-man-s-faith/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let me be patient, let me be kind, make me unselfish, without being blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/let-me-be-patient-let-me-be-kind-make-me-unselfish-without-being-blind/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [Don't compare your career to anyone else's. It's tough when you're in a business that's competitive. I was having a difficult time with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-brooks/don-t-compare-your-career-to-anyone-else-s-it-s-tough-when-you-re-in/) [Danielle Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-brooks/) ## 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 Be patient quotes > [MOST TIMES WHEN WE ARE TOO FASTER THAN GOD,WE END UP PAYING OUR TRANSPORT BACK TO WAIT FOR HIM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-iyonawan/most-times-when-we-are-too-faster-than-god-we-end-up-paying-our/) [JEFFERY IYONAWAN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-iyonawan/) > [Good things come to those who hustle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-noll/good-things-come-to-those-who-hustle/) [Chuck Noll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-noll/) > [Don't compare your career to anyone else's. It's tough when you're in a business that's competitive. I was having a difficult time with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-brooks/don-t-compare-your-career-to-anyone-else-s-it-s-tough-when-you-re-in/) [Danielle Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-brooks/) > [Let me be patient, let me be kind, make me unselfish, without being blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/let-me-be-patient-let-me-be-kind-make-me-unselfish-without-being-blind/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [There is nothing which so certifies the genuineness of a man's faith as his patience and his patient endurance, his keeping on steadily in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-nothing-which-so-certifies-the-genuineness-of-a-man-s-faith/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a cup brimful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/if-a-sudden-jar-can-cause-me-to-speak-an-impatient-unloving-word-then/) [Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/) > [Those type of whites who are always going to jail with Negroes are the ones who tell Negroes to be loving and be kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/those-type-of-whites-who-are-always-going-to-jail-with-negroes-are/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Those times when you feel like quitting can be times of great opportunity, for God uses your troubles to help you grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-w-wiersbe/those-times-when-you-feel-like-quitting-can-be-times-of-great/) [Warren W. Wiersbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-w-wiersbe/) > [Wait on God and He will work, but don't wait in spiritual sulks because you cannot see an inch in front of you! Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/wait-on-god-and-he-will-work-but-don-t-wait-in-spiritual-sulks/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [However, to be a coach I think you have to have a lot of patience. You have to understand what they have going on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-farina/however-to-be-a-coach-i-think-you-have-to-have-a-lot-of-patience-you/) [Robin Farina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-farina/) > [(Y) (Y) (Y)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shy-boy/y-y-y/) [SHY BOY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shy-boy/) > [Looking deeper into African way of life, it wasn't religious; it was spiritual. When you go into spiritualism, spiritualism will teach you about virtues,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/femi-kuti/looking-deeper-into-african-way-of-life-it-wasn-t-religious-it-was/) [Femi Kuti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/femi-kuti/) > [In previous years I was so fired up at times I made little mistakes. So I kept telling myself to be patient, relax, play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-cunningham/in-previous-years-i-was-so-fired-up-at-times-i-made-little-mistakes/) [Randall Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-cunningham/) > [Be patient, be diligent. Consistency is the key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mir/be-patient-be-diligent-consistency-is-the-key/) [Frank Mir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mir/) > [But you must be patient and careful; nor should you expect to become an accomplished archer without long and severe training.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-thompson/but-you-must-be-patient-and-careful-nor-should-you-expect-to-become/) [Maurice Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-thompson/) [Browse all 454 Be patient quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-patient/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This civilization is such that one has only to be patient and it will be self-destroyed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mahatma Gandhi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/this-civilization-is-such-that-one-has-only-to-be-patient-and-it-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be patient" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/this-civilization-is-such-that-one-has-only-to-be-patient-and-it-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/mahatma-gandhi-23_be-patient_this-civilization-is-such-that-one-has-o_1433247.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/mahatma-gandhi-23_be-patient_this-civilization-is-such-that-one-has-o_1433247.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fb/mahatma-gandhi-23_be-patient_this-civilization-is-such-that-one-has-o_1433247.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This civilization is such that one has only to be patient and it will be self-destroyed.” — 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": "This civilization is such that one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/this-civilization-is-such-that-one-has-only-to-be-patient-and-it-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/this-civilization-is-such-that-one-has-only-to-be-patient-and-it-will/#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 } } ] } ```