--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Knowledge and power in the city; peace…" description: "\"Knowledge and power in the city; peace and decency in the country.\" — Mason Cooley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mason-cooley-92_cities_knowledge-and-power-in-the-city-peace-an_3024078.png" --- # Knowledge and power in the city; peace and decency in the… ![“Knowledge and power in the city; peace and decency in the country.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mason-cooley-92_cities_knowledge-and-power-in-the-city-peace-an_3024078.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mason-cooley-92_cities_knowledge-and-power-in-the-city-peace-an_3024078.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mason-cooley-92_cities_knowledge-and-power-in-the-city-peace-an_3024078.png) > “Knowledge and power in the city; peace and decency in the country.” [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cities demand knowledge and power; countryside values peace and decency. **In simple terms:** Urban life needs intellect and authority; rural life needs harmony. Key Takeaway Respect both environments' strengths. Themes society urban vs rural values Mood thoughtful balanced Type sociopolitical reflective When to use this quote - city planning - agricultural policy - education reform Key Concepts political power community ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can urban and rural values complement each other? - What policies bridge these differences? A Different Perspective Oversimplifies complex social dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Country life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country-life/) [Decency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decency/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knowledge and power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-and-power/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [It's a sad Christmas this year because of the absence of peace in the city or peace and joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-a-sad-christmas-this-year-because-of-the-absence-of-peace-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We cannot bring peace in our city, when there is no peace in our homes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/we-cannot-bring-peace-in-our-city-when-there-is-no-peace-in-our-homes/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Seven decades after it was struck by an atom bomb, Hiroshima is a city of peace and hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fumio-kishida/seven-decades-after-it-was-struck-by-an-atom-bomb-hiroshima-is-a-city/) [Fumio Kishida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fumio-kishida/) > [I would have things as they were in all the days of my life, and in the days of my longfathers before me: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/i-would-have-things-as-they-were-in-all-the-days-of-my-life-and-in-2/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [I hope the snow covers everything so all the footsteps are silenced, and the whole city can be at peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/i-hope-the-snow-covers-everything-so-all-the-footsteps-are-silenced/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [“She saw the London of the future. Not the vision popular just then: a soaring whirl of machinery in motion, of moving pavements and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/she-saw-the-london-of-the-future-not-the-vision-popular-just-then-a/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [In the rest of Nirvana all sorrows surcease: Only Buddha can guide to that city of Peace Whose inhabitants have the eternal release.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rounseville-alger/in-the-rest-of-nirvana-all-sorrows-surcease-only-buddha-can-guide-to/) [William Rounseville Alger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rounseville-alger/) > [Once wealth and beauty are gone, there is always rural life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/once-wealth-and-beauty-are-gone-there-is-always-rural-life/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [City people make most of the fuss about the charms of country life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/city-people-make-most-of-the-fuss-about-the-charms-of-country-life/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“THE SHADOWS Table of Contents Old Ralph Rinkelmann made his living by comic sketches, and all but lost it again by tragic poems. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/the-shadows-table-of-contents-old-ralph-rinkelmann-made-his-living-by/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Each of the seven chakras references different dimensional planes. It is a turnstile that leads us into different dimensions. As the kundalini rises, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/each-of-the-seven-chakras-references-different-dimensional-planes-it/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Some say knowledge is power, but that is not true. Character is power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/some-say-knowledge-is-power-but-that-is-not-true-character-is-power/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [Occupy yourself with what's in your life now. Address those situations and subjects as fully as possible with your best efforts. That is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/occupy-yourself-with-what-s-in-your-life-now-address-those-situations/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A person of knowledge and power never goes out looking for battles. All their battles are within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-person-of-knowledge-and-power-never-goes-out-looking-for-battles/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [According to Jains the soul in pure form has infiniteness in terms of its knowledge and power. These faculties are obstructed for its exhibition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virchand-gandhi/according-to-jains-the-soul-in-pure-form-has-infiniteness-in-terms-of/) [Virchand Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virchand-gandhi/) ## More by Mason Cooley > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-fickle-are-faithful-to-a-few-bad-habits/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Experience teaches us, but we scarcely know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/experience-teaches-us-but-we-scarcely-know-what/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The body has a mind of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-body-has-a-mind-of-its-own/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [My intentions go one way, my desires another. Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) [Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More Cities quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) James Cross Giblin > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-will-neglect-our-cities-to-our-peril-for-in-neglecting-them-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. I was so excited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-didn-t-know-the-city-at-all-but-i-was-so-happy-to-be-in-new-york-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [Outside of Paris, there is no hope for the cultured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/outside-of-paris-there-is-no-hope-for-the-cultured/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/vienna-is-a-handsome-lively-city-and-pleases-me-exceedingly/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [“We have grace of strength to work, to clear our cities of any dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-have-grace-of-strength-to-work-to-clear-our-cities-of-any-dirt/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Knowledge and power in the city; peace and decency in the country.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mason Cooley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/knowledge-and-power-in-the-city-peace-and-decency-in-the-country/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/knowledge-and-power-in-the-city-peace-and-decency-in-the-country/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mason-cooley-92_cities_knowledge-and-power-in-the-city-peace-an_3024078.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mason-cooley-92_cities_knowledge-and-power-in-the-city-peace-an_3024078.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/mason-cooley-92_cities_knowledge-and-power-in-the-city-peace-an_3024078.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Knowledge and power in the city; peace and decency in the country.” — Mason Cooley", "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": "Mason Cooley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Knowledge and power in the city;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/knowledge-and-power-in-the-city-peace-and-decency-in-the-country/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/knowledge-and-power-in-the-city-peace-and-decency-in-the-country/#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 } } ] } ```