--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For thousands of years it has been…" description: "\"For thousands of years it has been understood that, just as civilizations have to come to an end, there can even be times of global extinctions. But al..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/peter-kingsley-71457_civilization_for-thousands-of-years-it-has-been-under_1068375.jpg" --- # For thousands of years it has been understood that, just… ![“For thousands of years it has been understood that, just as civilizations have to come to an end, there can even be times of global extinctions. But always there are people who know how to gather the essence of life and hold it safely, protect it and nurture it until the next seeding.” quote by Peter Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/peter-kingsley-71457_civilization_for-thousands-of-years-it-has-been-under_1068375.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/peter-kingsley-71457_civilization_for-thousands-of-years-it-has-been-under_1068375.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/peter-kingsley-71457_civilization_for-thousands-of-years-it-has-been-under_1068375.jpg) > “For thousands of years it has been understood that, just as civilizations have to come to an end, there can even be times of global extinctions. But always there are people who know how to gather the essence of life and hold it safely, protect it and nurture it until the next seeding.” [Peter Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kingsley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Civilizations end, but some preserve life's essence to seed future rebirths. **In simple terms:** People safeguard life's core for future generations. Key Takeaway Preserve and nurture essential knowledge. Themes preservation continuity rebirth Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - archaeology - education - environmental stewardship - policy making Key Concepts civilizational cycles cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - How can we identify what to preserve? - What mechanisms ensure safe transmission? A Different Perspective Preserving essence may be limited by loss of context or technology. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilizations Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilizations-come-2647769/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Essence of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence-of-life/) [Extinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction/) [Extinctions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinctions-588625/) [Extinctions People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinctions-people-2647765/) [Gather Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gather-essence-2647771/) [Global Extinctions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global-extinctions-2647767/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Know how](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-how/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Nurture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nurture/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [It saddens me that in the 21st century, with all our knowledge and power, we are hearing more and more stories of possible extinctions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gisele-bundchen/it-saddens-me-that-in-the-21st-century-with-all-our-knowledge-and/) [Gisele Bundchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gisele-bundchen/) > [Civilizations have come and gone and, in spite of our vaunted progress, I am tempted to ask again and again, 'To what purpose?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/civilizations-have-come-and-gone-and-in-spite-of-our-vaunted-progress/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Civilizations come and go; they conquer the earth and crumble into dust; but faith survives every desolation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/civilizations-come-and-go-they-conquer-the-earth-and-crumble-into/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“But for now it’s goodbye to the beaches, and indeed many a celebrated island of yore now lies deep under the waves. An entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/but-for-now-it-s-goodbye-to-the-beaches-and-indeed-many-a-celebrated/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [It's hard not to be kind of pessimistic about human beings generally, because we do tend to mess things up. If you just look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/it-s-hard-not-to-be-kind-of-pessimistic-about-human-beings-generally/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“The First Wave Extinction, which accompanied the spread of the foragers, was followed by the Second Wave Extinction, which accompanied the spread of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-first-wave-extinction-which-accompanied-the-spread-of-the/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Don’t believe tree-huggers who claim that our ancestors lived in harmony with nature. Long before the Industrial Revolution, Homo sapiens held the record among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/don-t-believe-tree-huggers-who-claim-that-our-ancestors-lived-in/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Recent studies funded by Britain’s Natural Environment Research Council provide support for those concerns. (Thomas, et al, 2004; Stevens, et al, 2004) While there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-h-lipton/recent-studies-funded-by-britain-s-natural-environment-research/) [Bruce H. Lipton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-h-lipton/) > [“In ordinary times—times here understood to mean whole geologic epochs—extinction takes place only very rarely, more rarely even than speciation, and it occurs at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/in-ordinary-times-times-here-understood-to-mean-whole-geologic-epochs/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“The romantic contrast between modern industry that “destroys nature” and our ancestors who “lived in harmony with nature” is groundless. Long before the Industrial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-romantic-contrast-between-modern-industry-that-destroys-nature/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Intent on their small extinctions, they are ignorant of the greater death going on all around them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-haley/intent-on-their-small-extinctions-they-are-ignorant-of-the-greater/) [Guy Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-haley/) > [The more we heat up the planet, the more it costs all of us, not just in money, but in colossal famines, displacements, deaths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/the-more-we-heat-up-the-planet-the-more-it-costs-all-of-us-not-just/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [ “It’s\] pretty clear that times of high carbon dioxide—and especially times when carbon dioxide levels rapidly rose—coincided with the mass extinctions,” writes University of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-brannen/it-s-pretty-clear-that-times-of-high-carbon-dioxide-and-especially/) [Peter Brannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-brannen/) > [The extinctions ongoing worldwide promise to be at least as great as the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the age of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-extinctions-ongoing-worldwide-promise-to-be-at-least-as-great-as/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Often extinctions in the ocean occur at the same time as those on land. Then again, the ice age extinctions lost many big animals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-bakker/often-extinctions-in-the-ocean-occur-at-the-same-time-as-those-on/) [Robert T. Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-bakker/) ## More by Peter Kingsley > [If we really face our sadness, we find it speaks with the voice of our deepest longing. And if we face it a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kingsley/if-we-really-face-our-sadness-we-find-it-speaks-with-the-voice-of-our/) [Peter Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kingsley/) > [Learning about ourselves is rather inconvenient because it turns the world we live in upside down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kingsley/learning-about-ourselves-is-rather-inconvenient-because-it-turns-the/) [Peter Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kingsley/) > [“Rationality is simply mysticism misunderstood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kingsley/rationality-is-simply-mysticism-misunderstood/) [Peter Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kingsley/) [Explore all 4 Peter Kingsley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kingsley/) ## 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": "For thousands of years it has been understood that, just as civilizations have to come to an end, there can even be times of global extinctions. But always there are people who know how to gather the essence of life and hold it safely, protect it and nurture it until the next seeding.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Kingsley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kingsley/for-thousands-of-years-it-has-been-understood-that-just-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilization" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kingsley/for-thousands-of-years-it-has-been-understood-that-just-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/peter-kingsley-71457_civilization_for-thousands-of-years-it-has-been-under_1068375.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/peter-kingsley-71457_civilization_for-thousands-of-years-it-has-been-under_1068375.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/peter-kingsley-71457_civilization_for-thousands-of-years-it-has-been-under_1068375.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For thousands of years it has been understood that, just as civilizations have to come to an end, there can…” — Peter Kingsley", "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": "Peter Kingsley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kingsley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For thousands of years it has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kingsley/for-thousands-of-years-it-has-been-understood-that-just-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kingsley/for-thousands-of-years-it-has-been-understood-that-just-as/#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 } } ] } ```