--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s as though not even that most basic…" description: "\"“It’s as though not even that most basic level of imaginative thought had been admitted into consciousness to cause the slightest disturbance. A centur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/philip-roth-681_atrocity_it-s-as-though-not-even-that-most-basic_2354524.jpg" --- # It’s as though not even that most basic level of… ![“It’s as though not even that most basic level of imaginative thought had been admitted into consciousness to cause the slightest disturbance. A century of destruction unlike any other in its extremity befalls and blights the human race—scores of millions of ordinary people condemned to suffer…” quote by Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/philip-roth-681_atrocity_it-s-as-though-not-even-that-most-basic_2354524.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/philip-roth-681_atrocity_it-s-as-though-not-even-that-most-basic_2354524.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/philip-roth-681_atrocity_it-s-as-though-not-even-that-most-basic_2354524.jpg) > ““It’s as though not even that most basic level of imaginative thought had been admitted into consciousness to cause the slightest disturbance. A century of destruction unlike any other in its extremity befalls and blights the human race—scores of millions of ordinary people condemned to suffer deprivation upon deprivation, atrocity upon atrocity, evil upon evil, half the world or more subjected to pathological sadism as social policy, whole societies organized and fettered by the fear of violent persecution, the degradation of individual life engineered on a scale unknown throughout human history, nations broken and enslaved by ideological criminals who rob them of everything, entire populations so demoralized as to be unable to get out of bed in the morning with the minutest desire to face the day . . . all the terrible touchstones presented by this century, and here they are up in arms about Faunia Farley.”” [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote depicts a century of overwhelming suffering and moral collapse, suggesting humanity has become numb to imagination and horror. **In simple terms:** Humanity is overwhelmed by endless cruelty and loss of imagination. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront societal horrors. Themes war human suffering morality politics psychology Mood somber critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - war reporting - human rights advocacy - mental health support - educational curricula - policy reform Key Concepts nihilism collective trauma desensitization Questions to Reflect On - How does desensitization affect societal response? - What can restore imagination in public discourse? A Different Perspective The description may overgeneralize complex historical events and ignore resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atrocity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrocity/) [Atrocity Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrocity-evil-5744287/) [Deprivation Atrocity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deprivation-atrocity-5744286/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Individual life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Violent Persecution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent-persecution-5744288/) [World Subjected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-subjected-236579/) ## Related quotes > [We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rockefeller/we-are-grateful-to-the-washington-post-the-new-york-times-time/) [David Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rockefeller/) > [“Beauty does not last in a world subjected to change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-song/beauty-does-not-last-in-a-world-subjected-to-change/) [Alan Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-song/) > [We bear witness to the worst of human brutality, retweet what we have witnessed, and then we move on to the next atrocity. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/we-bear-witness-to-the-worst-of-human-brutality-retweet-what-we-have/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [After all this atrocity, this is how human beings really pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-novogratz/after-all-this-atrocity-this-is-how-human-beings-really-pray/) [Jacqueline Novogratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-novogratz/) > [It is in our nature to enjoy atrocity so long as it continues to shock and remains comfortably removed from our own lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-marantz-cohen/it-is-in-our-nature-to-enjoy-atrocity-so-long-as-it-continues-to/) [Paula Marantz Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-marantz-cohen/) > [Atrocity never balances or rectifies the past. Atrocity merely arms the future for more atrocity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/atrocity-never-balances-or-rectifies-the-past-atrocity-merely-arms/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [The biggest atrocity of all is to indoctrinate our children into a system that does not value their creative expression, nor encourage their unique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-greene/the-biggest-atrocity-of-all-is-to-indoctrinate-our-children-into-a/) [Benjamin Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-greene/) > [“Is it not fear that drives atrocity? It is natural enough to hate our enemies. Of course it is. How could anybody kill another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebsworth/is-it-not-fear-that-drives-atrocity-it-is-natural-enough-to-hate-our/) [David Ebsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebsworth/) > [“I am the center of an atrocity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-am-the-center-of-an-atrocity/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The character of Moses, as stated in the Bible, is the most horrid that can be imagined. If those accounts be true, he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-character-of-moses-as-stated-in-the-bible-is-the-most-horrid-that/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“He wondered at the atrocities human kind was capable of committing. The majority of those housed below were ill, mentally or physically, not witches.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brynn-chapman/he-wondered-at-the-atrocities-human-kind-was-capable-of-committing/) [Brynn Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brynn-chapman/) > [Fanatics can justify practically any atrocity to themselves. The more untenable their position becomes, the harder they hold to it, and the worse the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-lackey/fanatics-can-justify-practically-any-atrocity-to-themselves-the-more/) [Mercedes Lackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-lackey/) > [“Holocaust Theatre (Naskaristana 2799) Most social issues are rooted in religion, most religious issues are rooted in politics, most political issues are vestiges of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/holocaust-theatre-naskaristana-2799-most-social-issues-are-rooted-in/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Many people do simply awful things out of sincere religious belief, not using religion as a cover the way that Saddam Hussein may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/many-people-do-simply-awful-things-out-of-sincere-religious-belief/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [ “...he was telling me that our \[country's\] blood-soaked and atrocity-littered past was important but that the future didn't have to be its slave.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-moore/he-was-telling-me-that-our-country-s-blood-soaked-and-atrocity/) [Wes Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-moore/) ## More by Philip Roth > [“The old intergenerational give-and-take of the country-that-used-to-be, when everyone knew his role and took the rules dead seriously, the acculturating back-and-forth that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-old-intergenerational-give-and-take-of-the-country-that-used-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [You be greater than your feelings. I don't demand this of you - life does. Otherwise you'll be washed away by feelings. You'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-be-greater-than-your-feelings-i-don-t-demand-this-of-you-life/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Nothing bad can happen to a writer. Everything is material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/nothing-bad-can-happen-to-a-writer-everything-is-material/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [To become a celebrity is to become a brand name. There is Ivory Soap, Rice Krispies, and Philip Roth. Ivory is the soap that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/to-become-a-celebrity-is-to-become-a-brand-name-there-is-ivory-soap/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“There are no reasons. She is obliged to be as she is. We all are. Reasons are in books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/there-are-no-reasons-she-is-obliged-to-be-as-she-is-we-all-are/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“As far as I can see there is no conquering or exorcising the past with words - words born either of imagination or forthrightness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/as-far-as-i-can-see-there-is-no-conquering-or-exorcising-the-past/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The book really comes to life in the rewriting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-book-really-comes-to-life-in-the-rewriting/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Good Christ, a Jewish man with parents alive is a fifteen-year-old boy, and will remain a fifteen-year-old boy till they die!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/good-christ-a-jewish-man-with-parents-alive-is-a-fifteen-year-old-boy/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [I am the Raskolnikov of jerking off – the sticky evidence is everywhere!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/i-am-the-raskolnikov-of-jerking-off-the-sticky-evidence-is-everywhere/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Better for real things to be uncontrollable, better for one's life to be undecipherable and intellectually impenetrable than to attempt to make casual sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/better-for-real-things-to-be-uncontrollable-better-for-one-s-life-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Doctor Spielvogel, it alleviates nothing fixing the blame - blaming is still ailing, of course, of course - but nonetheless, what was it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/doctor-spielvogel-it-alleviates-nothing-fixing-the-blame-blaming-is/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [My God! The English language is a form of communication! Conversation isn't just crossfire where you shoot and get shot at! Where you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/my-god-the-english-language-is-a-form-of-communication-conversation/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [You asked if I thought my fiction had changed anything in the culture and the answer is no. Sure, there's been some scandal, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-asked-if-i-thought-my-fiction-had-changed-anything-in-the-culture/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) [Explore all 388 Philip Roth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## More Atrocity quotes > [ “...he was telling me that our \[country's\] blood-soaked and atrocity-littered past was important but that the future didn't have to be its slave.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-moore/he-was-telling-me-that-our-country-s-blood-soaked-and-atrocity/) [Wes Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-moore/) > [“Many people do simply awful things out of sincere religious belief, not using religion as a cover the way that Saddam Hussein may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/many-people-do-simply-awful-things-out-of-sincere-religious-belief/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [“Holocaust Theatre (Naskaristana 2799) Most social issues are rooted in religion, most religious issues are rooted in politics, most political issues are vestiges of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/holocaust-theatre-naskaristana-2799-most-social-issues-are-rooted-in/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Fanatics can justify practically any atrocity to themselves. The more untenable their position becomes, the harder they hold to it, and the worse the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-lackey/fanatics-can-justify-practically-any-atrocity-to-themselves-the-more/) [Mercedes Lackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-lackey/) > [“He wondered at the atrocities human kind was capable of committing. The majority of those housed below were ill, mentally or physically, not witches.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brynn-chapman/he-wondered-at-the-atrocities-human-kind-was-capable-of-committing/) [Brynn Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brynn-chapman/) > [“The character of Moses, as stated in the Bible, is the most horrid that can be imagined. If those accounts be true, he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-character-of-moses-as-stated-in-the-bible-is-the-most-horrid-that/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“I am the center of an atrocity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-am-the-center-of-an-atrocity/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Is it not fear that drives atrocity? It is natural enough to hate our enemies. Of course it is. How could anybody kill another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ebsworth/is-it-not-fear-that-drives-atrocity-it-is-natural-enough-to-hate-our/) [David Ebsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ebsworth/) > [The biggest atrocity of all is to indoctrinate our children into a system that does not value their creative expression, nor encourage their unique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-greene/the-biggest-atrocity-of-all-is-to-indoctrinate-our-children-into-a/) [Benjamin Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-greene/) > [Atrocity never balances or rectifies the past. Atrocity merely arms the future for more atrocity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/atrocity-never-balances-or-rectifies-the-past-atrocity-merely-arms/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [It is in our nature to enjoy atrocity so long as it continues to shock and remains comfortably removed from our own lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-marantz-cohen/it-is-in-our-nature-to-enjoy-atrocity-so-long-as-it-continues-to/) [Paula Marantz Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-marantz-cohen/) > [After all this atrocity, this is how human beings really pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-novogratz/after-all-this-atrocity-this-is-how-human-beings-really-pray/) [Jacqueline Novogratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-novogratz/) > [We bear witness to the worst of human brutality, retweet what we have witnessed, and then we move on to the next atrocity. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/we-bear-witness-to-the-worst-of-human-brutality-retweet-what-we-have/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“In October 1944, after more than two years of butchery between the Germans and the Soviets, the Red Army finally crossed the frontier onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-lowe/in-october-1944-after-more-than-two-years-of-butchery-between-the/) [Keith Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-lowe/) > [“Man cannot do without feelings, but the moment they are considered values in themselves, criteria of truth, justifications for kinds of behavior, they become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/man-cannot-do-without-feelings-but-the-moment-they-are-considered/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) [Browse all 66 Atrocity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrocity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It’s as though not even that most basic level of imaginative thought had been admitted into consciousness to cause the slightest disturbance. A century of destruction unlike any other in its extremity befalls and blights the human race—scores of millions of ordinary people condemned to suffer deprivation upon deprivation, atrocity upon atrocity, evil upon evil, half the world or more subjected to pathological sadism as social policy, whole societies organized and fettered by the fear of violent persecution, the degradation of individual life engineered on a scale unknown throughout human history, nations broken and enslaved by ideological criminals who rob them of everything, entire populations so demoralized as to be unable to get out of bed in the morning with the minutest desire to face the day . . . all the terrible touchstones presented by this century, and here they are up in arms about Faunia Farley.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Roth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/it-s-as-though-not-even-that-most-basic-level-of-imaginative-thought/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atrocity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/it-s-as-though-not-even-that-most-basic-level-of-imaginative-thought/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/philip-roth-681_atrocity_it-s-as-though-not-even-that-most-basic_2354524.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/philip-roth-681_atrocity_it-s-as-though-not-even-that-most-basic_2354524.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/philip-roth-681_atrocity_it-s-as-though-not-even-that-most-basic_2354524.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It’s as though not even that most basic level of imaginative thought had been admitted into consciousness to…” — Philip Roth", "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": "Philip Roth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It’s as though not even that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/it-s-as-though-not-even-that-most-basic-level-of-imaginative-thought/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/it-s-as-though-not-even-that-most-basic-level-of-imaginative-thought/#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 } } ] } ```