--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are not truly civilized if we concern…" description: "\"We are not truly civilized if we concern ourselves only with the relation of man to man. What is important is the relation of man to all life.\" — Rache..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/rachel-carson-2645_civilized_we-are-not-truly-civilized-if-we-concern_2101913.png" --- # We are not truly civilized if we concern ourselves only… ![“We are not truly civilized if we concern ourselves only with the relation of man to man. What is important is the relation of man to all life.” quote by Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/rachel-carson-2645_civilized_we-are-not-truly-civilized-if-we-concern_2101913.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/rachel-carson-2645_civilized_we-are-not-truly-civilized-if-we-concern_2101913.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/rachel-carson-2645_civilized_we-are-not-truly-civilized-if-we-concern_2101913.png) > “We are not truly civilized if we concern ourselves only with the relation of man to man. What is important is the relation of man to all life.” [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True civilization requires caring for all life, not just human relationships. **In simple terms:** Care for all life, not just humans. Key Takeaway Expand empathy beyond humanity. Themes environment ethics interconnectedness Mood thoughtful inspired Type philosophical environmental When to use this quote - conservation policy - education curricula - community projects Key Concepts biosphere moral responsibility sustainability Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance human and non‑human interests? - What actions promote planetary stewardship? A Different Perspective Human needs often dominate ethical discussions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Man To Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-to-man/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) ## Related quotes > [“...Calvinism has a sharply-defined starting-point of its own for the three fundamental relations of all human existence: viz., our relation to God, to man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/calvinism-has-a-sharply-defined-starting-point-of-its-own-for-the/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Trust is most important part in every relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumit-rohilla/trust-is-most-important-part-in-every-relation/) [Sumit Rohilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumit-rohilla/) > [The Supreme Court has said that: Marriage is the most important relation in life. Now that's being withheld from the plaintiffs. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-olson/the-supreme-court-has-said-that-marriage-is-the-most-important/) [Ted Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-olson/) > [Perhaps only when people can enjoy their differences as a resource of cultural enrichment do they become truly civilized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kawainui-kane/perhaps-only-when-people-can-enjoy-their-differences-as-a-resource-of/) Herb Kawainui Kane > [“A truly civilized society establishes the values and morals which distinguish human beings from animals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hatem-a-aly/a-truly-civilized-society-establishes-the-values-and-morals-which/) Hatem A. Aly > [“The mark of the truly civilized is their (truly baffling to the likes of you and me) patience with what truly baffles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/the-mark-of-the-truly-civilized-is-their-truly-baffling-to-the-likes/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on 'I am not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-truly-civilized-man-is-always-skeptical-and-tolerant-in-this/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-more-uncivilized-the-man-the-surer-he-is-that-he-knows-precisely/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Civilization is only possible for deeply unpleasant animals. It is only an ape that can be truly civilized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rowlands/civilization-is-only-possible-for-deeply-unpleasant-animals-it-is/) [Mark Rowlands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rowlands/) > [The truly civilized man has no enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fletcher-dole/the-truly-civilized-man-has-no-enemies/) [Charles Fletcher Dole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fletcher-dole/) > [Protecting the weak is the first step to enlightenment and being truly civilized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-yourofsky/protecting-the-weak-is-the-first-step-to-enlightenment-and-being/) [Gary Yourofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-yourofsky/) > [“Civilized people must, I believe, satisfy the following criteria: 1) They respect human beings as individuals and are therefore always tolerant, gentle, courteous and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/civilized-people-must-i-believe-satisfy-the-following-criteria-1-they/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [The mark of a truly civilized man is confidence in the strength and security derived from the inquiring mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/the-mark-of-a-truly-civilized-man-is-confidence-in-the-strength-and/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [“Good sex is the basis of any truly civilized society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-a-waters/good-sex-is-the-basis-of-any-truly-civilized-society/) Gil A. Waters > [The greatest delight the fields and woods minister is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable. I am not alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-greatest-delight-the-fields-and-woods-minister-is-the-suggestion/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Rachel Carson > [It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/it-was-a-spring-without-voices-on-the-mornings-that-had-once-throbbed/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [When we go down to the low-tide line, we enter a world that is as old as the earth itself - the primeval meeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/when-we-go-down-to-the-low-tide-line-we-enter-a-world-that-is-as-old/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/there-is-no-drop-of-water-in-the-ocean-not-even-in-the-deepest-parts/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [The control of nature is a phrase conceived in arrogance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/the-control-of-nature-is-a-phrase-conceived-in-arrogance/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Wonder and humility are wholesome emotions and they do not exist side by side with a lust for destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/wonder-and-humility-are-wholesome-emotions-and-they-do-not-exist-side/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Only within the 20th Century has biological thought been focused on ecology, or the relation of the living creature to its environment. Awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/only-within-the-20th-century-has-biological-thought-been-focused-on/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [It is not half so important to know as to feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/it-is-not-half-so-important-to-know-as-to-feel/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [The Choice, after all, is ours to make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/the-choice-after-all-is-ours-to-make/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Now I truly believe that we in this generation must come to terms with nature, and I think we're challenged, as mankind has never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/now-i-truly-believe-that-we-in-this-generation-must-come-to-terms/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Any concept of biology is not only sterile and profitless, it is distorted and untrue, if it puts its primary focus on unnatural conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/any-concept-of-biology-is-not-only-sterile-and-profitless-it-is/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Autumn comes to the sea with a fresh blaze of phosphorescence, when every wave crest is aflame. Here and there the whole surface may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/autumn-comes-to-the-sea-with-a-fresh-blaze-of-phosphorescence-when/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“The sea is blue because the sunlight is reflected back to our eyes from the water molecules or from very minute particles suspended in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/the-sea-is-blue-because-the-sunlight-is-reflected-back-to-our-eyes/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/if-i-had-influence-with-the-good-fairy-who-is-supposed-to-preside/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Over increasingly large areas of the United States, spring now comes unheralded by the return of the birds, and the early mornings are strangely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/over-increasingly-large-areas-of-the-united-states-spring-now-comes/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [I like to define biology as the history of the earth and all its life - past, present, and future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/i-like-to-define-biology-as-the-history-of-the-earth-and-all-its-life/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) [Explore all 156 Rachel Carson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) ## More Civilized quotes > [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [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/) > [Civilized nations are ones that simply can't endure wrongs or injustice except at home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-anderson/civilized-nations-are-ones-that-simply-can-t-endure-wrongs-or/) Joseph Anderson > [Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/our-guiding-principle-was-that-design-is-neither-an-intellectual-nor/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [War is not civilized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/war-is-not-civilized/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/no-people-is-wholly-civilized-where-a-distinction-is-drawn-between/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Mine was, as it were, the connecting link between wild and cultivated fields; as some states are civilized, and others half-civilized, and others savage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/mine-was-as-it-were-the-connecting-link-between-wild-and-cultivated/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The military mind is indeed a menace. Old-fashioned futurity that sees only men fighting and dying in smoke and fire; hears nothing more civilized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-o-casey/the-military-mind-is-indeed-a-menace-old-fashioned-futurity-that-sees/) [Sean O'Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-o-casey/) > [As long as there are prisons, police, armies, navies; we are not civilized. When the Earth joins together and uses the Earth intelligently, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/as-long-as-there-are-prisons-police-armies-navies-we-are-not/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [We're all intrigued, in our civilized world that we live in, and curious about how we would get on, on an undiscovered island that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/we-re-all-intrigued-in-our-civilized-world-that-we-live-in-and/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [When passions and appetites are stronger than the intellect, men are savages; when the intellect governs the passions, when the passions are servants, men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/when-passions-and-appetites-are-stronger-than-the-intellect-men-are/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Savage peoples are ruled by passion, civilized peoples by the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/savage-peoples-are-ruled-by-passion-civilized-peoples-by-the-mind/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) Browse all 1,043 Civilized quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are not truly civilized if we concern ourselves only with the relation of man to man. 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