--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In some ways, I lament the introduction…" description: "\"In some ways, I lament the introduction of civilisation on such a huge scale, because it has given us a lot of room to abuse each other, which we conti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/roy-harper-22963_abuse_in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-o_26574.png" --- # In some ways, I lament the introduction of civilisation on… ![“In some ways, I lament the introduction of civilisation on such a huge scale, because it has given us a lot of room to abuse each other, which we continue to do.” quote by Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/roy-harper-22963_abuse_in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-o_26574.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/roy-harper-22963_abuse_in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-o_26574.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/roy-harper-22963_abuse_in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-o_26574.png) > “In some ways, I lament the introduction of civilisation on such a huge scale, because it has given us a lot of room to abuse each other, which we continue to do.” [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Civilisation's massive scale creates opportunities for exploitation and systemic abuse, highlighting a paradox of progress and moral decay. **In simple terms:** Progress can amplify human cruelty. Key Takeaway Scale magnifies ethical failures. Themes Power dynamics Moral paradox Social critique Human nature Ethics of civilization Mood Reflective Cautious Critical Type Philosophical Social commentary When to use this quote - Political governance - Corporate behavior - International relations - Community development - Legal systems Key Concepts Abuse of power Structural inequality Technological impact Practical Applications - Policy reform - Ethical education Questions to Reflect On - How does scale influence moral responsibility? - Can civilization be restructured to limit abuse? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse/) [Civilisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilisation/) [Introduction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/introduction/) [Lament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lament/) ## Related quotes > [I never had any big dreams about doing something on a huge scale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-krauss/i-never-had-any-big-dreams-about-doing-something-on-a-huge-scale/) [Alison Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-krauss/) > [I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-decided-that-if-i-could-paint-that-flower-in-a-huge-scale-you-could/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I lament the want of a liberal education. I feel the mist of ignorance to surround me - Nathanael Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-lament-the-want-of-a-liberal-education-i-feel-the-mist-of-ignorance/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Do not vainly lament, but do wonder at the rule of transiency and learn from it the emptiness of human life. Do not cherish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/do-not-vainly-lament-but-do-wonder-at-the-rule-of-transiency-and/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“None but a fool or an infant could forget a father gone so far and cold. No. Lament is a pattern cut and fitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/none-but-a-fool-or-an-infant-could-forget-a-father-gone-so-far-and/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Every lover's lament has an element of boasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/every-lover-s-lament-has-an-element-of-boasting/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [You do not lament the loss of hair of one who has been beheaded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/you-do-not-lament-the-loss-of-hair-of-one-who-has-been-beheaded/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [“Lament calls us to examine the work of reconciliation between those who live under suffering with those who live in celebration. Lamentations”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soong-chan-rah/lament-calls-us-to-examine-the-work-of-reconciliation-between-those/) [Soong-Chan Rah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soong-chan-rah/) > [I didn't want normal until I didn't have it anymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-didn-t-want-normal-until-i-didn-t-have-it-anymore/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [There are two responses to really awful things. One is to lament and say, "Oh my God, oh lord." And the other is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/there-are-two-responses-to-really-awful-things-one-is-to-lament-and/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [The liberal reward of labour, therefore, as it is the affect of increasing wealth, so it is the cause of increasing population. To complain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/the-liberal-reward-of-labour-therefore-as-it-is-the-affect-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [You have suffered greatly, poor mother. Oh! do not lament, you have now the portion of the elect. It is in this way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/you-have-suffered-greatly-poor-mother-oh-do-not-lament-you-have-now/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle; ...they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-myriad-of-men-are-born-they-labor-and-sweat-and-struggle-they/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [My heart sobbed a lament that was hard to ignore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-macalister/my-heart-sobbed-a-lament-that-was-hard-to-ignore/) [Katie MacAlister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-macalister/) ## More by Roy Harper > [I'm careful, controlled, bodily conservative: if someone offered me a pill I'd only ever take a half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/i-m-careful-controlled-bodily-conservative-if-someone-offered-me-a/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [In cities, people go to work and all walk there together, like some arterial flow. And there's a certain desolation about it, an alienation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/in-cities-people-go-to-work-and-all-walk-there-together-like-some/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [I wanted to modernize music, but more than that, to completely modernize people's attitudes towards life in general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/i-wanted-to-modernize-music-but-more-than-that-to-completely/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [I've taken a stand against religion for as long I've been able to write and think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/i-ve-taken-a-stand-against-religion-for-as-long-i-ve-been-able-to/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [I got into trad jazz, then modern jazz, then avant-garde jazz, between the ages of 16 to 18.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/i-got-into-trad-jazz-then-modern-jazz-then-avant-garde-jazz-between/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [I'm an amalgam of the 19th-century romantics and the beat poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/i-m-an-amalgam-of-the-19th-century-romantics-and-the-beat-poets/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [As soon as I heard skiffle, I loved it and I knew that I wanted to play it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/as-soon-as-i-heard-skiffle-i-loved-it-and-i-knew-that-i-wanted-to/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [I regret that I've never actually managed to be inspired enough to get into anything else, and I should've been, I really should have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/i-regret-that-i-ve-never-actually-managed-to-be-inspired-enough-to/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [At school, I was always daydreaming and fiddling in inkwells, but I had to learn to grow up and become articulate. And doing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/at-school-i-was-always-daydreaming-and-fiddling-in-inkwells-but-i-had/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [I'd just like to prove to myself that I'm all here and all together and can get the best out of myself. I'd also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/i-d-just-like-to-prove-to-myself-that-i-m-all-here-and-all-together/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [Remember, this was a world that was still ethnically separated. I was thirteen and ignorant of the social situation in America, but I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/remember-this-was-a-world-that-was-still-ethnically-separated-i-was/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [It's fantastic to put your hands in the earth. I enjoy spending my time in heaven here. I don't care what you say, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/it-s-fantastic-to-put-your-hands-in-the-earth-i-enjoy-spending-my/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [I was determined if I was going to become a superstar it would be on my terms. I've had that ethic since the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/i-was-determined-if-i-was-going-to-become-a-superstar-it-would-be-on/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [As a really young child, I was listening to the echoes of the age before, music hall and stuff like that, as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/as-a-really-young-child-i-was-listening-to-the-echoes-of-the-age/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [I'm inspired by the poets, so I'm always going to give in that direction, rather than in any other. It's the making of me...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/i-m-inspired-by-the-poets-so-i-m-always-going-to-give-in-that/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) [Explore all 26 Roy Harper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) ## More Abuse quotes > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [Being nice is okay,but don't allow anybody to abuse it...try to fight for your self when you know your on the right way...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-nice-is-okay-but-don-t-allow-anybody-to-abuse-it-try-to-fight/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Build a bridge over shame by teaching kids about sexual abuse. Give them a chance to run to us should they encounter it. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-byers-ruch/build-a-bridge-over-shame-by-teaching-kids-about-sexual-abuse-give/) [Carolyn Byers Ruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-byers-ruch/) > [It is sure that those are most desirous of honour or glory who cry out loudest of its abuse and the vanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/it-is-sure-that-those-are-most-desirous-of-honour-or-glory-who-cry/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [“The sole reason I stand to open it up now is that lots of people who are in pain just like I was, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-dsouza/the-sole-reason-i-stand-to-open-it-up-now-is-that-lots-of-people-who/) [Patricia Dsouza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-dsouza/) > [Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atifete-jahjaga/democracy-must-be-built-through-open-societies-that-share-information/) [Atifete Jahjaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atifete-jahjaga/) > [I have a theory that all abuse, no matter what kind of abuse it is, is foremost an assault on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-have-a-theory-that-all-abuse-no-matter-what-kind-of-abuse-it-is-is/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [“Blaming therapy, social work and other caring professions for the confabulation of testimony of 'satanic ritual abuse' legitimated a programme of political and social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/blaming-therapy-social-work-and-other-caring-professions-for-the/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [Finally, the scariest thing about abuse of any shape or form, is, in my opinion, not the abuse itself, but that if it continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/finally-the-scariest-thing-about-abuse-of-any-shape-or-form-is-in-my/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [“Research on organised abuse emphasises the diversity of organised abuse cases, and the ways in which serious forms of child maltreatment cluster in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/research-on-organised-abuse-emphasises-the-diversity-of-organised/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [“Stand up for yourself. Never give any one permission to abuse you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/stand-up-for-yourself-never-give-any-one-permission-to-abuse-you/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [All governments should be pressured to correct their abuses of human rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/all-governments-should-be-pressured-to-correct-their-abuses-of-human/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [“Words are free. It does not mean you should abuse them. Be kind with them. They will mirror your actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadinet-tekie/words-are-free-it-does-not-mean-you-should-abuse-them-be-kind-with/) [Hadinet Tekie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hadinet-tekie/) > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) [Browse all 3,113 Abuse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In some ways, I lament the introduction of civilisation on such a huge scale, because it has given us a lot of room to abuse each other, which we continue to do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roy Harper" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-of-civilisation-on-such-a-huge/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abuse" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-of-civilisation-on-such-a-huge/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/roy-harper-22963_abuse_in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-o_26574.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/roy-harper-22963_abuse_in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-o_26574.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/roy-harper-22963_abuse_in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-o_26574.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In some ways, I lament the introduction of civilisation on such a huge scale, because it has given us a lot…” — Roy Harper", "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": "Roy Harper", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In some ways, I lament the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-of-civilisation-on-such-a-huge/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-of-civilisation-on-such-a-huge/#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 } } ] } ```