--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe we are put here to improve…" description: "\"I believe we are put here to improve civilisation.\" — Seamus Heaney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/seamus-heaney-1711_believe_i-believe-we-are-put-here-to-improve-civ_1007621.png" --- # I believe we are put here to improve civilisation. ![“I believe we are put here to improve civilisation.” quote by Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/seamus-heaney-1711_believe_i-believe-we-are-put-here-to-improve-civ_1007621.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/seamus-heaney-1711_believe_i-believe-we-are-put-here-to-improve-civ_1007621.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/seamus-heaney-1711_believe_i-believe-we-are-put-here-to-improve-civ_1007621.png) > “I believe we are put here to improve civilisation.” [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human purpose is to contribute positively to society, improving collective life through effort and insight. **In simple terms:** We should aim to better civilization. Key Takeaway Act to uplift community. Themes purpose civilization service Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - volunteering - public policy - education reform - environmental activism Key Concepts social responsibility philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What personal actions can advance societal good? - How do you measure impact on civilization? A Different Perspective Improving civilization can be hindered by systemic resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Improve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-improve-2167393/) [Civilisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilisation/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/here/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Improve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improve/) [Improve Civilisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improve-civilisation-2167392/) [Put](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/put/) ## Related quotes > [I believe that I can improve things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mir-hossein-mousavi/i-believe-that-i-can-improve-things/) [Mir-Hossein Mousavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mir-hossein-mousavi/) > [We really do believe that we can improve the world, one song at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ek/we-really-do-believe-that-we-can-improve-the-world-one-song-at-a-time/) [Daniel Ek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ek/) > [“I am an anti-capitalist because I believe we can improve on it. I believe that we can create the vision I have for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-am-an-anti-capitalist-because-i-believe-we-can-improve-on-it-i/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Of course we believe we can always improve because the moment that you think you cannot improve anymore you go backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorginho/of-course-we-believe-we-can-always-improve-because-the-moment-that/) [Jorginho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorginho/) > [I feel that my chess strengths are still here, .. I believe I can still improve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/i-feel-that-my-chess-strengths-are-still-here-i-believe-i-can-still/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [Even if I have already peaked, I have to believe I can improve. I wake up every morning, and go to practice, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-nadal/even-if-i-have-already-peaked-i-have-to-believe-i-can-improve-i-wake/) [Rafael Nadal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-nadal/) > [I try to stop and take a 10-second break and ask myself before I do something: One, is this going to improve my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-sizemore/i-try-to-stop-and-take-a-10-second-break-and-ask-myself-before-i-do/) [Tom Sizemore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-sizemore/) > [I truly, truly believe that I was going in that direction and all of a sudden fate took me and put me here. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-atkins/i-truly-truly-believe-that-i-was-going-in-that-direction-and-all-of-a/) [Christopher Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-atkins/) > [It does seem really hard to get consumers to do the right thing. 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One day, instead of my lesson, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-gore/the-short-story-and-the-truth-is-that-i-was-taking-vocal-lessons-here/) [Lesley Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-gore/) > [After 'Kelis Was Here,' I was done. I was like, 'I will never put out another record again; I hate this business; I hate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelis/after-kelis-was-here-i-was-done-i-was-like-i-will-never-put-out/) [Kelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelis/) > [We are here to entertain and ultimately put smiles on people's faces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jinder-mahal/we-are-here-to-entertain-and-ultimately-put-smiles-on-people-s-faces/) [Jinder Mahal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jinder-mahal/) > [If you gonna challenge my ways, know my history. Don't put nobody in my face that don't know about me, or they here to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raekwon/if-you-gonna-challenge-my-ways-know-my-history-don-t-put-nobody-in-my/) [Raekwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raekwon/) ## More by Seamus Heaney > [You had to come back to learn how to lose yourself, to be pilot and stray-witch, Hansel and Gretel in one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/you-had-to-come-back-to-learn-how-to-lose-yourself-to-be-pilot-and/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [If self is a location, so is love: Bearings taken, markings, cardinal points, Options, obstinacies, dug heels, and distance, Here and there and now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/if-self-is-a-location-so-is-love-bearings-taken-markings-cardinal/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [I'm very conscious that people dear to me are alive in my imagination - poets in particular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/i-m-very-conscious-that-people-dear-to-me-are-alive-in-my-imagination/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Once I was on the job, once I had got started, I felt safe enough, but the anticipation made me tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/once-i-was-on-the-job-once-i-had-got-started-i-felt-safe-enough-but/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [You can have Irish identity in the north and also have your Irish passport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/you-can-have-irish-identity-in-the-north-and-also-have-your-irish/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [The external reality and inner dynamic of happenings in Northern Ireland between 1968 and 1974 were symptomatic of change, violent change admittedly, but change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/the-external-reality-and-inner-dynamic-of-happenings-in-northern/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Hope for a great sea-change timid to rebuke and too petty to forgive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/hope-for-a-great-sea-change-timid-to-rebuke-and-too-petty-to-forgive/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [One of the very first poems I wrote was Docker That fist would drop a hammer on a Catholic and one of the sturdiest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/one-of-the-very-first-poems-i-wrote-was-docker-that-fist-would-drop-a/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Anything Can Happen is also, incidentally, a poem that arose from teaching. I'd talked about the Horace Ode (I, 34) \[on which the poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/anything-can-happen-is-also-incidentally-a-poem-that-arose-from/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Poetry is always slightly mysterious, and you wonder what is your relationship to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/poetry-is-always-slightly-mysterious-and-you-wonder-what-is-your/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Sink every impulse like a bolt. Secure The bastion of sensation. Do not waver Into language. Do not waver in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/sink-every-impulse-like-a-bolt-secure-the-bastion-of-sensation-do-not/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Two buckets were easier carried than one. / I grew up in between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/two-buckets-were-easier-carried-than-one-i-grew-up-in-between/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [I suppose I'm saying that defiance is actually part of the lyric job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/i-suppose-i-m-saying-that-defiance-is-actually-part-of-the-lyric-job/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [“It is said that once upon a time St. Kevin was kneeling with his arms stretched out in the form of a cross in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/it-is-said-that-once-upon-a-time-st-kevin-was-kneeling-with-his-arms/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [My father and mother had no sense of entitlement for their children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/my-father-and-mother-had-no-sense-of-entitlement-for-their-children/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) [Explore all 214 Seamus Heaney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) [Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I believe we are put here to improve civilisation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seamus Heaney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/i-believe-we-are-put-here-to-improve-civilisation/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/i-believe-we-are-put-here-to-improve-civilisation/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/seamus-heaney-1711_believe_i-believe-we-are-put-here-to-improve-civ_1007621.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/seamus-heaney-1711_believe_i-believe-we-are-put-here-to-improve-civ_1007621.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/seamus-heaney-1711_believe_i-believe-we-are-put-here-to-improve-civ_1007621.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I believe we are put here to improve civilisation.” — Seamus Heaney", "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": "Seamus Heaney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I believe we are put here...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/i-believe-we-are-put-here-to-improve-civilisation/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/i-believe-we-are-put-here-to-improve-civilisation/#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 } } ] } ```