--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Arab civilizations had been of an…" description: "\"Arab civilizations had been of an abstract nature, moral and intellectual rather than applied; and their lack of public spirit made their excellent pri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/t-e-lawrence-10943_arab_arab-civilizations-had-been-of-an-abstra_476696.png" --- # Arab civilizations had been of an abstract nature, moral… ![“Arab civilizations had been of an abstract nature, moral and intellectual rather than applied; and their lack of public spirit made their excellent private qualities futile. They were fortunate in their epoch: Europe had fallen barbarous; and the memory of Greek and Latin learning was fading from…” quote by T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/t-e-lawrence-10943_arab_arab-civilizations-had-been-of-an-abstra_476696.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/t-e-lawrence-10943_arab_arab-civilizations-had-been-of-an-abstra_476696.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/t-e-lawrence-10943_arab_arab-civilizations-had-been-of-an-abstra_476696.png) > “Arab civilizations had been of an abstract nature, moral and intellectual rather than applied; and their lack of public spirit made their excellent private qualities futile. They were fortunate in their epoch: Europe had fallen barbarous; and the memory of Greek and Latin learning was fading from men's minds.” [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Arab societies valued abstract thought over practical civic engagement, causing their private virtues to be underutilized as Europe declined. **In simple terms:** Abstract focus limited public action. Key Takeaway Balance intellectual pursuits with civic participation. Themes civic responsibility intellectualism historical decline Mood thoughtful critical Type historical analytical When to use this quote - education reform - community projects - policy making Key Concepts public spirit private virtue cultural shift Questions to Reflect On - How can societies integrate abstract thought with public action? - What steps revive civic spirit today? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on ideas can neglect tangible societal needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arab/) [Civilizations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilizations/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [“Europe had fallen back into the barbarity of the first ages. People from this part of world, so enlightened today, lived a few centuries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/europe-had-fallen-back-into-the-barbarity-of-the-first-ages-people/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Fulla is the Arab world's answer to Barbie. Now, according to proponents of the clash of civilizations, Barbie and Fulla occupy these completely separate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shereen-el-feki/fulla-is-the-arab-world-s-answer-to-barbie-now-according-to/) [Shereen El Feki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shereen-el-feki/) > [“By the time of the arrival of Islam in the early seventeenth century CE, what we now call the Middle East was divided between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-al-khalili/by-the-time-of-the-arrival-of-islam-in-the-early-seventeenth-century/) [Jim Al-Khalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-al-khalili/) > [If you wear Arab things, wear the best. Clothes are significant among the tribes, and you must wear the appropriate, and appear at ease…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/if-you-wear-arab-things-wear-the-best-clothes-are-significant-among/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [The foreigners come out here always to teach, whereas they had much better learn, for, in everything but wits and knowledge, the Arab is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/the-foreigners-come-out-here-always-to-teach-whereas-they-had-much-2/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [“Future civilizations - better civilizations than this one - are going to judge all men by the extent to which they've been artists. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/future-civilizations-better-civilizations-than-this-one-are-going-to/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Isolationists believed that the ancient civilizations all developed independent of one another. Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, China, Egypt—all crossed a threshold into civilization about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doherty/isolationists-believed-that-the-ancient-civilizations-all-developed/) Robert Doherty > [Civilizations proceed from the heart rather than from the head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/civilizations-proceed-from-the-heart-rather-than-from-the-head/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Words outlive people, institutions, civilizations. Words spur images, associations, memories, inspirations and synapse pulsations. Words send off physical resonations of thought into the nethersphere.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inga-muscio/words-outlive-people-institutions-civilizations-words-spur-images/) [Inga Muscio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inga-muscio/) > [Civilizations evolve over time, and most scholars of civilization, including people like Carol Quigley, argue that they go through periods of warring states, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/civilizations-evolve-over-time-and-most-scholars-of-civilization/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [That is the key to history. Terrific energy is expended - civilizations are built up - excellent institutions devised; but each time something goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/that-is-the-key-to-history-terrific-energy-is-expended-civilizations/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [All the civilizations we know have been created and directed by small intellectual aristocracies, never by people in the mass. The power of crowds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-le-bon/all-the-civilizations-we-know-have-been-created-and-directed-by-small/) [Gustave Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-le-bon/) > [Each succeeding civilization forgets its predecessor. Civilizations are ghouls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/each-succeeding-civilization-forgets-its-predecessor-civilizations/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [In all civilizations we've studied, all cultures that we know of across the Earth and across time have invested some kind of attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-all-civilizations-we-ve-studied-all-cultures-that-we-know-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We civilizations now know ourselves mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/we-civilizations-now-know-ourselves-mortal/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## More by T. E. Lawrence > [It is difficult to keep quiet when everything is being done wrong, but the less you lose your temper the greater your advantage. Also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/it-is-difficult-to-keep-quiet-when-everything-is-being-done-wrong-but/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [Some of the evil of my tale may have been inherent in our circumstances. For years we lived anyhow with one another in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/some-of-the-evil-of-my-tale-may-have-been-inherent-in-our/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [Your success will be proportioned to the amount of mental effort you devote to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/your-success-will-be-proportioned-to-the-amount-of-mental-effort-you/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [Club Secretary: I say, Lawrence. You are a clown! Lawrence: We can't all be lion tamers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/club-secretary-i-say-lawrence-you-are-a-clown-lawrence-we-can-t-all/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [He feared his maturity as it grew upon him with its ripe thought, its skill, its finished art; yet which lacked the poetry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/he-feared-his-maturity-as-it-grew-upon-him-with-its-ripe-thought-its/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [I've been and am absurdly over-estimated. There are no supermen and I'm quite ordinary, and will say so whatever the artistic results. In that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/i-ve-been-and-am-absurdly-over-estimated-there-are-no-supermen-and-i/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [“Do not try to do too much with your own hands. Better the Arabs do it tolerably than that you do it perfectly. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/do-not-try-to-do-too-much-with-your-own-hands-better-the-arabs-do-it-2/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [We lived many lives in those whirling campaigns, never sparing ourselves; yet when we achieved, and the new world dawned, the old men came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/we-lived-many-lives-in-those-whirling-campaigns-never-sparing/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [Bedouin ways were hard even for those brought up to them, and for strangers, terrible: a death in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/bedouin-ways-were-hard-even-for-those-brought-up-to-them-and-for/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [“In my case, the effort for these years to live in the dress of Arabs, and to imitate their mental foundation, quitted me of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/in-my-case-the-effort-for-these-years-to-live-in-the-dress-of-arabs/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [A first difficulty of the Arab movement was to say who the Arabs were. Being a manufactured people, their name had been changing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/a-first-difficulty-of-the-arab-movement-was-to-say-who-the-arabs-were/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [A thick headcloth forms a good protection against the sun, and if you wear a hat your best Arab friends will be ashamed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/a-thick-headcloth-forms-a-good-protection-against-the-sun-and-if-you/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [If I could talk it like Dahoum, you would never be tired of listening to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/if-i-could-talk-it-like-dahoum-you-would-never-be-tired-of-listening/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [There is an ideal standard somewhere and only that matters and I cannot find it. Hence the aimlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/there-is-an-ideal-standard-somewhere-and-only-that-matters-and-i/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [Cling tight to your sense of humour. You will need it every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/cling-tight-to-your-sense-of-humour-you-will-need-it-every-day/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) [Explore all 62 T. E. Lawrence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) ## More Arab quotes > [We do not know which irresponsible Israeli prime minister will take office and decide to use nuclear weapons in the struggle against neighboring Arab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordechai-vanunu/we-do-not-know-which-irresponsible-israeli-prime-minister-will-take/) [Mordechai Vanunu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordechai-vanunu/) > [Preemptive war is what Israel did in '67 with Arab armies on its borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/preemptive-war-is-what-israel-did-in-67-with-arab-armies-on-its/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [The majority of Arab people would side with Russia and China, not with the West. And they'd throw their 'elites' groomed in and by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/the-majority-of-arab-people-would-side-with-russia-and-china-not-with/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [“For the Arab, the past does not merely live. The past defines the present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davis-bunn/for-the-arab-the-past-does-not-merely-live-the-past-defines-the/) [Davis Bunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davis-bunn/) > [Al Jazeera is a representation of, you know, diversity in the Arab world. In our newsroom, we have every single nationality, we have every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/al-jazeera-is-a-representation-of-you-know-diversity-in-the-arab/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [The twin causes Bin Laden invokes are Islam and Arab self-determination, and armies rise to serve him. No need to convert or dogmatize. Believers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-vincent/the-twin-causes-bin-laden-invokes-are-islam-and-arab-self/) [Norah Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-vincent/) > [Arab youth are taught to wonder, 'Since the Holocaust was a European affair, why are the Palestinians being forced to pay for the creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-bronfman-sr/arab-youth-are-taught-to-wonder-since-the-holocaust-was-a-european/) [Edgar Bronfman, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-bronfman-sr/) > [The majority of Arab people see the United States and Israel (definitely not Iran or Syria) as the greatest danger to the world. Could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/the-majority-of-arab-people-see-the-united-states-and-israel/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [I'm called a terrorist in the Arab media still today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yitzhak-shamir/i-m-called-a-terrorist-in-the-arab-media-still-today/) [Yitzhak Shamir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yitzhak-shamir/) > [I have been to Burj-Al-Arab. And I visit Dubai quite often, I really like the place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-dhupia/i-have-been-to-burj-al-arab-and-i-visit-dubai-quite-often-i-really/) [Neha Dhupia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-dhupia/) > [History may someday record that the Arab awakening that began with the Arab revolt of 1916 against the Ottomans ended about a century later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/history-may-someday-record-that-the-arab-awakening-that-began-with/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [None of us is certain about the outcome of the Arab Spring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/none-of-us-is-certain-about-the-outcome-of-the-arab-spring/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [As you know with the Arab Spring, there were no dividends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najib-razak/as-you-know-with-the-arab-spring-there-were-no-dividends/) [Najib Razak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najib-razak/) > [ \[Arab peoples\] are stuck back thousands of years and they think they're going to get out with a TV set. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/arab-peoples-are-stuck-back-thousands-of-years-and-they-think-they-re/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I was one of the first people in the Palestinian world, in the late 1970s, to say that there is no military option, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/i-was-one-of-the-first-people-in-the-palestinian-world-in-the-late/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) [Browse all 310 Arab quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arab/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Arab civilizations had been of an abstract nature, moral and intellectual rather than applied; and their lack of public spirit made their excellent private qualities futile. They were fortunate in their epoch: Europe had fallen barbarous; and the memory of Greek and Latin learning was fading from men's minds.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "T. E. Lawrence" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/arab-civilizations-had-been-of-an-abstract-nature-moral-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arab" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/arab-civilizations-had-been-of-an-abstract-nature-moral-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/t-e-lawrence-10943_arab_arab-civilizations-had-been-of-an-abstra_476696.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/t-e-lawrence-10943_arab_arab-civilizations-had-been-of-an-abstra_476696.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/t-e-lawrence-10943_arab_arab-civilizations-had-been-of-an-abstra_476696.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Arab civilizations had been of an abstract nature, moral and intellectual rather than applied; and their…” — T. E. Lawrence", "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": "T. E. Lawrence", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Arab civilizations had been of an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/arab-civilizations-had-been-of-an-abstract-nature-moral-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/arab-civilizations-had-been-of-an-abstract-nature-moral-and/#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 } } ] } ```