---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yes, but he faces a human mage with great…"
description: "\"“Yes, but he faces a human mage with great power and no idea what he’s doing,” I boasted. “That has sunk islands, before. Entire civilizations.”\" — Ter..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/terry-mancour-18695_civilizations_yes-but-he-faces-a-human-mage-with-great_638387.jpg"
---

#  Yes, but he faces a human mage with great power and no…

![“Yes, but he faces a human mage with great power and no idea what he’s doing,” I boasted. “That has sunk islands, before. Entire civilizations.” quote by Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/terry-mancour-18695_civilizations_yes-but-he-faces-a-human-mage-with-great_638387.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/terry-mancour-18695_civilizations_yes-but-he-faces-a-human-mage-with-great_638387.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/terry-mancour-18695_civilizations_yes-but-he-faces-a-human-mage-with-great_638387.jpg)

> ““Yes, but he faces a human mage with great power and no idea what he’s doing,” I boasted. “That has sunk islands, before. Entire civilizations.””

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A character boasts about confronting a powerful mage, underestimating the consequences of such power.

**In simple terms:** Overconfidence in facing unknown threats.

Key Takeaway

Beware overestimating your own abilities.

Themes

hubris power consequences

Mood

cautious reflective

Type

cautionary advisory

When to use this quote

- adventure
- battle planning
- risk assessment

Key Concepts

fantasy overconfidence magical conflict

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you consider the full impact of your actions?
- How can humility improve decision making?

A Different Perspective

Powerful opponents may have unforeseen effects.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Boasted Sunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boasted-sunk-5130690/) [Civilizations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilizations/) [Entire Civilizations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entire-civilizations-4282768/) [Human Mage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mage-5130688/) [Sunk Islands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunk-islands-5130689/)

## Related quotes

> [“Abstract academic discussions have a way of leaving their mark on entire civilizations, as the events of this century have proved all too well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-o-brien/abstract-academic-discussions-have-a-way-of-leaving-their-mark-on/)

[Michael D. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-o-brien/)

> [“world and time erases not just memories but entire civilizations, reducing everyone and every monument to dust. The only thing that survives is love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/world-and-time-erases-not-just-memories-but-entire-civilizations/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

> [I am the son of two civilizations that at a certain age in history have formed a happy marriage. The first of these, seven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/i-am-the-son-of-two-civilizations-that-at-a-certain-age-in-history/)

[Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/)

> [In the long run, the aggressive civilizations destroy themselves, almost always. It's their nature. They can't help it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-the-long-run-the-aggressive-civilizations-destroy-themselves/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [I do not believe that civilizations have to die because civilization is not an organism. It is a product of wills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/i-do-not-believe-that-civilizations-have-to-die-because-civilization/)

[Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/)

> [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 Terry Mancour

> [“What’s our situation?” “The technical military term for what we’re doing is hiding,” Terleman lectured.  “We’re where the enemy isn’t, hoping that they don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/what-s-our-situation-the-technical-military-term-for-what-we-re-doing/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“So that was it?” she demanded. “All that build-up to rescue a princess, and . . . that was it?” “Would you prefer trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/so-that-was-it-she-demanded-all-that-build-up-to-rescue-a-princess/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“Her mother had been slightly less diplomatic. To her I’d always be “that nice barbarian boy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/her-mother-had-been-slightly-less-diplomatic-to-her-i-d-always-be/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“You burn down an entire town, and don’t even invoke me?” an angry female voice asked from behind me. “I didn’t think you’d be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/you-burn-down-an-entire-town-and-don-t-even-invoke-me-an-angry-female/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“I hope I won’t be eternally damned for that, but then again I’ve warranted damnation for so much else that one atrocity, more or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/i-hope-i-won-t-be-eternally-damned-for-that-but-then-again-i-ve/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“Behold, the Cavern of Ages,” Lord Aeratas pronounced, reverently. “Depository of our ancestors’ enneagrams, held within the living stone for all eternity.” “It smells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/behold-the-cavern-of-ages-lord-aeratas-pronounced-reverently/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“But . . . this door is allayed with a sign,” Onranion pointed out, waving his hand in front of it and singing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/but-this-door-is-allayed-with-a-sign-onranion-pointed-out-waving-his/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“While hope was a much-needed commodity around the castle, what he was doing went beyond good leadership – it was a blatant disregard of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/while-hope-was-a-much-needed-commodity-around-the-castle-what-he-was/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“A few of the lads on the walls dared to applaud with rude gestures, insults, and – in one bold case – the quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/a-few-of-the-lads-on-the-walls-dared-to-applaud-with-rude-gestures/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“Cutthroats?” Lt. Jameson, the Golden Hand guard standing behind him said, offended. “I haven’t cut a throat in a month!” “They”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/cutthroats-lt-jameson-the-golden-hand-guard-standing-behind-him-said/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“It’s technically habitable, but it only makes four rotations every orbit. Extreme environment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/it-s-technically-habitable-but-it-only-makes-four-rotations-every/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“We have the aid and alliance of an ancient and wise people,” Mavone, suggested. “Don’t take me as an example,” Onranion hurried to say.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/we-have-the-aid-and-alliance-of-an-ancient-and-wise-people-mavone/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“Everyone has to be somewhere,” he shrugged. “And where we are is always the result of the steps we’ve chosen to take.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/everyone-has-to-be-somewhere-he-shrugged-and-where-we-are-is-always/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“But a knight must have faith that the gods will reward and support his chivalry,” Sire Cei pointed out.  “If he did not throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/but-a-knight-must-have-faith-that-the-gods-will-reward-and-support/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

> [“Mostly, it’s a matter of getting other people to do your work for you. Pushing the right idiots into doing the right stupid things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/mostly-it-s-a-matter-of-getting-other-people-to-do-your-work-for-you/)

[Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

[Explore all 34 Terry Mancour quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/)

## More Civilizations quotes

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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 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/)

> [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doherty/)

> [“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/)

> [I do not believe that civilizations have to die because civilization is not an organism. It is a product of wills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/i-do-not-believe-that-civilizations-have-to-die-because-civilization/)

[Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/)

> [In the long run, the aggressive civilizations destroy themselves, almost always. It's their nature. They can't help it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-the-long-run-the-aggressive-civilizations-destroy-themselves/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [I am the son of two civilizations that at a certain age in history have formed a happy marriage. The first of these, seven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/i-am-the-son-of-two-civilizations-that-at-a-certain-age-in-history/)

[Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/)

> [“Their history wasn’t so far off the mean track, they were going through what a thousand other civilizations had gone through, and no doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/their-history-wasn-t-so-far-off-the-mean-track-they-were-going/)

[Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/)

> [Technological civilizations don't last long. You're all right until you get a printing press. Then a race starts between technology and common sense. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/technological-civilizations-don-t-last-long-you-re-all-right-until/)

[Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/)

[Browse all 164 Civilizations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilizations/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Yes, but he faces a human mage with great power and no idea what he’s doing,” I boasted. “That has sunk islands, before. Entire civilizations.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Terry Mancour"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/yes-but-he-faces-a-human-mage-with-great-power-and-no-idea-what-he-s/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Civilizations"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/yes-but-he-faces-a-human-mage-with-great-power-and-no-idea-what-he-s/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/terry-mancour-18695_civilizations_yes-but-he-faces-a-human-mage-with-great_638387.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/terry-mancour-18695_civilizations_yes-but-he-faces-a-human-mage-with-great_638387.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/terry-mancour-18695_civilizations_yes-but-he-faces-a-human-mage-with-great_638387.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Yes, but he faces a human mage with great power and no idea what he’s doing,” I boasted. “That has sunk…” — Terry Mancour",
                "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": "Terry Mancour",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Yes, but he faces a human...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/yes-but-he-faces-a-human-mage-with-great-power-and-no-idea-what-he-s/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/yes-but-he-faces-a-human-mage-with-great-power-and-no-idea-what-he-s/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
