--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From the earliest times, human…" description: "\"“From the earliest times, human civilization has been no more than a strange luminescence growing more intense by the hour, of which no one can say whe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/w-g-sebald-2-13661_human-civilization_from-the-earliest-times-human-civilizati_1385676.jpg" --- # From the earliest times, human civilization has been no… ![“From the earliest times, human civilization has been no more than a strange luminescence growing more intense by the hour, of which no one can say when it will begin to wane and when it when fade away.” quote by W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/w-g-sebald-2-13661_human-civilization_from-the-earliest-times-human-civilizati_1385676.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/w-g-sebald-2-13661_human-civilization_from-the-earliest-times-human-civilizati_1385676.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/w-g-sebald-2-13661_human-civilization_from-the-earliest-times-human-civilizati_1385676.jpg) > ““From the earliest times, human civilization has been no more than a strange luminescence growing more intense by the hour, of which no one can say when it will begin to wane and when it when fade away.”” [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human civilization is likened to a bright, growing light whose duration and decline are uncertain. **In simple terms:** Civilization is a bright, expanding force with an unknown lifespan. Key Takeaway Recognize the fleeting nature of societal progress. Themes civilization impermanence history existential light Mood thoughtful philosophical melancholic Type cultural historical When to use this quote - cultural analysis - future planning - environmental policy - education - artistic expression Key Concepts entropy collective destiny philosophical outlook Questions to Reflect On - What does the "luminescence" symbolize for you? - How can we prepare for potential decline? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex societal dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Earliest Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earliest-times-350920/) [Human civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-civilization/) [Luminescence Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luminescence-growing-1104223/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Strange Luminescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-luminescence-1553503/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Human civilization has been no more than a strange luminescence growing more intense by the hour, of which no one can say when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/human-civilization-has-been-no-more-than-a-strange-luminescence/) [W. G. 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Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [“...I was just laying aside a Lausanne paper I'd bought in Zurich when my eye was caught by a report that said the remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/i-was-just-laying-aside-a-lausanne-paper-i-d-bought-in-zurich-when-my/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [“Is the destruction not, rather, irrefutable proof that the catastrophes which develop, so to speak, in our hands and seem to break out suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/is-the-destruction-not-rather-irrefutable-proof-that-the-catastrophes/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [“You adulterate the truth as you write. There isn't any pretense that you try to arrive at the literal truth. And the only consolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/you-adulterate-the-truth-as-you-write-there-isn-t-any-pretense-that/) [W.G. 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Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [“Once I am at leisure, said Salvatore, I take refuge in prose as one might in a boat. All day long I am surrounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/once-i-am-at-leisure-said-salvatore-i-take-refuge-in-prose-as-one/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [“What distinguishes art from such undertaker's business is that life's closeness to death is its theme, not its addiction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/what-distinguishes-art-from-such-undertaker-s-business-is-that-life-s/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [“Looking at those gashed bodies, and at the witnesses of the execution, doubled up by grief like snapped reeds, I gradually understood that, beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/looking-at-those-gashed-bodies-and-at-the-witnesses-of-the-execution/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [“I have even begun to speak in foreign tongues roaming like a nomad in my own town.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/i-have-even-begun-to-speak-in-foreign-tongues-roaming-like-a-nomad-in/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [“From the outset my main concern was with the shape and the self-contained nature of discrete things, the curve of banisters on a staircase,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/from-the-outset-my-main-concern-was-with-the-shape-and-the-self/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [“But I have never been able to bring myself to sell anything, except perhaps, at one point, my soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/but-i-have-never-been-able-to-bring-myself-to-sell-anything-except/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [“Like our bodies and our desires, the machines we have devised are possessed of a heart which is slowly reduced to embers. From the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/like-our-bodies-and-our-desires-the-machines-we-have-devised-are/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [“I remember to this day how easily I could grasp what he called his tentative ideas when he talked about the architectural style of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/i-remember-to-this-day-how-easily-i-could-grasp-what-he-called-his/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) [Explore all 41 W.G. Sebald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. 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