--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Civilization is only a series of…" description: "\"Civilization is only a series of victories against nature.\" — William Harvey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/william-harvey-21703_civilization_civilization-is-only-a-series-of-victori_2133956.png" --- # Civilization is only a series of victories against nature. ![“Civilization is only a series of victories against nature.” quote by William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/william-harvey-21703_civilization_civilization-is-only-a-series-of-victori_2133956.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/william-harvey-21703_civilization_civilization-is-only-a-series-of-victori_2133956.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/william-harvey-21703_civilization_civilization-is-only-a-series-of-victori_2133956.png) > “Civilization is only a series of victories against nature.” [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human progress is marked by overcoming natural challenges, framing civilization as a series of triumphs over nature. **In simple terms:** Civilization advances by conquering nature. Key Takeaway Respect and protect nature while advancing. Themes progress nature civilization Mood optimistic analytical Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - urban planning - climate policy - innovation labs Key Concepts environmental science history technology Questions to Reflect On - What natural challenges shape our future? - How can we collaborate with nature? A Different Perspective Nature may also be a partner, not just an opponent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Victories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victories/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) ## Related quotes > [Progress celebrates victories over nature. Progress makes purses out of human skin. When people were traveling in mail coaches, the world got ahead better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/progress-celebrates-victories-over-nature-progress-makes-purses-out/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [It takes 20 victories for people to recognize you as a great pitcher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-seaver/it-takes-20-victories-for-people-to-recognize-you-as-a-great-pitcher/) [Tom Seaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-seaver/) > [History within itself cannot be transcended. ... In history itself there are only relative victories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-troeltsch/history-within-itself-cannot-be-transcended-in-history-itself-there/) Ernst Troeltsch > [“The greatest victories are born from the lessons of defeat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-bekoe/the-greatest-victories-are-born-from-the-lessons-of-defeat/) [Marion Bekoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-bekoe/) > [Failure is not a destination; it’s an invitation to unforeseen VICTORIES.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-brown/failure-is-not-a-destination-it-s-an-invitation-to-unforeseen/) [Les Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-brown/) > [Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/peace-has-its-victories-but-it-takes-brave-men-and-women-to-win-them/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Some victories come when some people decide to abandon you. While it may seem like rejection, it is a victory making its way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gift-gugu-mona/some-victories-come-when-some-people-decide-to-abandon-you-while-it/) [Gift Gugu Mona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gift-gugu-mona/) > [Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction or emerge from its ashes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-hussein-i/real-victories-are-those-that-protect-human-life-not-those-that/) [King Hussein I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-hussein-i/) > [The great conquest is the result of small, unnoticed victories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-great-conquest-is-the-result-of-small-unnoticed-victories/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Short wins does not guarantee long victories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-sagar/short-wins-does-not-guarantee-long-victories/) [Krishna Sagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-sagar/) > [I am a series of small victories and large defeats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-am-a-series-of-small-victories-and-large-defeats/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [There are some defeats more triumphant than victories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-some-defeats-more-triumphant-than-victories/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Regardless of one victory, two victories, four victories, there's never been a victory by a cancer survivor. That's a fact that hopefully I'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/regardless-of-one-victory-two-victories-four-victories-there-s-never/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [Sometimes the greatest victories we can make for mankind are the victories we make over ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-fesler/sometimes-the-greatest-victories-we-can-make-for-mankind-are-the/) [Wes Fesler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-fesler/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) ## More by William Harvey > [I profess to learn and to teach anatomy not from books but from dissections, not from the tenets of Philosophers but from the fabric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/i-profess-to-learn-and-to-teach-anatomy-not-from-books-but-from/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [For the concept of a circuit of the blood does not destroy, but rather advances traditional medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/for-the-concept-of-a-circuit-of-the-blood-does-not-destroy-but-rather/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [Harvey sought for truth in Truth's own book- Creation - which by God himself was writ;And wisely thought 'twas fitNot to read comments only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/harvey-sought-for-truth-in-truth-s-own-book-creation-which-by-god/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [The heart is the household divinity which, discharging its function, nourishes, cherishes, quickens the whole body, and is indeed the foundation of life, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/the-heart-is-the-household-divinity-which-discharging-its-function/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [And so I conclude that blood lives and is nourished of itself and in no way depends on any other part of the body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/and-so-i-conclude-that-blood-lives-and-is-nourished-of-itself-and-in/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [There is a lust in man no charm can tame: Of loudly publishing his neighbor's shame: On eagles wings immortal scandals fly, while virtuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/there-is-a-lust-in-man-no-charm-can-tame-of-loudly-publishing-his/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [There is no perfect knowledge which can be entitled ours, that is innate; none but what has been obtained from experience, or derived in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/there-is-no-perfect-knowledge-which-can-be-entitled-ours-that-is/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [I have often wondered and even laughed at those who fancied that everything had been so consummately and absolutely investigated by an Aristotle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/i-have-often-wondered-and-even-laughed-at-those-who-fancied-that/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [Very many maintain that all we know is still infinitely less than all that still remains unknown; nor do philosophers pin their faith to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/very-many-maintain-that-all-we-know-is-still-infinitely-less-than-all/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [“...I found the task so truly arduous... that I was almost tempted to think... that the movement of the heart was only to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/i-found-the-task-so-truly-arduous-that-i-was-almost-tempted-to-think/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [As art is a habit with reference to things to be done, so is science a habit in respect to things to be known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/as-art-is-a-habit-with-reference-to-things-to-be-done-so-is-science-a/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [The heart of animals is the foundation of their life, the sovereign of everything within them, the sun of their microcosm, that upon which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/the-heart-of-animals-is-the-foundation-of-their-life-the-sovereign-of/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [Nature is a volume of which God is the author.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/nature-is-a-volume-of-which-god-is-the-author/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [I avow myself the partisan of truth alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/i-avow-myself-the-partisan-of-truth-alone/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [Only by understanding the wisdom of natural foods and their effects on the body, shall we attain mastery of disease and pain, which shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/only-by-understanding-the-wisdom-of-natural-foods-and-their-effects/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) [Explore all 28 William Harvey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-josiah-brewer/our-laws-and-our-institutions-must-necessarily-be-based-upon-and/) [David Josiah Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-josiah-brewer/) [Browse all 4,084 Civilization quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Civilization is only a series of victories against nature.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Harvey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/civilization-is-only-a-series-of-victories-against-nature/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilization" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/civilization-is-only-a-series-of-victories-against-nature/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/william-harvey-21703_civilization_civilization-is-only-a-series-of-victori_2133956.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/william-harvey-21703_civilization_civilization-is-only-a-series-of-victori_2133956.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/william-harvey-21703_civilization_civilization-is-only-a-series-of-victori_2133956.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Civilization is only a series of victories against nature.” — William Harvey", "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": "William Harvey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Civilization is only a series of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/civilization-is-only-a-series-of-victories-against-nature/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/civilization-is-only-a-series-of-victories-against-nature/#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 } } ] } ```