--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Civilization is a disease which is almost…" description: "\"Civilization is a disease which is almost invariably fatal.\" — William Ralph Inge" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/william-ralph-inge-6819_civilization_civilization-is-a-disease-which-is-almos_2786421.png" --- # Civilization is a disease which is almost invariably fatal. ![“Civilization is a disease which is almost invariably fatal.” quote by William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/william-ralph-inge-6819_civilization_civilization-is-a-disease-which-is-almos_2786421.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/william-ralph-inge-6819_civilization_civilization-is-a-disease-which-is-almos_2786421.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/william-ralph-inge-6819_civilization_civilization-is-a-disease-which-is-almos_2786421.png) > “Civilization is a disease which is almost invariably fatal.” [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Civilizations tend to self‑destruct, spreading disease metaphorically through their own excesses. **In simple terms:** Civilizations can be self‑destructive. Key Takeaway Beware societal excess. Themes societal decay mortality history Mood cautionary reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - urban planning - public health - education Key Concepts systems theory entropy Questions to Reflect On - What modern practices threaten sustainability? - Can cultural resilience counteract decline? A Different Perspective Not all societies follow this pattern. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-disease-2355895/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Disease Invariably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease-invariably-3346604/) [Fatal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fatal/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Invariably Fatal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invariably-fatal-3346605/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Civilization is a disease produced by the practice of building societies with rotten material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/civilization-is-a-disease-produced-by-the-practice-of-building/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Life is a disease: sexually transmitted, and invariably fatal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/life-is-a-disease-sexually-transmitted-and-invariably-fatal/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Life - and I don't suppose I'm the first to make this comparison - is a disease: sexually transmitted, and invariably fatal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/life-and-i-don-t-suppose-i-m-the-first-to-make-this-comparison-is-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When one woman strikes at the heart of another, she seldom misses, and the wound is invariably fatal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-one-woman-strikes-at-the-heart-of-another-she-seldom-misses-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think if we can prevent a fatal disease, we should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-pisani/i-think-if-we-can-prevent-a-fatal-disease-we-should/) [Elizabeth Pisani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-pisani/) > [... each type of civilization has had diseases peculiar to it and at each period the various social groups in any community also have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-dubos/each-type-of-civilization-has-had-diseases-peculiar-to-it-and-at-each/) [Rene Dubos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-dubos/) > [It is a disturbing fact that Western civilization, which claims to have achieved the highest standard of health in history, finds itself compelled to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-dubos/it-is-a-disturbing-fact-that-western-civilization-which-claims-to/) [Rene Dubos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-dubos/) > [Civilization is a social plague on the planet, and vices are just as necessary to it as is a virus to disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fourier/civilization-is-a-social-plague-on-the-planet-and-vices-are-just-as/) [Charles Fourier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fourier/) > [The most fatal thing a man can do is try to stand alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-most-fatal-thing-a-man-can-do-is-try-to-stand-alone/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Most people do not realize that they are one car crash away from death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/most-people-do-not-realize-that-they-are-one-car-crash-away-from-death/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“The habit of thinking in terms of comparison is a fatal one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-habit-of-thinking-in-terms-of-comparison-is-a-fatal-one/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [It is fatal to one's artistic life to talk about something this is in process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/it-is-fatal-to-one-s-artistic-life-to-talk-about-something-this-is-in/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [Success is never final; failure is never fatal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-hilton/success-is-never-final-failure-is-never-fatal/) [Conrad Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-hilton/) > [Reverence is fatal to literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/reverence-is-fatal-to-literature/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [“So...what are you delivering today -- pizza or death?" "Both, actually.  Pepperoni for you now, and a fatal aneurism to the woman in room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/so-what-are-you-delivering-today-pizza-or-death-both-actually/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) ## More by William Ralph Inge > [The world belongs to those who think and act with it, who keep a finger on its pulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/the-world-belongs-to-those-who-think-and-act-with-it-who-keep-a/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [They who will live for others shall have great troubles, but they shall seem to them small. Those who will live for themselves shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/they-who-will-live-for-others-shall-have-great-troubles-but-they/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [The vulgar mind always mistakes the exceptional for the important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/the-vulgar-mind-always-mistakes-the-exceptional-for-the-important/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [The game of life is worth playing, but the struggle is the prize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/the-game-of-life-is-worth-playing-but-the-struggle-is-the-prize/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [It is becoming impossible for those who mix at all with their fellow-men to believe that the grace of God is distributed denominationally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/it-is-becoming-impossible-for-those-who-mix-at-all-with-their-fellow/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [Beneath the dingy uniformity of international fashions in dress, man remains what he has always been; a splendid fighting animal, a self-sacrificing hero, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/beneath-the-dingy-uniformity-of-international-fashions-in-dress-man/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [The Devil deserves zero tolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/the-devil-deserves-zero-tolerance/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [We should think of the church as an orchestra in which the different churches play on different instruments while a Divine Conductor calls the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/we-should-think-of-the-church-as-an-orchestra-in-which-the-different/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [Originality is undetected plagiarism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/originality-is-undetected-plagiarism/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [Each generation takes a special pleasure in removing the household gods of its parents from their pedestals, and consigning them to the cupboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/each-generation-takes-a-special-pleasure-in-removing-the-household/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [Literature flourishes best when it is half a trade and half an art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/literature-flourishes-best-when-it-is-half-a-trade-and-half-an-art/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [No healthy civilization can ever be reared on a foundation of devitalized work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/no-healthy-civilization-can-ever-be-reared-on-a-foundation-of/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [Public opinion, a vulgar, impertinent, anonymous tyrant who deliberately makes life unpleasant for anyone who is not content to be the average person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/public-opinion-a-vulgar-impertinent-anonymous-tyrant-who-deliberately/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [Deliberate cruelty to our defenceless and beautiful little cousins is surely one of the meanest and most detestable vices of which a human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/deliberate-cruelty-to-our-defenceless-and-beautiful-little-cousins-is/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [The great discovery of the nineteenth century, that we are of one blood with the lower animals, has created new ethical obligations which have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/the-great-discovery-of-the-nineteenth-century-that-we-are-of-one/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) [Explore all 97 William Ralph Inge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) ## 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 a disease which is almost invariably fatal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Ralph Inge" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/civilization-is-a-disease-which-is-almost-invariably-fatal/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilization" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/civilization-is-a-disease-which-is-almost-invariably-fatal/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/william-ralph-inge-6819_civilization_civilization-is-a-disease-which-is-almos_2786421.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/william-ralph-inge-6819_civilization_civilization-is-a-disease-which-is-almos_2786421.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/william-ralph-inge-6819_civilization_civilization-is-a-disease-which-is-almos_2786421.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Civilization is a disease which is almost invariably fatal.” — William Ralph Inge", "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 Ralph Inge", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Civilization is a disease which is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/civilization-is-a-disease-which-is-almost-invariably-fatal/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/civilization-is-a-disease-which-is-almost-invariably-fatal/#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 } } ] } ```