“A civilization is not destroyed by wicked people it is not necessary that people be wicked but only that they be spineless.”— James Baldwin Related Quotes “Cities force growth and make men talkative and entertaining, but they make them artificial. Ralph Waldo Emerson”— H.W. Brands “Only by the aid of language does reason bring about its most important achievements, namely the harmonious and consistent action of several individuals, the planned cooperation of many thousands, civilization, the State; and then, science, the storing up of previous experience, the summarizing into one concept of what is common, the communication of truth, the spreading of error, thoughts and poems, dogmas and superstitions. The animal learns to know death only when he dies, but man consciously draws every hour nearer his death; and at times this makes life a precarious business, even to the man who has not already recognized this character of constant annihilation in the whole of life itself.”— Arthur Schopenhauer “Any civilization where the main symbol of religious veneration is a tool of execution is a bad place to have children.”— Charles Stross