Civilisation

Famous quotes containing the word civilisation:

    There is held to be no surer test of civilisation than the increase per head of the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Yet alcohol and tobacco are recognisable poisons, so that their consumption has only to be carried far enough to destroy civilisation altogether.
    Havelock Ellis (1859–1939)

    That civilisation may not sink,
    Its great battle lost,
    William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)

    One of the joys our technological civilisation has lost is the excitement with which seasonal flowers and fruits were welcomed; the first daffodil, strawberry or cherry are now things of the past, along with their precious moment of arrival. Even the tangerine—now a satsuma or clementine—appears de-pipped months before Christmas.
    Derek Jarman (b. 1942)