Civilization Fall

The more rapidly a civilization progresses, the sooner it dies for another to rise in its place.
- Havelock Ellis

The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Civilization; Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

"You can't say civilization doesn't advance ... In every war they kill you in a new way."
- Will Rogers, American Entertainer

"As long as our civilization is esentially one of property, of fences, of exclusiveness, it will be mocked by delusions." - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Poet

"Today we are faced with the preeminent fact that, if civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world, at peace."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd US President

Subconcious Transitions

"He set out for the woods and not far from the water
found a grove with a
clearing all around and crawled
beneath two bushy olives sprung from the
same root,
one olive wild, the other well-bred stock."
~ Narrator
Book 5, page 167, line 525-528

This depiction of Odysseus that Homer gives to us shows us the current state that our hero is in. Naked with nothing to aid him, shelter him, or provide for him, we see that Odysseus has been reduced to the circumstances of a human. Purely with nothing else, he sleeps underneath these two olive bushes; one wild, one tame. This natural imagery tells us of the boundaries between the civilized world and the uncivilized world; the difference between wild, and tame. Odysseus, having nothing, is dirty, naked, hungry and wild. The action of sleeping represents a transition for Odysseus from the wild to the civilized world. The separation from reality and fantasy is represented by sleep; it is a transition.

Chaos...

"Chaos in the midst of chaos isn't funny, but chaos in the midst of order is."
Steve Martin, Comedian

Key of Civilization

"The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself." Robert Ingersoll

This quote is like the key of The Civilization, that nobody seems to have understand yet. I think it is due to the fact that people always want to control others, so civilizations are never equals for anybody and can't last. Men always want a little more rights, or a little more freedom that their neigbours. They always want to control others rather than considering the peace of their own country or civilization.

Thanks for butting in Peace...

"Peace was an interruption of war" ~ Interviewee, An Empire Special: The Greeks, Crucible of Civilization

For the states surrounding Greece, and some of Greece itself, this statement remains true. Peace, was an interruption of war; when the cultures were at peace with one another, they were being interrupted. Specifically this can be said for Sparta. Their society; brought up to be soldiers, and militarily governed, the Spartans were all about war. Physically being the strongest military in the whole of the Greek region, Sparta was victorious in the battles they took part in. Since they lived purely on conflict and battle, it can be said that their society was at a stand still when there were no military acts or conflicts to engage in. Therefore, peace was an interruption of war.

Will Our Civilization Succeed?

"In a sense, civilization as a way of life is still in the experimental phase. We do not know whether it will be as succesful in the long run as the hunting and gathering existence that sustained our ancestors for most of human history."
-The Ancient Mediterranean World (Page 3)

This quote is odd because it seems as if our civilization and way of life-more so Eastern than Western-has been around for a while. There are buildings in Asia and Europe that are thousands of years old; artwork and literature that have sustained the test of time. Just think, however, about the millions of years that came before now. From dinosaurs to the ice age to cavemen, we are in the midst of a natural progression of societal changes. In the relative future, it appears as if this civilization will sustain itself. Civilizations that looked insurmountable have failed-the Romans and Mayans come to mind-but those are certain ethnic groups, not a universal way of life.

Nicely Put, Sir

"You can't kill ideas with bullets"- Mr. Johnston

Mr. Johnston came up with this gem of a statement during our class today, and I was extremely impressed because I feel it accurately defines the reason that some civilizations, such as Greece, experienced such longevity while others faded into obscurity.

Greece was an innovative, revolutionary civilization. Everything from philosophy to mathematics, from architecture to military strategies, can trace its roots back to ancient Greece, where exploration into such fields flourished. Concepts such as democracy perpetuate the Greek significance in modern day society. So omnipresent was Greek innovation that mere warfare could not conquer Greece; the civilization lives on to this day. Civilizations that are united by vicissitudes and inventions do not crumble as easily as those that have no unifying factors or lasting influence. The great ideas that civilizations such as Greece have lent the world have not died through invasions, combat, or shifts in government, proving that ideas truly cannot be killed with bullets; civilizations achieve greatness through their ideas that survived the test of time.

Civilization

"To speak of 'civilization' (of which this book is a history) is at once to plunge into controversy, so that our very first words illustrate why some people are so fearful of the study of history"

- Ancient Mediterranean World Preface

History is riddled with controversy, from what started wars to who won them, from how civilizations existed to how they fell - riddled with issues and questions we may never be able to understand or answer. When we start delving into topics, when we start trying to understand the controversy, we scare ourselves with the truth sometimes.