“Civilization is a disease which is almost invariably fatal.”
"The Idea of Progress" http://books.google.com/books?id=TbgYAAAAYAAJ&q=Devil+in+human+form, Romanes Lecture (27 May 1920), reprinted in Outspoken Essays: Second Series (1922)
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William Ralph Inge18
Dean of St Pauls 1860–1954Related quotes
“Contracting a fatal disease.”
John McCain (1936–2018) politician from the United States
In response to a reporter's question, "Are there any circumstances under which you could imagine yourself not still being a candidate when the presidential primaries are held?" (July 2007)
2000s, 2007
William Muir (1819–1905) Scottish Orientalist and colonial administrator
Life of Mahomet, Vol. IV (1861), p. 322 https://archive.org/stream/lifemahomet00muirgoog/lifemahomet00muirgoog#page/n342/mode/1up
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) Polish-American Conservative Judaism Rabbi
"No Religion is an Island", p. 264
Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Essays (1997)
Context: Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy. And yet being alive is no answer to the problems of living. To be or not to be is not the question. The vital question is: how to be and how not to be?
The tendency to forget this vital question is the tragic disease of contemporary man, a disease that may prove fatal, that may end in disaster. To pray is to recollect passionately the perpetual urgency of this vital question.
Donald A. Norman book The Design of Everyday Things
Source: The Design of Everyday Things (1988, 2002), Ch. 6, p. 173.
Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Source: The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary
Paul R. Ehrlich (1932) American scientist and environmentalist
Source: Top scientists warn of 'ghastly future of mass extinction' and climate disruption https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/13/top-scientists-warn-of-ghastly-future-of-mass-extinction-and-climate-disruption-aoe. The Guardian (2021)
“Every physician almost hath his favorite disease.”
Henry Fielding (1707–1754) English novelist and dramatist
Book II, Ch. 9
The History of Tom Jones (1749)
