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In Search of Civilization

Book by John Armstrong · 2 quotes · Civilization, Philosophy, Anxiety

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In Search of Civilization Quotes

“There is a moment in conversation - and I wish it came more often - when we change gear; it is usually getting late, and somebody takes a risk. Gradually, intimate trust and relaxation have met; perhaps we have had a few glasses of wine ... We lean forward: ‘Here's how I *really* see life’; ‘To be completely honest, this is what I think.’ We have cut loose from complaint , from defence, from the clever display of information. Now it's what we love, what we hold dear; what it is like to be you. In pursuit of romance, this would be the moment when flirtation has succeeded: it is no longer a question of teasing and probing while keeping one eye on the exit. We know we do not need the getaway car any more. One life opens to another life.”

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Book:In Search of Civilization
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“The tragic sense of life has its origin in our determination to carry off two incompatible, but equally serious, ambitions: to search for meaning and to face reality. An intense, unceasing demand for meaning - the longing for life to make benevolent, beautiful sense - is coupled with the dawning, appalling fact that it does not, in the end, make sense in that way. Tragedy is the name for horror seen against the backdrop of love. This is an area in which civilization does not reduce our suffering - does not make life more pleasing or comfortable. What is the achievement of tragedy? It is to present the deepest sorrows of the human condition: what we love is terribly vulnerable; each life is a brief, scarring moment in the wastes of eternity; our transient existence will be marked by depression, confusion, and fear ... The ambition of tragedy is to hold such intelligent fears in a ceremonial act endowed with splendour and grace. The ceremony does not overcome our fears. But, unlike horror, it does not seek to stoke anxiety. The tragic view is, really, a determination to hold on to nobility, love and beauty - even while knowing the worst about ourselves.”

PhilosophyHumanityExistenceSadnessComfortCivilizationTragedyMeaningMeaning Of LifeThe Human Condition
Book:In Search of Civilization
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