Quote #8

Angkor is not orchestral; it is monumental. It is an epic poem which makes its effect, like the Odyssey and like Paradise Lost, by the grandeur of its structure as well as by the beauty of the details; an epic in rectangular forms imposed upon the Cambodian jungle.

More from Arnold Joseph Toynbee

  1. America is a large friendly dog in a small room. Every time it wags its tail it knocks over a chair.
  2. Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can only be aroused by two things: first, an ideal, with takes the imagination by stor…
  3. A life which does not go into action is a failure.
  4. As human beings, we are endowed with freedom of choice, and we cannot shuffle off our responsibility upon the shoulders of God or nature. W…
  5. A city that outdistances man's walking powers is a trap for man.
  6. Civilization is a movement, not a condition; it is a voyage, not a harbor.
  7. The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world ther…
  8. Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.

All Arnold Joseph Toynbee quotes