---
title: "It is lack of confidence, more than anything else, that kills a civil… — Kenneth Clark Quote #35 | QuotesBy.net"
description: "It is lack of confidence, more than anything else, that kills a civilisation. We can destroy ourselves by cynicism and disillusion, just as effective… — a quote by Kenneth Clark."
image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png"
---

> # It is lack of confidence, more than anything else, that kills a civilisation. We can destroy ourselves by cynicism and disillusion, just as effectively as by bombs.

[Kenneth Clark](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark)\#35[WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)](https://wa.me/?text=%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20lack%20of%20confidence%2C%20more%20than%20anything%20else%2C%20that%20kills%20a%20civilisation.%20We%20can%20destroy%20ourselves%20by%20cynicism%20and%20disillusion%2C%20just%20as%20effectively%20as%20by%20bombs.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20Kenneth%20Clark%20https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FKenneth-Clark%2F35%2F)[X (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20lack%20of%20confidence%2C%20more%20than%20anything%20else%2C%20that%20kills%20a%20civilisation.%20We%20can%20destroy%20ourselves%20by%20cynicism%20and%20disillusion%2C%20just%20as%20effectively%20as%20by%20bombs.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20Kenneth%20Clark&url=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FKenneth-Clark%2F35%2F)[Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FKenneth-Clark%2F35%2F)

## More from Kenneth Clark

1. > Bright-minded young people think poorly of existing institutions and want to abolish them. Well, one doesn't need to be young to dislike institutions. But the …

[Permalink to quote \#34](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/34/ "Permalink to quote 34")
2. > Totalitarian art must be a form of classicism: the state which is founded on order and subordination demands an art with a similar basis. Romantic painting, ho…

[Permalink to quote \#36](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/36/ "Permalink to quote 36")
3. > One musn't overrate the culture of what used to be called 'top people' before the wars. They had charming manners, but they were as ignorant as swans.

[Permalink to quote \#33](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/33/ "Permalink to quote 33")

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