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Your Quotes for 14 April 2006 - Arnold Joseph Toynbee

British historian Arnold Toynbee was born at London on this day in 1889. Not only a student of history, he helped make some of it, serving in the British Foreign Office through both world wars and attending both Paris peace conferences (1919 and 1946). His work covered the events of 26 civilizations throughout history, from which he was able to extract a number of observations on the human condition.

Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can only be aroused by two things: first, an ideal, with takes the imagination by storm, and second, a definite intelligible plan for carrying that ideal into practice.

The human race's prospects of survival were considerably better when we were defenceless against tigers than they are today when we have become defenceless against ourselves.

The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.

I don't believe a committee can write a book.... It can, oh, govern a country, perhaps, but I don't believe it can write a book.

Now civilizations, I believe, come to birth and proceed to grow by successfully responding to successive challenges. They break down and go to pieces if and when a challenge confronts them which they fail to meet.

America is a large friendly dog in a small room. Every time it wags its tail it knocks over a chair.
     - All from Arnold Joseph Toynbee, 1889 - 1975

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