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A city that outdistances Man's walking powers is a trap for Man. It threatens to become a prison from which he cannot escape unless he has mechanical means of transport, the thoroughfares for carrying these, and the purchasing power for commanding the use of artificial means of communication.

— Arnold J. Toynbee

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More quotes by Arnold J. Toynbee

Societies, not states, are 'the social atoms' with which students of history have to deal.

A Study of History (1934)

Compassion is the desire that moves the individual self to widen the scope of its self-concern to embrace the whole of the universal self.

The Toynbee-Ikeda Dialogue: Man Himself Must Choose (1976)

The notion that the direct and immediate producers of the fruits of technology have a proprietary right to these fruits will have to be forgotten.

Civilization, as we know it, is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbour.

Civilization on Trial (1948)

A life which does not go into action is a failure.

A Study of History (1934)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Arnold J. Toynbee (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.