It is impossible to overlook the extent to which civilization is built upon a renunciation of instinct. – Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents

Man — despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments — owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains. – Author and exact wording unknown, I’ve been told this was quoted by Paul H

Civilization: a thin veneer over barbarianism. – John M. Shanahan, The Most Brilliant Thoughts of All Time (In Two Lines or Less)

A civilization in which there is not a continuous controversy about important issues is on the way to totalitarianism and death. – Robert Maynard Hutchins