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The three great elements of modern civilization, Gun powder, Printing, and the Protestant religion.
Thomas Carlyle
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Carlyle highlights three pivotal forces that shaped modern society: gunpowder for warfare, printing for communication, and Protestantism for faith.

In this quote, Thomas Carlyle identifies gunpowder, printing, and the Protestant religion as key elements that have significantly influenced modern civilization. Gunpowder signifies the advancement of military technology and the impact of war on society; printing represents the spread of knowledge and information, facilitating education and democratizing access to literature; and the Protestant religion symbolizes a major shift in spiritual beliefs, encouraging individualism and reformation in religious practices. Together, these elements underline the interplay between technology, communication, and faith in shaping contemporary life.

Themes

CivilizationGunpowderPrintingReligionModernity

In practice

Example use cases

In a lecture about the impact of technology on society, this quote can illustrate how certain inventions have changed our world.

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For the superior morality, of which we hear so much, we too would desire to be thankful: at the same time, it were but blindness to deny that this superior morality is properly rather an inferior criminality, produced not by greater love of Virtue, but by greater perfection of Police; and of that far subtler and stronger Police, called Public Opinion.
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Enjoying things which are pleasant; that is not the evil; it is the reducing of our moral self to slavery by them that is.
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Clean undeniable right, clear undeniable might: either of these once ascertained puts an end to battle. All battle is a confused experiment to ascertain one and both of these.
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