"The two World Wars came in part, like much modern literature and art, because men, whose nature is to tire of everything in turn... tired of common sense and civilization"
About this Quote
The phrase "men, whose nature is to tire of everything in turn" carries a quietly scathing anthropology. Lucas isn’t describing a few villains; he’s describing a species-level weakness. By the time he reaches "tired of common sense and civilization", the word "tired" has curdled from casual fatigue into moral negligence. Civilisation, in this framing, is not a proud inheritance but a daily practice that can be abandoned for the thrill of extremity.
Context matters: Lucas wrote in a Britain and Europe still processing two wars, watching avant-garde experimentation become both scapegoat and shorthand for a broader crisis of values. His swipe at "modern literature and art" echoes a familiar conservative suspicion of modernism, but his deeper target is the cultural psychology that makes radicalism feel like relief. The subtext is a warning about decadence’s political twin: when a culture gets bored with restraint, it starts mistaking destruction for renewal.
Quote Details
| Topic | War |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Lucas, F. L. (2026, January 15). The two World Wars came in part, like much modern literature and art, because men, whose nature is to tire of everything in turn... tired of common sense and civilization. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-two-world-wars-came-in-part-like-much-modern-167417/
Chicago Style
Lucas, F. L. "The two World Wars came in part, like much modern literature and art, because men, whose nature is to tire of everything in turn... tired of common sense and civilization." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-two-world-wars-came-in-part-like-much-modern-167417/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The two World Wars came in part, like much modern literature and art, because men, whose nature is to tire of everything in turn... tired of common sense and civilization." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-two-world-wars-came-in-part-like-much-modern-167417/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
