Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting and doing things historians usually record, while on the banks, unnoticed, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry.The story of civilization is the story of what happened on the banks. Historians are pessimists because they ignore the banks for the river.

Summary

This quote by Will Durant highlights the imbalance in historical narratives. Durant argues that historians tend to focus on the violent and tumultuous events that happen in societies, thus presenting a pessimistic view of civilization. Meanwhile, the quote emphasizes that the essence of civilization lies in the activities happening on the banks of the stream, such as building homes, forging relationships, and creating cultural expressions like poetry and music. Durant suggests that historians should give equal or more attention to these aspects to depict a truer and more optimistic picture of human civilization.

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