| Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989. | | | |
|
| | | NUMBER: | 227 |
| AUTHOR: | Arnold Joseph Toynbee (1889–1975) |
| QUOTATION: | On this showing, the nature of the breakdowns of civilizations can be summed up in three points: a failure of creative power in the minority, an answering withdrawal of mimesis on the part of the majority, and a consequent loss of social unity in the society as a whole. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | ARNOLD J. TOYNBEE, A Study of History, vol. 4, part B, p. 6 (1948). |
| SUBJECTS: | Civilization |
| BIOGRAPHY: | Columbia Encyclopedia | | |
|
|
