The Story of Civilization by Will Durant: A Complete Journey Through Human History
Napoleon and the Power of Historical Timing
After completing my review of Durant’s opening volume, “Our Oriental Heritage,” I embarked on the complete journey through his monumental “Story of Civilization.” The final volume left me contemplating something profound: the decisive role of fortune in shaping history.
The French Revolution unfolded like a natural phenomenon—countless individual actions combining into an unstoppable force of change. Napoleon emerged at precisely the right moment, possessing exactly the skills needed to seize control of France and reshape Europe. His extraordinary fortune sustained him throughout his career, allowing him to die peacefully when others in similar positions met violent ends.
Napoleon’s battlefield successes struck at the heart of European tradition because he rose from common origins. His achievements represented a direct challenge to the divine right of kings—a cornerstone principle that had governed European politics for over a millennium. This social disruption became evident when Napoleon offered peace to King George III, who refused to respond directly because royal protocol forbade monarchs from corresponding with commoners.
Learning History’s Patterns: Key Insights from Durant’s Complete Work
My primary motivation for studying history lies in understanding recurring patterns of human behavior. Using Kindle’s highlighting feature, I collected the most illuminating passages from all volumes and organized them into meaningful categories. These represent my personal “Lessons from History”—universal truths that transcend time and geography.
11 Universal Lessons from World History
1. Skepticism: The Universal Counter-Current to Religious Faith
Religious impulses and skeptical thinking have coexisted throughout human civilization. Despite religious authorities’ attempts to suppress dissenting voices, evidence of skeptical traditions appears across all continents and cultures.
Ancient Indian Materialism:
“Out of the aphorisms of Brihaspati came a whole school of Hindu materialists, named, after one of them, Charvakas. They laughed at the notion that the Vedas were divinely revealed truth; truth, they argued, can never be known, except through the senses. . . . What is not perceived by the senses, said the Charvakas, does not exist; therefore the soul is a delusion, and Atman is humbug.”
Hebrew Skepticism:
“The repetition of ‘The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God’ in the Psalms (XIV, I; LIII, I), indicates that such fools were sufficiently numerous to create some stir in Israel.”
African Naturalism:
“A Zulu was asked: ‘When you see the sun rising and setting, and the trees growing, do you know who made them and governs them?’ He answered, simply: ‘No, we see them, but cannot tell how they came; we suppose that they came by themselves.'”
Greek Philosophy:
“Doth some one say that there be gods above? There are not, no, there are not.” —Euripides, “Bellerophontes”
2. Materialist Philosophy: An Ancient Worldview
Materialist explanations of existence have ancient roots, appearing independently across different civilizations.
“When Buddha grew to manhood he found the halls, the streets, the very woods of northern India ringing with philosophic disputation, mostly of an atheistic and materialistic trend.”
3. Evolution and Natural Selection: Pre-Darwin Observations
The concepts of natural selection and species evolution were recognized long before Darwin’s formal theory.
“Life does not differ essentially from other matter; it is a product of moving atoms which are individually dead. As the universe took form by the inherent laws of matter, so the earth produced by a purely natural selection all the species and organs of life.” — Lucretius (summarized by Durant)
Remarkably, Henry of Hesse suggested natural species evolution among plants in the 14th century—500 years before Darwin.
4. Religion’s Social Necessity Despite Rational Challenges
While rational thinking persists throughout history, civilizations consistently require religious or quasi-religious belief systems to maintain social cohesion.
“In a conflict between superstition and philosophy one may safely wager on the victory of superstition, for the world wisely prefers happiness to wisdom.”
“Nothing, save bread, is so precious to mankind as its religious beliefs; for man lives not by bread alone, but also by the faith that lets him hope.”
5. Human Ingratitude and Opportunism
Throughout history, people demonstrate remarkable ingratitude and will abandon benefactors when advantageous. Trust should be granted cautiously, especially to groups.
“Caesar distributed corn to the needy, canceled all sentences of banishment except Milo’s, and pardoned all returning aristocrats. No one thanked him for his moderation. The forgiven conservatives resumed their plotting against his life.”
“No man is a hero to his debtor.”
6. Civilization Requires Hierarchy and Resource Concentration
All successful civilizations depend on unequal distribution of resources and power. Equality, while appealing morally, proves incompatible with complex social organization.
“It is as difficult to begin a civilization without robbery as it is to maintain it without slaves.”
“In every age and nation civilization is the product, privilege, and responsibility of a minority.”
7. Effective Leadership Requires Focused Thinking
Successful leaders cannot afford complex reasoning or open-minded deliberation when facing obstacles. Decisive action requires mental concentration and simplified thinking.
“[The Apostle Paul’s] mind was of a type frequent among Jews: penetrating and passionate rather than genial and urbane; emotional and imaginative rather than objective and impartial; he was powerful in action because he was narrow in thought.”
8. The Danger of Like-Minded Associations
Seeking only compatible companions can prove more dangerous than engaging with known opponents. Ideological allies often become the greatest threats.
“Probably more Christians were slaughtered by Christians in these two years (342–3) than by all the persecutions of Christians by pagans in the history of Rome.”
9. Christianity’s Historical Record of Violence
Christian institutions have historically perpetrated more systematic cruelty than can be adequately documented or comprehended.
“Between 1560 and 1600 some eight thousand women were burned as witches in a Scotland having hardly a million souls.”
“A woman who insisted on keeping Saturday as the Sabbath was imprisoned for eleven years.”
10. Fortune Determines Historical Influence
Individual impact on history depends primarily on favorable circumstances rather than talent or effort. Even the most capable leaders remain subject to forces beyond their control.
“I have conceived many plans,” [Napoleon] said, “but I was never free to execute one of them. For all that I held the rudder, and with a strong hand, the waves were a good deal stronger. I was never in truth my own master; I was always governed by circumstance.”
11. Constant Vigilance Against Barbarism
Civilized societies must continuously defend against regressive forces. The benefits of civilization can disappear rapidly without active protection.
“Barbarism is like the jungle; it never admits its defeat; it waits patiently for centuries to recover the territory it has lost.”
“From barbarism to civilization requires a century; from civilization to barbarism needs but a day.”
Appreciating Our Historical Moment
Despite these persistent human challenges, our current era represents an extraordinary period in human history. We live with unprecedented comfort and security compared to previous generations who endured unimaginable hardships.
Medieval Mortality:
“Neither relatives nor friends nor priests nor friars accompanied the corpses to the grave, nor was the office of the dead recited…. And I, Agniolo di Tura… with my own hands buried five of my children in a single trench; and many others did the like.”
Industrial Working Conditions:
“Eleven to thirteen hours constituted the normal working day, six days a week; the long stretch was relieved by an hour and a half for meals; but those who lingered unduly over their meals forfeited a quarter of a day’s pay.”
Voltaire calculated average human lifespan in his era at merely twenty-two years—a stark reminder of how dramatically life expectancy has improved.
The Inevitability of Being Forgotten
Perhaps most humbling is history’s lesson about impermanence. Regardless of our achievements, future generations will likely forget our contributions entirely.
“[Isabelle d’Este] died in 1539, aged sixty-four, and was buried with preceding rulers of Mantua in the Capella dei Signori in the church of San Francesco. Her son ordered a handsome tomb to be raised to her memory, and joined her in death a year later. When the French pillaged Mantua in 1797 the tombs of the Mantuan princes and princesses were shattered, and the ashes they contained were mingled in the indiscriminate dust.”
“In 1581 Bishop Kromer raised a monument to Copernicus against the inner wall of Frauenburg Cathedral, next to the canon’s grave. In 1746 the monument was removed to make place for a statue of Bishop Szembek. Who was he? Who knows?”
Durant’s Personal Reflection
The author himself acknowledged the profound impact of this historical journey:
“Forty years of happy association in the pursuit of history have come to an end. We dreamed of the day when we should write the last word of the last volume. Now that that day has come we know that we shall miss the absorbing purpose that gave meaning and direction to our lives.”