Jimmy Carter; Cairo, Egypt Address Before the People's Assembly Online, The American Presidency Project; 26 August 1978

As a boy, like other schoolchildren all over the world, I studied the civilization of Egypt. In the last few days, I have at last seen the legacy of that great civilization with my own eyes. As a citizen of a very young country, I can only marvel at the 7,000-year heritage of the Egyptian people, whom you represent. For most of the last 500 years, Egypt suffered under foreign domination. But Egypt has again taken her place among the world's independent countries and has led the resurgence among the Arab people to a prominent place among the nations of the world. I'm very proud of that great achievement on your part. Tragically, this generation of progress has also been a generation of suffering. Again and again, the energies of the peoples of the Middle East have been drained by the conflicts among you—and especially by the violent confrontations between Arabs and Israelis. Four wars have taken their toll in blood and treasure, in uprooted families, and young lives cut short by death. Then, 16 months ago, one man, Anwar al-Sadat, rose up and said, "Enough of war." He rose up and said, "Enough of war. It is time for peace."

— Jimmy Carter on Egypt

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "As a boy, like other schoolchildren all over the world, I studied the civilization of Egypt. In the last few days, I have at last seen the legacy of that great civilization with my own eyes. As a citizen of a very young country, I can only marvel at the 7,000-year heritage of the Egyptian people, whom you represent. For most of the last 500 years, Egypt suffered under foreign domination. But Egypt has again taken her place among the world's independent countries and has led the resurgence among the Arab people to a prominent place among the nations of the world. I'm very proud of that great achievement on your part. Tragically, this generation of progress has also been a generation of suffering. Again and again, the energies of the peoples of the Middle East have been drained by the conflicts among you—and especially by the violent confrontations between Arabs and Israelis. Four wars have taken their toll in blood and treasure, in uprooted families, and young lives cut short by death. Then, 16 months ago, one man, Anwar al-Sadat, rose up and said, "Enough of war." He rose up and said, "Enough of war. It is time for peace."" in the context of "Jimmy Carter; Cairo, Egypt Address Before the People's Assembly Online, The American Presidency Project; 26 August 1978" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Egypt" (Quotes, C) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 01, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Jimmy Carter

About Jimmy Carter

James Earl Carter, Jr. (October 1, 1924 – December 29, 2024) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. In 1982 he established the Carter Center, as a base for promoting human rights, democracy, finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts, and advancing economic and social development, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He was a key figure in the Habitat for Humanity project, and has been noted for his criticism of Israel's role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.