#destruction

The physicists had unleashed a force that could destroy the world.

From The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes

The pursuit of beauty can lead to both creation and destruction.

From Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World by Aja Raden

The Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden in caves to protect them from destruction.

From The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction by Timothy Lim

Empathy is a powerful force that can drive both altruistic and destructive behavior.

From Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky

A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within.

From The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant

Civilizations are like children; they need nurturing but can turn destructive.

From The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

The atomic bomb made the prospect of future war more terrible than any war that had ever been fought.

From The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes