Decline Quotes

“In a climate of decline, the past is a safer place than the present.”

“The obsession with the past is a symptom of a loss of faith in the future.”

“Shine, perishing republic.”

“In the shipwreck of the state, trifles float and are preserved; while everything solid and valuable sinks to the bottom, and is lost forever.”

“Luxury has fallen upon us, and avenges a conquered world.”

“I just think it's a verification of our society's decline.”

“The way you can tell if a society is sick is if it is unable to tell the truth about itself.”

“He stands the shadow of a great name.”

“I feel like I'm chronicling the decline of the American republic in some ways.”

“So, the final conclusion would surely be that whereas other civilizations have been brought down by attacks of barbarians from without, ours had the unique distinction of training its own destroyers.”

“To watch the sun sink behind a statue of Buddha is to watch a Soul of Culture finding its grave.”

“Language is in decline. Not only has eloquence departed but simple, direct speech as well.”

“There is a Gresham's law of culture as well as of money.”

“The ruling classes have given up their belief in their own right to rule.”

“To poison a nation, poison its stories. A demoralised nation tells demoralised stories to itself.”

“I can't help feeling that there is a connection between the decay of our language and the decay of our social life.”

“For the first time in its history, Western Civilization is in danger of being destroyed internally by a corrupt, criminal ruling elite.”

“If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination.”

“The modern world is a decadent, dying civilization. I'm just here to watch it burn.”

“There is no surer sign of the decay of a country than the decay of its manners.”