“ Nature's laws must be obeyed, and the period of decline begins, and goes on with accelerated rapidity. Warren De la Rue
“ What can oppose the decline of the west is not a resurrected culture but the utopia that is silently contained in the image of its decline. Theodor W. Adorno
“ Most are inclined to recline into a reclining position, in order to enjoy the decline. Justin K. McFarlane Beau
“ Outside, under the marquee of the hotel, he stood a moment as he did each night beneath the marquee of the Hotel Hyperion, while he decided what direction to take, what to do. And suddenly, realizing… Patricia Highsmith
“ To keep any great nation up to a high standard of civilization there must be enough superior characters to hold the balance of power, but the very moment the balance of power gets into the hands of se… Christian D. Larson
“ Life is a balance. We tend to forget that as we go blithely from day to day. We eat and drink and sleep and assume we will always rise up the next day, that meals and rest will always replenish us. In… Robin Hobb
“ I have the not altogether unsatisfying impression that civilisation is collapsing around me.Is it my age, I wonder, or the age we live in? I am not sure. Civilisations do collapse, after all, but on t… Theodore Dalrymple
“ In a dying civilization, political prestige is the reward not of the shrewdest politician, but of the man with the best bedside manner. It is the decoration conferred on mediocrity by ignorance. Eric Ambler
“ Whereas it appeareth that however certain forms of government are better calculated than others to protect individuals in the free exercise of their natural rights, and are at the same time themselves… Thomas Jefferson
“ Our politicians, by their words and policies, either expand or contract the frontiers of freedom. We the people either monitor and encourage its progress, or witness and suffer its decline. (Scott L.… Scott L. Vanatter
