Sometimes there are thoughts phrased in such a way that they just knock you back. I grabbed the first volume of Livy’s history of Rome from the library this afternoon, mostly to see what he had to say about the Lupercalia we were talking about today. (Titus Livius was born during J. Caesar’s first consulship in Rome, and lived though Augustus’s lifetime—he and the first emperor were quite close, actually. Livy probably started writing his history about twenty years after Julius’s death, in 25 B.C. or so.)
In writing about Rome’s history, Livy has much praise for the Romans and their accomplishments, but also fears the direction Rome is heading. In his opening, where he explains his purpose for writing, this bit jumped out at me:
…labente deinde paulatim disciplina valit desidentis primo mores sequatur animo, deinde ut magis magisque lapsi sint, tum ire coeperint praecipites, donec ad haec tempora quibus nec vitia nostra nec remedia pati possumus perventum est.
…then let [the reader] note how, with the gradual relaxation of discipline, morals first gave way, as it were, then sank lower and lower, and finally began the downward plunge which has brought us to our present time, when we can endure neither our vices nor their cure.
Wow. When we can endure neither our vices nor their cure. What a terrible nexus! Is that what brings down nations? I’m pretty sure that’s what can bring us down from time to time, sometimes permanently. Heavy stuff; thought I’d share. 😉