Decadence
Illustration★★★★Once the great Roman Empire was the most powerful on earth. Yet, that great empire sank down to failure. What were the causes? Historian Edward Gibbon, in his story of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, gives these five reasons for that failure: 1.
The rapid increase of divorce; the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society. 2. Higher and higher taxes and the spending of public monies. 3.
The mad craze for pleasure; sports becoming every year more exciting and more brutal. 4. The building of gigantic armaments, when the real enemy was within: the decadence of the people.
5. The decay of religion—fading into mere form, losing touch with life and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people. Does any of the above sound familiar?
The point
Historian Edward Gibbon's five causes for Rome's fall — rising divorce, high taxes, obsession with brutal entertainment, bloated militarism amid inner decay, and hollowed-out religion — are offered as a warning that still applies today.