The whole history of man has exhibited a constant tendency to moral deterioration. Hence the earliest ages of nations have been called “ the golden age,” and subsequent ages have been of brass, or of iron. In the early ages of national existence, sparseness of population, mutual fear, and universal poverty, have obliged men to lay the foundations of society in principles of justice, in order to secure national existence. But, under such a constitution, as soon as wealth was increased, population become dense, and progress in arts and arms have rendered a nation fearless, the anti-social tendencies of vice have shown themselves too powerful for the moral forces by which they have been opposed.
The point
Human history shows moral decline once nations grow wealthy, populous, and secure, weakening the justice that founded them.