All high and noble civilisations are beset with anxiety about their own decadence

From a review by Christopher Hart, Slave to Fortune, in Literary Review, January 2010.

Hence the Romans agonised constantly, from the very earliest days, about how the past was better than the present, and now was all decadence. In fact, all high and noble civilisations are beset with anxiety about their own decadence, convinced that their forefathers were better than them. Our current civilisation, on the other hand, is quite convinced it is superior to the racist, sexist, classist, imperialist beastliness of our immediate forefathers. Go figure, as they say.