As I have remarked here in the past, the feeling that the world is going to Hell in a hand-basket is a timeless feature of human nature. The world has always been, and will always be, going to Hell in a hand-basket. Still, one pauses: after all, there was someone living an ordinary life in Rome when it was sacked by the barbarians. It’s a matter of timing. You never know what you’re in for.
— Stephen Pentz, “Presence”
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If you were born in the Western Roman Empire around 400, would knowing what was coming do much to change how you lived your life? You’re not going to go join the Ostrogoths or the Huns. At best you get a quiet vineyard a comfortable distance from Rome, read some Virgil, and wait.
— Spotted Toad (@toad_spotted) August 22, 2021