The Wisdom of Alexis de Tocqueville
"Because Roman civilization perished through barbarian invasions, we are perhaps too much inclined to think that is the only way a civilization can die.
If the lights that guide us ever go out, they will fade little by little, as if of their own accord...
We therefore should not console ourselves by thinking that barbarians are still a long way off. Some peoples may let the torch be snatched from their hands, but others stamp it out themselves."
—Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America
