Mastodawn

I am quite prepared to concede that public peace is a great good, yet I do not want to forget that every nation that has ended in tyranny has come to that end by way of good order. It certainly does not follow from this that peoples should scorn public peace, but neither should they be satisfied with that and nothing more. A nation that asks nothing of government but the maintenance of order is already a slave in the depths of its heart; it is a slave of its well-being, ready for the man who will put it in chains.

[Je conviendrai sans peine que la paix publique est un grand bien; mais je ne veux pas oublier cependant que c’est à travers le bon ordre que tous les peuples sont arrivés à la tyrannie. Il ne s’ensuit pas assurément que les peuples doivent mépriser la paix publique; mais il ne faut pas qu’elle leur suffise. Une nation qui ne demande à son gouvernement que le maintien de l’ordre est déjà esclave au fond du cœur; elle est esclave de son bien-être, et l’homme qui doit l’enchaîner peut paraître.]

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
Democracy in America [De la démocratie en Amérique], Part 2, ch. 14 (1835) [tr. Goldhammer (2004)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/tocqueville-alexis-d…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #alexisdetocqueville #declineandfall #government #lawandorder #order #peace #security #tranquility #tyranny

Tocqueville, Alexis de - Democracy in America, Part 2, ch. 14 (1835) [tr. Goldhammer (2004)] | WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations

Paul Emerson Oct 23, 2025

Fucking Gibbon can't go more than two paragraphs without using "former" and/or "latter"

#declineandfall #books

WIST Quotations Has Moved!May 5, 2025

A quotation from Byron

There is the moral of all human tales;
   ‘Tis but the same rehearsal of the past,
   First Freedom, and then Glory — when that fails,
   Wealth — Vice — Corruption, — Barbarism at last.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) English poet
Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto 4, st. 108 (1818)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/byron/76512/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #byron #corruption #cycle #decadence #history #riseandfall #decline #declineandfall

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto 4, st. 108 (1818) - Byron, George Gordon, Lord | WIST Quotations

There is the moral of all human tales; 'Tis but the same rehearsal of the past, First Freedom, and then Glory -- when that fails, Wealth -- Vice -- Corruption, -- Barbarism at last.

WIST Quotations

Daniel Dvorkin Apr 30, 2025

A lot of what the regime does is driven by greed, of course. Make as much money as possible as fast as possible. But I'm increasingly convinced just as much of it is toddler-like gleeful destruction for its own sake.

https://blog.ucs.org/science-blogger/ten-vital-services-provided-by-noaa-beyond-the-national-weather-service/

#NOAA #Trump #DeclineAndFall

Ten Vital Services Provided by NOAA (Beyond the National Weather Service)

Far too much of the media coverage supporting NOAA only mentions one of many things they do: here are 10 more.

The Equation

tinydoctor Apr 4, 2025

I'm in a quandary. I'd buy tickets for this now--one of the first jazz albums I ever bought was Hancock's VSOP Ouintet album, back in ...'77. I'd love to hear Hancock playing with anybody live--but for all I know by November I may be a refugee or in hiding or...

#herbiehancock #jazz #livejazz #declineandfall

https://tickets.kentuckyperformingarts.org/24449?fbclid=IwY2xjawJc7DZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHlhTLWlpIePvGoVVBE1pGtVLvwES_KUP0PKUFHgUEbTzOHxjVesuS7S_vwTi_aem_lOEnAC6FbOgwprK9AINn8g&queueittoken=e_tnewsafetynet~q_aeea73c2-9f75-4189-a268-5c6234250380~ts_1743785371~ce_true~rt_safetynet~h_c89cd114247df38f31eb5eb81a6b0192fe26c2ed3111c9d43faedc3f26b282f1

Post-Punk.com [Unofficial]Mar 27, 2025

Burn This Asylum — Lisbon Darkwavers Decline and Fall Debut Video for “As All Ends”

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://post-punk.com/burn-this-asylum-lisbon-darkwavers-decline-and-fall-debut-video-for-as-all-ends/

Burn This Asylum — Lisbon Darkwavers Decline and Fall Debut Video for "As All Ends" — Post-Punk.com

Decline and Fall is where the wires now hum for Armando Teixeira, a man who’s marched through Portugal’s musical underbelly for decades. From the skeletal mechanics of Ik Mux’s EBM to the industrial clang of Bizarra Locomotiva, from the sampled swagger of Da Weasel to the brooding elegance of Balla, Teixeira has long treated genre like clay: something to bend, break, and remake. His soundtrack work, which has won him three Sophia Awards, drips through screens across Portuguese film and television like ink in water.

Post-Punk.com

Nate Cochrane Feb 13, 2025

When the US is a smouldering, smoking husk of a ruin, how will you describe what it was like before the 'Mump' coup? Give it your best shot in the comments below. #DeclineAndFall

Bluesky

Bluesky Social

Waywords Studio Jan 31, 2025

𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: "𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹" 𝗯𝘆 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵 -

Absurd and comedic satire on British "appearances" and class with plenty of lowkey digs at other topics along the way. Unfortunately, 100 years later, we are reminded that not all "humor" ages equally well.

https://buff.ly/3PWRDVm

#bookreviews #books #bookworm #readreadread #evelynwaugh #declineandfall #satire #britishhumor #absurdism

Review: "Decline and Fall" by Evelyn Waugh -

YouTube

Rick Goldstein Jan 24, 2025

My wife heard from a former student today. The student had a job offer in hand from the National Park Service for a fee clerk position at a park visitor center. A worker position, not a policy job.

They got an email today that the job offer had been rescinded, and they'd be notified if the position re-opened so they could apply again.

This is no way to run a business, much less the government of the richest country in the world.

#Trump #USA #DeclineAndFall

Waywords Studio Jan 9, 2025

𝟯 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: "𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹” 𝗯𝘆 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵 -

Waugh's silly romp through early 20th century high society at once light-hearted and searing satire.

https://buff.ly/4j2XaXT

#bookreviews #books #bookworm #readreadread #3words #evelynwaugh #declineandfall #britishsociety #satire