OkazuYuriDec 26, 2022

In response to someone whining about "kids today" on another site, I dug out this quote again:

"Our Earth is degenerate in these later days; there are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer obey their parents; every man wants to write a book and the end of the world is evidently approaching.”

It's from an Assyrian clay tablet. circa 2800 B.C.E.

Humans don't change, only technology does.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ten-notable-apocalypses-that-obviously-didnt-happen-9126331/

Ten Notable Apocalypses That (Obviously) Didn’t Happen

Apocalyptic predictions are nothing new—they have been around for millennia

Smithsonian Magazine
Show threadHeather D. BakerDec 26, 2022
@EricaFriedman Hm that article doesn't cite its source, but there were no Assyrians in 2800 BC, and this tablet doesn't ring a bell. 🤔
Show threadThe Mïghty Kräcken
@apkallatu @EricaFriedman here's the oldest known reference to the quote, on page 493.
https://archive.org/details/popularsciencemo82newy/page/492/mode/1up?view=theater
The Popular science monthly : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Biography index

Internet Archive
Dec 26, 2022 at 4:55pmMastodon for Android
Show threadThe Mïghty KräckenDec 26, 2022
@apkallatu @EricaFriedman the quote itself has popped up in several places since then evolving along the way. There has never been a verified sighting of the original writing, so you're most likely right to be skeptical.
Show threadHeather D. BakerDec 26, 2022
@Klaxun @EricaFriedman Thanks, that’s interesting
Show threadSeth L. SandersDec 26, 2022
@apkallatu @Klaxun @EricaFriedman Good old Naram Sin from 3800 BC!
Show threadHeather D. BakerDec 26, 2022
@Sethlsanders @Klaxun @EricaFriedman Yeah, Naram-Sin the famous Assyrian!
Show threadSeth L. SandersDec 26, 2022
@apkallatu @Klaxun @EricaFriedman excuse me according to the earliest English language source he was a *Chaldean* (a famous culture of fortune-telling fish-men from the 4th millennium BCE)
Show threadHeather D. BakerDec 26, 2022
@Sethlsanders @Klaxun @EricaFriedman Sure - but by the time of the modern article that sparked this conversation, he had morphed into an Assyrian!
Show threadMartin RundkvistDec 26, 2022
@Sethlsanders @apkallatu @Klaxun @EricaFriedman He just keeps getting older and better!
Show threadThe Mïghty KräckenDec 26, 2022
@EricaFriedman I just saw your bio, and it looks like I'm not just preaching to the choir, but to the preacher!
Show threadjoene 🏴Dec 27, 2022
@Klaxun @EricaFriedman Fake news is also from all times. 😉