Kenneth Clark lamented that civilization was a fragile thing.
He observed three “enemies” that could topple even the mightiest cultures—what are they?🧵
The first enemy is fear:
“fear of war, fear of invasion, fear of plague and famine, that make it simply not worthwhile constructing things, or planting trees or even planning next year’s crops. And fear of the supernatural, which means that you daren’t question anything.”
Fear paralyzes a people and stifles adventure, invention, and grand building projects.
Fear leads to stagnation.
The second enemy is a lack of self confidence. Clark saw the late Roman empire as a prime example of a culture that didn’t believe in itself anymore:
“The late antique world was full of meaningless rituals, mystery religions, that destroyed self-confidence.”
When traditions and rituals lose their connection to what inspired them in the first place, they become the performance art of a dying civilization.
Cultures need to believe in something.
Finally, a civilization dies with exhaustion—the “feeling of hopelessness which can overtake people even with a high degree of material prosperity.”
Decadence, moral degradation, and lack of belief in something greater leave a society questioning the point of it all.
An aimlessness pervades society that is often only quenched by civilizational suicide.
Clark tells a story by Greek poet Cavafy, in which he imagines an antique town that waits for barbarians to come and sack the city.
After a while, the barbarians move on and the city is spared. But the people are disappointed—destruction would have at least been interesting.
Enough doom and gloom—what’s the solution?
Clark draws a distinction between the “amenities” of civilization and the factors that caused it to prosper in the first place.
A society can be “dead and rigid” even while enjoying great wealth:
“People sometimes think that civilisation consists in fine sensibilities and good conversations and all that. These can be among the agreeable results of civilisation, but they are not what make a civilisation”
Ultimately Clark says that flourishing civilizations have two things beyond a base-level of material prosperity: confidence and belief.
“confidence in the society in which one lives, belief in its philosophy, belief in its laws, and confidence in one’s own mental powers.”
For example, the way in which the stones of the Pont du Gard Aqueduct are laid shows not only a triumph of technical skill, but a vigorous belief in law and discipline, as well as a confidence in the ability to accomplish great tasks.
But there’s something else great civilizations share:
“Vigour, energy, vitality: all the civilisations—or civilising epochs—have had a weight of energy behind them,” Clark says.
Clark’s thoughts on civilization should inspire reflection about our own. Does the West believe in its foundational principles, laws, or philosophy? Is the West confident in itself?
Or, is it fearful, timid, and exhausted?
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Rome was the preeminent engineering civilization. Its roads, bridges, and aqueducts ensured an unmatched quality of life for its citizens.
Yet its greatest engineering feat wasn’t about providing comfort—the Colosseum was built for a dramatic death...🧵
The Colosseum became famous for its gladiatorial contests, executions, reenactments of famous battles, and even mock sea fights.
It was a theater designed with two things in mind: death and spectacle.
Constructed between 72-80 AD under Vespasian, the Colosseum was the largest amphitheater in the Roman world. Holding a capacity of 65000 spectators, the building project required extraordinary human ingenuity.
Of course, such a massive undertaking required a lot of money…
All empires repeat the same cycle, says 20th-century historian John Glubb.
He observed that for the past 3000 years every civilization has followed the same 6 stages before decline—what are they?🧵
Sir John Bagot Glubb was a British soldier and author who served as the commanding general for Transjordan's Arab Legion from 1939 to 1956.
In his later years he wrote about geopolitics and world history, and penned a succinct description of how civilizations rise and fall…
Glubb’s 1978 work, “The Fate of Empires and the Search for Survival,” is an idea-dense essay that argues all great empires follow an eerily similar pattern.
From observing 11 distinct cultures, Glubb draws some intriguing conclusions that have implications for modern society.
On May 20th, 1910, nine kings gathered at Windsor for the funeral of King Edward VII.
The photograph they took is a stark reminder of how drastically European leadership has changed—the men pictured remain symbols of a bygone era of monarchy.
Who were they?🧵
King Haakon VII of Norway (top row, far left)
Ruled from November 1905 until his death in 1957. After the 1905 dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway, he became the first independent Norwegian monarch since Olaf II in 1387.
Tsar Ferdinand of the Bulgarians (top row, second from left)
Ruled as Tsar during the tumultuous First World War. After a series of military setbacks in 1918, he abdicated the throne in a bid to save the monarchy. His eldest son succeeded him, becoming Tsar Boris III.
Galileo called him “superhuman”. Tesla said he was the “ideal” inventor. And da Vinci was directly inspired by him.
Simply put, Archimedes was the greatest engineer and mathematician of the ancient world.
Here’s why...🧵(thread)
Born around 287 BC, Archimedes was an inventor, mathematician, astronomer, and engineer from the city of Syracuse in Sicily.
Very little is known of Archimedes’ life other than his discoveries and inventions, of which there were many.
The ancient historian Polybius was the first to reference Archimedes about 70 years after his death, describing various war machines that the inventor built including catapults, a giant crane that destroyed ships, and various stone-throwing machines.
Charles "the Hammer" — perhaps no figure deserves the title “defender of Western civilization” as much as him.
A warrior-statesman, he not only crushed foreign invasions but also laid the foundation for medieval Europe🧵
Born an illegitimate son to Pepin of Herstal, ruler of a few Frankish territories, Charles (c. 688–741 AD) enjoyed the youth of an aristocratic warrior, but was never expected to inherit his father’s rule.
Between royal courts and battlefields, he was trained as a warrior, receiving instruction in sword fighting, horseback combat, and military strategy.