Decline has always seemed a psychological state. Rome had as much territory and as many people in A.D.450 as it did in 30 B.C. What was different was that millions no longer followed Roman protocol or thought themselves to be Roman - a fragmentation brought on by a corrupt governing elite, and a sense that Latin, habeas corpus, transparent courts and taxation were no longer to be part and parcel of being a civis Romanus.The American oracle, Victor Davis Hanson, speaks from the heart in this observation from his Works and Days blog.
Source: Instapundit
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