Those Romans, living about the year 350 AD - could they see what was coming? After all, to most people, the Empire must have looked as strong as it ever had, and the city of Rome as supreme and as untouchable. The barbarians loomed on all sides, true, but they were still being held beyond the frontiers. And yet, did any perceptive soul see what it cost the Romans to keep those hordes at bay? Like the armies that demanded ever more men and money? Or like the autocracy of the emperors that grew ever more severe - stifling internal debate, corrupting law, imposing dogma over knowledge, reducing free citizens to serfs - all for the sake of unity and strength? Did anyone see how dangerous that was? Did anyone feel the withering of the inspiration that had made Rome so great?
And did they imagine, in their darkest dreams, that it was all in vain? That by the time the barbarians did break through, the Empire would already be essentially dead? That instead of protecting their world, they had fatally weakened it? That in fifty years, Rome would be a smoking ruin? That the Empire would have become a bloodied stamping ground for the armies of a dozen different sides and causes? And that within a hundred years, a Dark Age would be settling over Europe - and era of war and poverty and enslavement that would last for centuries?
And did they imagine, in their darkest dreams, that it was all in vain? That by the time the barbarians did break through, the Empire would already be essentially dead? That instead of protecting their world, they had fatally weakened it? That in fifty years, Rome would be a smoking ruin? That the Empire would have become a bloodied stamping ground for the armies of a dozen different sides and causes? And that within a hundred years, a Dark Age would be settling over Europe - and era of war and poverty and enslavement that would last for centuries?
— Underground, by Andrew McGahan
There was life in the old government yet, but it was waning quickly. The nest of Cainite shadows squabbled to regain control, but their quiet wars were, in the end, but another tumor in the increasingly cancerous empire. The Call beckoned to the family again and again many time during Commodus' bloody time on the throne, and we quietly watched as the army broke down. More than two dozen emperors dead in a mere five decades, and all but one slain outright! Oh, a spark of hope lit the Patricians' eyes when Diocletian and Constantine almost, almost seemed to have the empire in hand - but no. In the end, it was all useless. I can still taste the futility... like wet ashes resentfully clinging to the tongue.
— Vampire: The Masquerade - Clanbook: Malkavian (Revised)
The Lone Dalek: THE HUMAN EMPIRE IS COR-RUPT AND WORTH-LESS! NOT WOR-THY OF THE DALEKS!
The Doctor: The English Empire expanded as far as it could go. What could an empire do then? It can only fall apart. Need to find new people to oppress? You invent ridiculous laws to give you the excuse: skin colour, beliefs — even if they contract words, send them to the camps.
The Lone Dalek: WHY?
The Doctor: You dare ask me why?! It's your creed, not mine!
The Doctor: The English Empire expanded as far as it could go. What could an empire do then? It can only fall apart. Need to find new people to oppress? You invent ridiculous laws to give you the excuse: skin colour, beliefs — even if they contract words, send them to the camps.
The Lone Dalek: WHY?
The Doctor: You dare ask me why?! It's your creed, not mine!
This was a true tribute to Rome, whose depravities sunk as deep as its columns rose high. Know that the curse of Rome lingers in every empire. The cults of Rome linger in all weak hearts. "Let the light lead you," said Deus Sol Invictus, its followers devoted and blinded. "March for our new age of mankind," said the Empire, and they marched to lonely deaths in far-off lands.
— The Dragon, after-mission report on "Too Deep," The Secret World
New stars are born out of swirling nebula, replacing those suns that collapse or blaze out in supernovas. So too do empires rise and fall...
— Warhammer 40,000: Codex - Tau (6th ed)
The Emperor's dream of a new age of enlightenment, a time when Mankind was freed from superstition and ignorance, has turned into something far different. His Imperium has long endured, but only by virtue of an oppressive and necessarily harsh rule carried on in his name. It is an age of tyrants and of unreason, an era of stagnation and intolerance. His people have regressed into religious obfuscation while the Emperor sits immobile, his thoughts unknown; the creature whose will extends over a million words is unable to lift a shrivelled finger.
— Warhammer 40,000: Codex - Rulebook (6th ed)
The elves trusted that the world as it was would never change. This rubble is the legacy of that trust. Empires fall, and regimes change, Inquisitor. Do make sure you're still standing when the dust clears.
— Vivienne, delivering the history of Thedas in a few sentences.
I always knew the Empire would fall apart one day. All empires do. British. Mongol. Roman. All empires crumble.
— Emperor Oberon, Crying Suns
Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.
—Those Who Remain by G. Michael Hopf
