The Cycle of Civilization
Man begins his existence in bondage, and rises:
from bondage through spiritual faith,
from spiritual faith to courage,
from courage to liberty,
from liberty to abundance,
from abundance to selfishness,
from selfishness to complacency,
from complacency to apathy,
from apathy to dependency,
from dependency back into bondage.
-Clarence Manion, dean of Nortre Dame law school (1941-1952) as quoted in “In whom do you trust?”, R.B. Thieme, Jr.
the things worth believing in 
That’s pretty darn remarkable. I’m going to have to study up on that author and that book some…
That quote actually is first contributed to Sir Alex Fraser Tyler: (1742-1813), a Scottish jurist and historian
I believe we are entering into the dependancy phase.
@ a scholar:
This quote is commonly mistakenly attributed to Sir Alexander Fraser Tytler, which is commonly mispelled as “Tyler.” This is such a common misconception that this quote is called the “Tytler Cycle.”
The first known appearance of this quote is in a 1943 speech entitled “Industrial Management in a Republic” by H. W. Prentis, president of the Armstrong Cork Company and former president of the National Association of Manufacturers. The quote appears to be original to Prentis. Clarence Manion borrowed it, and his usages of the quote are more widely known, therefore causing some to attribute originality to him.
Heck of a quote, though.
I’ve been trying to find this quote for a long, long time! Thanks for posting it. It seems so poignant now it’s frightening.
Harmon;
This so errily true to all countries. Even the Israelites went through these same phases as God’s children. We as individuals go through this is as well, because if we are handed everything and things are going well we become complascent and apathetic.