Quote: The world has waxed old and wicked. Politics are very corrupt (1908, attrib ancient tablet)

[Garson O'Toole]

Some commentators predict cataclysmic events will occur on December
21, 2012 based on a creative reading of a Mayan calendar. Perhaps
there are only a few months remaining to research other apocalyptic
pronouncements. Here is an example of a popular passage about the end
of the world:

[Begin excerpt]
Our earth is degenerate in these latter 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.
[End excerpt]

The above passage appeared in the reference work "Respectfully Quoted:
A Dictionary of Quotations (1989)". The words were connected to an
"Assyrian stone tablet of about 2800 B.C.".

http://www.bartleby.com/73/456.html

In a message to the list sent in September 2010 I discussed tracing a
version of this quotation back to 1922.

http://bit.ly/O8yrRu

 Here is a report of further progress. A variant of the inscription
was published in 1908:

Cite: 1908 August 22, The Cincinnati Lancet-Clinic: A Weekly Journal
of Medicine and Surgery, [Freestanding short article titled "7,000
Years Ago"], Page 235, Column 2, Published by Lancet-Clinic Publishing
Co., Cincinnati, Ohio. (Google Books full view)

[Begin excerpt]

7,000 Years Ago:

The "good old times" seemed as bad to the "good-old-timers" as the
present times seem to the modern man, as shown by the following
translation on an inscription on a tablet in the Imperial Museum at
Constantinople, Turkey:-

NARAM SIN, 5000 B.C.

We have fallen upon evil times, the world has waxed old and wicked.
Politics are very corrupt. Children are no longer respectful to their
elders. Each man wants to make himself conspicuous and write a book.

[End excerpt]

This citation was located by someone using the handle "Julie L." who
posted the discovery on the blog "Making Light" of science fiction
editor Nielsen Hayden.

Garson

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