This quote by Frank Dane is a reference to the fall of the Roman Empire. It recommends that the Roman Senate, which was the governing body of the Roman Republic, was partly responsible for the decline of Rome. The Senate was made up of rich and effective people who had a vested interest in maintaining their own power and influence. This resulted in an absence of accountability and a lack of concentrate on the needs of the people. The Senate was likewise understood for its corruption and inefficiency, which even more weakened the Roman Republic. As an outcome, Rome was unable to respond to the difficulties it faced, causing its ultimate decrease. This quote works as a pointer that uncontrolled power and corruption can cause the failure of even the most effective empires.
"German is more familiar now since I live part of the year in Rome and part in the German part of Switzerland. But it's not difficult to sing in German; it's difficult to feel in German. This takes time. It's a culture"
"A great city, whose image dwells in the memory of man, is the type of some great idea. Rome represents conquest; Faith hovers over the towers of Jerusalem; and Athens embodies the pre-eminent quality of the antique world, Art"
"Are we like late Rome, infatuated with past glories, ruled by a complacent, greedy elite, and hopelessly powerless to respond to changing conditions?"
"All roads indeed lead to Rome, but theirs also is a more mystical destination, some bourne of which no traveller knows the name, some city, they all seem to hint, even more eternal"
"America is a nation with no truly national city, no Paris, no Rome, no London, no city which is at once the social center, the political capital, and the financial hub"
