"Each new generation is a fresh invasion of savages"

Hervey Allen’s phrase suggests a provocative view of generational change, painting youth as disruptive forces entering established society. By calling each new generation “a fresh invasion of savages,” Allen employs vivid and even playful hyperbole to underscore how older generations often perceive newcomers. The word “invasion” evokes a sense of threat, as if the young arrive not smoothly or gradually, but as a sudden force, upending the existing order. “Savages,” meanwhile, conjures associations of wildness, untamed energy, and an absence of polish or restraint. These new arrivals are not yet domesticated by the rules, customs, or traditions that currently govern communal life.

Beneath the tongue-in-cheek harshness is the perennial tension between established values and youthful innovation. Every generation interprets the world in its own way, often rebelling against traditions, questioning authority, and creating new norms. To the older members of society, these actions and attitudes can seem like chaos, a rejection of cherished principles or a threat to carefully constructed stability. Yet, from another perspective, this so-called “savagery” is exactly what continuously reinvigorates culture. It is the drive for novelty, the impatience with stagnation, the courage to challenge what came before.

What Allen highlights, then, is a universal human pattern. The process of being unsettled by youth is not unique to any age; it is a cyclical feature of civilization itself. The “invasion” is not just tolerated but necessary, for it brings adaptation and progress. Over time, the invading “savages” themselves become the new stewards of tradition, casting wary eyes on the next wave. The phrase, with its playful exaggeration, invites reflection on the dynamic interplay between conservation and change and reminds us that today’s rebels will ultimately become tomorrow’s guardians. This ceaseless generational turnover is both a challenge and an engine of renewal.