In its youth a people produce mythology and poetry; in its…

One defining symptom of decadence is a fondness for vast and nonsensical extravagance.

— Robert Silverberg

“Like symbolism, decadence puts forth the idea that the function of literature is to evoke impressions and 'correspondences', rather than to realistically depict the…

— Asti Hustvedt

I think Illium can take care of himself.” “Not if he keeps flirting with you.” A fine, almost elegant tendril of heat, champagne and…

— Nalini Singh

“(Decadent style) is ingenious, complicated, learned, full of shades of meaning and research, always pushing further the limits of language... forcing itself to express…

— Theophile Gautier

“After two years' absence she finally returned to chilly Europe, a trifle weary, a trifle sad, disgusted by our banal entertainments, our shrunken landscapes,…

— Octave Mirbeau

I definitely consider 'Poses' - the whole album in fact - to be kind of a miracle. Like the last breath of that moment…

— Rufus Wainwright

Content without style is propaganda or adolescence. Style without content is decadence.

— Rita Mae Brown

Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…

— Barbara Tuchman

Fundamentalists believe that we don't believe in anything. In their view of the world, they are in possession of absolute certainties, while we are…

— Salman Rushdie

The attraction of horror is a mental, or even an intellectual, excitement, but the fascination of the repulsive, so noticeable incontemporary writing, can spring…

— Ellen Glasgow

“He saw a chamber, broad and low, designed, in its every rich stain of picture and slumberous hanging, to appeal to the sensuous. And…

— Bernard Capes

The history of prevailing status quos shows decay and decadence infecting the opulent materialism of the Haves. The spiritual life of the Haves is…

— Anonymous

I want my children to be bold,free,self-reliant and capable of changing the phase of that portion of the earth where they live. They may…

— Amun Djoleto

“Evolution has no foresight. Complex machinery develops its own agendas. Brains — cheat. Feedback loops evolve to promote stable heartbeats and then stumble upon…

— Peter Watts

“Conventional, organized religion, in its most decadent form, is an inert parody of the genuine religious experience as much as modern occult organizations are…

— Zeena Schreck