"Tom Sixkiller" wrote in message ...

Actually the quote is accurate, but the source is questionable.

I've seen attributions dating from 1765 all the way up to the 1830's. IAC,
the first part is fairly accurate, but the second part (chronology) is a
real stretch.

I disagree. The quote is neither accurate, nor attributable to
Tytler.

Yes, I know this quote is *everywhere* on the Internet and even in
quite a bit of print media (for example, see p. 68 of Bill O'Reilly's
book "Who's Looking Out for You."). But that doesn't make it true.

I have searched through Tytler's world-history writings (which is
where this would be most likely to be found). Others have searched as
well. It appears nobody can find it. Of course, it can't be *proven*
that Tytler never said or wrote such a thing -- it can only be proven
that he did. And the way one proves that he did is to produce an
exact citation for the source of the quote that others can verify.

So if you (or anyone else) are sure *any* part of the quote is "fairly
accurate," please just supply the correct citation. If you can do so,
I will be most grateful. Really, I will -- I've spent too many hours
searching for the source of the quote to feel satisfied coming away
empty-handed.

There's also the issue of whether Tytler would've been likely to say
any of the text attributed to him. Based on what I've read of his
material, I'd say it is *highly* unlikely he would've said anything
like it. The idea that the average age of the "world's greatest
civilizations" is only 200 years is rather silly and it's unlikely
Tytler would've said it. Further, Tytler discusses the Athenian
republic in great detail in his book "Universal History...". The
Athenian Republic didn't decline because the people were voting
themselves "largesse" from the public treasury. Their downfall was
due to a combination of political corruption, complacency, and getting
their butts kicked in a war. The so-called "Cycle of Democracy" had
nothing to do with it.


-Mike P.