[H]istory assures us that civilizations decay quite leisurely.
Every science begins as philosophy and ends as art; it arises in hypothesis and flows into achievement.
Knowledge is power but only wisdom is liberty.
So I should say that civilizations begin with religion and stoicism: they end with scepticism and unbelief, and the undisciplined pursuit of individual pleasure. A civilization is born stoic and dies epicurean.
In the last analysis civilization is based upon the food supply.
If we have never been amazed by the very fact that we exist, we are squandering the greatest fact of all.