From: SolomonW@citi.com   
      
   On Sun, 14 Oct 2018 20:50:55 -0700 (PDT), Oh so rich & successful JTEM   
   wrote:   
      
   >  SolomonW wrote:   
   >>> The actual mystery here was never why Rome fell   
   >>> but how & why it lasted as long as it did! I mean,   
   >>> it was a horribly corrupt, top-down society where   
   >>> the elites battled each other without the slightest   
   >>> regard for the well being of the empire. It should   
   >>> never have lasted even a century!   
   >   
   >> Were Romes enemies less corrupt?   
   >   
   > Not sure how that would alter what was happening inside   
   > of Rome.   
   >   
   > In all honestly, as far as I can tell the only thing   
   > stopping the Industrial Revolution from happen in ancient   
   > Roman times, instead of the 18th century, was the Roman   
   > elite. If they had only stopped being such vile, evil,   
   > selfish douche bags they may have touched off a technological   
   > quantum leap that would have given them the same advantages   
   > over all of their enemies -- the entire planet -- that   
   > European colonial powers had over the natives they crushed.   
   >   
   >   
   >   
   >   
   >   
   > -- --   
   >   
   > http://jtem.tumblr.com/tagged/halloween/page/8   
      
   I do not know if an industrial Revolution would have helped, gunpowder   
   would have but that was a long way away.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)