"Decadence: The Strange Life of an Epithet" 1979 Blazer Badges Prior to its closure in

Prior to its closure in 2020

Sz: 5 3/4"Sq

33"H x 20"W x 16"L

Timothy Greenfield-Sanders

"Decadence: The Strange Life of an Epithet" 1979 Blazer Badges Prior to its closure inWhat exactly did and does this pervasive word, decadence, mean? For several centuries at least, it was used to characterize conditions if decline; most notably, the corruption, probably Oriental in origin, that ostensibly led to the fall of the Roman Empire. Associated with it were flabbiness, luxury, sensuality, a loss of nerve and skill and, contradictory, excessive concern with formal perfection at the expense of content. But it is only a little