CHAPTER II.
ALLEGED CAUSES OF POLITICAL CATASTROPHES EXAMINED.
FANATICISM--Aztec Empire of Mexico.--LUXURY--Modern European States as luxurious as the ancient.--Corruption of morals--The standard of morality fluctuates in the various periods of a nation's history: example, France--Is no higher in youthful communities than in old ones--Morality of Paris.--IRRELIGION--Never spreads through all ranks of a nation--Greece and Rome--Tenacity of Paganism 114