Seems like we’re living the last stanza of “The Gods of the Copybook Headings”... by Kipling.
“And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!”
In pursuit of new wisdom, “[we seek] a truth that will help us deny our limited creature nature and exalt us for our mental or physical or moral prowess. Truth, that, supposedly none has known or seen before – these ideas change and pass like women’s clothing fashions.”
Our desire to defy nature, conquer natural law and evolve toward a state greater than our flawed humanity brings advancement, but leaves us susceptible for manipulation by the Gods of the Marketplace. In time, understanding of natural law is replaced by worship of marketplace ideas, education, entertainment, and even religion, which are ultimately superficial and therefore short-lived.
Entire power structures from kingdoms to civilizations have been built and lived with these marketplace ideas as their foundation. As time cycles, favoring one power structure for another, death and destruction follow the failure of these marketplace ideas and humanity painfully realizes old truths, or natural law, out lives social, government or man-made promises.
When these Gods of government, religion and civilization fail, we are left with the violence of natural law and human nature, which is not kind, good, fair or evil; it just is.
Also, “On the first Feminian sandstones … the Wages of Sin is Death.”