I really liked one of the ending paragraphs:
What the antiquities represent are not triumph and glory, but basic human needs - food, shelter, safety, knowledge, commerce, beauty, the life of the spirit - and the organized activities that secure them.
That is an excellent way to think about the classics and a great way to express it.

"The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" has made us constantly question if our own civilization holds the same fate as Rome. In this article, Murphy references the book and draws parallels between the decline of democracy then and now. She suggests that the capitol attack won't bring down our civilization, but that maybe it's a symptom of change that will be difficult to reverse.