Better the rule of One, whom all obey,
Than to let clamorous demagogues betray
Our freedom with the kiss of anarchy.

Oscar Wilde, "Libertatis Sacra Fames"

There is a curious naiveté in the decadent temperament that is as disturbing as
it is surprising. It is most apt to reveal itself at that point where self-love and
self-loathing intersect and render one vulnerable to the lure of persons or sys-
tems that hold out promises of power. One would think that decadents could
resist any attempt to enlist their sympathies, that they would be the last to for-
feit their independence, but there are certain circumstances under which their
defenses against exploitation are easily penetrated. While decadents may be
good at resisting vulgar attempts at recruitment from forces they deplore,
they are not good at resisting those subtler temptations that masquerade as
projections of their own pride. They are impatient with those who are slow to
acknowledge their superiority, and eager to embrace those who do. Thus, any
system that flatters their pride under the guise of praising their judgment is at-
tractive to them, for, like Caesar, they are most flattered when they are told
that they hate flatterers.

Decadents are, in a word, gullible. Obsessed with themselves and skeptical
of all systems, they live inside a self-made image, a soft and fragile shell which
cracks under the pressures of loneliness and dread. Since decadence is a philos-
ophy and not a faith, there is nothing at its core to help its disciples combat
loneliness or defend themselves against dread. Thus they become vulnerable,
particularly to the hypnotic allure of power, be it social, religious, or political.

The source of this vulnerability has been traced to an agitated mental condi-

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