The counts of the indictment are luxury, bad manners, contempt for authority, disrespect to elders, and a love for chatter in place of exercise.

This sounds like something you might hear from a frustrated parent today, right? But these words were written nearly 2,400 years ago. They show that complaints about young people are as old as civilization itself.

It seems that every generation looks at the one that follows and sees a decline in values, manners, and respect. The Lost Feed has dug through the archives to find some of the most striking examples of this timeless human complaint.

Ancient Grievances: The

Youth of Greece and Rome

Even in ancient Greece, where philosophy and democracy were born, there were concerns about the younger generation. Philosophers worried that children were becoming too much like rulers in their own homes.

Children began to be the tyrants, not the slaves, of their households. They no longer rose from their seats when an elder entered the room; they contradicted their parents, chattered before company, gobbled up the dainties at table, and committed various offences against Hellenic tastes, such as crossing their legs. They tyrannised over the paidagogoi and schoolmasters.

This passage, though sometimes misattributed, captures a sentiment that has echoed through the ages. The idea that young people are disrespectful and lack proper manners is not new at all.

Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher, also noted this tendency. He observed that young people often lacked humility because they hadn't yet faced life's challenges.

“[Young people] are high-minded because they have not yet been humbled by life, nor have they experienced the force of circumstances. ... They think they know everything, and are always quite sure about it.”

Roman writers shared similar views. Horace, a renowned poet, lamented the wastefulness of young men.

“The beardless youth… does not foresee what is useful, squandering his money.”

He even wrote about a perceived decline from one generation to the next.

Our sires' age was worse than our grandsires'. We, their sons, are more worthless than they; so in our turn we shall give the world a progeny yet more corrupt.

The Medieval Grumble: A

Decline in Taste and Manners

Centuries later, in Japan, a writer named Yoshida Kenkō expressed a similar feeling of loss. He yearned for the past and felt that modern ways were a step down.

In all things I yearn for the past. Modern fashions seem to keep on growing more and more debased. I find that even among the splendid pieces of furniture built by our master cabinetmakers, those in the old forms are the most pleasing. And as for writing letters, surviving scraps from the past reveal how superb the phrasing used to be. The ordinary spoken language has also steadily coarsened.

He gave examples of how language had become less formal and, in his view, less refined. This shows that concerns about language and cultural standards are not limited to any one time or place.

The 17th Century Scolding: Bawdy

Talk and Disrespect

Moving into the 17th century, the complaints became more direct about perceived moral decay. Thomas Barnes wrote in 1624 about the extreme sauciness of youth.

Youth were never more sawcie, yea never more savagely saucie . . . the ancient are scorned, the honourable are contemned, the magistrate is not dreaded.

Around the same time, Robert Russel expressed alarm at the language he heard from children in the streets.

... I find by sad Experience how the Towns and Streets are filled with lewd wicked Children, and many Children as they have played about the Streets have been heard to curse and swear and call one another Nick-names, and it would grieve ones Heart to hear what bawdy and filthy Communications proceeds from the Mouths of such...

These writings highlight a recurring theme: the fear that young people's behavior and language are becoming more vulgar and less respectful of tradition and authority.

The 18th Century Warnings:

Frivolity and Bad Elocution

The 18th century brought concerns about changing social norms and the decline of proper speaking. A letter published in a magazine in 1771 lamented the loss of manly vigor in young men.

“Whither are the manly vigour and athletic appearance of our forefathers flown? Can these be their legitimate heirs? Surely, no; a race of effeminate, self-admiring, emaciated fribbles can never have descended in a direct line from the heroes of Potiers and Agincourt...”

This reflects a worry that the qualities admired in previous generations were fading.

Thomas Sheridan, a lexicographer and educator, worried about the state of English pronunciation and speaking.

The total neglect of this art [speaking] has been productive of the worst consequences...in the conduct of all affairs ecclesiastical and civil, in church, in parliament, courts of justice...the wretched state of elocution is apparent to persons of any discernment and taste… if something is not done to stop this growing evil …English is likely to become a mere jargon, which every one may pronounce as he pleases.

He feared that a lack of attention to speaking skills would lead to a corruption of the language itself.

The 19th Century Concerns: Novels, Dances, and Degeneracy

The 19th century saw a flood of new forms of entertainment and social change, leading to new waves of concern. Reverend Enos Hitchcock warned parents about the dangers of popular literature.

The free access which many young people have to romances, novels, and plays has poisoned the mind and corrupted the morals of many a promising youth; and prevented others from improving their minds in useful knowledge. Parents take care to feed their children with wholesome diet; and yet how unconcerned about the provision for the mind, whether they are furnished with salutary food, or with trash, chaff, or poison?

This is a classic example of older generations worrying about the influence of new media on young minds.

Even something as seemingly innocent as a new dance could cause alarm. In 1816, The Times of London reacted strongly to the introduction of the Waltz.

We remarked with pain that the indecent foreign dance called the Waltz was introduced (we believe for the first time) at the English court on Friday last … it is quite sufficient to cast one's eyes on the voluptuous intertwining of the limbs and close compressor on the bodies in their dance, to see that it is indeed far removed from the modest reserve which has hitherto been considered distinctive of English females.

This shows how social customs and perceived morality are often tied to generational differences.

Later in the century, concerns about physical and moral degeneracy were voiced. One writer noted the way young children were already acting like miniature adults.

... see the simpering little beau of ten gallanting home the little coquette of eight, each so full of self-conceit and admiration of their own dear self, as to have but little to spare for any one else... and confess that the sight is both ridiculous and distressing... the sweet simplicity and artlessness of childhood, which renders a true child so interesting, are gone (like the bloom of the peach rudely nipped off) never to return.

Even a popular game like chess came under fire in 1858 for being a waste of time that took away from more valuable pursuits.

The 20th Century Shifts: Speed, Morals, and Communication

The 20th century brought unprecedented technological and social changes, and with them, new anxieties about youth. Granville Stanley Hall, a psychologist, noted the unique pressures of modern life in 1904.

Never has youth been exposed to such dangers of both perversion and arrest as in our own land and day. Increasing urban life with its temptations, prematurities, sedentary occupations, and passive stimuli just when an active life is most needed, early emancipation and a lessening sense for both duty and discipline, the haste to know and do all befitting man's estate before its time, the mad rush for sudden wealth and the reckless fashions set by its gilded youth--all these lack some of the regulatives they still have in older lands with more conservative conditions.

This passage captures the feeling that modern life was accelerating too quickly for young people to handle responsibly.

New forms of media continued to be a source of worry. In 1926, The Pentecostal Evangel expressed concern about the influence of screen actors.

...[The screen artists'] beauty, their exquisite clothing, their lax habits and low moral standards, are becoming unconsciously appropriated by the plastic minds of American youth. Let them do what they may; divorce scandals, hotel episodes, free love, all are passed over and condoned by the young... The eye-gate is the widest and most easily accessible of all the avenues of the soul; whatever is portrayed on the screen is imprinted indelibly upon the nation's soul.

This reflects a deep-seated fear about the power of visual media to shape young people's values.

Concerns about communication also persisted. A 1936 newspaper report from the Gloucester Citizen highlighted a perceived failure in young people's ability to express themselves.

“The Chairman alluding to the problem of young people and their English said his experience was that many did not seem able to express or convey to other people what they meant. They could not put their meaning into words, and found the same difficulty when it came to writing.”

This echoes earlier complaints about language and elocution, showing that the struggle for clear communication is a recurring one.

The Unchanging Song: Why Do We Always Complain?

Reading through these historical complaints, it's striking how similar they are to things people say today. Whether it's about manners, music, language, or technology, each generation seems to find fault with the next.

Perhaps it's a natural part of the human experience. As we get older, we tend to value the ways of our youth and see new trends as a sign of decline. It's a way of holding onto what we know and understand.

It's also possible that young people are simply pushing boundaries and exploring new ways of being, which often clashes with the established norms of older generations. This tension is what drives change and cultural evolution.

So, the next time you hear someone complaining about today's youth, remember that they're just singing an old, old song. The specifics might change, but the tune of generational difference remains remarkably consistent throughout history.