1.   In deep antiquity, vast, sprawling empires rose and fell, usually the result of happenstance rather than deliberation.

2.   Strange and beautiful and terrible empires rose and fell, and passed on their knowledge to their successors.

3.   No one can know whether empires will rise again, in part because smaller nations may find it useful to ally themselves with larger ones.

4.   History is replete with examples of how empires rose and fell.