I'm trying to remember if it was Gibbon's 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' where he mentioned a diplomatic group from some part in Africa or Persia who visited Rome one time, and as they left, they sneered: 'In Rome, all things are for sale', due to the massive corruption they experienced from the oligarchs/politicians.

As the saying goes: "The more things change, the more they stay the same' Here we are 2000 years later and still doing the same bullshit.