Originally posted by lilblam
They were written thousands of years ago and refer to things that seemed frightening and improbable to the ancients.
Not really. They were things that they thought were troubling AT THOSE TIMES.
It shows that human civilization hasn't changed much.
Thieves will become kings, and kings will be the thieves.
Rulers will confiscate property and use it badly.
They will cease to protect the people.
Throughout the ages. Just read history... some really really really bad rulers out there in ALL societies.
Base men who have gained a certain amount of learning (without having the virtues necessary for its use) will be esteemed as sages.
Ditto, ditto, ditto. For an amusing time, read about the number of charlatains and false messiahs throughout history. There's bazillions of them,
untutored, leading children's crusades and other marches, and everyone toddling after them.
There will be many displaced persons, wandering from one country to another.
American Indians, the gypsies, any ancient civilization after a great war or during a great drought or other climate change...
Predatory animals will be more violent.
And the evidence for this is...? The writer needs to read some of the books by the Great White Hunters (Frank S. Buck, Ernest Hemmingway, and whover
wrote 'The Ghost and The Darkness') to see what superpredators were like in previous times. Heck, even the "Born Free" books go into this... and
that was just modern times. In more ancient times, when there were more of them and fewer of us, you could say there was more violence.
And let's not forget the Dire Wolves and other things from the ice age.
Foetuses will be killed in the wombs of their mothers.
Do a little geneological and cultural research here. Look in the graveyards at how many stillbirths there were in the past (lots) and realize that
every miscarriage is another one of those. Read up on accounts of how babies were disposed of in earlier times (and yes, miscarriage inducing
herbs.)
People will prefer to choose false ideas.
No one will be able to trust anyone else.
There's still a lot of trust around, you know.
People will be envious.
And this is new how?
There will be many children born whose life expectancy is no more than 16 years.
Go look at the older graveyards....
People suffering from hunger and fear will take refuge in "underground shelters."
Caves as refuges aren't new. They're common in many cultures.
Young girls will do trade in their virginity.
Let's see... I think they need to define 'young girls' here. In that society, 9 (yes, nine years old) was the legal age to marry... in the old
Israeli laws it says that the legal age of marriage to a virgin is 3 years and 1 day (I was surprised. I looked this one up. It's true.))
The sad fact is that young girls have ALWAYS been pawns in marriage and sex games and their virginity was traded (by their parents (usually father))
for power, wealth, and other things -- when they weren't killed for being useless.
Throughout the ages, there have ALWAYS been children for sale at brothels. Our age is unusual in that there's worldwide movements in various
cultures to end the concept of children as sexual partners for adults.
I'm sure it looks just like it's describing modern times, but the truth is that history is full of more hair-raising examples.
Maybe... 
