A 1620-ish essay nails it With some updated words, grammar and references, it could be yesterday. It’s almost as if all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death…
According to Wikipedia,
Owen Feltham (1602 – 23 February 1668) was an English writer, author of a book entitled Resolves, Divine, Moral, and Political (c. 1620), containing 146 short essays. It had great popularity in its day. Feltham was for a time in the household of the Earl of Thomond as chaplain or secretary, and published Brief Character of the Low Countries (1652). His most cited essay is “How the Distempers of These Times Should Affect Wise Men”, which John Gross included in The Oxford Book of Essays.
Since that doesn’t appear to be online, here goes, with a couple of hyperlinks
How the Distempers of these Times should affect wise Men
THE distempers of these times would make a wise man both merry and mad. Merry, to see how vice flourishes but a while, and, being at last frustrate of all her fair hopes, dies in a dejected scorn; which meets with nothing, in the end, but beggary, baseness, and contempt. To see how the world is mistaken in opinion, to suppose those best that are wealthiest. To see how the world thinks to appal the mind of nobleness with misery; while true resolution laughs at their poor impotency, and slights even the utmost spite of tyranny. To see how men buy offices at high rates, which, when they have, prove gins to catch their souls in, and snare their estates and reputations. To see how foolishly men cozen themselves of their souls, while they think they gain, by their cunning defrauding another. To see how the projectors of the world, like the spoke of the wheel of Sesostris‘ chariot, are tumbled up and down, from beggary to worship, from worship to honour, from honour to baseness again.
To see what idle compliments are current among some that affect the fantastic garb: as if friendship were nothing but an apish salute, glossed over with nothing but the varnish of a smooth tongue. To see a strutting prodigal overlook a region, with his waving plume; as if he could as easily shake that, as his feather; yet in private will creep, like a crouching spaniel, to his base muddy prostitute. To see how pot-valour thunders in a tavern, and appoints a duel; but goes away, and gives money to have the quarrel taken up underhand. Mad, on the other side, to see how vice goes trapped with rich furniture, while poor virtue hath nothing but a bridle and saddle, which only serve to increase her bondage.
To see Machiavel‘s tenets held as oracles; honesty reputed shallowness; justice bought and sold; as if the world went about to disprove Zorobabel, and would make him confess money to be stronger than truth. To see how flattery creeps into favour with greatness, while plain dealing is thought the enemy of state and honour. To see how the papists (for promotion of their own religion) invent lies, and print them; that they may not only cozen the present age, but gull posterity, with forged actions.
To see how well- meaning simplicity is footballed. To see how religion is made a politician’s visor; which, having helped him to his purpose, he casts by, like Sunday apparel, not thought of all the week after. And, which would mad a man more than all, to know all this, yet not know how to help it.
C1620
See also
marchudson.net 
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