The lecture has its background in the then well known 2-volume book by German philosopher Oswald Spengler "The decline of the West" (1918 and 1922).
这个演讲的背景基于当时一本广泛传播的共有二卷的著作，即德国哲学家奧斯瓦爾德·斯賓格勒的《西方的没落》（The decline of the West， 1918 和 1922）。