"Gradually and then suddenly." <https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/08/06/bankrupt/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/08/06/bankrupt/> More substantively: Wi

"Gradually and then suddenly." <https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/08/06/bankrupt/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/08/06/bankrupt/> More substantively: Wikipedia has an article on the Fall of Damascus: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Damascus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Damascus> For myself: this has happened with extreme rapidity, and catches me by surprise.