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It Was With The Utmost Difficulty That Ancient Rome Could Support The Institution Of Six Vestals; But The Primitive Church Was Filled With A Great Number Of Persons Of Either Sex Who Had Devoted Themselves To The Profession Of Perpetual Chastity.

-Edward Gibbon

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It Was With The

Edward Gibbon

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It Was With The Utmost Difficulty That Ancient Rome Could Support The Institution Of Six Vestals; But The Primitive Church Was Filled With A Great Number Of Persons Of Either Sex Who Had Devoted Themselves To The Profession Of Perpetual Chastity.

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A False Modesty Is The Meanest Species Of Pride.

In The Second Century Of The Christian Era, The Empire Of Rome Comprehended The Fairest Part Of The Earth, And The Most Civilized Portion Of Mankind.

History Should Be To The Political Economist A Wellspring Of Experience And Wisdom.

Whatever Evils Either Reason Or Declamation Have Imputed To Extensive Empire, The Power Of Rome Was Attended With Some Beneficial Consequences To Mankind; And The Same Freedom Of Intercourse Which Extended The Vices, Diffused Likewise The Improvements Of Social Life.

But The Human Character, However It May Be Exalted Or Depressed By A Temporary Enthusiasm, Will Return By Degrees To Its Proper And Natural Level, And Will Resume Those Passions That Seem The Most Adapted To Its Present Condition.

The German Huts, Open On Every Side To The Eye Of Indiscretion Or Jealousy, Were A Better Safeguard Of Conjugal Fidelity Than The Walls, The Bolts, And The Eunuchs Of A Persian Harem. To This Reason, Another May Be Added Of A More Honourable Nature. The Germans Treated Their Women With Esteem And Confidence, Consulted Them On Every Occasion Of Importance, And Fondly Believed That In Their Breasts Resided A Sanctity And Wisdom More Than Human.

The Pathetic Almost Always Consists In The Detail Of Little Events.

On The Slightest Touch The Unsupported Fabric Of Their Pride And Power Fell To The Ground. The Expiring Senate Displayed A Sudden Lustre, Blazed For A Moment, And Was Extinguished For Ever.

Where Error Is Irreparable, Repentance Is Useless.

But A Law, However Venerable Be The Sanction, Cannot Suddenly Transform The Temper Of The Times . . .

In Old Age The Consolation Of Hope Is Reserved For The Tenderness Of Parents, Who Commence A New Life In Their Children, The Faith Of Enthusiasts, Who Sing Hallelujahs Above The Clouds; And The Vanity Of Authors, Who Presume The Immortality Of Their Name And Writings.

The Awful Mysteries Of The Christian Faith And Worship Were Concealed From The Eyes Of Strangers, And Even Of Catechumens, With An Affected Secrecy, Which Served To Excite Their Wonder And Curiosity.

Fanaticism Obliterates The Feelings Of Humanity.

The Image Of A Free Constitution Was Preserved With Decent Reverence: The Roman Senate Appeared To Possess The Sovereign Authority, And Devolved On The Emperors All The Executive Powers Of Government. During A Happy Period (a.d. 98-180) Of More Than Fourscore Years, The Public Administration Was Conducted By The Virtue And Abilities Of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, And The Two Antonines.

Philosophy Had Instructed Julian To Compare The Advantages Of Action And Retirement; But The Elevation Of His Birth And The Accidents Of His Life Never Allowed Him The Freedom Of Choice. He Might Perhaps Sincerely Have Preferred The Groves Of The Academy And The Society Of Athens; But He Was Constrained, At First By The Will, And Afterwards By The Injustice Of Constantius, To Expose His Person And Fame To The Dangers Of Imperial Greatness; And To Make Himself Accountable To The World And To Posterity For The Happiness Of Millions.

The Fabric Of A Mighty State, Which Has Been Reared By The Labours Of Successive Ages, Could Not Be Overturned By The Misfortune Of A Single Day, If The Fatal Power Of The Imagination Did Not Exaggerate The Real Measure Of The Calamity.

Every Event, Or Appearance, Or Accident, Which Seems To Deviate From The Ordinary Course Of Nature Has Been Rashly Ascribed To The Immediate Action Of The Deity.

During The Games Of The Circus, He Had, Imprudently Or Designedly, Performed The Manumission Of A Slave In The Presence Of The Consul. The Moment He Was Reminded That He Had Trespassed On The Jurisdiction Of Another Magistrate, He Condemned Himself To Pay A Fine Of Ten Pounds Of Gold, And Embraced This Public Occasion Of Declaring To The World That He Was Subject, Like The Rest Of His Fellow-citizens, To The Laws, And Even To The Forms, Of The Republic.

The Incapacity Of A Weak And Distracted Government May Often Assume The Appearance And Produce The Effects Of A Treasonable Correspondence With The Public Enemy. If Alaric Himself Had Been Introduced Into The Council Of Ravenna, He Would Probably Have Advised The Same Measures Which Were Actually Pursued By The Ministers Of Honorius.

The Subject, However Various And Important, Has Already Been So Frequently, So Ably, And So Successfully Discussed, That It Is Now Grown Familiar To The Reader, And Difficult To The Writer.

The Inactivity Of A Conqueror Betrays The Loss Of Strength And Blood . . .

The Virtue Of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Was Of A Severer And More Laborious Kind. It Was The Well-earned Harvest Of Many A Learned Conference, Of Many A Patient Lecture, And Many A Midnight Lucubration. At The Age Of Twelve Years, He Embraced The Rigid System Of The Stoics, Which Taught Him To Submit His Body To His Mind, His Passions To His Reason; To Consider Virtue As The Only Good, Vice As The Only Evil, All Things External As Things Indifferent.

The Active Cavalry Of Scythia Is Always Followed, In Their Most Distant And Rapid Incursions, By An Adequate Number Of Spare Horses, Who May Be Occasionally Used, Either To Redouble The Speed, Or To Satisfy The Hunger, Of The Barbarians. Many Are The Resources Of Courage And Poverty.

The Monastic Studies Have Tended, For The Most Part, To Darken, Rather Than To Dispel, The Cloud Of Superstition.

The Simple Circumstantial Narrative (did Such A Narrative Exist) Of The Ruin Of A Single Town, Of The Misfortunes Of A Single Family, Might Exhibit An Interesting And Instructive Picture Of Human Manners; But The Tedious Repetition Of Vague And Declamatory Complaints Would Fatigue The Attention Of The Most Patient Reader.

The Fierce And Partial Writers Of The Times, Ascribing All Virtue To Themselves, And Imputing All Guilt To Their Adversaries, Have Painted The Battle Of The Angels And The Demons.

The Criminal Penalties [for Suicide] Are The Production Of A Later And Darker Age.

The Roman Government Appeared Every Day Less Formidable To Its Enemies, More Odious And Oppressive To Its Subjects.

The Comparative View Of The Powers Of The Magistrates, In Two Remarkable Instances, Is Alone Sufficient To Represent The Whole System Of German Manners. The Disposal Of The Landed Property Within Their District Was Absolutely Vested In Their Hands, And They Distributed It Every Year According To A New Division. At The Same Time, They Were Not Authorised To Punish With Death, To Imprison, Or Even To Strike, A Private Citizen.

[personal] Industry Must Be Faint And Languid, Which Is Not Excited By The Sense Of Personal Interest.

Personal Interest

The Mixture Of Sarmatic And German Blood Had Contributed To Improve The Features Of The Alani, To Whiten Their Swarthy Complexions, And To Tinge Their Hair With A Yellowish Cast, Which Is Seldom Found In The Tartar Race.

The Most Sublime Efforts Of Philosophy Can Extend No Farther Than Feebly To Point Out The Desire, The Hope, Or, At Most, The Probability, Of A Future State, There Is Nothing, Except A Divine Revelation, That Can Ascertain The Existence, And Describe The Condition Of The Invisible Country Which Is Destined To Receive The Souls Of Men After Their Separation From The Body.

The Romans, Who So Coolly And So Concisely Mention The Acts Of Justice Which Were Exercised By The Legions, Reserve Their Compassion And Their Eloquence For Their Own Sufferings, When The Provinces Were Invaded And Desolated By The Arms Of The Successful Barbarians.

A Nation Ignorant Of The Equal Benefits Of Liberty And Law, Must Be Awed By The Flashes Of Arbitrary Power: The Cruelty Of A Despot Will Assume The Character Of Justice; His Profusion, Of Liberality; His Obstinacy, Of Firmness.

The Voice Of History Is Often Little More Than The Organ Of Hatred Or Flattery.

The Union Of The Roman Empire Was Dissolved; Its Genius Was Humbled In The Dust; And Armies Of Unknown Barbarians, Issuing From The Frozen Regions Of The North, Had Established Their Victorious Reign Over The Fairest Provinces Of Europe And Africa.

To The Love Of Pleasure We May Therefore Ascribe Most Of The Agreeable, To The Love Of Action We May Attribute Most Of The Useful And Respectable, Qualifications. The Character In Which Both The One And The Other Should Be United And Harmonised Would Seem To Constitute The Most Perfect Idea Of Human Nature.

Under A Democratical Government The Citizens Exercise The Powers Of Sovereignty; And Those Powers Will Be First Abused, And Afterwards Lost, If They Are Committed To An Unwieldy Multitude.

In The Productions Of The Mind, As In Those Of The Soil, The Gifts Of Nature Are Excelled By Industry And Skill . . .

Our Toil Is Lessened, And Our Wealth Is Increased, By Our Dominion Over The Useful Animals . . .

The Gravest Of The Ecclesiastical Historians, Eusebius Himself, Indirectly Confesses That He Has Related Whatever Might Redound To The Glory, And That He Has Suppressed All That Could Tend To The Disgrace, Of Religion.

One Must Search Diligently To Find Laudatory Comments On Education (other Than Those Pious Platitudes Which Are Fodder For Commencement Speeches). It Appears That Most Persons Who Have Achieved Fame And Success In The World Of Ideas Are Cynical About Formal Education. These People Are A Select Few, Who Often Achieved Success In Spite Of Their Education, Or Even Without It. As Has Been Said, The Clever Largely Educate Themselves, Those Less Able Aren't Sufficiently Clever Or Imaginative To Benefit Much From Education.

Unprovided With Original Learning, Unformed In The Habits Of Thinking, Unskilled In The Arts Of Composition, I Resolved To Write A Book.

It Was Here That I Suspended My Religious Inquiries (aged 17).

The Gauls Were Endowed With All The Advantages Of Art And Nature; But As They Wanted Courage To Defend Them, They Were Justly Condemned To Obey, And Even To Flatter, The Victorious Barbarians, By Whose Clemency They Held Their Precarious Fortunes And Their Lives.

The Theologian May Indulge The Pleasing Task Of Describing Religion As She Descended From Heaven, Arrayed In Her Native Purity. A More Melancholy Duty Is Imposed On The Historian. He Must Discover The Inevitable Mixture Of Error And Corruption Which She Contracted In A Long Residence Upon Earth, Among A Weak And Degenerate Race Of Beings.

These Idle Disputants Overlooked The Invariable Laws Of Nature, Which Have Connected Peace With Innocence, Plenty With Industry, And Safety With Valour.

The Sentiment Of Fear Is Nearly Allied To That Of Hatred.

A Jurisdiction Thus Vague And Arbitrary Was Exposed To The Most Dangerous Abuse: The Substance, As Well As The Form, Of Justice Were Often Sacrificed To The Prejudices Of Virtue, The Bias Of Laudable Affection, And The Grosser Seductions Of Interest Or Resentment.

Language Is The Leading Principle Which Unites Or Separates The Tribes Of Mankind.

Boethius Might Have Been Styled Happy, If That Precarious Epithet Could Be Safely Applied Before The Last Term Of The Life Of Man.

The Laws Of A Nation Form The Most Instructive Portion Of Its History

The Land Was Then Covered With Morasses And Forests, Which Spread To A Boundless Extent, Whenever Man Has Ceased To Exercise His Dominion Over The Earth.

In The Field Of Controversy I Always Pity The Moderate Party, Who Stand On The Open Middle Ground Exposed To The Fire Of Both Sides.

[the] Liberty Of Divorce Does Not Contribute To Happiness And Virtue. The Facility Of Separation Would Destroy All Mutual Confidence, And Inflame Every Trifling Dispute . . .

History Has Scarcely Deigned To Notice [libius Severus's] Birth, His Elevation, His Character, Or His Death.

The Distinctions Of Personal Merit And Influence, So Conspicuous In A Republic, So Feeble And Obscure Under A Monarchy, Were Abolished By The Despotism Of The Emperors; Who Substituted In Their Room A Severe Subordination Of Rank And Office, From The Titled Slaves Who Were Seated On The Steps Of The Throne, To The Meanest Instruments Of Arbitrary Power.

The Spectator And Historian Of [belisarius's] Exploits Has Observed, That Amidst The Perils Of War, He Was Daring Without Rashness, Prudent Without Fear, Slow Or Rapid According To The Exigencies Of The Moment; That In The Deepest Distress He Was Animated By Real Or Apparent Hope, But That He Was Modest And Humble In The Most Prosperous Fortune.

But The Sages Of Greece And Rome Turned Aside From The Awful Spectacle, And, Pursuing The Ordinary Occupations Of Life And Study, Appeared Unconscious Of Any Alterations In The Moral Of Physical Government Of The World.

Greek Is A Musical And Prolific Language, That Gives A Soul To The Objects Of Sense, And A Body To The Abstractions Of Philosophy.

The Knowledge That Is Suited To Our Situation And Powers, The Whole Compass Of Moral, Natural, And Mathematical Science, Was Neglected By The New Platonists; Whilst They Exhausted Their Strength In The Verbal Disputes Of Metaphysics, Attempted To Explore The Secrets Of The Invisible World, And Studied To Reconcile Aristotle With Plato, On Subjects Of Which Both These Philosophers Were As Ignorant As The Rest Of Mankind.

Does There Exist A Single Instance Of A Saint Asserting That He Himself Possessed The Gift Of Miracles?

The Chaste Severity Of The Fathers In Whatever Related To The Commerce Of The Two Sexes Flowed From The Same Principle -- Their Abhorrence Of Every Enjoyment Which Might Gratify The Sensual And Degrade The Spiritual Nature Of Man. It Was Their Favourite Opinion, That If Adam Had Preserved His Obedience To The Creator, He Would Have Lived For Ever In A State Of Virgin Purity, And That Some Harmless Mode Of Vegetation Might Have Peopled Paradise With A Race Of Innocent And Immortal Beings.

[the] Penalty Of Death Was Abolished In The Roman Empire, A Law Of Mercy Most Delightful To The Humane Theorist, But Of Which The Practice, In A Large And Vicious Community, Is Seldom Consistent With The Public Safety.

Conversation Enriches The Understanding, But Solitude Is The School Of Genius.

Style Is The Image Of Character.

Many A Sober Christian Would Rather Admit That A Wafer Is God Than That God Is A Cruel And Capricious Tyrant.

[the] Discretion Of The Judge Is The First Engine Of Tyranny . . .

The Best And Most Important Part Of Every Man's Education Is That Which He Gives Himself.

The History Of Empires Is The Record Of Human Misery; The History Of The Sciences Is That Of The Greatness And Happiness Of Mankind.

A Locrian, Who Proposed Any New Law, Stood Forth In The Assembly Of The People With A Cord Round His Neck, And If The Law Was Rejected, The Innovator Was Instantly Strangled.

Let Us Read With Method, And Propose To Ourselves An End To Which Our Studies May Point. The Use Of Reading Is To Aid Us In Thinking.

History, In Fact, Is No More Than A List Of The Crimes Of Humanity, Human Follies And Accidents

The Most Distinguished Merit Of Those Two Officers Was Their Respective Prowess, Of The One In The Combats Of Bacchus, Of The Other In Those Of Venus.

And The Winds And The Waves Are Always On The Side Of The Ablest Navigators.

Actuated By These Motives, And Apprehensive Of Disturbing The Repose Of An Unsettled Reign, Julian Surprised The World By An Edict Which Was Not Unworthy Of A Statesman Or A Philosopher. He Extended To All The Inhabitants Of The Roman World The Benefits Of A Free And Equal Toleration; And The Only Hardship Which He Inflicted On The Christians Was To Deprive Them Of The Power Of Tormenting Their Fellow-subjects, Whom They Stigmatised With The Odious Titles Of Idolaters And Heretics.

A Warlike Nation Like The Germans, Without Either Cities, Letters, Arts, Or Money, Found Some Compensation For This Savage State In The Enjoyment Of Liberty. Their Poverty Secured Their Freedom, Since Our Desires And Our Possessions Are The Strongest Fetters Of Despotism.

As Long As Mankind Shall Continue To Bestow More Liberal Applause On Their Destroyers Than On Their Benefactors, The Thirst Of Military Glory Will Ever Be The Vice Of The Most Exalted Characters.

The First And Indispensable Requisite Of Happiness Is A Clear Conscience.

Of Human Life, The Most Glorious Or Humble Prospects Are Alike And Soon Bounded By The Sepulchre.

Their Poverty Secured Their Freedom, Since Our Desires And Our Possessions Are The Strongest Fetters Of Despotism.

The Decline Of Rome Was The Natural And Inevitable Effect Of Immoderate Greatness. Prosperity Ripened The Principle Of Decay; The Cause Of The Destruction Multiplied With The Extent Of Conquest; And, As Soon As Time Or Accident And Removed The Artificial Supports, The Stupendous Fabric Yielded To The Pressure Of Its Own Weight. The Story Of The Ruin Is Simple And Obvious: And Instead Of Inquiring Why The Roman Empire Was Destroyed We Should Rather Be Surprised That It Has Subsisted For So Long.

Vicissitudes Of Fortune, Which Spares Neither Man Nor The Proudest Of His Works, Which Buries Empires And Cities In A Common Grave.

As Long As The Same Passions And Interests Subsist Among Mankind, The Questions Of War And Peace, Of Justice And Policy, Which Were Debated In The Councils Of Antiquity, Will Frequently Present Themselves As The Subject Of Modern Deliberation.

[the] Operation Of The Wisest Laws Is Imperfect And Precarious. They Seldom Inspire Virtue, They Cannot Always Restrain Vice.

Revenge Is Profitable, Gratitude Is Expensive.

Yet The Civilians Have Always Respected The Natural Right Of A Citizen To Dispose Of His Life . . .

It Is The Common Calamity Of Old Age To Lose Whatever Might Have Rendered It Desirable.

Theodosius Was Chaste And Temperate; He Enjoyed, Without Excess, The Sensual And Social Pleasures Of The Table, And The Warmth Of His Amorous Passions Was Never Diverted From Their Lawful Objects. The Proud Titles Of Imperial Greatness Were Adorned By The Tender Names Of A Faithful Husband, An Indulgent Father; His Uncle Was Raised, By His Affectionate Esteem, To The Rank Of A Second Parent.

Ignorant Of The Arts Of Luxury, The Primitive Romans Had Improved The Science Of Government And War.

The Barbarians Of Germany Had Felt, And Still Dreaded, The Arms Of The Young Caesar; His Soldiers Were The Companions Of His Victory; The Grateful Provincials Enjoyed The Blessings Of His Reign; But The Favourites, Who Had Opposed His Elevation, Were Offended By His Virtues; And They Justly Considered The Friend Of The People As The Enemy Of The Court.

The Retirement Of Athanasius, Which Ended Only With The Life Of Constantius, Was Spent, For The Most Part, In The Society Of The Monks, Who Faithfully Served Him As Guards, As Secretaries, And As Messengers; But The Importance Of Maintaining A More Intimate Connection With The Catholic Party Tempted Him, Whenever The Diligence Of The Pursuit Was Abated, To Emerge From The Desert, To Introduce Himself Into Alexandria, And To Trust His Person To The Discretion Of His Friends And Adherents.

The Ascent To Greatness, However Steep And Dangerous, May Entertain An Active Spirit With The Consciousness And Exercise Of Its Own Power: But The Possession Of A Throne Could Never Yet Afford A Lasting Satisfaction To An Ambitious Mind.

An Absolute Monarch, Who Is Rich Without Patrimony, May Be Charitable Without Merit; And Constantine Too Easily Believed That He Should Purchase The Favour Of Heaven If He Maintained The Idle At The Expense Of The Industrious, And Distributed Among The Saints The Wealth Of The Republic.

A Philosopher May Deplore The Eternal Discords Of The Human Race, But He Will Confess, That The Desire Of Spoil Is A More Rational Provocation Than The Vanity Of Conquest.

We Stand In Need Of Such Reflections To Comfort Us For The Loss Of Some Illustrious Characters, Which In Our Eyes Might Have Seemed The Most Worthy Of The Heavenly Present. The Names Of Seneca, Of The Elder And The Younger Pliny, Of Tacitus, Of Plutarch, Of Galen, Of The Slave Epictetus, And Of The Emperor Marcus Antoninus, Adorn The Age In Which They Flourished, And Exalt The Dignity Of Human Natures.

The Manly Pride Of The Romans, Content With Substantial Power, Had Left To The Vanity Of The East The Forms And Ceremonies Of Ostentatious Greatness. But When They Lost Even The Semblance Of Those Virtues Which Were Derived From Their Ancient Freedom, The Simplicity Of Roman Manners Was Insensibly Corrupted By The Stately Affectation Of The Courts Of Asia.

Such, Indeed, Is The Policy Of Civil War: Severely To Remember Injuries, And To Forget The Most Important Services. Revenge Is Profitable, Gratitude Is Expensive.

[a] Military Force Was Collected In Europe, Formidable By Their Arms And Numbers, If The Generals Had Understood The Science Of Command, And The Soldiers The Duty Of Obedience.

The Possession And The Enjoyment Of Property Are The Pledges Which Bind A Civilised People To An Improved Country.

Persuasion Is The Resource Of The Feeble; And The Feeble Can Seldom Persuade . . .

It Has Been Calculated By The Ablest Politicians That No State, Without Being Soon Exhausted, Can Maintain Above The Hundredth Part Of Its Members In Arms And Idleness.

The Author Himself Is The Best Judge Of His Own Performance; None Has So Deeply Meditated On The Subject; None Is So Sincerely Interested In The Event.

If All The Barbarian Conquerors Had Been Annihilated In The Same Hour, Their Total Destruction Would Not Have Restored The Empire Of The West: And If Rome Still Survived, She Survived The Loss Of Freedom, Of Virtue, And Of Honour.

Feeble And Timid Minds . . . Consider The Use Of Dilatory And Ambiguous Measures As The Most Admirable Efforts Of Consummate Prudence.

But How Shall We Excuse The Supine Inattention Of The Pagan And Philosophic World To Those Evidences Which Were Presented By The Hand Of Omnipotence, Not To Their Reason, But To Their Senses? During The Age Of Christ, Of His Apostles, And Their First Disciples, The Doctrine Which They Preached Was Confirmed By Innumerable Prodigies. The Lame Walked, The Blind Saw, The Sick Were Healed, The Dead Were Raised, Daemons Were Expelled, And The Laws Of Nature Were Frequently Suspended For The Benefit Of The Church.

The Primitive Christians Perpetually Trod On Mystic Ground, And Their Minds Were Exercised By The Habits Of Believing The Most Extraordinary Events

In This Primitive And Abject State [of Hunters And Gatherers], Which Ill Deserves The Name Of Society, The Human Brute, Without Arts Or Laws, Almost Without Sense Or Language, Is Poorly Distinguished From The Rest Of The Animal Creation.

The Triumph Of The Romans Was Indeed Sullied By Their Treatment Of The Captive King, Whom They Hung On A Gibbet Without The Knowledge Of Their Indignant General. This Disgraceful Act Of Cruelty Which Might Be Imputed To The Fury Of The Troops, Was Followed By The Deliberate Murder Of Withicab, The Son Of Vadomair; A German Prince, Of A Weak And Sickly Constitution, But Of A Daring And Formidable Spirit.

At That Time The Archiepiscopal Throne Of Alexandria Was Filled By Theophilus, The Perpetual Enemy Of Peace And Virtue; A Bold, Bad Man, Whose Hands Were Alternately Polluted With Gold And With Blood.

In Everyage And Country, The Wiser, Or At Least The Stronger, Ofthetwosexes, Hasusurped Thepowers Ofthe State, And Confined The Other To The Cares And Pleasures Of Domestic Life.

Majorian Presents The Welcome Discovery Of A Great And Heroic Character, Such As Sometimes Arise, In A Degenerate Age, To Vindicate The Honor Of The Human Species.

Extreme Distress, Which Unites The Virtue Of A Free People, Imbitters The Factions Of A Declining Monarchy.

Books Are Those Faithful Mirrors That Reflect To Our Mind The Minds Of Sages And Heroes.

It Was With The Utmost Difficulty That Ancient Rome Could Support The Institution Of Six Vestals; But The Primitive Church Was Filled With A Great Number Of Persons Of Either Sex Who Had Devoted Themselves To The Profession Of Perpetual Chastity.

Constantinople Was The Principal Seat And Fortress Of Arianism; And, In A Long Interval Of Forty Years, The Faith Of The Princes And Prelates Who Reigned In The Capital Of The East Was Rejected In The Purer Schools Of Rome And Alexandria.

I Was Never Less Alone Than When By Myself.

[every] Hour Of Delay Abates The Fame And Force Of The Invader, And Multiplies The Resources Of Defensive War.

But The Wisdom And Authority Of The Legislator Are Seldom Victorious In A Contest With The Vigilant Dexterity Of Private Interest.

It Is Incumbent On Us Diligently To Remember That The Kingdom Of Heaven Was Promised To The Poor In Spirit, And That Minds Afflicted By Calamity And The Contempt Of Mankind Cheerfully Listen To The Divine Promise Of Future Happiness; While, On The Contrary, The Fortunate Are Satisfied With The Possession Of This World; And The Wise Abuse In Doubt And Dispute Their Vain Superiority Of Reason And Knowledge.

Pleasure And Guilt Are Synonymous Terms In The Language Of The Monks, And They Discovered, By Experience, That Rigid Fasts, And Abstemious Diet, Are The Most Effectual Preservatives Against The Impure Desires Of The Flesh.

While The Romans Languished Under The Ignominious Tyranny Of Eunuchs And Bishops, The Praises Of Julian Were Repeated With Transport In Every Part Of The Empire, Except In The Palace Of Constantius.

In The Most Rigorous [roman] Laws, A Wife Was Condemned To Support A Gamester, A Drunkard, Or A Libertine, Unless He Were Guilty Of Homicide, Poison, Or Sacrilege, In Which Cases The Marriage, As It Should Seem, Might Have Been Dissolved By The Hand Of The Executioner.

To Resume, In A Few Words, The System Of The Imperial Government, As It Was Instituted By Augustus, And Maintained By Those Princes Who Understood Their Own Interest And That Of The People, It May Be Defined An Absolute Monarchy Disguised By The Forms Of A Commonwealth. The Masters Of The Roman World Surrounded Their Throne With Darkness, Concealed Their Irresistible Strength, And Humbly Professed Themselves The Accountable Ministers Of The Senate, Whose Supreme Decrees They Dictated And Obeyed.

The Terror Of The Roman Arms Added Weight And Dignity To The Moderation Of The Emperors. They Preserved The Peace By A Constant Preparation For War.

In The Second Century Of The Christian Era, The Empire Of Rome Comprehended The Fairest Part Of The Earth, And The Most Civilised Portion Of Mankind. The Frontiers Of That Extensive Monarchy Were Guarded By Ancient Renown And Disciplined Valour. The Gentle But Powerful Influence Of Laws And Manners Had Gradually Cemented The Union Of The Provinces. Their Peaceful Inhabitants Enjoyed And Abused The Advantages Of Wealth And Luxury.

The Love Of Study, A Passion Which Derives Fresh Vigor From Enjoyment, Supplies Each Day, Each Hour, With A Perpetual Source Of Independent And Rational Pleasure.

Hope, The Best Comfort Of Our Imperfect Condition.

The Aspiring Efforts Of Genius, Or Virtue, Either In Active Or Speculative Life, Are Measured, Not So Much By Their Real Elevation, As By The Height To Which They Ascend Above The Level Of Their Age And Country; And The Same Stature, Which In A People Of Giants Would Pass Unnoticed, Must Appear Conspicuous In A Race Of Pygmies.

The Love Of Liberty Was The Ruling Passion Of These Germans; The Enjoyment Of It, Their Best Treasure; The Word That Expressed That Enjoyment The Most Pleasing To Their Ear. They Deserved, They Assumed, They Maintained The Honourable Epithet Of Franks Or Freemen; Which Concealed, Though It Did Not Extinguish, The Peculiar Names Of The Several States Of The Confederacy.

In Populous Cities, Which Are The Seat Of Commerce And Manufactures, The Middle Ranks Of Inhabitants, Who Derive Their Subsistence From The Dexterity Or Labour Of Their Hands, Are Commonly The Most Prolific, The Most Useful, And, In That Sense, The Most Respectable Part Of The Community.

In A Distant Age And Climate, The Tragic Scene Of The Death Of Hosein Will Awaken The Sympathy Of The Coldest Reader.

The Dark Cloud, Which Had Been Cleared By The Phoenician Discoveries, And Finally Dispelled By The Arms Of Caesar, Again Settled On The Shores Of The Atlantic, And A Roman Province [britain] Was Again Lost Among The Fabulous Islands Of The Ocean.

The Historian Must Have Some Conception Of How Men Who Are Not Historians Behave.

The Authority Of Plato And Aristotle, Of Zeno And Epicurus, Still Reigned In The Schools; And Their Systems, Transmitted With Blind Deference From One Generation Of Disciples To Another, Precluded Every Generous Attempt To Exercise The Powers, Or Enlarge The Limits, Of The Human Mind.

The Courage Of A Soldier Is Found To Be The Cheapest And Most Common Quality Of Human Nature.

The Frequent Repetition Of Miracles Serves To Provoke, Where It Does Not Subdue, The Reason Of Mankind.

Fear Has Been The Original Parent Of Superstition, And Every New Calamity Urges Trembling Mortals To Deprecate The Wrath Of Their Invisible Enemies.

So Natural To Man Is The Practice Of Violence That Our Indulgence Allows The Slightest Provocation, The Most Disputable Right, As A Sufficient Ground Of National Hostility.

The Germans, In The Age Of Tacitus, Were Unacquainted With The Use Of Letters; And The Use Of Letters Is The Principal Circumstance That Distinguishes A Civilised People From A Herd Of Savages Incapable Of Knowledge Or Reflection. Without That Artificial Help, The Human Memory Soon Dissipates Or Corrupts The Ideas Intrusted To Her Charge; And The Nobler Faculties Of The Mind, No Longer Supplied With Models Or With Materials, Gradually Forget Their Powers; The Judgment Becomes Feeble And Lethargic, The Imagination Languid Or Irregular.

In Less Than Seven Years The Vestiges Of The Gothic Invasion Were Almost Obliterated, And The City Appeared To Resume Its Former Splendour And Tranquillity. The Venerable Matron Replaced Her Crown Of Laurel, Which Had Been Ruffled By The Storms Of War, And Was Still Amused In The Last Moment Of Her Decay With The Prophecies Of Revenge, Of Victory, And Of Eternal Dominion.

Of The Various Forms Of Government Which Have Prevailed In The World, An Hereditary Monarchy Seems To Present The Fairest Scope For Ridicule.

British Monarchy

At The Hour Of Midnight The Salerian Gate Was Silently Opened, And The Inhabitants Were Awakened By The Tremendous Sound Of The Gothic Trumpet. Eleven Hundred And Sixty-three Years After The Foundation Of Rome, The Imperial City, Which Had Subdued And Civilised So Considerable A Part Of Mankind, Was Delivered To The Licentious Fury Of The Tribes Of Germany And Scythia.

The Pains And Pleasures Of The Body, Howsoever Important To Ourselves, Are An Indelicate Subject Of Conversation

[it] Is The Interest As Well As Duty Of A Sovereign To Maintain The Authority Of The Laws.

I Have But One Lamp By Which My Feet Are Guided, And That Is The Lamp Of Experience. I Know No Way Of Judging Of The Future But By The Past.

Our Sympathy Is Cold To The Relation Of Distant Misery.

Religion Is A Mere Question Of Geography.

[we Should] Suspend Our Belief Of Every Tale That Deviates From The Laws Of Nature And The Character Of Man.

The Ruin Of Paganism, In The Age Of Theodosius, Is Perhaps The Only Example Of The Total Extirpation Of Any Ancient And Popular Superstition; And May Therefore Deserve To Be Considered, As A Singular Event In The History Of The Human Mind.

The End Comes When We No Longer Talk With Ourselves. It Is The End Of Genuine Thinking And The Beginning Of The Final Loneliness.

But The Power Of Instruction Is Seldom Of Much Efficacy, Except In Those Happy Dispositions Where It Is Almost Superfluous.

His Manners Were Less Pure, But His Character Was Equally Amiable With That Of His Father. Twenty-two Acknowledged Concubines, And A Library Of Sixty-two Thousand Volumes, Attested The Variety Of His Inclinations, And From The Productions Which He Left Behind Him, It Appears That The Former As Well As The Latter Were Designed For Use Rather Than Ostentation.

Both Moscow And [kiev], The Modern And The Ancient Capitals, Were Reduced To Ashes [by The Tartars]; A Temporary Ruin, Less Fatal Than The Deep, And Perhaps Indelible, Mark, Which A Servitude Of Two Hundred Years Has Imprinted On The Character Of The Russians.

War, In Its Fairest Form, Implies A Perpetual Violation Of Humanity And Justice.

Although The Progress Of Civilisation Has Undoubtedly Contributed To Assuage The Fiercer Passions Of Human Nature, It Seems To Have Been Less Favourable To The Virtue Of Chastity, Whose Most Dangerous Enemy Is The Softness Of The Mind. The Refinements Of Life Corrupt While They Polish The Intercourse Of The Sexes. The Gross Appetite Of Love Becomes Most Dangerous When It Is Elevated, Or Rather, Indeed, Disguised By Sentimental Passion.

It Has Always Been My Practice To Cast A Long Paragraph In A Single Mould, To Try It By My Ear, To Deposit It In My Memory, But To Suspend The Action Of The Pen Till I Had Given The Last Polish To My Work.

Yet The Experience Of Four Thousand Years Should Enlarge Our Hopes, And Diminish Our Apprehensions: We Cannot Determine To What Height The Human Species May Aspire In Their Advances Towards Perfection; But It May Safely Be Presumed, That No People, Unless The Face Of Nature Is Changed, Will Relapse Into Their Original Barbarism.

Yet The People, And Even The Clergy, Incapable Of Forming Any Rational Judgment Of The Business Of Peace And War, Presumed To Arraign The Policy Of Stilicho, Who So Often Vanquished, So Often Surrounded, And So Often Dismissed The Implacable Enemy Of The Republic. The First Moment Of The Public Safety Is Devoted To Gratitude And Joy; But The Second Is Diligently Occupied By Envy And Calumny.

That Country [carthage] Was Rapidly Sinking Into The State Of Barbarism From Whence It Had Been Raised By The Phoenician Colonies And Roman Laws; And Every Step Of Intestine Discord Was Marked By Some Deplorable Victory Of Savage Man Over Civilized Society.

The Nations, And The Sects, Of The Roman World, Admitted With Equal Credulity, And Similar Abhorrence, The Reality Of That Infernal Art [witchcraft], Which Was Able To Control The Eternal Order Of The Planets, And The Voluntary Operations Of The Human Mind. . . . They Believed, With The Wildest Inconsistency, That This Preternatural Dominion Of The Air, Of Earth, And Of Hell, Was Exercised, From The Vilest Motives Of Malice Or Gain, By Some Wrinkled Hags And Itinerant Sorcerers, Who Passed Their Obscure Lives In Penury And Contempt.

When Julian Ascended The Throne, He Declared His Impatience To Embrace And Reward The Syrian Sophist, Who Had Preserved, In A Degenerate Age, The Grecian Purity Of Taste, Of Manners And Of Religion. The Emperor's Prepossession Was Increased And Justified By The Discreet Pride Of His Favourite.

The Most Worthless Of Mankind Are Not Afraid To Condemn In Others The Same Disorders Which They Allow In Themselves; And Can Readily Discover Some Nice Difference In Age, Character, Or Station, To Justify The Partial Distinction.

Such Was The Unhappy Condition Of The Roman Emperors, That, Whatever Might Be Their Conduct, Their Fate Was Commonly The Same. A Life Of Pleasure Or Virtue, Of Severity Or Mildness, Of Indolence Or Glory, Alike Led To An Untimely Grave; And Almost Every Reign Is Closed By The Same Disgusting Repetition Of Treason And Murder.

The Complaints Of Contemporary Writes, Who Deplore The Increase Of Luxury And Deprevation Of Manners, Are Commonly Expressive Of Their Peculiar Temper And Situation. There Are Few Observers Who Possess A Clear And Comprehensive View Of The Revolutions Of Society, And Who Are Capable Of Discovering The Nice And Secret Springs Of Action Which Impel, In The Same Uniform Direction, The Bland And Capricious Passions Of A Multitude Of Individuals.

The Grateful Applause Of The Clergy Has Consecrated The Memory Of A Prince, Who Indulged Their Passions And Promoted Their Interest. Constantine Gave Them Security, Wealth, Honours, And Revenge; And The Support Of The Orthodox Faith Was Considered As The Most Sacred And Important Duty Of The Civil Magistrate. The Edict Of Milan, The Great Charter Of Toleration, Had Confirmed To Each Individual Of The Roman World The Privilege Of Choosing And Professing His Own Religion.

Recluse Fanatics Have Few Ideas Or Sentiments To Communicate . . .

Passion, Interest, Or Caprice, Suggested Daily Motives For The Dissolution Of Marriage; A Word, A Sign, A Message, A Letter, The Mandate Of A Freedman, Declared The Separation; The Most Tender Of Human Connections Was Degraded To A Transient Society Of Profit Or Pleasure.

It Was Rome, On The Fifteenth Of October, 1764, As I Sat Musing Amidst The Ruins Of The Capitol, While The Barefooted Friars Were Singing Vespers In The Temple Of Jupiter, That The Idea Of Writing The Decline And Fall Of The City First Started To My Mind.

It Was Among The Ruins Of The Capitol That I First Conceived The Idea Of A Work Which Has Amused And Exercised Nearly Twenty Years Of My Life.

Agriculture Is The Foundation Of Manufactures; Since The Productions Of Nature Are The Materials Of Art. Under The Roman Empire, The Labour Of An Industrious And Ingenious People Was Variously, But Incessantly Employed, In The Service Of The Rich. In Their Dress, Their Table, Their Houses, And Their Furniture, The Favourites Of Fortune United Every Refinement Of Conveniency, Of Elegance, And Of Splendour, Whatever Could Soothe Their Pride Or Gratify Their Sensuality.

All That Is Human Must Retrograde If It Does Not Advance.

The Gauls Derided The Hairy And Gigantic Savages Of The North; Their Rustic Manners, Dissonant Joy, Voracious Appetite, And Their Horrid Appearance, Equally Disgusting To The Sight And To The Smell.

Sixty Thousand Blacks Are Annually Embarked From The Coast Of Guinea, Never To Return To Their Native Country; But They Are Embarked In Chains: And This Constant Emigration, Which, In The Space Of Two Centuries, Might Have Furnished Armies To Overrun The Globe, Accuses The Guilt Of Europe And The Weakness Of Africa.

The Fortune Of Nations Has Often Depended On Accidents . . .

To A Philosophic Eye, The Vices Of The Clergy Are Far Less Dangerous Than Their Virtues.

It Is Scarcely Possible That The Eyes Of Contemporaries Should Discover In The Public Felicity The Latent Causes Of Decay And Corruption. This Long Peace, And The Uniform Government Of The Romans, Introduced A Slow And Secret Poison Into The Vitals Of The Empire. The Minds Of Men Were Gradually Reduced To The Same Level, The Fire Of Genius Was Extinguished, And Even The Military Spirit Evaporated.

Suspicious Princes Often Promote The Last Of Mankind, From A Vain Persuasion That Those Who Have No Dependence Except On Their Favor Will Have No Attachment Except To The Person Of Their Benefactor.

We Improve Ourselves By Victories Over Ourselves. There Must Be Contest, And We Must Win.

The Peace Of The Eastern Church Was Invaded By A Swarm Of Fanatics [monks], Incapable Of Fear, Or Reason, Or Humanity; And The Imperial Troops Acknowledged, Without Shame, That They Were Much Less Apprehensive Of An Encounter With The Fiercest Barbarians.

Among The Innumerable Monuments Of Architecture Constructed By The Romans, How Many Have Escaped The Notice Of History, How Few Have Resisted The Ravages Of Time And Barbarism! And Yet Even The Majestic Ruins That Are Still Scattered Over Italy And The Provinces, Would Be Sufficient To Prove That Those Countries Were Once The Seat Of A Polite And Powerful Empire.

A Small Number Of Temples Was Protected By The Fears, The Venality, The Taste, Or The Prudence Of The Civil And Ecclesiastical Governors. The Temple Of The Celestial Venus At Carthage, Whose Sacred Precincts Formed A Circumference Of Two Miles, Was Judiciously Converted Into A Christian Church; And A Similar Consecration Has Preserved Inviolate The Majestic Dome Of The Pantheon At Rome.

A People Who Still Remembered That Their Ancestors Had Been The Masters Of The World Would Have Applauded, With Conscious Pride, The Representation Of Ancient Freedom, If They Had Not Long Since Been Accustomed To Prefer The Solid Assurance Of Bread To The Unsubstantial Visions Of Liberty And Greatness.

The Urgent Consideration Of The Public Safety May Undoubtedly Authorize The Violation Of Every Positive Law. How Far That Or Any Other Consideration May Operate To Dissolve The Natural Obligations Of Humanity And Justice, Is A Doctrine Of Which I Still Desire To Remain Ignorant.

Since The Primitive Times, The Wealth Of The Popes Was Exposed To Envy, Their Powers To Opposition, And Their Persons To Violence.

Discussing The Attempts Of Augustus' Generals To Add To The Extent Of The Roman Empire Early In His Reign: The Northern Countries Of Europe Scarcely Deserved The Expense And Labour Of Conquest. The Forests And Morasses Of Germany Were Filled With A Hardy Race Of Barbarians, Who Despised Life When It Was Separated From Freedom; And Though, On The First Attack, They Seemed To Yield To The Weight Of The Roman Power, They Soon, By A Signal Act Of Despair, Regained Their Independence, And Reminded Augustus Of The Vicissitude Of Fortune.

If The Emperor Had Capriciously Decreed The Death Of The Most Eminent And Virtuous Citizen Of The Republic, The Cruel Order Would Have Been Executed Without Hesitation By The Ministers Of Open Violence Or Of Specious Injustice. The Caution, The Delay, The Difficulty With Which He Proceeded In The Condemnation And Punishment Of A Popular Bishop, Discovered To The World That The Privileges Of The Church Had Already Revived A Sense Of Order And Freedom In The Roman Government.

[courage] Arises In A Great Measure From The Consciousness Of Strength . . .

[instead] Of Inquiring Why The Roman Empire Was Destroyed, We Should Rather Be Surprised That It Had Subsisted So Long.

Flattery Is A Foolish Suicide; She Destroys Herself With Her Own Hands.

Bizarreness Masqueraded As Creativity.

If This Punic War Was Carried On Without Any Effusion Of Blood, It Was Owing Much Less To The Moderation Than To The Weakness Of The Contending Prelates.

On The Approach Of Spring, I Withdraw Without Reluctance From The Noisy And Extensive Scene Of Crowds Without Company, And Dissipation Without Pleasure.

Instead Of Pressing, With The Foremost Of The Crowd, Into The Palace Of Constantinople, Libanius Calmly Expected His Arrival At Antioch; Withdrew From Court On The First Symptoms Of Coldness And Indifference; Required A Formal Invitation For Each Visit; And Taught His Sovereign An Important Lesson, That He Might Command The Obedience Of A Subject, But That He Must Deserve The Attachment Of A Friend.

The Laws Of War, That Restrain The Exercise Of National Rapine And Murder, Are Founded On Two Principles Of Substantial Interest: The Knowledge Of The Permanent Benefits Which May Be Obtained By A Moderate Use Of Conquest, And A Just Apprehension Lest The Desolation Which We Inflict On The Enemy's Country May Be Retaliated On Our Own. But These Considerations Of Hope And Fear Are Almost Unknown In The Pastoral State Of Nations.

I Understand By This Passion The Union Of Desire, Friendship, And Tenderness, Which Is Inflamed By A Single Female, Which Prefers Her To The Rest Of Her Sex, And Which Seeks Her Possession As The Supreme Or The Sole Happiness Of Our Being.

Our Work Is The Presentation Of Our Capabilities.

Active Valour May Often Be The Present Of Nature; But Such Patient Diligence Can Be The Fruit Only Of Habit And Discipline.

It Is The First Care Of A Reformer To Prevent Any Future Reformation.

I Darted A Contemptuous Look At The Stately Models Of Superstition.

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Victoria Principal

George P. Shultz

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