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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.

-Edward Gibbon

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The Barbarians Of Germany

Edward Gibbon

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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.

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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.

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

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.

To The University Of Oxford I Acknowledge No Obligation; And She Will As Cheerfully Renounce Me For A Son, As I Am Willing To Disclaim Her For A Mother. I Spent Fourteen Months At Magdalen College: They Proved The Fourteen Months The Most Idle And Unprofitable Of My Whole Life.

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

As For This Young Ali, One Cannot But Like Him. A Noble-minded Creature, As He Shows Himself, Now And Always Afterwards; Full Of Affection, Of Fiery Daring. Something Chivalrous In Him; Brave As A Lion; Yet With A Grace, A Truth And Affection Worthy Of Christian Knighthood.

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

And Thus Toleration Produced Not Only Mutual Indulgence, But Even Religious Concord. The Superstition Of The People Was Not Embittered Theological Rancor.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

According To The Law Of Custom, And Perhaps Of Reason, Foreign Travel Completes The Education Of An English Gentleman.

The Imprudent Maximus Disregarded These Salutary Considerations: He Gratified His Resentment And Ambition; He Saw The Bleeding Corpse Of Valentinian At His Feet; And He Heard Himself Saluted Emperor By The Unanimous Voice Of The Senate And People. But The Day Of His Inauguration Was The Last Day Of His Happiness.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Where Error Is Irreparable, Repentance Is Useless.

To An Active Mind, Indolence Is More Painful Than Labor.

Our Work Is The Presentation Of Our Capabilities.

Hope, The Best Comfort Of Our Imperfect Condition.

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.

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.

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

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.

If A Man Were Called To Fix The Period In The History Of The World During Which The Condition Of The Human Race Was Most Happy And Prosperous, He Would, Without Hesitation, Name That Which Elapsed From The Death Of Domitian To The Accession Of Commodus.

There Are Two Very Natural Propensities Which We May Distinguish In The Most Virtuous And Liberal Dispositions, The Love Of Pleasure And The Love Of Action. If The Former Is Refined By Art And Learning, Improved By The Charms Of Social Intercourse, And Corrected By A Just Regard To Economy, To Health, And To Reputation, It Is Productive Of The Greatest Part Of The Happiness Of Private Life.

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

A Heart To Resolve, A Head To Contrive, And A Hand To Execute.

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.

Imam Hussain's Sacrifice Is For All Groups And Communities, An Example Of The Path Of Rightousness.

The Progress Of Manufactures And Commerce Insensibly Collects A Large Multitude Within The Walls Of A City: But These Citizens Are No Longer Soldiers; And The Arts Which Adorn And Improve The State Of Civil Society, Corrupt The Habits Of The Military Life.

Religion Is A Mere Question Of Geography.

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

Europe Is Secure From Any Future Irruptions Of Barbarians; Since, Before They Can Conquer, They Must Cease To Be Barbarous.

In Discussing Barbarism And Christianity I Have Actually Been Discussing The Fall Of Rome.

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

History Is Indeed Little More Than The Register Of The Crimes, Follies, And Misfortunes Of Mankind.

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.

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

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

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.

The Revolution Of Ages May Bring Round The Same Calamities; But Ages May Revolve Without Producing A Tacitus To Describe Them.

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.

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

From The Paths Of Blood (and Such Is The History Of Nations) I Cannot Refuse To Turn Aside To Gather Some Flowers Of Science Or Virtue.

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

[arabs Are] A People, Whom It Is Dangerous To Provoke, And Fruitless To Attack.

There Is Nothing Perhaps More Adverse To Nature And Reason Than To Hold In Obedience Remote Countries And Foreign Nations, In Opposition To Their Inclination And Interest.

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.

The Single Combats Of The Heroes Of History Or Fable Amuse Our Fancy And Engage Our Affections: The Skillful Evolutions Of War May Inform The Mind, And Improve A Necessary, Though Pernicious, Science. But In The Uniform And Odious Pictures Of A General Assault, All Is Blood, And Horror, And Confusion . . .

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

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

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.

The Difference Of Language, Dress, And Manners . . . Severs And Alienates The Nations Of The Globe.

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.

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.

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 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.

The Indian Who Fells The Tree That He May Gather The Fruit, And The Arab Who Plunders The Caravans Of Commerce Are Actuated By The Same Impulse Of Savage Nature, And Relinquish For Momentary Rapine The Long And Secure Possession Of The Most Important Blessings.

Bizarreness Masqueraded As Creativity.

The Policy Of The Emperors And The Senate, As Far As It Concerned Religion, Was Happily Seconded By The Reflections Of The Enlightened, And By The Habits Of The Superstitious, Part Of Their Subjects. The Various Modes Of Worship, Which Prevailed In The Roman World, Were All Considered By The People, As Equally True; By The Philosopher, As Equally False; And By The Magistrate, As Equally Useful. And Thus Toleration Produced Not Only Mutual Indulgence, But Even Religious Concord.

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

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 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.

[peace] Cannot Be Honorable Or Secure, If The Sovereign Betrays A Pusillanimous Aversion To War.

Julian Sincerely Abhorred The System Of Oriental Despotism Which Diocletian, Constantine, And The Patient Habits Of Four Score Years, Had Established In The Empire. A Motive Of Superstition Prevented The Execution Of The Design Which Julian Had Frequently Meditated, Of Relieving His Head From The Weight Of A Costly Diadem; But He Absolutely Refused The Title Of Dominus Or Lord, A Word Which Was Grown So Familiar To The Ears Of The Romans, That They No Longer Remembered Its Servile And Humiliating Origin.

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

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.

There Exists In Human Nature A Strong Propensity To Depreciate The Advantages, And To Magnify The Evils, Of The Present Times.

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 Mathematics Are Distinguished By A Particular Privilege, That Is, In The Course Of Ages, They May Always Advance And Can Never Recede.

A State Of Skepticism And Suspense May Amuse A Few Inquisitive Minds. But The Practice Of Superstition Is So Congenial To The Multitude That, If They Are Forcibly Awakened, They Still Regret The Loss Of Their Pleasing Vision.

The Orator, Who May Be Silent Without Danger, May Praise Without Difficulty And Without Reluctance; And Posterity Will Confess That The Character Of Theodosius Might Furnish The Subject Of A Sincere And Ample Panegyric. The Wisdom Of His Laws And The Success Of His Arms Rendered His Administration Respectable In The Eyes Both Of His Subjects And Of His Enemies. He Loved And Practised The Virtues Of Domestic Life, Which Seldom Hold Their Residence In The Palaces Of Kings.

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.

Such Events May Be Disbelieved Or Disregarded; But The Charity Of A Bishop, Acacius Of Amida, Whose Name Might Have Dignified The Saintly Calendar, Shall Not Be Lost In Oblivion.

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

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

A Reformer Should Be Exempt From The Suspicion Of Interest, And He Must Possess The Confidence And Esteem Of Those Whom He Proposes To Reclaim.

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.

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

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.

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

My English Text Is Chaste, And All Licentious Passages Are Left In The Decent Obscurity Of A Learned Language.

A Sentence Of Death And Infamy Was Often Founded On The Slight And Suspicious Evidence Of A Child Or A Servant: The Guilt [of The Defendant] Was Presumed By The Judges [due To The Nature Of The Charge], And Paederasty Became The Crime Of Those To Whom No Crime Could Be Imputed.

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.

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.

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

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

It Is Impossible To Reduce, Or, At Least, To Hold A Distant Country Against The Wishes And Efforts Of Its Inhabitants.

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.

A Nation Of Slaves Is Always Prepared To Applaud The Clemency Of Their Master Who, In The Abuse Of Absolute Power, Does Not Proceed To The Last Extremes Of Injustice And Oppression.

The Archiepiscopal Throne Of Macedonius, Which Had Been Polluted With So Much Christian Blood, Was Successively Filled By Eudoxus And Damophilus. Their Diocese Enjoyed A Free Importation Of Vice And Error From Every Province Of The Empire; The Eager Pursuit Of Religious Controversy Afforded A New Occupation To The Busy Idleness Of The Metropolis: And We May Credit The Assertion Of An Intelligent Observer, Who Describes, With Some Pleasantry, The Effects Of Their Loquacious Zeal.

In The End, They Wanted Security More Than They Wanted Freedom.

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.

The Revenge Of A Guilty Woman Is Implacable.

The Laws Of Probability, So True In General, So Fallacious In Particular.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

The Division Of The Roman World Between The Sons Of Theodosius Marks The Final Establishment Of The Empire Of The East, Which, From The Reign Of Arcadius To The Taking Of Constantinople By The Turks, Subsisted One Thousand And Fifty-eight Years In A State Of Premature And Perpetual Decay.

[the] Vain And Transitory Scenes Of Human Greatness Are Unworthy Of A Serious Thought.

It Was [totila's] Constant Theme, That National Vice And Ruin Are Inseparably Connected; That Victory Is The Fruit Of Moral As Well As Military Virtue; And That The Prince, And Even The People, Are Responsible For The Crimes Which They Neglect To Punish.

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.

Hope, The Best Comfort Of Our Imperfect Condition, Was Not Denied To The Roman Slave; And If He Had Any Opportunity Of Rendering Himself Either Useful Or Agreeable, He Might Very Naturally Expect That The Diligence And Fidelity Of A Few Years Would Be Rewarded With The Inestimable Gift Of Freedom.

Whenever The Spirit Of Fanaticism, At Once So Credulous And So Crafty, Has Insinuated Itself Into A Noble Mind, It Insensibly Corrodes The Vital Principles Of Virtue And Veracity.

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 First And Indispensable Requisite Of Happiness Is A Clear Conscience.

In The Purer Ages Of The Commonwealth, The Use Of Arms Was Reserved For Those Ranks Of Citizens Who Had A Country To Love, A Property To Defend, And Some Share In Enacting Those Laws Which It Was Their Interest, As Well As Duty, To Maintain. But In Proportion As The Public Freedom Was Lost In Extent Of Conquest, War Was Gradually Improved Into An Art, And Degraded Into A Trade.

Corruption, The Most Infallible Symptom Of Constitutional Liberty.

Rational Confidence [is] The Just Result Of Knowledge And Experience.

Knowledge And Experience

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

But In Almost Every Province Of The Roman World, An Army Of Fanatics, Without Authority And Without Discipline, Invaded The Peaceful Inhabitants; And The Ruin Of The Fairest Structures Of Antiquity Still Displays The Ravages Of Those Barbarians Who Alone Had Time And Inclination To Execute Such Laborious Destruction.

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.

Yet The Arts Of Severus Cannot Be Justified By The Most Ample Privileges Of State Reason. He Promised Only To Betray; He Flattered Only To Ruin; And However He Might Occasionally Bind Himself By Oaths And Treaties, His Conscience, Obsequious To His Interest, Always Released Him From The Inconvenient Obligation.

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.

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

Philosophy, With The Aid Of Experience, Has At Length Banished The Study Of Alchymy; And The Present Age, However Desirous Of Riches, Is Content To Seek Them By The Humbler Means Of Commerce And Industry.

The Elegance Of Dress, Of Motion, And Of Manners Gives A Lustre To Beauty, And Inflames The Senses Through The Imagination. Luxurious Entertainments, Midnight Dances, And Licentious Spectacles, Present At Once Temptation And Opportunity To Female Frailty. From Such Dangers The Unpolished Wives Of The Barbarians Were Secured By Poverty, Solitude, And The Painful Cares Of A Domestic Life.

Bad Roads And Indifferent Inns, ... The Continual Converse One Is Obliged To Have With The Vilest Part Of Mankind - Innkeepers, Post-masters, And Custom House Officers.

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

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

[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 . . .

The Love Of Action Is A Principle Of A Much Stronger And More Doubtful Nature. It Often Leads To Anger, To Ambition, And To Revenge; But When It Is Guided By The Sense Of Propriety And Benevolence, It Becomes The Parent Of Every Virtue, And, If Those Virtues Are Accompanied With Equal Abilities, A Family, A State, Or An Empire May Be Indebted For Their Safety And Prosperity To The Undaunted Courage Of A Single Man.

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.

[all] The Manly Virtues Were Oppressed By The Servile And Pusillanimous Reign Of The Monks.

If Julian Had Flattered Himself That His Personal Connexion With The Capital Of The East Would Be Productive Of Mutual Satisfaction To The Prince And People, He Made A Very False Estimate Of His Own Character, And Of The Manners Of Antioch. The Warmth Of The Climate Disposed The Natives To The Most Intemperate Enjoyment Of Tranquillity And Opulence; And The Lively Licentiousness Of The Greeks Was Blended With The Hereditary Softness Of The Syrians.

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.

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

The Books Of Jurisprudence Were Interesting To Few, And Entertaining To None: Their Value Was Connected With Present Use, And They Sunk Forever As Soon As That Use Was Superseded By The Innovations Of Fashion, Superior Merit, Or Public Authority.

Instructed By History And Reflection, Julian Was Persuaded That, If The Diseases Of The Body May Sometimes Be Cured By Salutary Violence, Neither Steel Nor Fire Can Eradicate The Erroneous Opinions Of The Mind.

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.

It Has Been Sagaciously Conjectured, That The Artful Legislator Indulged The Stubborn Prejudices Of His Countrymen.

In Their Censures Of Luxury The Fathers Are Extremely Minute And Circumstantial; And Among The Various Articles Which Excite Their Pious Indignation, We May Enumerate False Hair, Garments Of Any Colour Except White, Instruments Of Music, Vases Of Gold Or Silver, Downy Pillows, White Bread, Foreign Wines, Public Salutations, The Use Of Warm Baths, And The Practice Of Shaving The Beard, Which, According To Tertullian, Is A Lie Against Our Own Faces, And Am Impious Attempt To Improve The Works Of The Creator.

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.

The Savage Nations Of The Globe Are The Common Enemies Of Civilized Society; And We May Inquire, With Anxious Curiosity, Whether Europe Is Still Threatened With A Repetition Of Those Calamities, Which Formerly Oppressed The Arms And Institutions Of Rome.

Inclined To Peace By His Temper And Situation, It Was Easy For [augustus] To Discover That Rome, In Her Present Exalted Situation, Had Much Less To Hope Than To Fear From The Chance Of Arms; And That, In The Prosecution Of Remote Wars, The Undertaking Became Every Day More Difficult, The Event More Doubtful, And The Possession More Precarious And Less Beneficial.

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

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

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.

In The Various States Of Society, Armies Are Recruited From Very Different Motives. Barbarians Are Urged By The Love Of War; The Citizens Of A Free Republic May Be Prompted By A Principle Of Duty; The Subjects, Or At Least The Nobles, Of A Monarchy, Are Animated By A Sentiment Of Honor; But The Timid And Luxurious Inhabitants Of A Declining Empire Must Be Allured Into The Service By The Hopes Of Profit, Or Compelled By The Dread Of Punishment.

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 Slightest Force, When It Is Applied To Assist And Guide The Natural Descent Of Its Object, Operates With Irresistible Weight; And Jovian Had The Good Fortune To Embrace The Religious Opinions Which Were Supported By The Spirit Of The Times And The Zeal And Numbers Of The Most Powerful Sect. Under His Reign, Christianity Obtained An Easy And Lasting Victory; And, As Soon As The Smile Of Royal Patronage Was Withdrawn, The Genius Of Paganism, Which Had Been Fondly Raised And Cherished By The Arts Of Julian, Sunk Irrecoverably In The Dust.

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

But The Desire Of Obtaining The Advantages, And Of Escaping The Burdens, Of Political Society, Is A Perpetual And Inexhaustible Source Of Discord.

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 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.

It Was The Fashion Of The Times To Attribute Every Remarkable Event To The Particular Will Of The Deity; The Alterations Of Nature Were Connected, By An Invisible Chain, With The Moral And Metaphysical Opinions Of The Human Mind; And The Most Sagacious Divines Could Distinguish, According To The Colour Of Their Respective Prejudices, That The Establishment Of Heresy Tended To Produce An Earthquake, Or That A Deluge Was The Inevitable Consequence Of The Progress Of Sin And Error.

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.

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

A Martial Nobility And Stubborn Commons, Possessed Of Arms, Tenacious Of Property, And Collected Into Constitutional Assemblies Form The Only Balance Capable Of Preserving A Free Constitution Against The Enterprise Of An Aspiring Prince

[whole] Generations May Be Swept Away By The Madness Of Kings In The Space Of A Single Hour.

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.

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

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.

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.

'i Believe In One God And Mohammed The Apostle Of God,' Is The Simple And Invariable Profession Of Islam. The Intellectual Image Of The Deity Has Never Been Degraded By Any Visible Idol; The Honours Of The Prophet Have Never Transgressed The Measure Of Human Virtue, And His Living Precepts Have Restrained The Gratitude Of His Disciples Within The Bounds Of Reason And Religion.

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

A Taste For Books, Which Is Still The Pleasure And Glory Of My Life.

But The Severe Rules Of Discipline Which The Prudence Of The Bishops Had Instituted Were Relaxed By The Same Prudence In Favour Of An Imperial Proselyte, Whom It Was So Important To Allure, By Every Gentle Condescension, Into The Pale Of The Church; And Constantine Was Permitted, At Least By A Tacit Dispensation, To Enjoy Most Of The Privileges, Before He Had Contracted Any Of The Obligations, Of A Christian.

Instead Of A Perpetual And Perfect Measure Of The Divine Will, The Fragments Of The Koran Were Produced At The Discretion Of Mahomet; Each Revelation Is Suited To The Emergencies Of His Policy Or Passion; And All Contradiction Is Removed By The Saving Maxim That Any Text Of Scripture Is Abrogated Or Modified By Any Subsequent Passage.

The First Of Earthly Blessings, Independence.

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

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

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

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.

Man Has Much More To Fear From The Passions Of His Fellow-creatures, Than From The Convulsions Of The Elements.

To A Lover Of Books The Shops And Sales In London Present Irresistible Temptations.

We May Therefore Acquiesce In The Pleasing Conclusion, That Every Age Of The World Has Increased, And Still Increases, The Real Wealth, The Happiness, The Knowledge, And Perhaps The Virtue, Of The Human Race.

The Science Of The Church Is Neglected For The Study Of Geometry, And They Lose Sight Of Heaven While They Are Employed In Measuring The Earth. Euclid Is Perpetually In Their Hands. Aristotle And Theophrastus Are The Objects Of Their Admiration; And They Express An Uncommon Reverence For The Works Of Galen. Their Errors Are Derived From The Abuse Of The Arts And Sciences Of The Infidels, And They Corrupt The Simplicity Of The Gospel By The Refinements Of Human Reason.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

[but] The Man Who Dares Not Expose His Life In The Defence Of His Children And His Property, Has Lost In Society The First And Most Active Energies Of Nature.

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.

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] Events By Which The Fate Of Nations Is Not Materially Changed, Leave A Faint Impression On The Page Of History, And The Patience Of The Reader Would Be Exhausted By The Repetition Of The Same Hostilities [between Rome And Persia], Undertaken Without Cause, Prosecuted Without Glory, And Terminated Without Effect.

The Principles Of A Free Constitution Are Irrecoverably Lost, When The Legislative Power Is Nominated By The Executive.

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.

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