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The Sectaries Of A Persecuted Religion, Depressed By Fear, Animated With Resentment, And Perhaps Heated By Enthusiasm, Are Seldom In A Proper Temper Of Mind Calmly To Investigate, Or Candidly To Appreciate, The Motives Of Their Enemies, Which Often Escape The Impartial And Discerning View Even Of Those Who Are Placed At A Secure Distance From The Flames Of Persecution.

-Edward Gibbon

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The Sectaries Of A

Edward Gibbon

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The Sectaries Of A Persecuted Religion, Depressed By Fear, Animated With Resentment, And Perhaps Heated By Enthusiasm, Are Seldom In A Proper Temper Of Mind Calmly To Investigate, Or Candidly To Appreciate, The Motives Of Their Enemies, Which Often Escape The Impartial And Discerning View Even Of Those Who Are Placed At A Secure Distance From The Flames Of Persecution.

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It Is Seldom That Minds Long Exercised In Business Have Formed Any Habits Of Conversing With Themselves, And In The Loss Of Power They Principally Regret The Want Of Occupation.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

But A Wild Democracy . . . Too Often Disdains The Essential Principles Of Justice.

Julian Was Not Insensible Of The Advantages Of Freedom. From His Studies He Had Imbibed The Spirit Of Ancient Sages And Heroes; His Life And Fortunes Had Depended On The Caprice Of A Tyrant; And, When He Ascended The Throne, His Pride Was Sometimes Mortified By The Reflection That The Slaves Who Would Not Dare To Censure His Defects Were Not Worthy To Applaud His Virtues.

In The End, More Than Freedom, They Wanted Security. They Wanted A Comfortable Life, And They Lost It All – Security, Comfort, And Freedom. When The Athenians Finally Wanted Not To Give To Society But For Society To Give To Them, When The Freedom They Wished For Most Was Freedom From Responsibility, Then Athens Ceased To Be Free And Was Never Free Again.

Libertarian Party

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

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.

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.

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

Corruption, The Most Infallible Symptom Of Constitutional Liberty, Was Successfully Practised; Honours, Gifts, And Immunities Were Offered And Accepted As The Price Of An Episcopal Vote; And The Condemnation Of The Alexandrian Primate Was Artfully Represented As The Only Measure Which Could Restore The Peace And Union Of The Catholic Church.

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 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.

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

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

Where The Subject Lies So Far Beyond Our Reach, The Difference Between The Highest And The Lowest Of Human Understandings May Indeed Be Calculated As Infinitely Small; Yet The Degree Of Weakness May Perhaps Be Measured By The Degree Of Obstinacy And Dogmatic Confidence.

[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.

The Progress Of Despotism Tends To Disappoint Its Own Purpose.

[the Goths'] Poverty Was Incurable; Since The Most Liberal Donatives Were Soon Dissipated In Wasteful Luxury, And The Most Fertile Estates Became Barren In Their Hands.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Augustus Was Sensible That Mankind Is Governed By Names; Nor Was He Deceived In His Expectation, That The Senate And People Would Submit To Slavery, Provided They Were Respectfully Assured That They Still Enjoyed Their Ancient 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.

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.

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

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

History, Which Undertakes To Record The Transactions Of The Past, For The Instruction Of Future Ages, Would Ill Deserve That Honourable Office If She Condescended To Plead The Cause Of Tyrants, Or To Justify The Maxims Of Persecution.

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

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 Two Antonines (for It Is Of Them That We Are Now Speaking) Governed The Roman World Forty-two Years, With The Same Invariable Spirit Of Wisdom And Virtue. ... Their United Reigns Are Possibly The Only Period Of History In Which The Happiness Of A Great People Was The Sole Object Of Government.

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.

To Maintain The Harmony Of Authority And Obedience, To Chastise The Proud, To Protect The Weak, To Reward The Deserving, To Banish Vice And Idleness From His Dominions, To Secure The Traveller And Merchant, To Restrain The Depredations Of The Soldier, To Cherish The Labors Of The Husbandman, To Encourage Industry And Learning, And, By An Equal And Moderate Assessment, To Increase The Revenue, Without Increasing The Taxes, Are Indeed The Duties Of A Prince . . .

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.

Our Work Is The Presentation Of Our Capabilities.

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

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.

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.

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.

The Communication Of Ideas Requires A Similitude Of Thought And Language . . .

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

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.

Metellus Numidicus, The Censor, Acknowledged To The Roman People, In A Public Oration, That Had Kind Nature Allowed Us To Exist Without The Help Of Women, We Should Be Delivered From A Very Troublesome Companion; And He Could Recommend Matrimony Only As The Sacrifice Of Private Pleasure To Public Duty.

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 Monks'] Minds Were Inaccessible To Reason Or Mercy . . .

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 Monks'] Credulity Debased And Vitiated The Faculties Of The Mind: They Corrupted The Evidence Of History; And Superstition Gradually Extinguished The Hostile Light Of Philosophy And Science.

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

Whenever The Offence Inspires Less Horror Than The Punishment, The Rigour Of Penal Law Is Obliged To Give Way To The Common Feelings Of Mankind.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

His Sumptuous Tents, And Those Of His Satraps, Afforded An Immense Booty To The Conqueror; And An Incident Is Mentioned Which Proves The Rustic But Martial Ignorance Of The Legions In The Elegant Superfluities Of Life. A Bag Of Shining Leather, Filled With Pearls, Fell Into The Hands Of A Private Soldier; He Carefully Preserved The Bag, But He Threw Away Its Contents, Judging That Whatever Was Of No Use Could Not Possibly Be Of Any Value.

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

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.

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.

The Love Of Freedom, So Often Invigorated And Disgraced By Private Ambition, Was Reduced, Among The Licentious Franks, To The Contempt Of Order, And The Desire Of Impunity.

But The Desire Of Obtaining The Advantages, And Of Escaping The Burthens, Of Political Society, Is A Perpetual And Inexhaustible Source Of Discord; Nor Can It Reasonably Be Presumed That The Restoration Of British Freedom Was Exempt From Tumult And Faction. The Pre-eminence Of Birth And Fortune Must Have Been Frequently Violated By Bold And Popular Citizens; And The Haughty Nobles, Who Complained That They Were Become The Subjects Of Their Own Servants, Would Sometimes Regret The Reign Of An Arbitrary Monarch.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

According To The Faith And Mercy Of His Christian Enemies, [chosroes] Sunk Without Hope Into A Still Deeper Abyss [hell]; And It Will Not Be Denied, That Tyrants Of Every Age And Sect Are The Best Entitled To Such Infernal Abodes.

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.

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.

The Active, Insatiate Principle Of Self-love Can Alone Supply The Arts Of Life And The Wages Of Industry; And As Soon As Civil Government And Exclusive Property Have Been Introduced, They Become Necessary To The Existence Of The Human Race.

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

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.

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.

My Early And Invincible Love Of Reading I Would Not Exchange For All The Riches Of India.

This Variety Of Objects Will Suspend, For Some Time, The Course Of The Narrative; But The Interruption Will Be Censured Only By Those Readers Who Are Insensible To The Importance Of Laws And Manners, While They Peruse, With Eager Curiosity, The Transient Intrigues Of A Court, Or The Accidental Event Of A Battle.

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

[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.

A Society In Which Marriage Is Encouraged And Industry Prevails Soon Repairs The Accidental Losses Of Pestilence And War.

A Bloody And Complete Victory Has Sometimes Yielded No More Than The Possession Of The Field And The Loss Of Ten Thousand Men Has Sometimes Been Sufficient To Destroy, In A Single Day, The Work Of Ages.

Philosophy Alone Can Boast (and Perhaps It Is No More Than The Boast Of Philosophy), That Her Gentle Hand Is Able To Eradicate From The Human Mind The Latent And Deadly Principle Of Fanaticism.

The Desire Of Perfection Became The Ruling Passion Of Their Soul; And It Is Well Known, That While Reason Embraces A Cold Mediocrity, Our Passions Hurry Us, With Rapid Violence, Over The Space Which Lies Between The Most Opposite Extremes.

A False Modesty Is The Meanest Species Of Pride.

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.

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.

[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.

It Was No Longer Esteemed Infamous For A Roman To Survive His Honor And Independence.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

There Is More Pleasure To Building Castles In The Air Than On The Ground.

If We Contrast The Rapid Progress Of This Mischievous Discovery [gunpowder] With The Slow And Laborious Advances Of Reason, Science, And The Arts Of Peace, A Philosopher, According To His Temper, Will Laugh Or Weep At The Folly Of Mankind.

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.

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.

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

Antoninus Diffused Order And Tranquility Over The Greatest Part Of The Earth. His Reign Is Marked By The Rare Advantage Of Furnishing Very Few Materials For History; Which Is, Indeed, Little More Than The Register Of The Crimes, Follies, And Misfortunes Of Mankind.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

An Extensive Empire Must Be Supported By A Refined System Of Policy And Oppression; In The Centre, An Absolute Power, Prompt In Action And Rich In Resources; A Swift And Easy Communication With The Extreme Parts; Fortifications To Check The First Effort Of Rebellion; A Regular Administration To Protect And Punish; And A Well-disciplined Army To Inspire Fear, Without Provoking Discontent And Despair.

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.

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.

Religion Is A Mere Question Of Geography.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

The Patient And Active Virtues Of A Soldier Are Insensibly Nursed In The Habits And Discipline Of A Pastoral Life.

The Science Of The Laws Is The Slow Growth Of Time And Experience.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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 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.

I Was Never Less Alone Than When By Myself.

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

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.

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

Bizarreness Masqueraded As Creativity.

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.

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 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.

[the] Emperor Of The West, The Feeble And Dissolute Valentinian, [had] Reached His Thirty-fifth Year Without Attaining The Age Of Reason Or Courage.

Every Person Has Two Educations, One Which He Receives From Others, And One, More Important, Which He Gives To Himself.

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

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.

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

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.

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

When A Public Quarrel Is Envenomed By Private Injuries, A Blow That Is Not Mortal Or Decisive Can Be Productive Only Of A Short Truce, Which Allows The Unsuccessful Combatant To Sharpen His Arms For A New Encounter.

The Character Of The Tribunes Was, In Every Respect, Different From That Of The Consuls. The Appearance Of The Former Was Modest And Humble; But Their Persons Were Sacred And Inviolable. Their Force Was Suited Rather For Opposition Than For Action. They Were Instituted To Defend The Oppressed, To Pardon Offences, To Arraign The Enemies Of The People, And, When They Judged It Necessary, To Stop, By A Single Word, The Whole Machine Of Government.

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 . . .

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

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

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 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 Pathetic Almost Always Consists In The Detail Of Little Events.

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

The Vain, Inconstant, Rebellious Disposition Of The People [of Armorica], Was Incompatible Either With Freedom Or Servitude.

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.

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.

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.

I Am Indeed Rich, Since My Income Is Superior To My Expenses, And My Expense Is Equal To My Wishes.

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

The Philosopher, Who With Calm Suspicion Examines The Dreams And Omens, The Miracles And Prodigies, Of Profane Or Even Of Ecclesiastical History, Will Probably Conclude That, If The Eyes Of The Spectators Have Sometimes Been Deceived By Fraud, The Understanding Of The Readers Has Much More Frequently Been Insulted By Fiction.

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.

Amiable Weaknesses Of Human Nature.

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

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

But The Works Of Man Are Impotent Against The Assaults Of Nature . . .

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

The Separation Of The Arabs From The Rest Of Mankind Has Accustomed Them To Confound The Ideas Of Stranger And Enemy.

The Ancients Were Destitute Of Many Of The Conveniences Of Life Which Have Been Invented Or Improved By The Progress Of Industry; And The Plenty Of Glass And Linen Has Diffused More Real Comforts Among The Modern Nations Of Europe Than The Senators Of Rome Could Derive From All The Refinements Of Pompous Or Sensual Luxury.

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

The Pastoral Labours Of The Archbishop Of Constantinople Provoked And Gradually United Against Him Two Sorts Of Enemies; The Aspiring Clergy, Who Envied His Success, And The Obstinate Sinners, Who Were Offended By His Reproofs. When Chrysostom Thundered From The Pulpit Of St. Sophia Against The Degeneracy Of The Christians, His Shafts Were Spent Among The Crowd, Without Wounding Or Even Marking The Character Of Any Individual.

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.

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

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

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.

The Law Of Nature Instructs Most Animals To Cherish And Educate Their Infant Progeny. The Law Of Reason Inculcates To The Human Species The Returns Of Filial Piety.

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

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 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.

Our Sympathy Is Cold To The Relation Of Distant Misery.

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