HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by…
Loading...

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (original 1788; edition 1946)

by Edward Gibbon (Author), Piranesi (Illustrator)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
3,233414,058 (4.3)2 / 188
In The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon argues that the loss of civic virtue amongst the Romans enabled barbarian invaders to succeed in their conquest. The book traces the period from 98 CE to 1590 CE and, as an Enlightenment thinker, Gibbon spends a great deal of time criticizing Catholicism, arguing that Christianity accelerated the fall of the Empire, though he does offer that it may have “mollified the ferocious temper of the conquerors” (ch. 38). In many ways, Gibbon invented modern historical scholarship as he relied wherever possible on primary sources rather than secondhand accounts. Further, he documented all of his sources through footnotes, commenting on the importance of the sources and even injecting some levity into them at points. Though modern historical research and archaeology have disproved his conclusions, the basic summary of events remains a good introduction for those interested in the period Gibbon covers while his footnotes will be of interest to historians looking at Roman historiography. This edition reprints Gibbon’s unabridged text in three volumes with illustrations from Giovanni Battista Piranesi. ( )
  DarthDeverell | Jul 20, 2019 |
English (37)  Dutch (1)  All languages (38)
Showing 1-25 of 37 (next | show all)
My gosh this was a slog! Six books of 600 pages each. It was definitely worth the effort, though. I must admit that the level of detail was daunting, but the patterns that such detail exhibited the rhyming history that Mark Twain remarked upon.

I have neither the time nor the inclination to comprehensively rate the series. My favorite aspects of the series are the comprehensive research against primary sources (I gave up trying to read the footnotes after about the second book) and the double-history perspective of a late-18th-century writer examining Roman and Byzantine history. This is an impressive feat of scholarship!

Another motivation for my reading the series was to fill the gaps of my understanding of this massive span of time. Naturally, the interminable list of emperors' names blended together after a while, but the sweep of the narrative will guide me when I next encounter these names, times, and places. The podcast Hardcore History had already done a pretty comprehensive job covering the Mongolian Empire, so it was satisfying to see that narrative mesh with Gibbon's description of the period. I expect this will happen many times over the course of my future reading.

If you're interested in the history of Western Civilization, I'd recommend putting in the effort to read the entire series. Although I found the level of detail to be tedious at times, I am glad that I persevered. ( )
  cmayes | Dec 21, 2023 |
An 18th century exploration into the events surrounding the Roman Empire and its territories from ca. 180 until the 15th century.

The author is an 18th century Brit who has granted the ancient Romans their conceit, and the work must be read and understood in that light. One of the great opportunities for reflection in reading this work in the early 21st century is to consider what Europe, north Africa, and western Asia must have looked like to someone living in 1776, and the different forms of continuity and discontinuity which are maintained. As an example, Gibbon confesses how there are some areas of Italy which, in his day, had not yet recovered in population from the Byzantine-Gothic wars and the bubonic plague of the middle of the 6th century; we would not be able to make such an observation on the other side of the population boom which has attended to the industrial revolution.

Gibbon does well at considering not just secondary but especially primary sources, and he is rather opaque about his biases and prejudices regarding them. The length of discourse ebbs and flows with the amount and quality of these witnesses: the introductory books set forth the condition of the Empire in the days of the Antonines, the generally confessed high point of the Roman Empire, and fills in some of the details about the infrastructure of the Empire as it had developed from the days of Augustus. Then over a few books Gibbon covers the long/awful "third century" of 180-280 and all of the trials of the Empire. The fourth century resurgence and crisis defeats of 280-400 are covered in many books, including discussions of the development of Christianity, and thus ends the first modern volume. Then Gibbon gets to the collapse of the Empire at the hands of the German tribes in the West, and the maintenance of the Empire in the East. Over many books we read of Justinian, his conquests, and his law code; Gibbon has precious little to say about the Justinian plague beyond its virulence. Gibbon quickly covers Justinian through Heraclius, and the second modern volume ends with his characterization of the various Emperors from Heraclius until Isaac Angelus and the Latin conquest of Constantinople. The third modern volume covers the medieval period, and does so in two phases: from 600-1200, looking in across the world of the former Roman Empire and the exploits in Italy, Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire, Muhammad, the rise of Islam, the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, the Bulgarians, Russians, Normans, the Turks, and then the Crusades, leading to the Fourth Crusade. Then Gibbon does something similar with the 1200-1450 period: the Greek loss of Constantinople, their fragmented empires, and recovery of Constantinople; the Mongols and the rise of the Ottomans; relationship between Byzantium and the West; the final loss of the Eastern Roman Empire; and Gibbon concludes by considering Rome itself from the tenth century until the end of the Great Schism. He then renders some conclusions.

Gibbon is often criticized for how he blames the fall of Rome on Christianity. I did not perceive in his work any truly monocausal explanation of this sort. In places where he would presume Christianity would have loosened the "martial spirit" of the Romans, he would be misguided. While Gibbon is a man of the Enlightenment - and in his notes you can tell he is a big fan of Hume and the Scottish Enlightenment in particular - his explorations of the various doctrinal controversies are well expressed and reasoned, and he seems less condemnatory of the religion itself and much more fatigued with the constant in-fighting over ultimately speculative matters. And in truth the divisions within Christianity absolutely weakened the standing of the Empire: when the Coptic Christians of Egypt welcomed the conquest of the Muslims so they would no longer be under the yoke of Constantinople, that tells you something; a big part of the ultimate end of the Byzantine Empire was the division and hostility engendered between them and the Catholics to the west.

What should stand out about this narrative, both as told by Gibbon and in general, is not about how Rome declined and fell, as if we can thus read the tea leaves about how such powers decline and fall in order to ameliorate our own, because all powers invariably rise, decline, and fall. Instead, it should be about the resilience of the Roman Empire: the miracle is not that it collapsed, but that it endured for so long in reality, and has never been exorcised from the mentality of Europeans ever since. "Caesars" as Kaisers and Czars and Sultans ruled in Europe until only a century ago; one cannot understand medieval and modern European history without grappling with how the Roman Empire continually captured their imagination.

The most modern research leads us to put far more weight on the role of climate change and its attendant consequences: more challenging food growing conditions which can quickly lead to greater ravaging and repine, the ferret and the transmission of the bubonic plague, and thus a devastation in the 6th century which leaves its mark in the archaeological record for over a century and which the world of Late Antiquity could not adequately recover (and, as seen above, in some respects, had not even recovered by the time the United States of America came into being!). If we're looking for a big lesson from Rome about how powers fall, that's the one we should heed. ( )
  deusvitae | Jun 12, 2023 |
Best narrative history ever written. Gibbon had so many fewer sources and tools than we have today, but his basic conclusions from the late 18th century information he had are still largely correct today.

A weakened military and political state that relied heavily on barbarian mercenary soldiers for defense was doomed. The different internal barbarian factions just served to divide the military and political and religious structures to a point to where they were easy pickin's from both inside and outside the empire. The western empire falling first while the eastern (Greek) Byzantine empire, under less external pressure, survives much longer. (Until their Roman Christian Crusader brothers came to sack them.)

Gibbons details the whole ugly mess down to minute detail and doesn't leave anything out, from incest to slaughter. His narrative is lively and opinionated, full of both shock and humor.

Read the whole damned thing, footnotes and all, not some abridged abomination. This is a literary work as much as an historical work.

Anyone who needs an abject lesson on how the modern western world is going to go, should read these books. We're already in the age of bread and circuses. ( )
  Gumbywan | Jun 24, 2022 |
The first four volumes are highly intriguing and very interesting. Gibbon has a very interesting take on Rome’s fall and its connection to what he was experiencing in the 1770s. Given this connection to him, it’s hard to separate his bias, but the bias makes sense. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and I can’t wait to read the last four volumes. ( )
  historybookreads | Jul 26, 2021 |
Il 27 giugno nel 1787, lo storico inglese Edward Gibbon completò il volume finale de “La Storia del Declino e della Caduta dell’Impero Romano”, nel suo giardino di Losanna, in Svizzera.
Nel diario, scrisse: “Non intendo nascondere le prime emozioni di gioia per il recupero della mia libertà e forse anche la speranza della mia fama … Mi ero abituato ad una vecchia e piacevole compagnia”.
La Storia richiese 20 anni di lavoro e sei volumi di stampa per essere completata. Traccia la traiettoria della civiltà occidentale dalla massima espansione e splendore dell’Impero romano alla caduta di Bisanzio.
Il libro fu un grande successo, divenne il modello per tutti i futuri testi storici. Gibbon è considerato il primo storico moderno dell’antica Roma.
Ha scritto: “La storia è, in effetti, poco più che il registro dei crimini, delle follie e della sventura dell’umanità”.
----
On this day June 27 in 1787, English historian Edward Gibbon completed the final volume of “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, in his garden in Lausanne, Switzerland.
In his diary, he wrote, “I will not dissemble the first emotions of joy on the recovery of my freedom and perhaps the establishment of my fame … I had taken my everlasting leave of an old and agreeable companion.”
The history took 20 years and six volumes to complete. It traces the trajectory of Western Civilization from the height of the Roman Empire to the fall of Byzantium.
The book was a sensation, becoming the model for all future historical texts. Gibbon is considered the first modern historian of ancient Rome. He wrote:
“History … is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortune of mankind.” ( )
  AntonioGallo | Sep 24, 2020 |
Il 27 giugno nel 1787, lo storico inglese Edward Gibbon completò il volume finale de “La Storia del Declino e della Caduta dell’Impero Romano”, nel suo giardino di Losanna, in Svizzera.
Nel diario, scrisse: “Non intendo nascondere le prime emozioni di gioia per il recupero della mia libertà e forse anche la speranza della mia fama … Mi ero abituato ad una vecchia e piacevole compagnia”.
La Storia richiese 20 anni di lavoro e sei volumi di stampa per essere completata. Traccia la traiettoria della civiltà occidentale dalla massima espansione e splendore dell’Impero romano alla caduta di Bisanzio.
Il libro fu un grande successo, divenne il modello per tutti i futuri testi storici. Gibbon è considerato il primo storico moderno dell’antica Roma.
Ha scritto: “La storia è, in effetti, poco più che il registro dei crimini, delle follie e della sventura dell’umanità”.
-------
On this day June 27 in 1787, English historian Edward Gibbon completed the final volume of “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, in his garden in Lausanne, Switzerland.
In his diary, he wrote, “I will not dissemble the first emotions of joy on the recovery of my freedom and perhaps the establishment of my fame … I had taken my everlasting leave of an old and agreeable companion.”
The history took 20 years and six volumes to complete. It traces the trajectory of Western Civilization from the height of the Roman Empire to the fall of Byzantium.
The book was a sensation, becoming the model for all future historical texts. Gibbon is considered the first modern historian of ancient Rome. He wrote:
“History … is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortune of mankind.” ( )
  AntonioGallo | Sep 24, 2020 |
I wish I could keep track of all the various emperors. There are just far too many for me too keep track of.

Lots of unfamiliar names, but the story is familiar with the vices of high office being told over and over interspersed occasionally with a ruler worthy of respect. I was struck by the similarity to some parts of the Book of Mormon. During the Roman Empire there were lots of scheming power hungry monarchs and aspirants to the throne, interspersed occasionally with honorable leaders caught in intrigue, who might or might not have retained their virtue after having the throne and the attendant intrigues against their authority once the throne is thrust upon them.

With books that claim to be "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" there are so many editions that it sometimes seems hard to tell quite what one is getting. I was fortunate to have an audible.com edition and a Kindle edition that often had the very same words for paragraphs in a row. I just regret that neither had a decent table of contents, and that the chapter numbers were wildly different.

During the Roman Empire there were lots of scheming power hungry monarchs and aspirants to the throne, interspersed occasionally with honorable leaders caught in intrigue, who might or might not have retained their virtue after having the throne and the attendant intrigues against their authority once the throne is thrust upon them. That reminded me of the events in the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon. The story of the Roman Empire greeted me with lots of unfamiliar names. It is also filled with the familiar story of the vices of high office and occasionally interspersed with a ruler worthy of respect. Even those who were honorable before having the throne thrust upon them often had difficulty simultaneously maintaining their honor, their life and possession of the throne.

I especially enjoyed the old English sentence construction and the expanded vocabulary that I found running through my mind as I worked my way through this considerable work.

Since I did not post a review when I read it in 2012, here it is. ( )
  bread2u | Jul 1, 2020 |
In The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon argues that the loss of civic virtue amongst the Romans enabled barbarian invaders to succeed in their conquest. The book traces the period from 98 CE to 1590 CE and, as an Enlightenment thinker, Gibbon spends a great deal of time criticizing Catholicism, arguing that Christianity accelerated the fall of the Empire, though he does offer that it may have “mollified the ferocious temper of the conquerors” (ch. 38). In many ways, Gibbon invented modern historical scholarship as he relied wherever possible on primary sources rather than secondhand accounts. Further, he documented all of his sources through footnotes, commenting on the importance of the sources and even injecting some levity into them at points. Though modern historical research and archaeology have disproved his conclusions, the basic summary of events remains a good introduction for those interested in the period Gibbon covers while his footnotes will be of interest to historians looking at Roman historiography. This edition reprints Gibbon’s unabridged text in three volumes with illustrations from Giovanni Battista Piranesi. ( )
  DarthDeverell | Jul 20, 2019 |
One of Gibbons' major theses is that the rise of Christianity, with its emphasis on other-worldly concerns, was a major factor in the decline of the Roman empire. In his notes, Milman, a minister, attempts to counter these conclusions.
  SteveJohnson | May 10, 2018 |
I'll review this thoroughly the next time around, but for now, I would just like to direct anyone reading this to three excellent, long, epic works of truly Gibbonian proportions covering Roman History that they may wish to read both before, and after, Gibbon, as I did.

Before Gibbon

I. Theodor Mommsen's [b:A History of Rome|4148167|A History of Rome (Abridged)|Theodor Mommsen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1218697631s/4148167.jpg|4195413] is a magisterial 5-volume work published 1854-1856, which begins with the founding of Rome in 753 BC and goes down to the reign of Julius Caesar. This work helped Mommsen win the Nobel Prize for Literature; this being the only work of History to receive such an honour. (The edition linked is abridged, and although I strongly agree with Montaigne's view that "every abridgement of a good book is a foolish abridgement.", I would still recommend it; it is intelligently abridged, and beautifully produced. There are unabridged, multi-volume editions available.)

To fill the gap between the reign of Julius Caesar, where Mommsen ends, and the reign of Marcus Aurelius, where Gibbon begins, you could read Suetonius' [b:The Twelve Caesars|29022|The Twelve Caesars|Suetonius|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347187766s/29022.jpg|372997], and part of the [b:Lives of the Later Caesars|68553|Lives of the Later Caesars|Unknown|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1170693081s/68553.jpg|66428]. (If you would prefer to go more in-depth, add Appian and Tacitus after Suetonius. See below for more . . .)

After Gibbon

II.Thomas Hodgkin's [b:The Barbarian Invasions of the Roman Empire|20613323|The Barbarian Invasions of the Roman Empire|Thomas Hodgkin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1505849032s/20613323.jpg|39894723]. Originally titled "Italy and her Invaders", and published 1880-1899 in 8 volumes. Beginning with the history of the Goths and Alaric's siege of Rome, it continues on with the Huns and Vandals, the Ostrogoths, Lombards, finally ending with the Franks and the crowning and death of Charlemagne down to 814 AD. It's very thoroughly researched (for it's time of course, just like Gibbon), and made even more impressive by the fact that he worked on it during his spare time as a Banker, working at a house that would eventually become Lloyds, which still exists to this day. (The edition linked is beautifully produced, illustrated throughout, and can be had for cheaper than regular hardback editions of the work, if, like me, you're lucky.)

III. John Julius Norwich's [b:Byzantium: The Early Centuries/The Apogee/The Decline And Fall|6649415|Byzantium The Early Centuries/The Apogee/The Decline And Fall (3 Volumes)|John Julius Norwich|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1364884107s/6649415.jpg|10206587]. An excellent, accessible work opening with Constantine in 274 AD, and going down to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD. Great if you enjoyed reading about the Eastern Empire in Gibbon, and would like to learn more.
__________
If, like me, you want to read primary sources of Roman History in a chronological fashion, before moving on to secondary sources (something I can recommend), here's a list of works that I can recommend. It's not exhaustive, but it contains all the major works providing a continuous, almost unbroken narrative, from the foundation of Rome in 753BC, down to the third-century AD, in primary sources. (Editions linked are translations I have read and can recommend; dates bracketed below are periods the works cover, not publication dates)

Livy's Ab Urbe Condita or From the Foundation of the City (753-9 BC (!)) Books 1-10 & 21-45 are fully extant, with epitomes surviving of books 46-142
• Books I-V: [b:The Early History of Rome|68542|The Early History of Rome (The History of Rome, #1-5)|Livy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1311645504s/68542.jpg|323201] (753-390BC)
• Books VI-X: [b:Rome's Italian Wars: Books 6-10|16685177|Rome's Italian Wars Books 6-10|Livy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1363585069s/16685177.jpg|13340576] (389-293 BC)
• Books XXI-XXX: [b:The War with Hannibal: Books XXI-XXX of the History of Rome from its Foundation|9817931|The War with Hannibal Books XXI-XXX of the History of Rome from its Foundation|Livy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348968999s/9817931.jpg|13340569] (218-202 BC)
• Books: XXXI-XL: [b:The Dawn of the Roman Empire: Books Thirty-One to Forty|6671642|The Dawn of the Roman Empire Books Thirty-One to Forty|Livy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348384659s/6671642.jpg|14046065] (201-179 BC)
• V. Books XLI-XLV & the Epitomies of Books XLVI-CXLVII: [b:Rome's Mediterranean Empire: Books 41-45 and the Periochae|7067390|Rome's Mediterranean Empire Books 41-45 and the Periochae|Livy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355131674s/7067390.jpg|13340632] (178-9 BC)

Polybius' [b:The Histories|8863880|The Histories|Polybius|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348235906s/8863880.jpg|68480] (264-146 BC)

Caesar's [b:The Gallic War|3128371|The Gallic War (World's Classics)|Gaius Julius Caesar|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1392521443s/3128371.jpg|1978328] (58-51 BC)

Caesar's [b:The Civil War|4971518|The Civil War|Gaius Julius Caesar|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347378741s/4971518.jpg|162131] (49-48 BC)

Appian's [b:The Civil Wars|167816|The Civil Wars|Appian|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1407000092s/167816.jpg|162078] (133-35 BC)

Sallust's [b:Catiline's War, The Jugurthine War, Histories|755218|Catiline's War, The Jugurthine War, Histories|Sallust|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1311645706s/755218.jpg|23893197] (86-35 BC)

Suetonius' [b:The Twelve Caesars|29022|The Twelve Caesars|Suetonius|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347187766s/29022.jpg|372997] (100BC-96 AD)

Tacitus' [b:The Annals: The Reigns of Tiberius, Claudius and Nero|3219856|The Annals The Reigns of Tiberius, Claudius and Nero|Tacitus|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348129719s/3219856.jpg|1746266] (14-68 AD)

Tacitus' [b:The Histories|5113993|The Histories|Tacitus|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347396128s/5113993.jpg|3145356] (69-96 AD)

Historia Augusta/Augustan History/ Lives of the Later Caesars: [b:Lives of the Later Caesars|68553|Lives of the Later Caesars|Unknown|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1170693081s/68553.jpg|66428] ( )
  EroticsOfThought | Feb 28, 2018 |
A truly monumental work, covering nearly a millennium and a half of European history, from the Antonine emperors through the rise of Christianity and the conversion of Constantine, Diocletian's attempts to restore the empire to its pagan roots and the final collapse of paganism, ending the first half with the fall of Rome and the end of empire in the west. The second half mainly deals with the eastern Byzantine empire and includes many interesting historical episodes, from Justinian's attempt to reconquer the west, to Mohammed and the rise of the Arabs, Charlemagne, the Crusades, Zingis (Genghis) Khan and the Mogul (Mongol) conquests, through the final capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks and the end of the empire in the east.

Gibbon was also so far ahead of his time that many historians to this day still haven't caught up to him in some respects, offering insightful interpretations of many of the events he covers. For example, discussing the Mogul conquests and many other destructive wars, he argues that, contrary to the opinions of other historians who find all kinds of positive consequences resulting from such conquest, "If some partial disorders, some local oppressions, were healed by the sword...the remedy was far more pernicious than the disease." Similarly, commenting on the invention of gunpowder, he writes: "If we contrast the rapid progress of this mischievous discovery 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."

All this shows the influence on Gibbon of Voltaire, who held that history should properly focus on those who have actually contributed to the advance of civilization, rather than on kings and warriors who more often hold it back. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is mostly focused on the kings and warriors, but Gibbon clearly shares Voltaire's evaluation of them. This is apparent from the opening pages, where Gibbon writes, "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."

Gibbon also shares Voltaire's evaluation of Christianity, and again is insightful ahead of his time. For instance, he demolishes the idea that the early Christians were brutally and systematically persecuted by the pagan emperors, thoroughly demonstrating that such persecution as did take place was usually local, half-hearted if not reluctant, and short-lived. But he doesn't stop there. He shows how the Christians persecuted each other far more severely than the pagans ever did, ruthlessly stamping out any sect deemed heretical down through the centuries. Further, he asks, if the Christians were so persecuted by the pagans, how come it's the Christians who ultimately won out and it's the pagans who were finally extinguished? The outcome speaks for itself, but Gibbon writes movingly about the final triumph of Christianity and what that meant for pagans like Hypatia of Alexandria.

Gibbon's writing is full of such insight and is often quite witty, and his subjects are often very interesting. My only complaint is that the material occasionally gets bogged down with page after page about the same city being taken and retaken by opposing sides in a conflict, and this can start to seem painfully redundant after a while (though if that's how it feels to read about it, just imagine what it must have been like to live through it!). But just keep reading and it will soon again be worth it. And even if at times I wish Gibbon would in some ways adjust his focus or his organization, I can forgive him all that for all the value his great work provides!

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3USX7XF5B8R7J ( )
1 vote AshRyan | Dec 6, 2014 |
Truly grand in scope, in subject matter, in style. Some conclusions/sources are out of date, but it is still a joy to read. ( )
  HadriantheBlind | Mar 29, 2013 |
I first considered reading this as a teenager some 35 years ago, but never got round to it. I have now put that right.

When you first start the book, unless you are used to late 18th century writing, the style and vocabulary can seem a little daunting, but this doesn't last for long. No, it is not at all "light" reading, but nor is it particulalry difficult.

Gibbon has a very personable style, and is quite vocal in his likes and dislikes. I can certainly understand why the work was disliked by the Church when it was published. His forthright views on the impact of Christianity may not have gone down well (indeed, they may not today!).

The history itself is split into two halves. The first half ends with the fall of Rome, and the end of the Western Empire. Personally, I believe that this would have been a better place for Gibbon to stop. The second half deals with the Eastern empire, based on Constantinople, and is more difficult, jumping as it does from one region to another, and moving back and forward in time.

For me the highlight is the chapter on the final demise of paganism, and the adoption of Christianity as the state religion. I felt really quite sad at the loss of heritage and culture that this caused. But there are so many other itens which could be singled out as spectacular in the author's narrative.

I have read the 8 volume Folio Society edition. This has the full text, but its abridgement of Gibbon's footnotes has been critcised by many. Personally, since it is the only edition I have read (or am likely to read), it has not affected me at all - the footnotes are in places quite amusing and illuminating, but in others dull references to his sources.

I am a classicist, but I have learned so much from this work. If you have any interest in the history of Rome, then I would suggest that you don't leave it 35 years to read this book as I did!!!! ( )
4 vote RMMee | Oct 13, 2010 |
"Were I condemned to spend a year upon a desert island and allowed only one book for my companion, it is certainly that which I should choose. For consider how enormous is the scope, and what food for thought is contained within those volumes. It covers a thousand years of the world's history, it is full and good and accurate, its standpoint is broadly philosophic , its style dignified..." --Through the Magic Door, p.70
3 vote ACDoyleLibrary | Jan 21, 2010 |
A more succinct and direct testimony of human nature can not be found in any written record. My most lasting impression is one of brevity. No other work attempts to cover such a range of people, time and events. Any one chapter in the work could have been a very interesting and worthwhile book in itself. I also found myself deciphering the latin and greek footnotes with increasing pleasure.
My favorite testimony is that of Isaac Asimov, who, after twice reading Gibbon, envisioned a similar but 'galactic' story that would become the Foundation series. ( )
2 vote Cole_Hendron | Oct 7, 2009 |
Dense, but rewarding. Needs to be read in light of more recent scholarship. Love Gibbon's take on Christianity, however. (Full confession: I bogged down after Volume 5, but I'll finish it one day.) ( )
  datrappert | Nov 26, 2008 |
Gibbon's greatest achievement was to unite the characters of the 'antiquary' (who collected undigested heaps of learning for others to quarry at will) and the 'historian' (who presented his own selection from such heaps in elegant literary form). He is a master of language, capable not only of great dignity and judicious scholarship but also of satire and occasional impish wickedness (as in his famous footnote about the empress Theodora and the geese); but he also recognises the importance of going back to the original sources and leaving a clear record of the fact. It is easy to forget, too, that in his chapters about the early history of Islam and about the Crusades Gibbon, the great rationalist, shows a decidedly romantic streak. - Bury's Illustrated Library Edition (7 vols.) is the most recent attempt to update Gibbon throughout and is unlikely ever to be superseded, although there is a Folio Society edition by Peter Heather which embodies a good deal of more recent scholarship. ( )
1 vote Menophanes | Apr 25, 2008 |
who can write like gibbon? who can claim a sharper wit? and how many historians can say they got ir largely right more than 2 centuries later? ( )
  Tendulkar01 | Mar 4, 2007 |
Even abridged, the humor and amazing scholarship of Gibbon shine thorugh this magnificent and as yet unequaled history of the inexorable collapse of the Roman Empire. ( )
  paleobibliomaniac | Dec 11, 2006 |
"In the Afternoon. read History. / History. Antient ... Gibbon’s decline of the Rom. empire." - Thomas Jefferson to John Minor, 30 Aug.1814 [PTJ:RS 7:625-631]
  ThomasJefferson | Jul 8, 2014 |
An excellent edition, in slipcovers with profuse illustrations of Roman ruins by Piranesi, plus maps as end-covers.
  SteveJohnson | Nov 17, 2013 |
Magnificent edition. Full review at: http://ephemeralpursuits.com/blog/2013/06/lec-history-of-the-decline-fall-of-the...

7 volumes, produced by the Limited Editions Club in 1945 from Bury's edited text of 1896-1900. ( )
  nicklong | Jun 19, 2013 |
Edition: // Descr: xii, 1476 p. 21 cm. // Series: The Modern Library of the World's Best Books Call No. { 947 G35 2 vol. II. } Volume II (A.D. 476-1461). // //
  ColgateClassics | Oct 26, 2012 |
Edition: // Descr: ix, 1303 p. 21 cm. // Series: The Modern Library of the World's Best Books Call No. { 947 G35 2 vol. I } Volume I (A.D. 180-476). // //
  ColgateClassics | Oct 26, 2012 |
Edition: New Edition // Descr: xiv, 593 p. 20.5 cm. // Series: Call No. { 947 G35 Vol. II. } Volume II With Notes by the Rev. H.H. Milman. // //
  ColgateClassics | Oct 26, 2012 |
Showing 1-25 of 37 (next | show all)

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (4.3)
0.5
1 2
1.5 2
2 2
2.5 3
3 29
3.5 5
4 60
4.5 10
5 113

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 202,657,374 books! | Top bar: Always visible