Edward Gibbon

1737 - 1794

Titles on this disk:

• author: Autobiography
• author: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 1
• author: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 2
• author: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 3
• author: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 4
• author: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 5
• author: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 6
• author: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 7
• author: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 8
• author: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 9
• author: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 10
• author: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 11
• author: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 12

Quotations:

• (3 August, 2009) Edward Gibbon called the loss of independence and excessive obedience the "secret poison" which corrupted the Roman Empire (1776)
• (18 August, 2008) Edward Gibbon gloomily observed that in a unified empire like the Roman there was nowhere to escape, whereas with a multiplicity of states there were always gaps and interstices to hide in (1776)
• (27 March, 2006) Edward Gibbon wonders if Europe will avoid the same fate as the Roman Empire, collapse brought on as a result of prosperity, corruption, and military conquest (1776)
• (8 August, 2005) Edward Gibbon reveals the reasons why he wrote on the decline of the Roman Empire, “the greatest, perhaps, and most awful scene in the history of mankind” (1776)
• (18 July, 2005) Edward Gibbon believed that unless public liberty was defended by “intrepid and vigilant guardians” any constitution would degenerate into despotism (1776)

About this person:

Gibbon is regarded as the greatest historian of the Enlightenment. His multi-volume history of Rome was both scholarly and full of humane scepticism. Although he was a Member of Parliament he was a long-time resident of Lausanne.