The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Penguin Classics)
by Edward Gibbon
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Book Summary Information
Author: Edward GibbonBrand: Penguin Group USA
Editor: David P. Womersley
Introduction: David P. Womersley
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Abridged
Published: 2001-01-01
ISBN: 0140437649
Number of pages: 848
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Book Reviews of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Penguin Classics)
Book Review: "Eleven hundred and sixty-three years after the foundation of Rome..."
Summary: 5 Stars
...the "barbarians" took it back. Rome lasted over a millennium, and the length of its rule, and civilizing influence has never been matched, even by China. Edward Gibbon wrote his classic account of this empire's decline in the later half of the 18th Century, an astonishing work of erudition long before Google has simplified the research task. The entire history covers over 3000 pages; even the abridged version is daunting at over 800 pages. This work "nags' any bibliophile. Can I "shuck off my mortal coil" and not have read it? I gratifyingly took the plunge, and was richly rewarded.
There are numerous versions of this epic work extant. I read the Penguin Classics version, but the one edited and with an introduction by Dero A. Saunders. He identified one of the key strengths of Gibbon's work: "...understanding the irrational in human history." How humans will embrace actions and courses of behavior that are not in their enlightened self-interest. Gibbon's scope is broad, ranging from the large, sweeping forces that dominate history to the telling anecdote of individual action that illuminates those trends. He depicts the economic, military, religious, and political forces that eventually led to Rome's downfall. Gibbon has his "biases," and displays them more than the "average" historian, and he reaps some criticism for them, but since they all too often resonate with my own, and there are no subtle attempts to hide them, I give them a "pass."
Time and again, Gibbon's insights on the human condition, not just the Roman Empire, have withstood the test of time; indeed, he has often established the standard. Consider the quote from Diocletian: "...the best and wisest princes are sold to the venal corruption of their courtiers." On the discourse of the defeated, in this case, Mistrianus: "...he expatiated on the common topics of moderation and humanity, which are so familiar to the eloquence of the vanquished." On nostalgia: "Notwithstanding the propensity of mankind to exalt the past and to deprecate the present..." On power: "Of all our passions and appetites, the love of power is of the most imperious and unsociable in nature, since the pride of one man requires the submission of the multitude." Or consider a wryly ironic commentary on the "do nothing" course of action: "...he was deprived of the favorite resource of feeble and timid minds, who consider the use of dilatory and ambiguous measures at the most admirable efforts of consummate prudence." There is nothing stale in Gibbon's prose; just the occasional tendency to the rococo.
Gibbon was a principal force of the Enlightenment, and his work is permeated with a jaundiced view of religion in practice. His work fulfills this sentiment: "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." Eternal truths concerning the power and the glory: "The influence of the clergy, in an age of superstition, might be usefully employed to assert the rights of mankind; but so intimate is the connection between the throne and the altar that the banner of the church has very seldom been seen on the side of the people." Another strength of this book is his depiction of the intolerance of the early Christians: "the prelates of the third century imperceptibly changed the language of exhortation into that of command..."
This history is often cited as a cautionary tale for those in the American empire. As with all such historical analogies, particularly on broad subjects, there is much that is relevant, as well as the opposite. Gibbon devotes considerable attention to the military aspects of empire, and it is particularly relevant, as I post this review on Memorial Day, that military duty has become irrelevant to the vast majority of the American population, as it did in Rome. Considering jurisprudence, Gibbon's observations could have tumbled out of yesterday's newspaper: "A faithful subject of Syria, perhaps, or of Britain, was exposed to the danger, or at least the dread, of being dragged off in chains to the court... and the defects of evidence were diligently supplied by the use of torture." Or later: "...in all cases of treason, suspicion is equivalent to proof."
There are probably only 100 individuals who have the historical knowledge that would be sufficient to provide context to all the historical figures that Gibbon identifies. Thus, there are aspects of the read that are a humbling slog. Still, with the nuggets of insight available, only a small portion of which have been cited above, it is more than worthwhile, and should be placed on the must-finish list while retaining that proverbial coil. Americans do not have a monopoly of hubris, or just plain irrationality. I had the opportunity to read this book the week I was in Dubai, 2003, now site of the tallest building, Burj Khalifa, and one of the emptiest. Those historical lessons that Gibbon renders can be ignored on a global basis, maybe even in China. Still, 5-stars plus.
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