"contraction of Edward Gibbon's ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire."" The title alludes also to the German philosopher Oswald Spengler's ""The Decline of the West"" (1918–1922), which first appeared in an English translation in 1926 and which argued, among other things, that the rise of nations and cultures is inevitably followed by their eclipse. Waugh read both Gibbon and Spengler while writing his first novel. Waugh's satire is unambiguously hostile to much that was in vogue in the late 1920s, and ""themes of cultural confusion, moral disorientation and social bedlam...both drive the novel forward and"
"Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon FRS (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer and Member of Parliament. His most important work, ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"", was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788 and is known for the quality and irony of its prose, its use of primary sources, and its polemical criticism of organised religion. Edward Gibbon was born in 1737, the son of Edward and Judith Gibbon at Lime Grove, in the town of Putney, Surrey. He had six siblings: five brothers and one sister, all of"
"History is made not so much by heroes or natural forces as by historians."" Most of this article, including quotations unless otherwise noted, has been adapted from Stephen's entry on Edward Gibbon in the ""Dictionary of National Biography"". Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon FRS (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer and Member of Parliament. His most important work, ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"", was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788 and is known for the quality and irony of its prose, its use of primary sources, and its"
"served on the editorial boards of ""South Atlantic Review"" (1996–98), ""The Age of Johnson: A Scholarly Annual"" (1992–present), and the Georgia Smollett edition (1997–present) and is English Book Review editor of ""The Eighteenth Century: A Current Bibliography"". Patricia Craddock Patricia B. Craddock is an American author and professor of English. She is a noted expert on the historian Edward Gibbon, the author of ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"". Craddock has published a two-volume biography, ""Young Edward Gibbon: Gentleman of Letters"" (Johns Hopkins, 1982) and ""Edward Gibbon: ""Luminous"" Historian"" (Johns Hopkins, 1989). Craddock was formerly"
"Miscellaneous Works of Edward Gibbon The English historian Edward Gibbon (1737–1794) is known primarily as the author of the magisterial ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"" (6 vols., 1776–1789). Both the imposing length of and awesome erudition displayed in that work have understandably overshadowed his other literary achievements, many of which deserve to be noted in their own valuable capacities. Shortly following Gibbon's death, his good friend and literary executor, John Lord Sheffield undertook to edit and in 1796 published the first (of three) edition(s) of the Miscellaneous Works of Edward Gibbon (""MW"") in order"
"the first British Empire"" (2008); Piers Brendon, ""The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781–1997"" (2008), and Phillip J. Smith, ""The Rise And Fall Of The British Empire: Mercantilism, Diplomacy and the Colonies"" (2015). There were also large-scale popular histories, such as those by Winston Churchill, ""A History of the English-Speaking Peoples"" (4 vol. 1956–58) and Arthur Bryant, ""The History of Britain and the British Peoples"" (3 vols. 1984–90). Obviously from their titles a number of writers have been inspired by the famous ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"" (6 vols 1776–1781) by Edward"
"Patricia Craddock Patricia B. Craddock is an American author and professor of English. She is a noted expert on the historian Edward Gibbon, the author of ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"". Craddock has published a two-volume biography, ""Young Edward Gibbon: Gentleman of Letters"" (Johns Hopkins, 1982) and ""Edward Gibbon: ""Luminous"" Historian"" (Johns Hopkins, 1989). Craddock was formerly chair of the Department of English at Boston University. She came to the University of Florida as Professor and Chair of English Department in 1988 and served as chair of the department until 1994. She was also"
"Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline (French: ""Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence"") is an 18th-century book written by French political philosopher Montesquieu. First published in 1734, it is widely considered by scholars to be among Montesquieu's best known works and was an inspiration to Gibbon's more extensive ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"". In 1734, the book was first published anonymously as an octavo by Jacques Desbordes"
"British historian Edward Gibbon argued in ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"" (1776) that the Romans had become decadent, they had lost civic virtue. Gibbon said that the adoption of Christianity, meant belief in a better life after death, and therefore made people lazy and indifferent to the present. ""From the eighteenth century onward"", Glen W. Bowersock has remarked, ""we have been obsessed with the fall: it has been valued as an archetype for every perceived decline, and, hence, as a symbol for our own fears."" It remains one of the greatest historical questions, and"
"and philosophers influenced by The Enlightenment. Edward Gibbon, Hegel, Johann Gottfried Herder, William Lecky, Montesquieu, and Voltaire were among the many Western writers of that period who were critical of the Byzantine system. Edward Gibbon, the first English historian to write a full history of the Byzantine Empire in his ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"" (1776–1789), was a sharp critic of the Empire. Jacob Burckhardt, an influential 19th-century historian shared Gibbon's view: Critics pointed out that the Byzantine Empire and its successors were uninfluenced by such major shifts in Western philosophy as the Investiture"
"Gibbon's monumental six-volume work, ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"", published on 17 February 1776. Because of its relative objectivity and heavy use of primary sources, its methodology became a model for later historians. This has led to Gibbon being called the first ""modern historian"". The book sold impressively, earning its author a total of about £9000. Biographer Leslie Stephen wrote that thereafter, ""His fame was as rapid as it has been lasting."" Gibbon's work has been praised for its style, its piquant epigrams and its effective irony. Winston Churchill memorably noted, ""I set out"
"ideas in the shaping of historical events. The apex of Enlightenment history was reached with Edward Gibbon's, monumental six-volume work, ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"", published on 17 February 1776. Because of its relative objectivity and heavy use of primary sources, at the time its methodology became a model for later historians. This has led to Gibbon being called the first ""modern historian"". The book sold impressively, earning its author a total of about £9000. Biographer Leslie Stephen wrote that thereafter, ""His fame was as rapid as it has been lasting."" The tumultuous events"
"For readers of the modern age, ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"" by Edward Gibbon (1737–94) further cemented the scandalous reputation of Elagabalus. Gibbon not only accepted and expressed outrage at the allegations of the ancient historians, but he might have added some details of his own; he is the first historian known to claim that Gannys was a eunuch, for example. Gibbon wrote: The 20th-century anthropologist James George Frazer (famous for ""The Golden Bough"") took seriously the monotheistic aspirations of the emperor, but also ridiculed him: ""The dainty priest of the Sun [was] the"
"is to the year of its first publication apart from the ""MW"". A year following alone (with or without a scholar's name) refers to the year of Gibbon's composition. An asterisk [*] denotes that the work can be found in Craddock, ""EEEG"" (see References). The first edition was ""pirated"" and reprinted twice in 1796, in Ireland and Switzerland: Miscellaneous Works of Edward Gibbon The English historian Edward Gibbon (1737–1794) is known primarily as the author of the magisterial ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"" (6 vols., 1776–1789). Both the imposing length of and awesome erudition"
"Fall of the Roman Empire"", but lost most of his notes in transit. The journey also let to his being invited to prepare an edition of the writings of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (wife of an earlier ambassador to Istanbul): however, the result, published in five volumes in 1803, has been described by a later editor as ""shockingly incompetent"". On 1 January 1797 Dallaway was appointed secretary to the Earl Marshal. This post, which he retained until his death, brought him into close contact with the College of Arms. In 1799 the Duke presented him to the rectory of South"
"the Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana. Portraits of Sir Keith Thomas hang at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and the British Academy and National Portrait Gallery, London. Works authored Works edited Works jointly edited Keith Thomas (historian) Sir Keith Vivian Thomas, (born 2 January 1933) is a British historian of the early modern world based at Oxford University. He is best known as the author of ""Religion and the Decline of Magic"" and ""Man and the Natural World"". From 1986 to 2000, he was President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Thomas was born on 2 January 1933 in Wick, Glamorgan,"
"Keith Thomas (historian) Sir Keith Vivian Thomas, (born 2 January 1933) is a British historian of the early modern world based at Oxford University. He is best known as the author of ""Religion and the Decline of Magic"" and ""Man and the Natural World"". From 1986 to 2000, he was President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Thomas was born on 2 January 1933 in Wick, Glamorgan, Wales. He was educated at Barry County Grammar School, a state grammar school in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan. Having been awarded the Brackenbury Scholarship, he studied modern history at Balliol College, Oxford. He graduated"
"Charles Bertram Charles Julius Bertram (1723–1765) was an English expatriate in Denmark who ""discovered""—and presumably wrote—""The Description of Britain"" (), an 18th-century literary forgery purporting to be a mediaeval work on history that remained undetected for over a century. In that time, it was highly influential for the reconstruction of the history of Roman Britain and contemporary Scotland, to the extent of appearing in Gibbon's ""Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"" and being used to direct William Roy's initial Ordnance Survey maps. Bertram ""discovered"" the manuscript around the age of 24 and spent the rest of his life a"
"The names of the characters also suggest historical Britain. Both Edward's name and Fitzgibbon's refer to Edward Gibbon, the famous British historian and author of ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"", while Turnbull is suggestive of, among others, the famous early British actor John Turnbull and, more generally, the Bulldog, which is popularly used to represent England and its defiance in war. The book was first published in 1976 by Faber and Faber Limited (). It was republished in paperback by Pan Books in 1981 () and by Gollancz's VGSF imprint in 1988 (). Richard"
"religious institutions that we can prescribe for them. [Priestley's emphasis] This millennial conception of history was in direct contrast to the two dominant historical paradigms of the time: Edward Gibbon's decline narrative found in his ""Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"" and David Hume's cyclical narrative found in his ""History of England"". Unlike Gibbon and Hume, Priestley did not limit himself to narrating a version of history in these ""Lectures""; he also presented a method for historical research and was one of the first to argue for the primacy of original documents in the study of history. He also"
"Declinism Declinism is the belief that a society or institution is tending towards decline. Particularly, it is the predisposition, possibly due to cognitive bias, such as rosy retrospection, to view the past more favourably and future negatively. “The great summit of declinism,” according to Adam Gopnick, ""was established in 1918, in the book that gave decline its good name in publishing: the German historian Oswald Spengler’s best-selling, thousand-page work ""The Decline of the West""."" The belief has been traced back to Edward Gibbon's work, ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"", published between 1776 and 1788,"
"of multiple human origins, supported by Robert Knox in his book ""The Races of Men"" (1850), were firmly rejected by Charles Darwin who, following James Cowles Prichard, generally agreed a single African origin for the entire human species. Thirdly, the development of world trade and colonialism, the early European experience of globalization, resulted in an awareness of the vulnerabilities of western civilization. Finally, the growth of historical scholarship in the 18th century, exemplified by Edward Gibbon's ""The History of the Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire"" (1776–1789), excited a renewed interest in the narratives of historical decline. This resonated"
"Thomas Bowdler Thomas Bowdler, LRCP, FRS (; 11 July 1754 – 24 February 1825) was an English physician best known for publishing ""The Family Shakspeare"", an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's plays. The work, edited by his sister Henrietta Maria Bowdler, was intended to provide a version of Shakespeare that was more appropriate than the original for 19th-century women and children. Bowdler also published several other works, some reflecting his interest in and knowledge of continental Europe. Bowdler's last work was an expurgated version of Edward Gibbon's ""Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"", published posthumously in 1826 under the"
"in Edward Gibbon's classic 6 volumes of ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"" (1776), and had been earlier mentioned by Degoreus Whear (1623) who refers to both Jordanes' ""De regnorum ac temporum successione"" and to ""De rebus Geticis"". In his Preface, Jordanes presents his plan Jordanes admits that he did not then have direct access to Cassiodorus's book, and could not remember the exact words, but that he felt confident that he had retained the substance in its entirety.</ref> He goes on to say that he added relevant passages from Latin and Greek sources, composed"
"famous men and early emperors flourished, examples being ""The Twelve Caesars"" of Suetonius, and Plutarch's ""Parallel Lives"". Other major works of Imperial times were that of Livy and Tacitus. Interest in studying, and even idealizing, ancient Rome became prevalent during the Italian Renaissance, and continues until the present day. Charles Montesquieu wrote a work ""Reflections on the Causes of the Grandeur and Declension of the Romans"". The first major work was ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"" by Edward Gibbon, which encompassed the Roman civilization from the end of the 2nd century to the fall"
"Works by J. G. A. Pocock A scholar of the history of British political discourse, J. G. A. Pocock, the Harry C. Black Chair of History Emeritus at Johns Hopkins University, has enjoyed over 60 years of publication. Now in his tenth decade, he recently concluded ""Barbarism and Religion"", a six-volume study of Edward Gibbon, author of ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"". The first two volumes of ""B&R"" were awarded the American Philosophical Society's ""Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History"" for the year 1999. In total, Pocock has published more than 260 articles, essays,"
"Dero A. Saunders Dero Ames Saunders (1914–2002) was an American journalist and classical scholar. He was born in Starkville, Mississippi. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he was executive editor of ""Forbes"" magazine from 1960–1981, and continued to edit a regular column until 1999. As a reporter for ""Fortune magazine"" in 1957 he conducted the only known press interview with reclusive American businessman Daniel Ludwig. With John H. Collins he compiled a noted translation of Theodor Mommsen's"" History of Rome"" He is also known for his abridged version of Edward Gibbon's ""The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman"
"depicted by Edward Gibbon in his book ""The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"". Ferguson wrote that:Uncannily similar processes are destroying the European Union today...Let us be clear about what is happening. Like the Roman Empire in the early fifth century, Europe has allowed its defenses to crumble. As its wealth has grown, so its military prowess has shrunk, along with its self-belief. It has grown decadent in its shopping malls and sports stadiums. At the same time, it has opened its gates to outsiders who have coveted its wealth without renouncing their ancestral faith. Ferguson wrote the mass"
"Ferdinand Lot Ferdinand Victor Henri Lot (Le Plessis Piquet, 20 September 1866 – Fontenay-aux-Roses, 20 July 1952) was a French historian and medievalist. His masterpiece, ""The End of the Ancient World and the Beginnings of the Middle Ages"" (1927), presents an alternative and possibly more objective account of the fall of the Roman Empire than does Edward Gibbon's ""Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"", which set the tone for Enlightenment scholarship blaming the fall of classical civilization on Christianity. Lot was a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, part of the Institut de France, and an honorary"
"diplomat and essayist, in his 6-volume work ""The History of England"", published between 1754–1761. Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859), in his preface to ""Lays of Ancient Rome"" (1842), says the story has ""a most suspicious air of romance"" and ""greatly resembles"" some of the legends of early Rome. Macaulay writes: ""when we turn to William of Malmesbury, we find that Hume, in his eagerness to relate these pleasant fables, has overlooked one very important circumstance. William does indeed tell both the stories; but he gives us distinct notice that he does not warrant their truth, and that they rest on no"
"three in succession between 1833 and 1839. Thomas Bowdler the Younger Thomas Bowdler the Younger (1782–1856) was an Anglican priest, who wrote a memoir of his father, John Bowdler, and his uncle, Thomas Bowdler the elder. He was also editor of an expurgated version of Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, as prepared by his uncle. Thomas Bowdler was born on 13 March 1782, the eldest son of the lawyer and moral reformer, John Bowdler the elder. His brother was John Bowdler the younger, who became a lawyer. He was educated at Hyde Abbey School, Winchester, and"
"Christianity and then of the Roman State Church, and the history of Europe, and discusses the decline of the Roman Empire among other things. Gibbon’s work remains a great literary achievement and a very readable introduction to the period, but considerable progress has since been made in history and archaeology, and his interpretations no longer represent current academic knowledge or thought. Gibbon offers an explanation for the fall of the Roman Empire, a task made difficult by a lack of comprehensive written sources, though he was not the only historian to attempt it. According to Gibbon, the Roman Empire succumbed"
"Thomas Bowdler the Younger Thomas Bowdler the Younger (1782–1856) was an Anglican priest, who wrote a memoir of his father, John Bowdler, and his uncle, Thomas Bowdler the elder. He was also editor of an expurgated version of Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, as prepared by his uncle. Thomas Bowdler was born on 13 March 1782, the eldest son of the lawyer and moral reformer, John Bowdler the elder. His brother was John Bowdler the younger, who became a lawyer. He was educated at Hyde Abbey School, Winchester, and at St John's College, Cambridge, where he"