The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire - Vol 4

Gibbon's account of the Roman empire was in its time a landmark in classical and historical scholarship and remains a remarkable fresh and powerful contribution to the interpretation of Roman history more than two hundred years after its first appearance. Its fame, however, rests more on the exceptional clarity, scope and force of its argument, and the brilliance of its style, which is still a delight to read. Furthermore, both argument and style embody the Enlightenment values of rationality, lucidity and order to which Gibbon so passionately subscribed and to which his HISTORY is such a magnificent monument.

Edward Gibbon, born on May 8, 1737, in Putney, Surrey, England, was a renowned historian and scholar. Despite a frail childhood marked by frequent illnesses, he developed a voracious appetite for reading, which laid the foundation for his future intellectual pursuits. -In 1752, Gibbon enrolled at Magdalen College, Oxford, but found the academic environment uninspiring, leading to his temporary conversion to Roman Catholicism. His father subsequently sent him to Lausanne, Switzerland, where he reconverted to Protestantism and immersed himself in rigorous studies under the guidance of a Calvinist pastor. -Gibbon's magnum opus, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788. This monumental work is celebrated for its critical use of primary sources and its eloquent prose, offering a comprehensive analysis of the factors leading to the fall of the Roman Empire.