History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1

Name: History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1
Author: Gibbon, Edward

Gibbon, Edward

Byzantine Empire -- History -- To 527; Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D.

The uncommon abilities and fortune of Severus have induced an
      elegant historian to compare him with the first and greatest of
      the Cæsars. The parallel is, at least, imperfect. Where shall we
      find, in the character of Severus, the commanding superiority of
      soul, the generous clemency, and the various genius, which could
      reconcile and unite the love of pleasure, the thirst of
      knowledge, and the fire of ambition? In one instance only, they
      may be compared, with some degree of propriety, in the celerity
      of their motions, and their civil victories. In less than four
      years, Severus subdued the riches of the East, and the valor of
      the West. He vanquished two competitors of reputation and
      ability, and defeated numerous armies, provided with weapons and
      discipline equal to his own. In that age, the art of
      fortification, and the principles of tactics, were well
      understood by all the Roman generals; and the constant
      superiority of Severus was that of an artist, who uses the same
      instruments with more skill and industry than his rivals. I shall
      not, however, enter into a minute narrative of these military
      operations; but as the two civil wars against Niger and against
      Albinus were almost the same in their conduct, event, and
      consequences, I shall collect into one point of view the most
      striking circumstances, tending to develop the character of the
      conqueror and the state of the empire.

      Falsehood and insincerity, unsuitable as they seem to the dignity
      of public transactions, offend us with a less degrading idea of
      meanness, than when they are found in the intercourse of private
      life. In the latter, they discover a want of courage; in the
      other, only a defect of power: and, as it is impossible for the
      most able statesmen to subdue millions of followers and enemies
      by their own personal strength, the world, under the name of
      policy, seems to have granted them a very liberal indulgence of
      craft and dissimulation. Yet the arts of Severus cannot be
      justified by the most ample privileges of state reason. He
      promised only to betray, he flattered only to ruin; and however
      he might occasionally bind himself by oaths and treaties, his
      conscience, obsequious to his interest, always released him from
      the inconvenient obligation.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1Gibbon, Edward

History

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1

Gibbon, Edward

Byzantine Empire -- History -- To 527; Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D.

The uncommon abilities and fortune of Severus have induced an
      elegant historian to compare him with the first and greatest of
      the Cæsars. The parallel is, at least, imperfect. Where shall we
      find, in the character of Severus, the commanding superiority of
      soul, the generous clemency, and the various genius, which could
      reconcile and unite the love of pleasure, the thirst of
      knowledge, and the fire of ambition? In one instance only, they
      may be compared, with some degree of propriety, in the celerity
      of their motions, and their civil victories. In less than four
      years, Severus subdued the riches of the East, and the valor of
      the West. He vanquished two competitors of reputation and
      ability, and defeated numerous armies, provided with weapons and
      discipline equal to his own. In that age, the art of
      fortification, and the principles of tactics, were well
      understood by all the Roman generals; and the constant
      superiority of Severus was that of an artist, who uses the same
      instruments with more skill and industry than his rivals. I shall
      not, however, enter into a minute narrative of these military
      operations; but as the two civil wars against Niger and against
      Albinus were almost the same in their conduct, event, and
      consequences, I shall collect into one point of view the most
      striking circumstances, tending to develop the character of the
      conqueror and the state of the empire.

      Falsehood and insincerity, unsuitable as they seem to the dignity
      of public transactions, offend us with a less degrading idea of
      meanness, than when they are found in the intercourse of private
      life. In the latter, they discover a want of courage; in the
      other, only a defect of power: and, as it is impossible for the
      most able statesmen to subdue millions of followers and enemies
      by their own personal strength, the world, under the name of
      policy, seems to have granted them a very liberal indulgence of
      craft and dissimulation. Yet the arts of Severus cannot be
      justified by the most ample privileges of state reason. He
      promised only to betray, he flattered only to ruin; and however
      he might occasionally bind himself by oaths and treaties, his
      conscience, obsequious to his interest, always released him from
      the inconvenient obligation.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1

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