History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 2

Name: History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 2
Author: Gibbon, Edward

Gibbon, Edward

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

192 (return) [ Cod. Theod. l. xii. tit. xiii. The senators were
      supposed to be exempt from the _Aurum Coronarium;_ but the _Auri
      Oblatio_, which was required at their hands, was precisely of the
      same nature.]

      A people elated by pride, or soured by discontent, are seldom
      qualified to form a just estimate of their actual situation. The
      subjects of Constantine were incapable of discerning the decline
      of genius and manly virtue, which so far degraded them below the
      dignity of their ancestors; but they could feel and lament the
      rage of tyranny, the relaxation of discipline, and the increase
      of taxes. The impartial historian, who acknowledges the justice
      of their complaints, will observe some favorable circumstances
      which tended to alleviate the misery of their condition. The
      threatening tempest of Barbarians, which so soon subverted the
      foundations of Roman greatness, was still repelled, or suspended,
      on the frontiers. The arts of luxury and literature were
      cultivated, and the elegant pleasures of society were enjoyed, by
      the inhabitants of a considerable portion of the globe. The
      forms, the pomp, and the expense of the civil administration
      contributed to restrain the irregular license of the soldiers;
      and although the laws were violated by power, or perverted by
      subtlety, the sage principles of the Roman jurisprudence
      preserved a sense of order and equity, unknown to the despotic
      governments of the East. The rights of mankind might derive some
      protection from religion and philosophy; and the name of freedom,
      which could no longer alarm, might sometimes admonish, the
      successors of Augustus, that they did not reign over a nation of
      Slaves or Barbarians. 193

      193 (return) [ The great Theodosius, in his judicious advice to
      his son, (Claudian in iv. Consulat. Honorii, 214, &c.,)
      distinguishes the station of a Roman prince from that of a
      Parthian monarch. Virtue was necessary for the one; birth might
      suffice for the other.]




      Chapter XVIII: Character Of Constantine And His Sons.—Part I.

     Character Of Constantine.—Gothic War.—Death Of
     Constantine.—Division Of The Empire Among His Three Sons.— Persian
     War.—Tragic Deaths Of Constantine The Younger And
     Constans.—Usurpation Of Magnentius.—Civil War.—Victory Of
     Constantius.

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

Opening the text

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 2Gibbon, Edward

History

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 2

Gibbon, Edward

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

192 (return) [ Cod. Theod. l. xii. tit. xiii. The senators were
      supposed to be exempt from the _Aurum Coronarium;_ but the _Auri
      Oblatio_, which was required at their hands, was precisely of the
      same nature.]

      A people elated by pride, or soured by discontent, are seldom
      qualified to form a just estimate of their actual situation. The
      subjects of Constantine were incapable of discerning the decline
      of genius and manly virtue, which so far degraded them below the
      dignity of their ancestors; but they could feel and lament the
      rage of tyranny, the relaxation of discipline, and the increase
      of taxes. The impartial historian, who acknowledges the justice
      of their complaints, will observe some favorable circumstances
      which tended to alleviate the misery of their condition. The
      threatening tempest of Barbarians, which so soon subverted the
      foundations of Roman greatness, was still repelled, or suspended,
      on the frontiers. The arts of luxury and literature were
      cultivated, and the elegant pleasures of society were enjoyed, by
      the inhabitants of a considerable portion of the globe. The
      forms, the pomp, and the expense of the civil administration
      contributed to restrain the irregular license of the soldiers;
      and although the laws were violated by power, or perverted by
      subtlety, the sage principles of the Roman jurisprudence
      preserved a sense of order and equity, unknown to the despotic
      governments of the East. The rights of mankind might derive some
      protection from religion and philosophy; and the name of freedom,
      which could no longer alarm, might sometimes admonish, the
      successors of Augustus, that they did not reign over a nation of
      Slaves or Barbarians. 193

      193 (return) [ The great Theodosius, in his judicious advice to
      his son, (Claudian in iv. Consulat. Honorii, 214, &c.,)
      distinguishes the station of a Roman prince from that of a
      Parthian monarch. Virtue was necessary for the one; birth might
      suffice for the other.]




      Chapter XVIII: Character Of Constantine And His Sons.—Part I.

     Character Of Constantine.—Gothic War.—Death Of
     Constantine.—Division Of The Empire Among His Three Sons.— Persian
     War.—Tragic Deaths Of Constantine The Younger And
     Constans.—Usurpation Of Magnentius.—Civil War.—Victory Of
     Constantius.

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

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 2

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 2

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