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.

45 (return) [ The Gothic and Sarmatian wars are related in so
      broken and imperfect a manner, that I have been obliged to
      compare the following writers, who mutually supply, correct, and
      illustrate each other. Those who will take the same trouble, may
      acquire a right of criticizing my narrative. Ammianus, l. xvii.
      c. 12. Anonym. Valesian. p. 715. Eutropius, x. 7. Sextus Rufus de
      Provinciis, c. 26. Julian Orat. i. p. 9, and Spanheim, Comment.
      p. 94. Hieronym. in Chron. Euseb. in Vit. Constantin. l. iv. c.
      6. Socrates, l. i. c. 18. Sozomen, l. i. c. 8. Zosimus, l. ii. p.
      108. Jornandes de Reb. Geticis, c. 22. Isidorus in Chron. p. 709;
      in Hist. Gothorum Grotii. Constantin. Porphyrogenitus de
      Administrat. Imperii, c. 53, p. 208, edit. Meursii.]

      4511 (return) [ Compare, on this very obscure but remarkable war,
      Manso, Leben Coa xantius, p. 195—M.]

      By chastising the pride of the Goths, and by accepting the homage
      of a suppliant nation, Constantine asserted the majesty of the
      Roman empire; and the ambassadors of Æthiopia, Persia, and the
      most remote countries of India, congratulated the peace and
      prosperity of his government. 46 If he reckoned, among the favors
      of fortune, the death of his eldest son, of his nephew, and
      perhaps of his wife, he enjoyed an uninterrupted flow of private
      as well as public felicity, till the thirtieth year of his reign;
      a period which none of his predecessors, since Augustus, had been
      permitted to celebrate. Constantine survived that solemn festival
      about ten months; and at the mature age of sixty-four, after a
      short illness, he ended his memorable life at the palace of
      Aquyrion, in the suburbs of Nicomedia, whither he had retired for
      the benefit of the air, and with the hope of recruiting his
      exhausted strength by the use of the warm baths. The excessive
      demonstrations of grief, or at least of mourning, surpassed
      whatever had been practised on any former occasion.
      Notwithstanding the claims of the senate and people of ancient
      Rome, the corpse of the deceased emperor, according to his last
      request, was transported to the city, which was destined to
      preserve the name and memory of its founder. The body of
      Constantine adorned with the vain symbols of greatness, the
      purple and diadem, was deposited on a golden bed in one of the
      apartments of the palace, which for that purpose had been
      splendidly furnished and illuminated. The forms of the court were
      strictly maintained. Every day, at the appointed hours, the
      principal officers of the state, the army, and the household,
      approaching the person of their sovereign with bended knees and a
      composed countenance, offered their respectful homage as
      seriously as if he had been still alive. From motives of policy,

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

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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.

45 (return) [ The Gothic and Sarmatian wars are related in so
      broken and imperfect a manner, that I have been obliged to
      compare the following writers, who mutually supply, correct, and
      illustrate each other. Those who will take the same trouble, may
      acquire a right of criticizing my narrative. Ammianus, l. xvii.
      c. 12. Anonym. Valesian. p. 715. Eutropius, x. 7. Sextus Rufus de
      Provinciis, c. 26. Julian Orat. i. p. 9, and Spanheim, Comment.
      p. 94. Hieronym. in Chron. Euseb. in Vit. Constantin. l. iv. c.
      6. Socrates, l. i. c. 18. Sozomen, l. i. c. 8. Zosimus, l. ii. p.
      108. Jornandes de Reb. Geticis, c. 22. Isidorus in Chron. p. 709;
      in Hist. Gothorum Grotii. Constantin. Porphyrogenitus de
      Administrat. Imperii, c. 53, p. 208, edit. Meursii.]

      4511 (return) [ Compare, on this very obscure but remarkable war,
      Manso, Leben Coa xantius, p. 195—M.]

      By chastising the pride of the Goths, and by accepting the homage
      of a suppliant nation, Constantine asserted the majesty of the
      Roman empire; and the ambassadors of Æthiopia, Persia, and the
      most remote countries of India, congratulated the peace and
      prosperity of his government. 46 If he reckoned, among the favors
      of fortune, the death of his eldest son, of his nephew, and
      perhaps of his wife, he enjoyed an uninterrupted flow of private
      as well as public felicity, till the thirtieth year of his reign;
      a period which none of his predecessors, since Augustus, had been
      permitted to celebrate. Constantine survived that solemn festival
      about ten months; and at the mature age of sixty-four, after a
      short illness, he ended his memorable life at the palace of
      Aquyrion, in the suburbs of Nicomedia, whither he had retired for
      the benefit of the air, and with the hope of recruiting his
      exhausted strength by the use of the warm baths. The excessive
      demonstrations of grief, or at least of mourning, surpassed
      whatever had been practised on any former occasion.
      Notwithstanding the claims of the senate and people of ancient
      Rome, the corpse of the deceased emperor, according to his last
      request, was transported to the city, which was destined to
      preserve the name and memory of its founder. The body of
      Constantine adorned with the vain symbols of greatness, the
      purple and diadem, was deposited on a golden bed in one of the
      apartments of the palace, which for that purpose had been
      splendidly furnished and illuminated. The forms of the court were
      strictly maintained. Every day, at the appointed hours, the
      principal officers of the state, the army, and the household,
      approaching the person of their sovereign with bended knees and a
      composed countenance, offered their respectful homage as
      seriously as if he had been still alive. From motives of policy,

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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