Gibbon Decline

Gibbon, Edward: The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. With notes by H(enry) H(art) Milman. London, Murray, 1838 - 1839.
Erste Ausgabe in der Bearbeitung von Henry Hart Milman, dieses erstmals 1776 erschienen Klassikers zum Untergang des römischen Reiches. Dazu als Supplementband "The Life of Edward Gibbon with selections from his correspondance, and illustrations by H. H. Milman" in der ersten Ausgabe. - "The Decline and Fall is thus comprised of two divisions, equal in bulk but inevitably different in treatment. The first half covers a period of about 300 years to the end of the empire in the West, about AD 480. In the second half nearly 1,000 years are compressed. Yet the work is a coherent whole by virtue of its conception of the Roman Empire as a single entity throughout its long and diversified course. Gibbon imposed a further unity on his narrative by viewing it as an undeviating decline from those ideals of political and, even more, intellectual freedom that he had found in classical literature. The material decay that had inspired him in Rome was the effect and symbol of moral decadence. However well this attitude suited the history of the West, its continuance constitutes the most serious defect of the second half of Gibbon's history and involved him in obvious contradictions. He asserted, for example, that the long story of empire in the East is one of continuous decay, yet for 1,000 years Constantinople stood as a bulwark of eastern Europe. The fact is that Gibbon was not only out of sympathy with Byzantine civilization; he was less at home with Greek sources than with Latin and had no access to vast stores of material in other languages that subsequent scholars have assembled. Consequently there are serious omissions in his narrative, as well as unsatisfactory summaries. Nevertheless, this second half contains much of Gibbon's best. With all its shortcomings, it marshals with masterly lucidity the successive forces that eventually overthrew Constantinople. Many of his most famous chapters occur there. These include sections on Justinian, the Trinitarian controversies, the rise of Islam, and the history of Roman law. There is, in addition, a brilliant and moving story of the last siege and capture of Constantinople and, finally, the epilogue of chapters describing medieval and Renaissance Rome, which gives some hope that the long decline is over and that mankind has some prospect of recovering intellectual freedom. The vindication of intellectual freedom is a large part of Gibbon's purpose as a historian. When toward the end of his work he remarks, "I have described the triumph of barbarism and religion," he reveals epigrammatically his view of the causes of the decay of the Greco-Roman world. They can hardly be disputed. But there is the further question of whether the changes brought about are to be regarded as ones of progress or retrogression. Writing as a mid-18th-century "philosopher," Gibbon saw the process as retrogression, and his judgment remains of perpetual interest" (Encylopedia Britannica). - Papierbedingt gebräunt, kaum fleckig. Verenzelte hs. Randnotizen in Bleistift. Exlibris. Schönes Exemplar in einem signierten zeitgenössischem Einband von James Hayday. Zahlung per VISA oder MasterCard möglich

12 Bde plus Supplement in 13 zusammen 13 Bdn. 14 (12 gefalt.) teils grenzkolorierte Kupfertafeln (und 1 Kupfer-Porträt im Supplement). Gr.-8°. Ldr. der Zeit von James Hayday auf 5 Bünden mit Rückenschilder, Rückenvergoldung, zweichfacher Linienumrahmung und Stehkantervergoldung (etw. beschabt und kaum bestoßen).

[SW: Alte Geschichte, Antike - Rom, Geschichte, Römisches Reich, Spätantike]

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Gibbon, Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. With, London, W.Strahan & T.Cadell, 1777-1788.
Including: 1. Large folded "Map of the Western Part of the Roman Empire", 2. A Map of the Parts of Europe and Asia adjacent to Constnatinople, 3. A Map of the Eastern Part of the Roman Empire by Thomas Kitchin, sen.// Edward Gibbon (27 April 1737 - 16 January 1794) was an English historian 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. The Decline and Fall is known for the quality and irony of its prose, its use of primary sources, and its open criticism of organized religion. Gibbon returned to England in June 1765. His father died in 1770, and after tending to the estate, which was by no means in good condition, there remained quite enough for Gibbon to settle fashionably in London at 7 Bentinck Street, independent of financial concerns. By February 1773, he was writing in earnest, but not without the occasional self-imposed distraction. He took to London society quite easily, joined the better social clubs, including Dr. Johnson's Literary Club, and looked in from time to time on his friend Holroyd in Sussex. He succeeded Oliver Goldsmith at the Royal Academy as 'professor in ancient history' (honorary but prestigious). In late 1774, he was initiated a freemason of the Premier Grand Lodge of England. And, perhaps least productively in that same year, he was returned to the House of Commons for Liskeard, Cornwall through the intervention of his relative and patron, Edward Eliot. He became the archetypal back-bencher, benignly "mute" and "indifferent," his support of the Whig ministry invariably automatic. Gibbon's indolence in that position, perhaps fully intentional, subtracted little from the progress of his writing. After several rewrites, with Gibbon "often tempted to throw away the labours of seven years," the first volume of what would become his life's major achievement, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published on February 17, 1776. Through 1777, the reading public eagerly consumed three editions for which Gibbon was rewarded handsomely: two-thirds of the profits amounting to approximately 1,000. Biographer Leslie Stephen wrote that thereafter, "His fame was as rapid as it has been lasting." And as regards this first volume, "Some warm praise from David Hume overpaid the labour of ten years." Volumes II and III appeared on March 1, 1781, eventually rising "to a level with the previous volume in general esteem." Volume IV was finished in June 1784; the final two were completed during a second Lausanne sojourn (September 1783 to August 1787) where Gibbon reunited with his friend Deyverdun in leisurely comfort. By early 1787, he was "straining for the goal" and with great relief the project was finished in June. Gibbon later wrote: "It was on the day, or rather the night, of the 27th of June, 1787, between the hours of eleven and twelve, that I wrote the last lines of the last page in a summer-house in my garden. ... I will not dissemble the first emotions of joy on the recovery of my freedom, and perhaps the establishment of my fame. But my pride was soon humbled, and a sober melancholy was spread over my mind by the idea that I had taken my everlasting leave of an old and agreeable companion, and that, whatsoever might be the future date of my history, the life of the historian must be short and precarious." Volumes IV, V, and VI finally reached the press in May 1788, publication having been delayed since March to coincide with a dinner party celebrating Gibbon's 51st birthday (the 8th).[22] Mounting a bandwagon of praise for the later volumes were such contemporary luminaries as Adam Smith, William Robertson, Adam Ferguson, Lord Camden, and Horace Walpole. Smith remarked that Gibbon's triumph had positioned him "at the very head of [Europe's] literary tribe." (Wikipedia)

The Third Edition. 6 volumes (complete set). 4° (24 x 28,5 cm). Vo,ume I: Portrait-Frontispice of Edward Gibbon, VI, (9), 704, (6) pages / Volume II: (5), Errata-leaf, 2 Large Foldout-Maps, 640 pages / Volume III: (6), Errata-Leaf, Large Fold-Out Map, 640 pages / Volume IV: VIII, 620 pages / Volume V: (6), 684 pages / Volume VI: (6), 646 pages plus 26 nn. pages and Errata-leaf for volumes IV, V and VI. Beautifully rebacked in full calf, with original boards and new endpapers. Minor foxing only. Very good+ condition of the third edition.

[SW: History, Rare Books]

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Edward Gibbon: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Volume III, London, UK Penguin 1995 ; weicher Einband / soft cover; Schutzumschlag / dust cover; 1. Ed. ISBN: 0-14-043395-3
0-14-043395-3 New

EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND APPENDICES BY DAVID WOMERSLEY Although it covers no less than thirteen centuries of history, writes David Womersley, Gibbon's Decline and Fall 'is never routine, always alert with humanity and intelligence, often surprising in its sympathies'. It counts, quite simply, as 'one of the greatest narratives in European literature'. This definitive three-volume edition presents a complete and unmodernized text, the author's own comments and notes, and his famous Vindication. The first volume considers the extent and constitution of the empire under the Antonines and then takes events down to the end of the fourth century. It includes the controversial chapters on the early Church and examines in detail the reign of the first Christian and last pagan emperors, Constantine and Julian. Although it covers no less than thirteen centuries of history, writes David Womersley in his introduction, Gibbon's Decline and Fall 'is never routine, always alert with humanity and intelligence, often surprising in its sympathies'. It counts, quite simply, as 'one of the greatest narratives in European literature'. 'David Womersley's edition is an enormous achievement These volumes give us The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire on a scale worthy of the original' J.G.A. Pocock in the London Review of Books Printed Pages: 1360. Reprint New Paperback 13 Cms x 20 Cms; Reprint

[SW: Roman Empire]

Details

Edward Gibbon: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Volume II, London, UK Penguin 1995 ; weicher Einband / soft cover; Schutzumschlag / dust cover; 1. Ed. ISBN: 0-14-043394-5
0-14-043394-5 New

EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND APPENDICES BY DAVID WOMERSLEY Although it covers no less than thirteen centuries of history, writes David Womersley, Gibbon's Decline and Fall 'is never routine, always alert with humanity and intelligence, often surprising in its sympathies'. It counts, quite simply, as 'one of the greatest narratives in European literature'. This definitive three-volume edition presents a complete and unmodernized text, the author's own comments and notes, and his famous Vindication. The first volume considers the extent and constitution of the empire under the Antonines and then takes events down to the end of the fourth century. It includes the controversial chapters on the early Church and examines in detail the reign of the first Christian and last pagan emperors, Constantine and Julian. Although it covers no less than thirteen centuries of history, writes David Womersley in his introduction, Gibbon's Decline and Fall 'is never routine, always alert with humanity and intelligence, often surprising in its sympathies'. It counts, quite simply, as 'one of the greatest narratives in European literature'. 'David Womersley's edition is an enormous achievement These volumes give us The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire on a scale worthy of the original' J.G.A. Pocock in the London Review of Books Printed Pages: 1014. Reprint New Paperback 13 Cms x 20 Cms; Reprint

[SW: Roman Empire]

Details