The vast, ironic chronicle of Rome's collapse across thirteen centuries, tracing the empire's ruin to barbarism and religion.
Books mentioned in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (50)
The Annals by Tacitus: “See the first book of the Annals of Tacitus.”
Germania by Tacitus: “Such, in particular, was the state of the Batavians. Tacit. Germania, c. 29.”
Historia Augusta: “that for the most part I have quoted them without distinction, under the general and well-known title of the Augustan History.”
The Secret History by Procopius: “The strain of the Anecdotes of Procopius, (c. 11, 13, 18, 27, 28,) with the learned remarks of Alemannus, is confirmed, rather than contradicted, by the Acts of the Councils”
Ecclesiastical History by Johann Lorenz von Mosheim: “See Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, vol. i. p. 101, and Spanheim, Remarques sur les Caesars de Julien, p. 468, &c.”
The City of God by Augustine of Hippo: “Yet the Pagans of Africa complained, that the times would not allow them to answer with freedom the City of God; nor does St. Augustin (v. 26) deny the charge.”
The Confessions by Augustine of Hippo: “My personal acquaintance with the bishop of Hippo does not extend beyond the Confessions, and the City of God.”
The Spirit of the Laws by Montesquieu: “Esprit des Loix, l. xxx. c. 3. The brilliant imagination of Montesquieu is corrected, however, by the dry, cold reason of the Abbe de Mably.”
Observations sur l'Histoire de France by Gabriel Bonnot de Mably: “the good sense and diligence of the Abbe de Mably, (Observations sur l'Histoire de France, 2 vols. 12mo.)”
Histoire des Empereurs by Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont: “Tillemont, Histoire des Empereurs, tom. iii. p. 598.”
Annali d'Italia by Lodovico Antonio Muratori: “or consult the Annali d'Italia of the learned Muratori, tom. xiv. p. 230-244, octavo edition.”
The History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles V by William Robertson: “The reader who wishes to inform himself of the circumstances of his famous event, may peruse an admirable narrative in Dr. Robertson's History of Charles V. vol. ii. p. 283;”
The History of England by David Hume: “Many ages afterwards, Edward J. practised, with great success, the same mode of persecution against the clergy of England. See Hume's History of England, vol. ii. p. 300, last 4to edition.”
The Natural History of Religion by David Hume: “Mr. Hume, in the Natural History of Religion, sagaciously remarks, that the most refined and philosophic sects are constantly the most intolerant.”
Iliad by Homer: “The rights, powers, and pretensions of the sovereign of Olympus are very clearly described in the xvth book of the Iliad; in the Greek original, I mean; for Mr. Pope, without perceiving it, has improved the theology of Homer.”
The Odyssey by Homer: “The xith book of the Odyssey gives a very dreary and incoherent account of the infernal shades.”
The Aeneid by Virgil: “The progress of a Phrygian colony, from the Tyber to the Thames, was easily ingrafted on the fable of the Aeneid; and the royal ancestors of Arthur derived their origin from Troy, and claimed their alliance with the Caesars.”
Histoire Naturelle by Comte de Buffon: “Read (it is no unpleasing task) the incomparable articles of the Horse and the Camel, in the Natural History of M. de Buffon.”
Cyropaedia by Xenophon: “Xenophon, in the preface to the Cyropaedia, gives a clear and magnificent idea of the extent of the empire of Cyrus.”
Anabasis by Xenophon: “The fact is confirmed by a soldier and a philosopher, who had experienced the intense cold of Thrace. See Xenophon, Anabasis, l. vii. p. 560, edit. Hutchinson.”
Paradise Lost by John Milton: “Paradise Lost was published in the year 1667; and the famous lines (l. ii. 708, &c.) which startled the licenser, may allude to the recent comet of 1664”
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius: “In his Meditations, he thanks the gods, who had bestowed on him a wife so faithful, so gentle, and of such a wonderful simplicity of manners.”
Pharsalia by Lucan: “Though it is not, most assuredly, the intention of Lucan to exalt the character of Caesar, yet the idea he gives of that hero, in the tenth book of the Pharsalia, … is, in reality, the noblest panegyric.”
Metamorphoses by Ovid: “In the history of insects (far more wonderful than Ovid's Metamorphoses) the silk-worm holds a conspicuous place.”
The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius: “While Boethius, oppressed with fetters, expected each moment the sentence or the stroke of death, he composed, in the tower of Pavia, the Consolation of Philosophy; a golden volume not unworthy of the leisure of Plato or Tully”
Misopogon by Julian: “See Julian. in Misopogon, p. 340, 341.”
The Caesars by Julian: “Trajan's sentiments are represented in a very just and lively manner in the Caesars of Julian.”
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith: “Smith's Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, vol. i. p 246. This last I am proud to quote as the work of a sage and a friend.”
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes: “(Don Quixote, part ii. l. iii. c. 1.)”
Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto: “The Paladin Astolpho found it in the moon, among the things that were lost upon earth, (Orlando Furioso, xxxiv. 80.)”
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio: “That popular writer, who derives his reputation from the Decameron, a hundred novels of pleasantry and love, may aspire to the more serious praise of restoring in Italy the study of the Greek language.”
La Henriade by Voltaire: “For the latter, compare the tenth book of the Henriade, and the Journal de Henri IV. tom. i. p. 47-83;”
Candide by Voltaire: “Compare Dr. Jortin's Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, vol. iv. p. 3 with a certain genealogy in Candide, (ch. iv.,) which ends with one of the first companions of Christopher Columbus.”
The Poems of Ossian by James Macpherson: “See Appian (in Prooem.) and the uniform imagery of Ossian's Poems, which, according to every hypothesis, were composed by a native Caledonian.”
A Thousand and One Nights: “The Arabian Nights, a faithful and amusing picture of the Oriental world, represent in the most odious colors of the Magians, or worshippers of fire”
Bibliothèque Orientale by Barthélemy d'Herbelot: “D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, Ardshir.”
Codex Justinianus by Justinian I: “See the Code of Justinian, l. viii. tit. lii. leg. 2.”
Institutes of Justinian by Justinian I: “The celebrated Institutes of Justinian are addressed to the youth of his dominions, who had devoted themselves to the study of Roman jurisprudence;”
The Digest (Pandects) by Justinian I: “The Pandects (l. xlviii. tit. xviii.) contain the sentiments of the most celebrated civilians on the subject of torture.”
Theodosian Code by Theodosius II: “See the Theodosian Code, l. vi. tit. ii. with Godefroy's commentary.”
Notitia Dignitatum: “One hundred and fifteen cities appear in the Notitia of Gaul;”
Gesta Dei per Francos by Jacques Bongars: “two large and original passages of William archbishop of Tyre, (l. i. c. 1-10, l. xviii. c. 5, 6,) the principal author of the Gesta Dei per Francos.”
Saturnalia by Macrobius: “Macrob. Saturnalia, l. iii. c. 9. He gives us a form of evocation.”
Utopia by Thomas More: “The community instituted by Plato is more perfect than that which Sir Thomas More had imagined for his Utopia.”
Getica by Jordanes: “Aurelius Victor. Jornandes de Rebus Geticis, c. 21.”
Christian Topography by Cosmas Indicopleustes: “See the Topographia Christiana of Cosmas, surnamed Indicopleustes, or the Indian navigator, l. iii. p. 178, 179, l. xi. p. 337.”
Historical and Critical Dictionary by Pierre Bayle: “See Dictionnaire de Bayle, au mot Balbus, where he distinguishes the several persons of that name, and rectifies, with his usual accuracy, the mistakes of former writers concerning them.”
Florentine Histories by Niccolò Machiavelli: “Machiavel, Hist. di Firenze, l. i.”
Il Sacco di Roma by Luigi Guicciardini: “But the account which most truly deserves the name of authentic and original, is a little book, entitled, Il Sacco di Roma, composed, within less than a month after the assault of the city, by the brother of the historian Guicciardini”
Books that mention The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (9)
How to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Day by Arnold Bennett: “"The Decline and Fall" is not to be named in the same day with "Paradise Lost," but it is a vastly pretty thing;”
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens: “'This, Mr Boffin and Lady, is the first chapter of the first wollume of the Decline and Fall off—' here he looked hard at the book, and stopped.”
The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf: “"Gibbon's _History of the Roman Empire_." "D'you mean to tell me you've reached the age of twenty-four without reading Gibbon?"”
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster: “the first volume of Gibbon's Roman Empire”
In Chancery by John Galsworthy: “Gibbon's Roman Empire ... were fixed as fate”
Why Read the Classics by Italo Calvino: “Dickens essay: Boffin buys 'the eight volumes'”
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell: “Sixthmonth 18th, Epic of Gilgamesh; Seventhmonth 2nd, Ireneo Funes’s Remembrances; Ninthmonth 1st, Gibbon’s Decline and Fall.”
A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene: “"He said, 'You can go home and read The Decline and Fall...'" / "'Go home and read Gibbon.'"”
In Search of a Character by Graham Greene: “Short notice prevented me getting Gibbon and Anna Karenina.”