The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3 [1776]
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The Online Library of Liberty A Project Of Liberty Fund, Inc. Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 3 [1776] The Online Library Of Liberty This E-Book (PDF format) is published by Liberty Fund, Inc., a private, non-profit, educational foundation established in 1960 to encourage study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. 2010 was the 50th anniversary year of the founding of Liberty Fund. It is part of the Online Library of Liberty web site http://oll.libertyfund.org, which was established in 2004 in order to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. To find out more about the author or title, to use the site's powerful search engine, to see other titles in other formats (HTML, facsimile PDF), or to make use of the hundreds of essays, educational aids, and study guides, please visit the OLL web site. 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Author: Edward Gibbon Editor: John Bagnell Bury Introduction: William Edward Hartpole Lecky About This Title: The third volume of a 12 volume set of Gibbon’s magesterial history of the end of the Roman Empire, one of the greatest works of history written during the Enlightenment. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 2 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/1367 Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 3 About Liberty Fund: Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. Copyright Information: The text is in the public domain. Fair Use Statement: This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 3 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/1367 Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 3 Table Of Contents The Works of Edward Gibbon The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter Xvi Chapter Xvii Chapter Xviii Chapter Xix Chapter Xx Chapter Xxi Appendix Additional Notes By the Editor 1.: The Rescript of Antoninus Concerning the Christians — ( P. 30 ) 2.: Exile of Marcellus and Eusebius, Bishops of Rome — ( P. 77 ) 3.: Persecutions of the Christians In the First and Second Centuries, — ( C. Xvi .) 4.: Augusteum and Forum of Constantine — ( P. 104-106 ) 1 5.: The New Monarchy — ( C. Xvii .) 6.: Dioceses and Provinces — ( P. 126 Sqq. ) 7.: The Organisation of the Army Under the New System — ( P. 136 Sqq. ) 8.: Protectores and Domestici — ( P. 150 ) 9.: The Tragedy of Fausta and Crispus — ( P. 175 Sqq. ) 10.: Divisions of the Empire, 293 to 378 — ( P. 183 , 196 ) 11.: The Sarmatians — ( P. 186 ) 12.: Battle of Singara — ( P. 200 ) 13.: Sources and Chronology of Armenian History Under Trdat and His Successors — ( C. Xix .) 14.: Constantine and Christianity — ( C. Xx .) 15.: Ecclesiastical Geography — ( P. 314 ) PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 4 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/1367 Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 3 Nero. From a drawing by Jan Styka. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 5 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/1367 Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 3 [Back to Table of Contents] THE WORKS OF EDWARD GIBBON HISTORY OF ROME VOLUME III new york FRED DeFAU & COMPANY publishers LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Nero . Frontispiece From a drawing by Jan Styka. St. Peter preaching in the Catacombs . page 10 From a drawing by Jan Styka. The Christian Martyrs . 30 From a drawing by Jan Styka. Plan of Constantinople . 100 Constantine’s Coronation at Rome . 306 From a painting by Raphael, in the Vatican. Baptistery of St. John, in the Lateran, built by Constantine . 350 From a photograph. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 6 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/1367 Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 3 [Back to Table of Contents] THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE CHAPTER XVI The Conduct of the Roman Government towards the Christians, from the Reign of Nero to that of Constantine If we seriously consider the purity of the Christian religion, the sanctity of its moral precepts, and the innocent as well as austere lives of the greater number of those who, during the first ages, embraced the faith of the gospel, we should naturally suppose that so benevolent a doctrine would have been received with due reverence, even by the unbelieving world; that the learned and the polite, however they might deride the miracles, would have esteemed the virtues of the new sect; and that the magistrates, instead of persecuting, would have protected an order of men who yielded the most passive obedience to the laws, though they declined the active cares of war and government. If, on the other hand, we recollect the universal toleration of Polytheism, as it was invariably maintained by the faith of the people, the incredulity of philosophers, and the policy of the Roman senate and emperors, we are at a loss to discover what new offence the Christians had committed, what new provocation could exasperate the mild indifference of antiquity, and what new motives could urge the Roman princes, who beheld, without concern, a thousand forms of religion subsisting in peace under their gentle sway, to inflict a severe punishment on any part of their subjects, who had chosen for themselves a singular, but an inoffensive, mode of faith and worship. The religious policy of the ancient world seems to have assumed a more stern and intolerant character, to oppose the progress of Christianity. About fourscore years after the death of Christ, his innocent disciples were punished with death, by the sentence of a proconsul of the most amiable and philosophic character, and, according to the laws of an emperor, distinguished by the wisdom and justice of his general administration. The apologies which were repeatedly addressed to the successors of Trajan, are filled with the most pathetic complaints, that the Christians, who obeyed the dictates, and solicited the liberty, of conscience, were alone, among all the subjects of the Roman empire, excluded from the common benefits of their auspicious government. The deaths of a few eminent martyrs have been recorded with care; and from the time that Christianity was invested with the supreme power, the governors of the church have been no less diligently employed in displaying the cruelty, than in imitating the conduct, of their Pagan adversaries. To separate (if it be possible) a few authentic, as well as interesting, facts, from an undigested mass of fiction and error, and to relate, in a clear and rational manner, the causes, the extent, the duration, and the most important circumstances of the persecutions to which the first Christians were exposed, is the design of the present Chapter. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 7 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/1367 Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 3 The sectaries of a persecuted religion, depressed by fear, animated with resentment, and perhaps heated by enthusiasm, are seldom in a proper temper of mind calmly to investigate, or candidly to appreciate, the motives of their enemies, which often escape the impartial and discerning view even of those who are placed at a secure distance from the flames of persecution. A reason has been assigned for the conduct of the emperors towards the primitive Christians, which may appear the more specious and probable as it is drawn from the acknowledged genius of Polytheism. It has already been observed that the religious concord of the world was principally supported by the implicit assent and reverence which the nations of antiquity expressed for their respective traditions and ceremonies. It might therefore be expected that they would unite with indignation against any sect of people which should separate itself from the communion of mankind, and, claiming the exclusive possession of divine knowledge, should disdain every form of worship, except its own, as impious and idolatrous. The rights of toleration were held by mutual indulgence; they were justly forfeited by a refusal of the accustomed tribute. As the payment of this tribute was inflexibly refused by the Jews, and by them alone, the consideration of the treatment which they experienced from the Roman magistrates will serve to explain how far these speculations are justified by facts, and will lead us to discover the true causes of the persecution of Christianity.