The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 10 [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. 10 [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. This title is also part of the Portable Library of Liberty DVD which contains over 1,000 books and quotes about liberty and power, and is available free of charge upon request. The cuneiform inscription that appears in the logo and serves as a design element in all Liberty Fund books and web sites is the earliest-known written appearance of the word “freedom” (amagi), or “liberty.” It is taken from a clay document written about 2300 B.C. in the Sumerian city-state of Lagash, in present day Iraq. To find out more about Liberty Fund, Inc., or the Online Library of Liberty Project, please contact the Director at [email protected]. LIBERTY FUND, INC. 8335 Allison Pointe Trail, Suite 300 Indianapolis, Indiana 46250-1684 Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 10 Edition Used: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ed. J.B. Bury with an Introduction by W.E.H. Lecky (New York: Fred de Fau and Co., 1906), in 12 vols. Vol. 10. Author: Edward Gibbon Editor: John Bagnell Bury About This Title: The tenth 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/1559 Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 10 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/1559 Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 10 Table Of Contents List of Illustrations Note The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter Liv Chapter Lv Chapter Lvi Chapter Lvii Chapter Lviii Chapter Lix Chapter Lx Appendix Additional Notes By the Editor 1.: The Paulician Heresy — ( Ch. Liv. ) 2.: Early History of the Bulgarians — ( P. 27 Sqq. ) 3.: List of Ancient Bulgarian Princes — ( P. 29, 31 ) 4.: Omortag’s Inscription — ( P. 32 ) 5.: The Northern Limits of the First Bulgarian Kingdom — ( P. 34 ) 6.: The Conversion of the Slavs 7.: The Hungarians — ( P. 36 Sqq. ) 8.: Origin of Russia — ( P. 49 Sqq. ) 9.: The Waterfalls of the Dnieper — ( P. 56, 57 ) 10.: The Assises of Jerusalem — ( P. 265 ) THE WORKS OF EDWARD GIBBON HISTORY OF ROME VOLUME X NEW YORK FRED DeFAU & COMPANY PUBLISHERS PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 4 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/1559 Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 10 [Back to Table of Contents] LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Peter the Hermit preaching the First CrusadeFrontispiece From a painting by James Archer, R.S.A. Map of Southern Italy . page 80 Peter the Hermit . 192 From a painting by Léon d’Estang. Godfrey of Bouillon . 216 From a painting by J. Boilly. Jerusalem . 300 From a rare engraving. A Doge of Venice . 344 From a painting by B. Strozzi. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 5 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/1559 Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 10 [Back to Table of Contents] NOTE I am fortunate enough to have again received generous help from my friend Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole in the revision of chapters in this volume which deal with oriental history. J. B. B. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 6 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/1559 Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 10 [Back to Table of Contents] THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE CHAPTER LIV Origin and Doctrine of the Paulicians — Their Persecution by the Greek Emperors — Revolt in Armenia, &c. — Transplantation into Thrace — Propagation in the West — The Seeds, Character, and Consequences of the Reformation In the profession of Christianity, the variety of national characters may be clearly distinguished. The natives of Syria and Egypt abandoned their lives to lazy and contemplative devotion; Rome again aspired to the dominion of the world; and the wit of the lively and loquacious Greeks was consumed in the disputes of metaphysical theology. The incomprehensible mysteries of the Trinity and Incarnation, instead of commanding their silent submission, were agitated in vehement and subtle controversies, which enlarged their faith, at the expense, perhaps, of their charity and reason. From the council of Nice to the end of the seventh century, the peace and unity of the church was invaded by these spiritual wars; and so deeply did they affect the decline and fall of the empire that the historian has too often been compelled to attend the synods, to explore the creeds, and to enumerate the sects of this busy period of ecclesiastical annals. From the beginning of the eighth century to the last ages of the Byzantine empire the sound of controversy was seldom heard; curiosity was exhausted, zeal was fatigued, and, in the decrees of six councils, the articles of the Catholic faith had been irrevocably defined. The spirit of dispute, however vain and pernicious, requires some energy and exercise of the mental faculties; and the prostrate Greeks were content to fast, to pray, and to believe, in blind obedience to the patriarch and his clergy. During a long dream of superstition, the Virgin and the Saints, their visions and miracles, their relics and images, were preached by the monks and worshipped by the people; and the appellation of people might be extended without injustice to the first ranks of civil society. At an unseasonable moment the Isaurian emperors attempted somewhat rudely to awaken their subjects: under their influence, reason might obtain some proselytes, a far greater number was swayed by interest or fear; but the Eastern world embraced or deplored their visible deities, and the restoration of images was celebrated as the feast of orthodoxy. In this passive and unanimous state the ecclesiastical rulers were relieved from the toil, or deprived of the pleasure, of persecution. The Pagans had disappeared; the Jews were silent and obscure; the disputes with the Latins were rare and remote hostilities against a national enemy; and the sects of Egypt and Syria enjoyed a free toleration, under the shadow of the Arabian caliphs. About the middle of the seventh century, a branch of Manichæans was selected as the victims of spiritual tyranny: their patience was at length exasperated to despair and rebellion; and their exile has scattered over the West the seeds of reformation. These important events will justify some inquiry into the doctrine and story of the Paulicians:1 and, as they cannot plead for themselves, our candid criticism will magnify the good, and abate or suspect the evil, that is reported by their adversaries. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 7 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/1559 Online Library of Liberty: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 10 The Gnostics, who had distracted the infancy, were oppressed by the greatness and authority, of the church. Instead of emulating or surpassing the wealth, learning, and numbers of the Catholics, their obscure remnant was driven from the capitals of the East and West, and confined to the villages and mountains along the borders of the Euphrates. Some vestige of the Marcionites may be detected in the fifth century;2 but the numerous sects were finally lost in the odious name of the Manichæans; and these heretics, who presumed to reconcile the doctrines of Zoroaster and Christ, were pursued by the two religions with equal and unrelenting hatred. Under the grandson of Heraclius, in the neighbourhood of Samosata, more famous for the birth of Lucian than for the title of a Syrian kingdom, a reformer arose, esteemed by the Paulicians as the chosen messenger of truth. In his humble dwelling of Mananalis,3 Constantine entertained a deacon, who returned from Syrian captivity, and received the inestimable gift of the New Testament, which was already concealed from the vulgar by the prudence of the Greek, and perhaps of the Gnostic, clergy.4 These books became the measure of his studies and the rule of his faith; and the Catholics, who dispute his interpretation, acknowledge that his text was genuine and sincere.