Frasi di Edward Gibbon pagina 2

“I prìncipi sospettosi promuovono spesso l'ultimo degli uomini nella vana persuasione che chi dipende soltanto dal favore proverà attaccamento soltanto per il suo benefattore.”

Declino e caduta dell'Impero Romano

“A una cena memorabile trenta schiavi servirono a tavola: dieci giovani si appagarono di Teodora. La sua carità era universale.”

Declino e caduta dell'Impero Romano

“[Teodora] si augurava un quarto altare sul quale poter libare al dio dell'Amore.”

Declino e caduta dell'Impero romano, p. 457
Declino e caduta dell'Impero Romano

“I diversi culti religiosi che si osservavano nel Mondo romano, erano tutti considerati dal popolo come egualmente veri; dal filosofo come egualmente falsi, e dai magistrati come egualmente utili.”

Declino e caduta dell'Impero romano, p. 457
Declino e caduta dell'Impero Romano
Origine: Alludendo a quel che dice Procopio di Cesarea riguardo all'uso "contro natura" che Teodora faceva del suo corpo.

“Questa muraglia di Antonino, poco al di là delle moderne città di Edimburgo e Glascovia, fu stabilita come il confine della provincia romana. I nativi Caledonj, nell’estremità settentrionale dell’isola, conservarono la loro selvaggia indipendenza, della quale andarono debitori alla loro povertà non meno che al loro valore. Furono spesso e respinte e punite le loro incursioni, ma il lor paese non fu mai soggiogato[11]”

1820, p. 42
Storia della decadenza e caduta dell'Impero Romano

“On the approach of spring I withdraw without reluctance from the noisy and extensive scene of crowds without company, and dissipation without pleasure.”

Storia del Declino e della Caduta dell'Impero Romano

Edward Gibbon: Frasi in inglese

“It was here [at the age of seventeen] that I suspended my religious inquiries.”

Vol. i. p. 116.
Memoirs (1796)

“Antoninus diffused order and tranquility over the greatest part of the earth. His reign is marked by the rare advantage of furnishing very few materials for history; which is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.”

Memoirs (1796)

“Crowds without company, and dissipation without pleasure.”

Vol. 1, Ch. 3 "Of the Constitution of the Roman Empire, in the Age of the Antonines" http://www.ccel.org/ccel/gibbon/decline/files/volume1/chap3.htm <br class="br">This has often been paraphrased: History is indeed little more than the register of crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind. <br class="br">The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire: Volume 1 (1776)

“I was never less alone than when by myself.”

Referring to London.
Memoirs (1796)

“A long period of distress and anarchy, in which empire, and arts, and riches, had migrated from the banks of the Tiber, was incapable of restoring or adorning the city; and, as all that is human must retrograde if it do not advance, every successive age must have hastened the ruin of the works of antiquity.”

Vol. i. p. 117. Compare: "Never less alone than when alone", Samuel Rogers, Human Life; "In solitude, where we are least alone", Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto III, Stanza 90.
Memoirs (1796)

“In every deed of mischief he had a heart to resolve, a head to contrive, and a hand to execute.”

Vol. 1, Chap. 71.
The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire: Volume 1 (1776)

Vol. 1, Chap. 48. Compare: "He had a head to contrive, a tongue to persuade, and a hand to execute any mischief", Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (on Hampden), History of the Rebellion, Vol. iii, Book vii, Section 84.
The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire: Volume 1 (1776)

“I saw and loved.”

“Our habits of thinking so fondly connect the order of the universe with the fate of man, that this gloomy period of history has been decorated with inundations, earthquakes, uncommon meteors, preternatural darkness, and a crowd of prodigies fictitious or exaggerated.”

Vol. i. p. 106. Compare: "None ever loved but at first sight they loved", George Chapman, The Blind Beggar of Alexandria.
Memoirs (1796)

“It is difficult to paint the light, the various, the inconstant character of Gallienus, which he displayed without constraint, as soon as he became sole possessor of the empire. There were, however, a few short moments in the life of Gallienus, when, exasperated by some recent injury, he suddenly appeared the intrepid soldier and the cruel tyrant; till, satiated with blood, or fatigued by resistance, he insensibly sunk into the natural mildness and indolence of his character.In every art that he attempted, his lively genius enabled him to succeed; and as his genius was destitute of judgment, he attempted every art, except the important ones of war and government. He was a master of several curious, but useless sciences, a ready orator, an elegant poet, a skilful gardener, an excellent cook, and most contemptible prince... There were, however, a few short moments in the life of Gallienus, when, exasperated by some recent injury, he suddenly appeared the intrepid soldier and the cruel tyrant; till, satiated with blood, or fatigued by resistance, he insensibly sunk into the natural mildness and indolence of his character.”

Vol. 1, Chap. 10.
The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire: Volume 1 (1776)

“When Gallienus received the intelligence that his capital was delivered from the barbarians, he was much less delighted than alarmed with the courage of the senate, since it might one day prompt them to rescue the public from domestic tyranny as well as from foreign invasion. His timid ingratitude was published to his subjects, in an edict which prohibited the senators from exercising any military employment, and even from approaching the camps of the legions. But his fears were groundless. The rich and luxurious nobles, sinking into their natural character, accepted, as a favor, this disgraceful exemption from military service; and as long as they were indulged in the enjoyment of their baths, their theatres, and their villas, they cheerfully resigned the more dangerous cares of empire to the rough hands of peasants and soldiers.”

Vol. 1, Chap. 10.
The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire: Volume 1 (1776)

“All gates are shut against the unfortunate.”

Vol. 1, Chap. 10.
The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire: Volume 1 (1776)

“Benevolence is the foundation of Justice, since we are forbidden to injure those we are bound to assist. A prophet may reveal the secrets of Heaven and futurity, but in his moral precepts he can only repeat the lessons of our own hearts.”

Vol. III
The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire: Volume 1 (1776)