The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

Edward Gibbon saw it as his task both to instruct and entertain his audience. He succeeds magnificently in this epic history of the Roman Empire. It's all here: the brutal conquests, the internecine rivalry, the mad emperors and, most controversially, an account of the spread of Christianity which led Samuel Johnson to label him an "infidel".

What most delights his readers, though, is Gibbon's prose style: light but strong, complex but clear, and always elegant. His witty footnotes are also worth a look. One cross-dressing emperor appointed his lovers to important positions: "A dancer was made praefect of the city, a charioteer praefect of the watch, a barber praefect of the provinces. The three ministers, with many inferior officers, were all recommended,enormitate memborum."