No More Learning

The generous though fierce temper of
Aurelian abandoned the traitor to the rage of the soldiers: a
superstitious reverence induced him to treat with lenity the coun-
trymen of Apollonius the philosopher. Antioch was deserted on
his approach, till the Emperor, by his salutary edicts, recalled the
fugitives, and granted a general pardon to all who from neces-
sity rather than choice had been engaged in the service of the
Palmyrenian Queen. The unexpected mildness of such a conduct
reconciled the minds of the Syrians, and as far as the gates of
Emesa the wishes of the people seconded the terror of his arms.
Zenobia would have ill deserved her reputation, had she indo-
lently permitted the Emperor of the West to approach within a
hundred miles of her capital. The fate of the East was decided
in two great battles, so similar in almost every circumstance
that we can scarcely distinguish them from each other, except by
observing that the first was fought near Antioch and the second
near Emesa. In both the Queen of Palmyra animated the armies
by her presence, and devolved the execution of her orders on
Zabdas, who had already signalized his military talents by the
conquest of Egypt. The numerous forces of Zenobia consisted
for the most part of light archers, and of heavy cavalry clothed
in complete steel. The Moorish and Illyrian horse of Aurelian


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6282
EDWARD GIBBON
were unable to sustain the ponderous charge of their antagonists.
They fled in real or affected disorder, engaged the Palmyrenians
in a laborious pursuit, harassed them by a desultory combat, and
at length discomfited this impenetrable but unwieldy body of
cavalry. The light infantry, in the mean time, when they had
exhausted their quivers, remaining without protection against a
closer onset, exposed their naked sides to the swords of the
legions. Aurelian had chosen these veteran troops, who were
usually stationed on the Upper Danube, and whose valor had
been severely tried in the Alemannic war. After the defeat of
Emesa, Zenobia found it impossible to collect a third army.
ar as the frontier of Egypt, the nations subject to her empire
had joined the standard of the conqueror, who detached Probus,
the bravest of his generals, to possess himself of the Egyptian
provinces. Palmyra was the last resource of the widow of
Odenathus. She retired within the walls of her capital, made
every preparation for a vigorous resistance, and declared, with the
intrepidity of a heroine, that the last moment of her reign and
of her life should be the same.
Amid the barren deserts of Arabia, a few cultivated spots rise
like islands out of the sandy ocean. Even the name of Tadmor,
or Palmyra, by its signification in the Syriac as well as in the
Latin language, denoted the multitude of palm-trees which
afforded shade and verdure to that temperate region. The air
was pure, and the soil, watered by some invaluable springs, was
capable of producing fruits as well as corn. A place possessed
of such singular advantages, and situated at a convenient dis-
tance between the Gulf of Persia and the Mediterranean,* was
soon frequented by the caravans which conveyed to the nations
of Europe a considerable part of the rich commodities of India.
Palmyra insensibly increased into an opulent and independent
city, and connecting the Roman and the Parthian monarchies
by the mutual benefits of commerce, was suffered to observe a
humble neutrality, till at length after the victories of Trajan
the little republic sunk into the bosom of Rome, and flourished
more than one hundred and fifty years in the subordinate though
honorable rank of a colony. It was during that peaceful period,
if we may judge from a few remaining inscriptions, that the
wealthy Palmyrenians constructed those temples, palaces, and
* Five hundred and thirty-seven miles from Seleucia, two hundred and
three from the nearest coast of Syria, according to Pliny.


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EDWARD GIBBON
6283
porticos of Grecian architecture whose ruins, scattered over an
extent of several miles, have deserved the curiosity of our travel-
ers. The elevation of Odenathus and Zenobia appeared to reflect
new splendor on their country, and Palmyra for a while stood
forth the rival of Rome: but the competition was fatal, and ages
of prosperity were sacrificed to a moment of glory.
In his march over the sandy desert between Emesa and Pal-
myra, the Emperor Aurelian was perpetually harassed by the
Arabs; nor could he always defend his army, and especially his
baggage, from those flying troops of active and daring robbers
who watched the moment of surprise and eluded the slow pur-
suit of the legions. The siege of Palmyra was an object far
more difficult and important, and the Emperor, who with inces-
sant vigor pressed the attacks in person, was himself wounded
with a dart. "The Roman people," says Aurelian, in an original
letter, "speak with contempt of the war which I am waging
against a woman. They a ignorant both of the character and
of the power of Zenobia. It is impossible to enumerate her war-
like preparations of stones, of arrows, and of every species of
missile weapons. Every part of the walls is provided with two
or three balista, and artificial fires are thrown from her military
engines. The fear of punishment has armed her with a desperate
courage. Yet still I trust in the protecting deities of Rome, who
have hitherto been favorable to all my undertakings. " Doubtful,
however, of the protection of the gods and of the event of the
siege, Aurelian judged it more prudent to offer terms of an ad-
vantageous capitulation: to the Queen, a splendid retreat; to the
citizens, their ancient privileges. His proposals were obstinately
rejected, and the refusal was accompanied with insult.
The firmness of Zenobia was supported by the hope that in a
very short time famine would compel the Roman army to repass
the desert, and by the reasonable expectation that the kings of
the East, and particularly the Persian monarch, would arm in the
defense of their most natural ally. But fortune and the persever-
ance of Aurelian overcame every obstacle. The death of Sapor,
which happened about this time, distracted the counsels of Persia,
and the inconsiderable succors that attempted to relieve Palmyra
were easily intercepted either by the arms or the liberality of
the Emperor. From every part of Syria a regular succession of
convoys safely arrived in the camp, which was increased by the
return of Probus with his victorious troops from the conquest of


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6284
EDWARD GIBBON
Egypt. It was then that Zenobia resolved to fly. She mounted
the fleetest of her dromedaries, and had already reached the banks
of the Euphrates, about sixty miles from Palmyra, when she was
overtaken by the pursuit of Aurelian's light horse, seized, and
brought back a captive to the feet of the Emperor. Her capital
soon afterwards surrendered, and was treated with unexpected
lenity. The arms, horses, and camels, with an immense treasure
of gold, silver, silk, and precious stones, were all delivered to the
conqueror, who, leaving only a garrison of six hundred archers,
returned to Emesa and employed some time in the distribution
of rewards and punishments at the end of so memorable a war,
which restored to the obedience of Rome those provinces that had
renounced their allegiance since the captivity of Valerian.
When the Syrian Queen was brought into the presence of
Aurelian he sternly asked her, How she had presumed to rise in
arms against the emperors of Rome! The answer of Zenobia was
a prudent mixture of respect and firmness: "Because I disdained
to consider as Roman emperors an Aureolus or a Gallienus. You
alone I acknowledge as my conqueror and my sovereign. ”
as female fortitude is commonly artificial, so it is seldom steady
or consistent. The courage of Zenobia deserted her in the hour
of trial; she trembled at the angry clamors of the soldiers, who
called aloud for her immediate execution, forgot the generous
despair of Cleopatra which she had proposed as her model, and
ignominiously purchased life by the sacrifice of her fame and her
friends. It was to their counsels, which governed the weakness
of her sex, that she imputed the guilt of her obstinate resistance;
it was on their heads that she directed the vengeance of the cruel
Aurelian. The fame of Longinus, who was included among the
numerous and perhaps innocent victims of her fear, will survive
that of the Queen who betrayed or the tyrant who condemned
him. Genius and learning were incapable of moving a fierce.
unlettered soldier, but they had served to elevate and harmonize
the soul of Longinus. Without uttering a complaint he calmly.
followed the executioner, pitying his unhappy mistress, and be-
stowing comfort on his afflicted friends.
But, however in the treatment of his unfortunate rivals Aure-
lian might indulge his pride, he behaved towards them with a
generous clemency which was seldom exercised by the ancient
conquerors. Princes who without success had defended their
throne or freedom, were frequently strangled in prison as soon


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EDWARD GIBBON
6285
as the triumphal pomp ascended the Capitol. These usurpers,
whom their defeat had convicted of the crime of treason, were
permitted to spend their lives in affluence and honorable repose.
The Emperor presented Zenobia with an elegant villa at Tibur,
or Tivoli, about twenty miles from the capital; the Syrian queen
insensibly sunk into a Roman matron, her daughters married into
noble families, and her race was not yet extinct in the fifth cen-
tury.
FOUNDATION OF CONSTANTINOPLE
WⓇ
E ARE at present qualified to view the advantageous position
of Constantinople, which appears to have been formed by
nature for the centre and capital of a great monarchy.
Situated in the forty-first degree of latitude, the imperial city
commanded from her seven hills the opposite shores of Europe
and Asia; the climate was healthy and temperate, the soil fertile,
the harbor secure and capacious; and the approach on the side of
the continent was of small extent and easy defense. The Bos-
phorus and the Hellespont may be considered as the two gates
of Constantinople; and the prince who possessed those important
passages could always shut them against a naval enemy and open
them to the fleets of commerce. The preservation of the eastern
provinces may in some degree be ascribed to the policy of Con-
stantine, as the barbarians of the Euxine, who in the preceding
age had poured their armaments into the heart of the Mediter-
ranean, soon desisted from the exercise of piracy, and despaired
of forcing this insurmountable barrier. When the gates of the
Hellespont and Bosphorus were shut, the capital still enjoyed
within their spacious inclosure every production which could sup-
ply the wants or gratify the luxury of its numerous inhabitants.
The sea-coasts of Thrace and Bithynia, which languish under the
weight of Turkish oppression, still exhibit a rich prospect of
vineyards, of gardens, and of plentiful harvests; and the Pro-
pontis has ever been renowned for an inexhaustible store of the
most exquisite fish, that are taken in their stated seasons with-
out skill and almost without labor. But when the passages of
the straits were thrown open for trade, they alternately admitted
the natural and artificial riches of the North and South, of the
Euxine and of the Mediterranean. Whatever rude commodities
were collected in the forests of Germany and Scythia, as far as


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6286
EDWARD GIBBON
the sources of the Tanais and the Borysthenes; whatsoever was
manufactured by the skill of Europe or Asia; the corn of Egypt,
and the gems and spices of the farthest India, were brought by
the varying winds into the port of Constantinople, which for
many ages attracted the commerce of the ancient world.
The prospect of beauty, of safety, and of wealth, united in a
single spot, was sufficient to justify the choice of Constantine.
But as some decent mixture of prodigy and fable has in every
age been supposed to reflect a becoming majesty on the origin
of great cities, the Emperor was desirous of ascribing his resolu-
tion, not so much to the uncertain counsels of human policy as
to the infallible and eternal decrees of Divine wisdom. In one of
his laws he has been careful to instruct posterity that in obedi-
ence to the commands of God he laid the everlasting foundations
of Constantinople: and though he has not condescended to relate
in what manner the celestial inspiration was communicated to his
mind, the defect of his modest silence has been liberally sup-
plied by the ingenuity of succeeding writers, who describe the
nocturnal vision which appeared to the fancy of Constantine as
he slept within the walls of Byzantium. The tutelar genius of
the city, a venerable matron sinking under the weight of years
and infirmities, was suddenly transformed into a blooming maid,
whom his own hands adorned with all the symbols of imperial
greatness. The monarch awoke, interpreted the auspicious omen,
and obeyed without hesitation the will of Heaven.
The day
which gave birth to a city or colony was celebrated by the Ro-
mans with such ceremonies as had been ordained by a generous
superstition; and though Constantine might omit some rites which
savored too strongly of their pagan origin, yet he was anxious to
leave a deep impression of hope and respect on the minds of the
spectators. On foot, with a lance in his hand, the Emperor him-
self led the solemn procession, and directed the line which was
traced as the boundary of the destined capital; till the growing
circumference was observed with astonishment by the assistants,
who at length ventured to observe that he had already exceeded
the most ample measure of a great city. "I shall still advance,"
replied Constantine, "till HE, the invisible guide who marches
before me, thinks proper to stop. " Without presuming to inves-
tigate the nature or motives of this extraordinary conductor, we
shall content ourselves with the more humble task of describing
the extent and limits of Constantinople.
C
3
*
3
S
-


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EDWARD GIBBON
6287
In the actual state of the city, the palace and gardens of the
Seraglio occupy the eastern promontory, the first of the seven
hills, and cover about one hundred and fifty acres of our own
measure. The seat of Turkish jealousy and despotism is erected
on the foundations of a Grecian republic; but it may be supposed
that the Byzantines were tempted by the conveniency of the har-
bor to extend their habitations on that side beyond the modern
limits of the Seraglio. The new walls of Constantine stretched
from the port to the Propontis across the enlarged breadth of the
triangle, at a distance of fifteen stadia from the ancient fortifica-
tion; and with the city of Byzantium they inclosed five of the
seven hills which, to the eyes of those who approach Constanti-
nople, appear to rise above each other in beautiful order. About
a century after the death of the founder, the new buildings, ex-
tending on one side up the harbor and on the other along the
Propontis, already covered the narrow ridge of the sixth and the
broad summit of the seventh hill. The necessity of protecting
those suburbs from the incessant inroads of the barbarians en-
gaged the younger Theodosius to surround his capital with an
adequate and permanent inclosure of walls. From the eastern
promontory to the Golden Gate, the extreme length of Constanti-
nople was about three Roman miles; the circumference measured
between ten and eleven, and the surface might be computed as
equal to about two thousand English acres. It is impossible to
justify the vain and credulous exaggerations of modern travelers,
who have sometimes stretched the limits of Constantinople over
the adjacent villages of the European, and even of the Asiatic
coast. But the suburbs of Pera and Galata, though situate be-
yond the harbor, may deserve to be considered as a part of the
city; and this addition may perhaps authorize the measure of a
Byzantine historian, who assigns sixteen Greek (about fourteen
Roman) miles for the circumference of his native city. Such an
extent may not seem unworthy of an imperial residence. Yet
Constantinople must yield to Babylon and Thebes, to ancient
Rome, to London, and even to Paris.
The master of the Roman world, who aspired to erect an
eternal monument of the glories of his reign, could employ in
the prosecution of that great work the wealth, the labor, and all
that yet remained of the genius of obedient millions. Some esti-
mate may be formed of the expense bestowed with imperial lib-
erality on the foundation of Constantinople, by the allowance of


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6288
EDWARD GIBBON
about two millions five hundred thousand pounds for the con-
struction of the walls, the porticos, and the aqueducts. The
forests that overshadowed the shores of the Euxine, and the
celebrated quarries of white marble in the little island of Procon-
nesus, supplied an inexhaustible stock of materials, ready to be
conveyed, by the convenience of a short water carriage, to the
harbor of Byzantium. A multitude of laborers and artificers
urged the conclusion of the work with incessant toil; but the im-
patience of Constantine soon discovered that, in the decline of the
arts, the skill as well as numbers of his architects bore a very
unequal proportion to the greatness of his designs. The magis-
trates of the most distant provinces were therefore directed to
institute schools, to appoint professors, and by the hopes of
rewards and privileges to engage in the study and practice of
architecture a sufficient number of ingenious youths who had
received a liberal education. The buildings of the new city were
executed by such artificers as the reign of Constantine could
afford; but they were decorated by the hands of the most cele-
brated masters of the age of Pericles and Alexander. To revive
the genius of Phidias and Lysippus surpassed indeed the power
of a Roman emperor; but the immortal productions which they
had bequeathed to posterity were exposed without defense to the
rapacious vanity of a despot. By his commands the cities of
Greece and Asia were despoiled of their most valuable orna-
ments. The trophies of memorable wars, the objects of religious
veneration, the most finished statues of the gods and heroes, of
the sages and poets of ancient times, contributed to the splen-
did triumph of Constantinople, and gave occasion to the remark
of the historian Cedrenus, who observes with some enthusiasm
that nothing seemed wanting except the souls of the illustrious
men whom these admirable monuments were intended to repre-
sent. But it is not in the city of Constantine, nor in the declin-
ing period of an empire, when the human mind was depressed
by civil and religious slavery, that we should seek for the souls
of Homer and of Demosthenes.
To per-
During the siege of Byzantium, the conqueror had pitched his
tent on the commanding eminence of the second hill.
petuate the memory of his success, he chose the same advan-
tageous position for the principal Forum, which appears to have
been of a circular or rather elliptical form. The two opposite
entrances formed triumphal arches; the porticos which inclosed


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EDWARD GIBBON
6289
it on every side were filled with statues; and the centre of the
Forum was occupied by a lofty column, of which a mutilated.
fragment is now degraded by the appellation of the burnt pillar.
This column was erected on a pedestal of white marble twenty
feet high, and was composed of ten pieces of porphyry, each of
which measured about ten feet in height and about thirty-three
in circumference. On the summit of the pillar, above one hun-
dred and twenty feet from the ground, stood the colossal statue
of Apollo. It was of bronze, had been transported either from
Athens or from a town of Phrygia, and was supposed to be the
work of Phidias. The artist had represented the god of day, or
as it was afterwards interpreted, the Emperor Constantine him-
self with a sceptre in his right hand, the globe of the world in
his left, and a crown of rays glittering on his head. The Circus,
or Hippodrome, was a stately building about four hundred paces
in length and one hundred in breadth. The space between the
two mete or goals was filled with statues and obelisks; and we
may still remark a very singular fragment of antiquity — the
bodies of three serpents twisted into one pillar of brass. Their
triple heads had once supported the golden tripod which, after
the defeat of Xerxes, was consecrated in the temple of Delphi
by the victorious Greeks. The beauty of the Hippodrome has
been long since defaced by the rude hands of the Turkish con-
querors; but under the similar appellation of Atmeidan, it still
serves as a place of exercise for their horses. From the throne
whence the Emperor viewed the Circensian games, a winding
staircase descended to the palace: a magnificent edifice which
scarcely yielded to the residence of Rome itself, and which, to-
gether with the dependent courts, gardens, and porticos, covered
a considerable extent of ground upon the banks of the Propontis
between the Hippodrome and the church of St. Sophia. We
might likewise celebrate the baths, which still retained the name.
of Zeuxippus, after they had been enriched by the munificence
of Constantine with lofty columns, various marbles, and above
threescore statues of bronze. But we should deviate from the
design of this history if we attempted minutely to describe the
different buildings or quarters of the city. It may be sufficient
to observe that whatever could adorn the dignity of a great
capital, or contribute to the benefit or pleasure of its numerous
inhabitants, was contained within the walls of Constantinople.
A particular description, composed about a century after its
XI-394


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6290
EDWARD GIBBON
foundation, enumerates a capitol or school of learning, a circus,
two theatres, eight public and one hundred and fifty-three private
baths, fifty-two porticos, five granaries, eight aqueducts or reser-
voirs of water, four spacious halls for the meetings of the senate
or courts of justice, fourteen churches, fourteen palaces, and four
thousand three hundred and eighty-eight houses which for their
size or beauty deserved to be distinguished from the multitude
of plebeian habitations.
The populousness of his favored city was the next and most
serious object of the attention of its founder. In the dark ages
which succeeded the translation of the empire, the remote and
the immediate consequences of that memorable event were
strangely confounded by the vanity of the Greeks and the cre-
dulity of the Latins. It was asserted and believed that all the
noble families of Rome, the Senate, and the equestrian order,
with their innumerable attendants, had followed their Emperor
to the banks of the Propontis; that a spurious race of strangers.
and plebeians was left to possess the solitude of the ancient cap-
ital; and that the lands of Italy, long since converted into gar-
dens, were at once deprived of cultivation and inhabitants. In
the course of this history such exaggerations will be reduced to
their just value: yet, since the growth of Constantinople cannot
be ascribed to the general increase of mankind and of industry,
it must be admitted that this artificial colony was raised at the
expense of the ancient cities of the empire. Many opulent sena-
tors of Rome and of the eastern provinces were probably in-
vited by Constantine to adopt for their country the fortunate spot
which he had chosen for his own residence. The invitations of
a master are scarcely to be distinguished from commands; and
the liberality of the Emperor obtained a ready and cheerful obedi-
ence. He bestowed on his favorites the palaces which he had
built in the several quarters of the city, assigned them lands
and pensions for the support of their dignity, and alienated the
demesnes of Pontus and Asia to grant hereditary estates by the
easy tenure of maintaining a house in the capital. But these
encouragements and obligations soon became superfluous, and
were gradually abolished. Wherever the seat of government
is fixed, a considerable part of the public revenue will be ex-
pended by the prince himself, by his ministers, by the officers of
justice, and by the domestics of the palace. The most wealthy
of the provincials will be attracted by the powerful motives


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EDWARD GIBBON
6291
of interest and duty, of amusement and curiosity. A third and
more numerous class of inhabitants will insensibly be formed,
of servants, of artificers, and of merchants, who derive their sub-
sistence from their own labor and from the wants or luxury of
the superior ranks. In less than a century Constantinople dis-
puted with Rome itself the pre-eminence of riches and numbers.
New piles of buildings, crowded together with too little regard to
health or convenience, scarcely allowed the intervals of narrow
streets for the perpetual throng of men, of horses, and of car-
riage The allotted space of ground was insufficient to contain
the increasing people; and the additional foundations, which on
either side were advanced into the sea, might alone have com-
posed a very considerable city.
The frequent and regular distributions of wine and oil, of
corn or bread, of money or provisions, had almost exempted the
poorer citizens of Rome from the necessity of labor. The mag-
nificence of the first Cæsars was in some measure imitated by the
founder of Constantinople; but his liberality, however it might
excite the applause of the people, has incurred the censure of
posterity. A nation of legislators and conquerors might assert
their claim to the harvests of Africa, which had been purchased
with their blood; and it was artfully contrived by Augustus that
in the enjoyment of plenty the Romans should lose the memory
of freedom. But the prodigality of Constantine could not be ex-
cused by any consideration either of public or private interest;
and the annual tribute of corn imposed upon Egypt for the ben-
efit of his new capital was applied to feed a lazy and insolent
populace at the expense of the husbandmen of an industrious
province. Some other regulations of this Emperor are less liable
to blame, but they are less deserving of notice. He divided
Constantinople into fourteen regions or quarters, dignified the
public council with the appellation of senate, communicated to
the citizens the privileges of Italy, and bestowed on the rising
city the title of colony, the first and most favored daughter of
ancient Rome. The venerable parent still maintained the legal
and acknowledged supremacy which was due to her age, her
dignity, and to the remembrance of her former greatness.
As Constantine urged the progress of the work with the im-
patience of a lover, the walls, the porticos, and the principal edi-
fices were completed in a few years, or according to another
account, in a few months; but this extraordinary diligence should


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6292
EDWARD GIBBON
excite the less admiration, since many of the buildings were
finished in so hasty and imperfect a manner that under the suc-
ceeding reign they were preserved with difficulty from impending
ruin. But while they displayed the vigor and freshness of youth,
the founder prepared to celebrate the dedication of his city. The
games and largesses which crowned the pomp of this memorable
festival may easily be supposed; but there is one circumstance of
a more singular and permanent nature which ought not entirely
to be overlooked. As often as the birthday of the city returned,
the statue of Constantine, framed by his order, of gilt wood, and
bearing in its right hand a small image of the genius of the
place, was erected on a triumphal car. The guards, carrying
white tapers and clothed in their richest apparel, accompanied the
solemn procession as it moved through the Hippodrome. When
it was opposite to the throne of the reigning emperor, he rose
from his seat, and with grateful reverence adored the memory
of his predecessor. At the festival of the dedication an edict,
engraved on a column of marble, bestowed the title of SECOND
or NEW ROME on the city of Constantine. But the name of Con-
stantinople has prevailed over that honorable epithet, and after
the revolution of fourteen centuries still perpetuates the fame of
its author.
CHARACTER OF CONSTANTINE
THE
HE character of the prince who removed the seat of empire,
and introduced such important changes into the civil and
religious constitution of his country, has fixed the attention
and divided the opinions of mankind. By the grateful zeal of
the Christians, the deliverer of the Church has been decorated
with every attribute of a hero and even of a saint, while the
discontent of the vanquished party has compared Constantine to
the most abhorred of those tyrants who by their vice and weak-
ness dishonored the imperial purple. The same passions have
in some degree been perpetuated to succeeding generations, and
the character of Constantine is considered, even in the present
age, as an object either of satire or of panegyric. By the impar-
tial union of those defects which are confessed by his warmest
admirers, and of those virtues which are acknowledged by his
most implacable enemies, we might hope to delineate a just


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EDWARD GIBBON
6293
portrait of that extraordinary man which the truth and candor
of history should adopt without a blush. But it would soon ap-
pear, that the vain attempt to blend such discordant colors and
to reconcile such inconsistent qualities must produce a figure
monstrous rather than human, unless it is viewed in its proper
and distinct lights, by a careful separation of the different periods
of the reign of Constantine.
The person as well as the mind of Constantine had been
enriched by nature with her choicest endowments. His stature
was lofty, his countenance majestic, his deportment graceful, his
strength and activity were displayed in every manly exercise, and
from his earliest youth to a very advanced season of life he pre-
served the vigor of his constitution by a strict adherence to the
domestic virtues of chastity and temperance. He delighted in
the social intercourse of familiar conversation; and though he
might sometimes indulge his disposition to raillery with less
reserve than was required by the severe dignity of his station,
the courtesy and liberality of his manners gained the hearts of
all who approached him. The sincerity of his friendship has
been suspected; yet he showed on some occasions that he was
not incapable of a warm and lasting attachment. The disadvan-
tage of an illiterate education had not prevented him from form-
ing a just estimate of the value of learning; and the arts and
sciences derived some encouragement from the munificent pro-
tection of Constantine. In the dispatch of business, his dili
gence was indefatigable; and the active powers of his mind were.
almost continually exercised in reading, writing, or meditating,
in giving audience to ambassadors, and in examining the com-
plaints of his subjects. Even those who censured the propriety
of his measures were compelled to acknowledge that he pos-
sessed magnanimity to conceive and patience to execute the
most arduous designs, without being checked either by the preju-
dices of education or by the clamors of the multitude. In the
field he infused his own intrepid spirit into the troops, whom he
conducted with the talents of a consummate general; and to his
abilities, rather than to his fortune, we may ascribe the signal
victories which he obtained over the foreign and domestic foes
of the republic. He loved glory as the reward, perhaps as the
motive, of his labors. The boundless ambition which, from the
moment of his accepting the purple at York, appears as the rul
ing passion of his soul, may be justified by the dangers of his


## p. 6294 (#268) ###########################################

6294
EDWARD GIBBON
own situation, by the character of his rivals, by the consciousness
of superior merit, and by the prospect that his success would
enable him to restore peace and order to the distracted empire.
In his civil wars against Maxentius and Licinius he had engaged
on his side the inclinations of the people, who compared the un-
dissembled vices of those tyrants with the spirit of wisdom and
justice which seemed to direct the general tenor of the adminis-
tration of Constantine.
Had Constantine fallen on the banks of the Tiber, or even in
the plains of Hadrianople, such is the character which, with a few
exceptions, he might have transmitted to posterity. But the con-
clusion of his reign (according to the moderate and indeed ten-
der sentence of a writer of the same age) degraded him from the
rank which he had acquired among the most deserving of the
Roman princes. In the life of Augustus we behold the tyrant
of the republic converted, almost by imperceptible degrees, into
the father of his country and of human kind. In that of Con-
stantine we may contemplate a hero who had so long inspired
his subjects with love and his enemies with terror, degenerating
into a cruel and dissolute monarch, corrupted by his fortune or
raised by conquest above the necessity of dissimulation. The
general peace which he maintained during the last fourteen years
of his reign was a period of apparent splendor rather than of
real prosperity; and the old age of Constantine was disgraced by
the opposite yet reconcilable vices of rapaciousness and prodigal-
ity. The accumulated treasures found in the palaces of Maxen-
tius and Licinius were lavishly consumed; the various innovations
introduced by the conqueror were attended with an increasing
expense; the cost of his buildings, his court, and his festivals
required an immediate and plentiful supply; and the oppression
of the people was the only fund which could support the mag-
nificence of the sovereign. His unworthy favorites, enriched by
the boundless liberality of their master, usurped with impunity
the privilege of rapine and corruption. A secret but universal
decay was felt in every part of the public administration; and
the Emperor himself, though he still retained the obedience,
gradually lost the esteem of his subjects. The dress and man-
ners which towards the decline of life he chose to affect, served
only to degrade him in the eyes of mankind.
The Asiatic pomp
which had been adopted by the pride of Diocletian assumed an
air of softness and effeminacy in the person of Constantine. He is


## p. 6295 (#269) ###########################################

EDWARD GIBBON
6295
represented with false hair of various colors, laboriously arranged
by the skillful artists of the times; a diadem of a new and more
expensive fashion; a profusion of gems and pearls, of collars and
bracelets, and a variegated flowing robe of silk, most curiously
embroidered with flowers of gold. In such apparel, scarcely to
be excused by the youth and folly of Elagabulus, we are at a
loss to discover the wisdom of an aged monarch and the simpli-
city of a Roman veteran. A mind thus relaxed by prosperity and
indulgence was incapable of rising to that magnanimity which
disdains suspicion and dares to forgive. The deaths of Max-
imian and Licinius may perhaps be justified by the maxims of
policy as they are taught in the schools of tyrants; but an im-
partial narrative of the executions, or rather murders, which sul-
lied the declining age of Constantine, will suggest to our most
candid thoughts the idea of a prince who could sacrifice without
reluctance the laws of justice and the feelings of nature, to the
dictates either of his passions or of his interest.
The same fortune which so invariably followed the standard
of Constantine seemed to secure the hopes and comforts of his
domestic life. Those among his predecessors who had enjoyed
the longest and most prosperous reigns, Augustus, Trajan, and
Diocletian, had been disappointed of posterity; and the frequent
revolutions had never allowed sufficient time for any imperial fam-
ily to grow up and multiply under the shade of the purple. But
the royalty of the Flavian line, which had been first ennobled by
the Gothic Claudius, descended through several generations; and
Constantine himself derived from his royal father the hereditary
honors which he transmitted to his children. The Emperor had
been twice married. Minervina, the obscure but lawful object of
his youthful attachment, had left him only one son, who was
called Crispus. By Fausta, the daughter of Maximian, he had
three daughters, and three sons known by the kindred names
of Constantine, Constantius, and Constans. The unambitious
brothers of the great Constantine, Julius Constantius, Dalmatius,
and Hannibalianus, were permitted to enjoy the most honorable
rank and the most affluent fortune that could be consistent with
a private station. The youngest of the three lived without a
name and died without posterity. His two elder brothers ob-
tained in marriage the daughters of wealthy senators, and propa-
gated new branches of the imperial race. Gallus and Julian
afterwards became the most illustrious of the children of Julius


## p. 6296 (#270) ###########################################

6296
EDWARD GIBBON
Constantius the Patrician. The two sons of Dalmatius, who
had been decorated with the vain title of censor, were named
Dalmatius and Hannibalianus. The two sisters of the great
Constantine, Anastasia and Eutropia, were bestowed on Optatus
and Nepotianus, two senators of noble birth and of consular dig-
nity. His third sister, Constantia, was distinguished by her pre-
eminence of greatness and of misery.
She remained the widow
of the vanquished Licinius; and it was by her entreaties that
an innocent boy, the offspring of their marriage, preserved for
some time his life, the title of Cæsar, and a precarious hope of
the succession. Besides the females and the allies of the Fla-
vian house, ten or twelve males to whom the language of modern
courts would apply the title of princes of the blood, seemed,
according to the order of their birth, to be destined either to in-
herit or to support the throne of Constantine. But in less than
thirty years this numerous and increasing family was reduced
to the persons of Constantius and Julian, who alone had survived.
a series of crimes and calamities such as the tragic poets have
deplored in the devoted lines of Pelops and of Cadmus.
DEATH OF JULIAN
W
HILE Julian struggled with the almost insuperable difficul-
ties of his situation, the silent hours of the night were
still devoted to study and contemplation. Whenever he
closed his eyes in short and interrupted slumbers, his mind was
agitated with painful anxiety; nor can it be thought surprising
that the Genius of the Empire should once more appear be-
fore him, covering with a funeral veil his head and his horn of
abundance, and slowly retiring from the imperial tent. The
monarch started from his couch, and stepping forth to refresh
his wearied spirits with the coolness of the midnight air, he be-
held a fiery meteor which shot athwart the sky and suddenly
vanished. Julian was convinced that he had seen the menacing
countenance of the god of war; the council which he summoned
of Tuscan Haruspices unanimously pronounced that he should
abstain from action; but on this occasion necessity and reason
were more prevalent than superstition, and the trumpets sounded.
at the break of day. The army marched through a hilly coun-
try, and the hills had been secretly occupied by the Persians.


## p. 6297 (#271) ###########################################

EDWARD GIBBON
6297
Julian led the van with the skill and attention of a consummate
general; he was alarmed by the intelligence that his rear was
suddenly attacked. The heat of the weather had tempted him
to lay aside his cuirass; but he snatched a shield from one of his
attendants and hastened with a sufficient reinforcement to the
relief of the rear guard. A similar danger recalled the intrepid
prince to the defense of the front; and as he galloped between
the columns, the centre of the left was attacked and almost
overpowered by a furious charge of the Persian cavalry and ele-
phants. This huge body was soon defeated by the well-timed
evolution of the light infantry, who aimed their weapons, with
dexterity and effect, against the backs of the horsemen and the
legs of the elephants. The Barbarians fled; and Julian, who was
foremost in every danger, animated the pursuit with his voice
and gestures.
His trembling guards, scattered and oppressed
by the disorderly throng of friends and enemies, reminded their
fearless sovereign that he was without armor, and conjured him.
to decline the fall of the impending ruin. As they exclaimed, a
cloud of darts and arrows was discharged from the flying squad-
rons; and a javelin, after razing the skin of his arm, transpierced
the ribs and fixed in the inferior part of the liver. Julian at-
tempted to draw the deadly weapon from his side, but his fingers
were cut by the sharpness of the steel, and he fell senseless
from his horse. His guards flew to his relief, and the wounded
Emperor was gently raised from the ground and conveyed out
of the tumult of the battle into an adjacent tent. The report of
the melancholy event passed from rank to rank; but the grief
of the Romans inspired them with invincible valor and the
desire of revenge. The bloody and obstinate conflict was main-
tained by the two armies till they were separated by the total
darkness of the night. The Persians derived some honor from
the advantage which they obtained against the left wing, where
Anatolius, master of the offices, was slain, and the præfect Sal-
lust very narrowly escaped. But the event of the day was
adverse to the Barbarians. They abandoned the field, their two
generals Meranes and Nohordates, fifty nobles or satraps, and
a multitude of their bravest soldiers; and the success of the
Romans, if Julian had survived, might have been improved into
a decisive and useful victory.
The first words that Julian uttered after his recovery from
the fainting fit into which he had been thrown by loss of blood,


## p. 6298 (#272) ###########################################

6298
EDWARD GIBBON
were expressive of his martial spirit. He called for his horse
and arms, and was impatient to rush into the battle.
His re-
maining strength was exhausted by the painful effort, and the
surgeons who examined his wound discovered the symptoms of
approaching death. He employed the awful moments with the
firm temper of a hero and a sage; the philosophers who had
accompanied him in this fatal expedition compared the tent of
Julian with the prison of Socrates; and the spectators whom
duty or friendship or curiosity had assembled round his couch
listened with respectful grief to the funeral oration of their dying
emperor: "Friends and fellow soldiers, the seasonable period of
my departure is now arrived, and I discharge, with the cheerful-
ness of a ready debtor, the demands of nature. I have learned
from philosophy how much the soul is more excellent than the
body; and that the separation of the nobler substance should be
the subject of joy rather than of affliction. I have learned from
religion that an earthly death has often been the reward of piety;
and I accept, as a favor of the gods, the mortal stroke that
secures me from the danger of disgracing a character which has
hitherto been supported by virtue and fortitude. I die without
remorse, as I have lived without guilt. I am pleased to reflect
on the innocence of my private life; and I can affirm with confi-
dence that the supreme authority, that emanation of the Divine
power, has been preserved in my hands pure and immaculate.
Detesting the corrupt and destructive maxims of despotism, I
have considered the happiness of the people as the end of gov-
ernment. Submitting my actions to the laws of prudence, of
justice, and of moderation, I have trusted the event to the care
of Providence. Peace was the object of my counsels as long
as peace was consistent with the public welfare; but when the
imperious voice of my country summoned me to arms, I exposed
my person to the dangers of war with the clear foreknowledge
(which I had acquired from the art of divination) that I was des-
tined to fall by the sword. I now offer my tribute of gratitude
to the Eternal Being, who has not suffered me to perish by the
cruelty of a tyrant, by the secret dagger of conspiracy, or by the
slow tortures of lingering disease. He has given me, in the midst
of an honorable career, a splendid and glorious departure from
this world; and I hold it equally absurd, equally base, to solicit
or to decline the stroke of fate. Thus much I have attempted to
say; but my strength fails me, and I feel the approach of death.
-
!
"
·
"
"1


## p. 6299 (#273) ###########################################

EDWARD GIBBON
6299
I shall cautiously refrain from any word that may tend to influ-
ence your suffrages in the election of an emperor. My choice
might be imprudent or injudicious; and if it should not be rati-
fied by the consent of the army, it might be fatal to the per-
son whom I should recommend. I shall only, as a good citizen,
express my hopes that the Romans may be blessed with the
government of a virtuous sovereign. " After this discourse, which
Julian pronounced in a firm and gentle tone of voice, he distrib-
uted by a military testament the remains of his private fortune;
and making some inquiry why Anatolius was not present, he
understood from the answer of Sallust that Anatolius was killed,
and bewailed with amiable inconsistency the loss of his friend.
At the same time he reproved the immoderate grief of the spec-
tators, and conjured them not to disgrace by unmanly tears the
fate of a prince who in a few moments would be united with
heaven and with the stars. The spectators were silent; and
Julian entered into a metaphysical argument with the philoso-
phers Priscus and Maximus on the nature of the soul. The
efforts which he made, of mind as well as body, most probably
hastened his death. His wound began to bleed with fresh vio-
lence; his respiration was embarrassed by the swelling of the
veins; he called for a draught of cold water, and as soon as he
had drunk it expired without pain, about the hour of midnight.
Such was the end of that extraordinary man, in the thirty-second
year of his age, after a reign of one year and about eight months
from the death of Constantius. In his last moments he displayed,
perhaps with some ostentation, the love of virtue and of fame
which had been the ruling passions of his life.
THE FALL OF ROME
Α΄
T THE hour of midnight the Salarian gate was silently opened,
and the inhabitants were awakened by the tremendous sound
of the Gothic trumpet. Eleven hundred and sixty-three
years after the foundation of Rome, the imperial city which had
subdued and civilized so considerable a part of mankind was
delivered to the licentious fury of the tribes of Germany and
Scythia.
The proclamation of Alaric, when he forced his entrance into
a vanquished city, discovered however some regard for the laws


## p. 6300 (#274) ###########################################

6300
EDWARD GIBBON
of humanity and religion. He encouraged his troops boldly to
seize the rewards of valor, and to enrich themselves with the
spoils of a wealthy and effeminate people; but he exhorted them
at the same time to spare the lives of the unresisting citizens, and
to respect the churches of the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul
as holy and inviolable sanctuaries. Amidst the horrors of a
nocturnal tumult, several of the Christian Goths displayed the
fervor of a recent conversion; and some instances of their un-
common piety and moderation are related, and perhaps adorned,
by the zeal of ecclesiastical writers. While the Barbarians roamed
through the city in quest of prey, the humble dwelling of an
aged virgin who had devoted her life to the service of the altar
was forced open by one of the powerful Goths. He immediately
demanded, though in civil language, all the gold and silver in
her possession; and was astonished at the readiness with which
she conducted him to a splendid hoard of massy plate of the
richest materials and the most curious workmanship. The Bar-
barian viewed with wonder and delight this valuable acquisition,
till he was interrupted by a serious admonition addressed to
him in the following words: "These," said she, "are the conse-
crated vessels belonging to St. Peter; if you presume to touch
them, the sacrilegious deed will remain on your conscience. For
my part, I dare not keep what I am unable to defend. " The
Gothic captain, struck with reverential awe, dispatched a mes-
senger to inform the King of the treasure which he had dis-
covered, and received a peremptory order from Alaric that all
the consecrated plate and ornaments should be transported, with-
out damage or delay, to the church of the Apostle. From the
extremity, perhaps, of the Quirinal hill, to the distant quarter of
the Vatican, a numerous detachment of Goths, marching in order
of battle through the principal streets, protected with glittering
arms the long train of their devout companions, who bore aloft
on their heads the sacred vessels of gold and silver; and the
martial shouts of the Barbarians were mingled with the sound of
religious psalmody. From all the adjacent houses a crowd of
Christians hastened to join this edifying procession; and a multi-
tude of fugitives, without distinction of age, or rank, or even
of sect, had the good fortune to escape to the secure and hospi-
table sanctuary of the Vatican. The learned work 'Concerning
the City of God' was professedly composed by St. Augustine to
justify the ways of Providence in the destruction of the Roman


## p. 6301 (#275) ###########################################

EDWARD GIBBON
6301
greatness. He celebrates with peculiar satisfaction this memo-
rable triumph of Christ, and insults his adversaries by challenging
them to produce some similar example of a town taken by storm,
in which the fabulous gods of antiquity had been able to protect
either themselves or their deluded votaries.
In the sack of Rome, some rare and extraordinary examples
of Barbarian virtue have been deservedly applauded. But the
holy precincts of the Vatican and the Apostolic churches could
receive a very small proportion of the Roman people; many
thousand warriors, more especially of the Huns who served un-
der the standard of Alaric, were strangers to the name, or at
least to the faith, of Christ; and we may suspect without any
breach of charity or candor that in the hour of savage license,
when every passion was inflamed and every restraint was re-
moved, the precepts of the gospel seldom influenced the behav-
ior of the Gothic Christians. The writers the best disposed to
exaggerate their clemency have freely confessed that a cruel
slaughter was made of the Romans, and that the streets of the
city were filled with dead bodies, which remained without burial
during the general consternation. The despair of the citizens was
sometimes converted into fury; and whenever the Barbarians were
provoked by opposition, they extended the promiscuous massacre
to the feeble, the innocent, and the helpless. The private revenge
of forty thousand slaves was exercised without pity or remorse;
and the ignominious lashes which they had formerly received
were washed away in the blood of the guilty or obnoxious fami-
lies. The matrons and virgins of Rome were exposed to inju-
ries more dreadful, in the apprehension of chastity, than death
itself.
·
The want of youth, or beauty, or chastity protected the great-
est part of the Roman women from the danger of a rape. But
avarice is an insatiate and universal passion, since the enjoyment
of almost every object that can afford pleasure to the different
tastes and tempers of mankind may be procured by the posses-
sion of wealth. In the pillage of Rome, a just preference was
given to gold and jewels, which contain the greatest value in
the smallest compass and weight; but after these portable riches
had been removed by the more diligent robbers, the palaces of
Rome were rudely stripped of their splendid and costly furni-
ture. The sideboards of massy plate, and the variegated ward-
robes of silk and purple, were irregularly piled in the wagons


## p. 6302 (#276) ###########################################

6302
EDWARD GIBBON
that always followed the march of a Gothic army. The most
exquisite works of art were roughly handled or wantonly de-
stroyed; many a statue was melted for the sake of the precious
materials; and many a vase, in the division of the spoil, was
shivered into fragments by the stroke of a battle-axe. The ac-
quisition of riches served only to stimulate the avarice of the
rapacious Barbarians, who proceeded by threats, by blows, and by
tortures, to force from their prisoners the confession of hidden
treasure. Visible splendor and expense were alleged as the
proof of a plentiful fortune; the appearance of poverty was im-
puted to a parsimonious disposition; and the obstinacy of some
misers, who endured the most cruel torments before they would
discover the secret object of their affection, was fatal to many
unhappy wretches, who expired under the lash for refusing to
reveal their imaginary treasures. The edifices of Rome, though
the damage has been much exaggerated, received some injury
from the violence of the Goths. At their entrance through the
Salarian gate, they fired the adjacent houses to guide their
march and to distract the attention of the citizens; the flames,
which encountered no obstacle in the disorder of the night, con-
sumed many private and public buildings; and the ruins of the
palace of Sallust remained, in the age of Justinian, a stately
monument of the Gothic conflagration. Yet a contemporary his-
torian has observed that fire could scarcely consume the enor-
mous beams of solid brass, and that the strength of man was
insufficient to subvert the foundations of ancient structures.
Some truth may possibly be concealed in his devout assertion
that the wrath of Heaven supplied the imperfections of hostile
rage, and that the proud Forum of Rome, decorated with the
statues of so many gods and heroes, was leveled in the dust by
the stroke of lightning.
It was not easy to compute the multitudes who, from an
honorable station and a prosperous future, were suddenly reduced
to the miserable condition of captives and exiles.
The
nations who invaded the Roman empire had driven before them
into Italy whole troops of hungry and affrighted provincials,
less apprehensive of servitude than of famine. The calamities
of Rome and Italy dispersed the inhabitants to the most lonely,
the most secure, the most distant places of refuge.
The
Italian fugitives were dispersed through the provinces, along the
coast of Egypt and Asia, as far as Constantinople and Jerusalem;
•


## p. 6303 (#277) ###########################################

EDWARD GIBBON
6303
and the village of Bethlem, the solitary residence of St. Jerom
and his female converts, was crowded with illustrious beggars
of either sex and every age, who excited the public compassion
by the remembrance of their past fortune. This awful catas-
trophe of Rome filled the astonished empire with grief and
terror. So interesting a contrast of greatness and ruin disposed
the fond credulity of the people to deplore, and even to exag-
gerate, the afflictions of the queen of cities. The clergy, who
applied to recent events the lofty metaphors of Oriental proph-
ecy, were sometimes tempted to confound the destruction of the
capital and the dissolution of the globe.
SILK
I
NEED not explain that silk is originally spun from the bowels
of a caterpillar, and that it composes the golden tomb from
whence a worm emerges in the form of a butterfly. Till the
reign of Justinian, the silkworms who feed on the leaves of the
white mulberry-tree were confined to China; those of the pine,
the oak, and the ash were common in the forests both of Asia
and Europe: but as their education is more difficult, and their
produce more uncertain, they were generally neglected, except
in the little island of Ceos, near the coast of Attica. A thin
gauze was procured from their webs, and this Cean manufacture,
the invention of a woman, for female use, was long admired
both in the East and at Rome. Whatever suspicions may be
raised by the garments of the Medes and Assyrians, Virgil is
the most ancient writer who expressly mentions the soft wool
which was combed from the trees of the Seres or Chinese; and
this natural error, less marvelous than the truth, was slowly
corrected by the knowledge of a valuable insect, the first artifi-
cer of the luxury of nations. That rare and elegant luxury
was censured, in the reign of Tiberius, by the gravest of the
Romans; and Pliny, in affected though forcible language, has
condemned the thirst of gain which explores the last confines of
the earth for the pernicious purpose of exposing to the public
eye naked draperies and transparent matrons. A dress which
showed the turn of the limbs, the color of the skin, might grat-
ify vanity or provoke desire; the silks which had been closely
woven in China were sometimes unraveled by the Phoenician


## p. 6304 (#278) ###########################################

6304
EDWARD GIBBON
women, and the precious materials were multiplied by a looser
texture and the intermixture of linen threads. Two hundred
years after the age of Pliny the use of pure or even of mixed
silks was confined to the female sex, till the opulent citizens of
Rome and the provinces were insensibly familiarized with the
example of Elagabalus, the first who, by this effeminate habit,
had sullied the dignity of an emperor and a man. Aurelian
complained that a pound of silk was sold at Rome for twelve
ounces of gold; but the supply increased with the demand, and
the price diminished with the supply. If accident or monopoly
sometimes raised the value even above the standard of Aurelian,
the manufacturers of Tyre and Berytus were sometimes com-
pelled, by the operation of the same causes, to content them-
selves with a ninth part of that extravagant rate. A law was
thought necessary to discriminate the dress of comedians from
that of senators; and of the silk exported from its native country
the far greater part was consumed by the subjects of Justinian.
They were still more intimately acquainted with a shell-fish of
the Mediterranean, surnamed the silkworm of the sea: the fine
wool or hair by which the mother-of-pearl affixes itself to the
rock is now manufactured for curiosity rather than use; and a
robe obtained from the same singular materials was the gift of
the Roman Emperor to the satraps of Armenia.
A valuable merchandise of small bulk is capable of defraying
the expense of land carriage; and the caravans traversed the
whole latitude of Asia in two hundred and forty-three days from
the Chinese Ocean to the sea-coast of Syria. Silk was immedi-
ately delivered to the Romans by the Persian merchants who fre-
quented the fairs of Armenia and Nisibis; but this trade, which
in the intervals of truce was oppressed by avarice and jealousy,
was totally interrupted by the long wars of the rival monarch-
ies. The great king might proudly number Sogdiana, and even
Serica, among the provinces of his empire: but his real dominion
was bounded by the Oxus; and his useful intercourse with the
Sogdoites beyond the river depended on the pleasure of their
conquerors the white Huns, and the Turks, who successively
reigned over that industrious people. Yet the most savage domin-
ion has not extirpated the seeds of agriculture and commerce,
in a region which is celebrated as one of the four gardens of
Asia; the cities of Samarcand and Bochara are advantageously
seated for the exchange of its various productions; and their


## p. 6305 (#279) ###########################################

EDWARD GIBBON
6305
merchants purchased from the Chinese the raw or manufactured
silk which they transported into Persia for the use of the Roman
Empire. In the vain capital of China, the Sogdian caravans were
entertained as the suppliant embassies of tributary kingdoms;
and if they returned in safety, the bold adventure was rewarded
with exorbitant gain. But the difficult and perilous march from
Samarcand to the first town of Shensi could not be performed
in less than sixty, eighty, or one hundred days: as soon as they
had passed the Jaxartes they entered the desert; and the wan-
dering hordes, unless they are restrained by armies and garri-
sons, have always considered the citizen and the traveler as the
objects of lawful rapine. To escape the Tartar robbers and the
tyrants of Persia, the silk caravans explored a more southern
road; they traversed the mountains of Thibet, descended the
streams of the Ganges or the Indus, and patiently expected, in
the ports of Guzerat and Malabar, the annual fleets of the West.
But the dangers of the desert were found less intolerable than
toil, hunger, and the loss of time; the attempt was seldom re-
newed, and the only European who has passed that unfrequented
way applauds his own diligence, that in nine months after his
departure from Pekin, he reached the mouth of the Indus. The
ocean, however, was open to the free communication of man-
kind. From the great river to the tropic of Cancer, the prov-
inces of China were subdued and civilized by the emperors of
the North; they were filled about the time of the Christian era
with cities and men, mulberry-trees and their precious inhab-
itants; and if the Chinese, with the knowledge of the compass,
had possessed the genius of the Greeks or Phoenicians, they
might have spread their discoveries over the southern hemisphere.
I am not qualified to examine, and I am not disposed to believe,
their distant voyages to the Persian Gulf or the Cape of Good
Hope; but their ancestors might equal the labors and success
of the present race, and the sphere of their navigation might
extend from the Isles of Japan to the Straits of Malacca,—the pil-
lars, if we may apply that name, of an Oriental Hercules. With-
out losing sight of land, they might sail along the coast to the
extreme promontory of Achin, which is annually visited by ten
or twelve ships laden with the productions, the manufactures,
and even the artificers of China; the Island of Sumatra and the
opposite peninsula are faintly delineated as the regions of gold
and silver; and the trading cities named in the geography of
1
IX-395


## p. 6306 (#280) ###########################################

6306
EDWARD GIBBON
Ptolemy may indicate that this wealth was not solely derived
from the mines. The direct interval between Sumatra and Cey-
lon is about three hundred leagues: the Chinese and Indian navi-
gators were conducted by the flight of birds and periodical winds;
and the ocean might be securely traversed in square-built ships,
which instead of iron were sewed together with the strong
thread of the cocoanut. Ceylon, Serendib, or Taprobana, was
divided between two hostile princes; one of whom possessed the
mountains, the elephants, and the luminous carbuncle, and the
other enjoyed the more solid riches of domestic industry, foreign
trade, and the capacious harbor of Trinquemale, which received
and dismissed the fleets of the East and West. In this hospita-
ble isle, at an equal distance (as it was computed) from their
respective countries, the silk merchants of China, who had col-
lected in their voyages aloes, cloves, nutmeg, and sandal-wood,
maintained a free and beneficial commerce with the inhabitants
of the Persian Gulf. The subjects of the great king exalted,
without a rival, his power and magnificence; and the Roman, who
confounded their vanity by comparing his paltry coin with a gold
medal of the Emperor Anastasius, had sailed to Ceylon in an
Ethiopian ship as a simple passenger.
As silk became of indispensable use, the Emperor Justinian
saw with concern that the Persians had occupied by land and sea
the monopoly of this important supply, and that the wealth of
his subjects was continually drained by a nation of enemies and
idolaters. An active government would have restored the trade
of Egypt and the navigation of the Red Sea, which had decayed
with the prosperity of the empire; and the Roman vessels might
have sailed, for the purchase of silk, to the ports of Ceylon, of
Malacca, or even of China. Justinian embraced a more hum-
ble expedient, and solicited the aid of his Christian allies, the
Æthiopians of Abyssinia, who had recently acquired the arts of
navigation, the spirit of trade, and the seaport of Adulis, still
decorated with the trophies of a Grecian conqueror. Along the
African coast they penetrated to the Equator in search of gold,
emeralds, and aromatics; but they wisely declined an unequal
competition, in which they must be always prevented by the vi-
cinity of the Persians to the markets of India; and the Emperor
submitted to the disappointment till his wishes were gratified
by an unexpected event. The gospel had been preached to the
Indians; a bishop already governed the Christians of St. Thomas


## p. 6307 (#281) ###########################################

EDWARD GIBBON
6307
on the pepper coast of Malabar; a church was planted in Ceylon,
and the missionaries pursued the footsteps of commerce to the
extremities of Asia. Two Persian monks had long resided in
China, perhaps in the royal city of Nankin, the seat of a mon-
arch addicted to foreign superstitions, and who actually received
an embassy from the Isle of Ceylon. Amidst their pious occupa-
tions they viewed with a curious eye the common dress of the
Chinese, the manufactures of silk, and the myriads of silkworms,
whose education (either on trees or in houses) had once been
considered as the labor of queens. They soon discovered that it
was impracticable to transport the short-lived insect, but that in
the eggs a numerous progeny might be preserved and multi-
plied in a distant climate. Religion or interest had more power
over the Persian monks than the love of their country: after a
long journey they arrived at Constantinople, imparted their pro-
ject to the Emperor, and were liberally encouraged by the gifts
and promises of Justinian. To the historians of that prince, a
campaign at the foot of Mount Caucasus has seemed more de-
serving of a minute relation than the labors of these missionaries
of commerce, who again entered China, deceived a jealous peo-
ple by concealing the eggs of the silkworm in a hollow cane,
and returned in triumph with the spoils of the East. Under
their direction the eggs were hatched at the proper season by
the artificial heat of dung; the worms were fed with mulberry
leaves; they lived and labored in a foreign climate; a sufficient
number of butterflies were saved to propagate the race, and trees
were planted to supply the nourishment of the rising genera-
tions. Experience and reflection corrected the errors of a new
attempt, and the Sogdoite ambassadors acknowledged in the suc-
ceeding reign that the Romans were not inferior to the natives
of China in the education of the insects and the manufactures
of silk, in which both China and Constantinople have been sur-
passed by the industry of modern Europe. I am not insensible
of the benefits of elegant luxury; yet I reflect with some pain
that if the importers of silk had introduced the art of printing,
already practiced by the Chinese, the comedies of Menander and
the entire decades of Livy would have been perpetuated in the
editions of the sixth century.


## p. 6308 (#282) ###########################################

6308
EDWARD GIBBON
MAHOMET'S DEATH AND CHARACTER
ILL the age of sixty-three years, the strength of Mahomet was
equal to the temporal and spiritual fatigues of his mission.
His epileptic fits, an absurd calumny of the Greeks, would
be an object of pity rather than abhorrence; but he seriously
believed that he was poisoned at Chaibar by the revenge of a
Jewish female. During four years the health of the prophet
declined; his infirmities increased; but his mortal disease was a
fever of fourteen days which deprived him by intervals of the
use of reason. As soon as he was conscious of his danger, he
edified his brethren by the humility of his virtue or penitence.
"If there be any man," said the apostle from the pulpit, "whom
I have unjustly scourged, I submit my own back to the lash of
retaliation. Have I aspersed the reputation of a Mussulman ? let
him proclaim my thoughts in the face of the congregation. Has
any one been despoiled of his goods? the little that I possess shall
compensate the principal and the interest of the debt. " "Yes,"
replied a voice from the crowd, "I am entitled to three drams of
silver. " Mahomet heard the complaint, satisfied the demand, and
thanked his creditor for accusing him in this world rather than
at the day of judgment. He beheld with temperate firmness the
approach of death; enfranchised his slaves (seventeen men, as
they are named, and eleven women), minutely directed the order
of his funeral, and moderated the lamentations of his weeping
friends, on whom he bestowed the benediction of peace. Till the
third day before his death, he regularly performed the function
of public prayer: the choice of Abubeker to supply his place
appeared to mark that ancient and faithful friend as his successor
in the sacerdotal and regal office; but he prudently declined the
risk and envy of a more explicit nomination. At a moment when
his faculties were visibly impaired, he called for pen and ink to
write, or more properly, to dictate, a Divine book, the sum and
accomplishment of all his revelations: a dispute arose in the
chamber whether he should be allowed to supersede the authority
of the Koran, and the prophet was forced to reprove the inde-
cent vehemence of his disciples. If the slightest credit may be
afforded to the traditions of his wives and companions, he main-
tained, in the bosom of his family, and to the last moments of
his life, the dignity of an apostle and the faith of an enthusiast;
described the visits of Gabriel, who bade an everlasting farewell


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EDWARD GIBBON
6309
to the earth, and expressed his lively confidence not only of the
mercy but of the favor of the Supreme Being. In a familiar
discourse he had mentioned his special prerogative, that the
angel of death was not allowed to take his soul till he had re-
spectfully asked the permission of the prophet. The request was
granted; and Mahomet immediately fell into the agony of his
dissolution: his head was reclined on the lap of Ayesha, the
best beloved of all his wives; he fainted with the violence of
pain; recovering his spirits, he raised his eyes towards the roof
of the house, and with a steady look, though a faltering voice,
uttered the last broken though articulate words:-"O God! .
pardon my sins .
Yes . . I come
among my
fellow-citizens on high;" and thus peaceably expired on a car-
pet spread upon the floor. An expedition for the conquest of
Syria was stopped by this mournful event: the army halted at
the gates of Medina, the chiefs were assembled round their dying
master. The city, more especially the house, of the prophet, was
a scene of clamorous sorrow or silent despair: fanaticism alone
could suggest a ray of hope and consolation. "How can he be
dead- our witness, our intercessor, our mediator with God? By
God, he is not dead: like Moses and Jesus, he is wrapped in a
holy trance, and speedily will he return to his faithful people. "
The evidence of sense was disregarded, and Omar, unsheathing
his cimeter, threatened to strike off the heads of the infidels who
should dare to affirm that the prophet was no more. The tumult
was appeased by the weight and moderation of Abubeker. "Is it
Mahomet," said he to Omar and the multitude, "or the God of
Mahomet, whom you worship? The God of Mahomet liveth for-
ever; but the apostle was a mortal like ourselves, and according
to his own prediction, he has experienced the common fate of
mortality. " He was piously interred by the hands of his nearest
kinsman, on the same spot on which he expired. Medina has
been sanctified by the death and burial of Mahomet, and the
innumerable pilgrims of Mecca often turn aside from the way,
to bow in voluntary devotion before the simple tomb of the
prophet.
At the conclusion of the life of Mahomet it may perhaps be
expected that I should balance his faults and virtues, that I
should decide whether the title of enthusiast or impostor more
properly belongs to that extraordinary man. Had I been inti-
mately conversant with the son of Abdallah, the task would still
-


## p. 6310 (#284) ###########################################

6310
EDWARD GIBBON
be difficult and the success uncertain: at the distance of twelve
centuries, I darkly contemplate his shade through a cloud of
religious incense; and could I truly delineate the portrait of an
hour, the fleeting resemblance would not equally apply to the
solitary of Mount Hera, to the preacher of Mecca, and to the
conqueror of Arabia. The author of a mighty revolution appears
to have been endowed with a pious and contemplative disposition;
so soon as marriage had raised him above the pressure of want,
he avoided the paths of ambition and avarice; and till the age of
forty he lived with innocence, and would have died without a
name. The unity of God is an idea most congenial to nature
and reason; and a slight conversation with the Jews and Christ-
ians would teach him to despise and detest the idolatry of Mecca.
It was the duty of a man and a citizen to impart the doctrine of
salvation, to rescue his country from the dominion of sin and
error. The energy of a mind incessantly bent on the same
object would convert a general obligation into a particular call;
the warm suggestions of the understanding or the fancy would
be felt as the inspirations of Heaven; the labor of thought would
expire in rapture and vision; and the inward sensation, the invis-
ible monitor, would be described with the form and attributes of
an angel of God. From enthusiasm to imposture the step is
perilous and slippery: the dæmon of Socrates affords a memora-
ble instance how a wise man may deceive himself, how a good
man may deceive others, how the conscience may slumber in a
mixed and middle state between self-illusion and voluntary fraud.
Charity may believe that the original motives of Mahomet were
those of pure and genuine benevolence; but a human missionary
is incapable of cherishing the obstinate unbelievers who reject his
claims, despise his arguments, and persecute his life; he might
forgive his personal adversaries, he may lawfully hate the ene-
mies of God; the stern passions of pride and revenge were
kindled in the bosom of Mahomet, and he sighed, like the
prophet of Nineveh, for the destruction of the rebels whom he
had condemned. The injustice of Mecca and the choice of Me-
dina transformed the citizen into a prince, the humble preacher
into the leader of armies; but his sword was consecrated by the
example of the saints, and the same God who afflicts a sinful
world with pestilence and earthquakes might inspire for their con-
version or chastisement the valor of his servants. In the exercise
of political government, he was compelled to abate of the stern


## p. 6311 (#285) ###########################################

EDWARD GIBBON
6311
rigor of fanaticism, to comply in some measure with the preju-
dices and passions of his followers, and to employ even the vices
of mankind as the instruments of their salvation. The use of
fraud and perfidy, of cruelty and injustice, were often subservient
to the propagation of the faith; and Mahomet commanded or
approved the assassination of the Jews and idolaters who had
escaped from the field of battle. By the repetition of such acts
the character of Mahomet must have been gradually stained; and
the influence of such pernicious habits would be poorly compen-
sated by the practice of the personal and social virtues which
are necessary to maintain the reputation of a prophet among his
sectaries and friends. Of his last years, ambition was the ruling
passion; and a politician will suspect that he secretly smiled (the
victorious impostor! ) at the enthusiasm of his youth and the
credulity of his proselytes. A philosopher will observe that their
credulity and his success would tend more strongly to fortify the
assurance of his Divine mission; that his interest and religion were
inseparately connected; and that his conscience would be soothed
by the persuasion that he alone was absolved by the Deity from
the obligation of positive and moral laws. If he retained any
vestige of his native innocence, the sins of Mahomet may be
allowed as an evidence of his sincerity. In the support of truth,
the arts of fraud and fiction may be deemed less criminal; and he
would have started at the foulness of the means, had he not
been satisfied of the importance and justice of the end. Even in
a conqueror or a priest, I can surprise a word or action of un-
affected humanity; and the decree of Mahomet that in the sale.
of captives the mothers should never be separated from their
children, may suspend or moderate the censure of the historian.
The good sense of Mahomet despised the pomp of royalty; the
apostle of God submitted to the menial offices of the family; he
kindled the fire, swept the floor, milked the ewes, and mended
with his own hands his shoes and his woolen garment.