Butthisargument—one，whenconfinedwithinreasonablelimits，ofunanswerableforce—becomesmorefeebleanddisputableinproportionasitrecedesfromthebirthplace，asitwere，ofthereligion。ThefurtherChristianityadvanced，themorecausespurelyhumanwereenlistedinitsfavor；norcanitbedoubtedthatthosedevelopedwithsuchartfulexclusivenessbyGibbondidconcurmostessentiallytoitsestablishment。ItisintheChristiandispensation，asinthematerialworld。InbothitisasthegreatFirstCause，thattheDeityismostundeniablymanifest。Whenoncelaunchedinregularmotionuponthebosomofspace，andendowedwithalltheirpropertiesandrelationsofweightandmutualattraction，theheavenlybodiesappeartopursuetheircoursesaccordingtosecondarylaws，whichaccountforalltheirsublimeregularity。SoChristianityproclaimsitsDivineAuthorchieflyinitsfirstoriginanddevelopment。Whenithadoncereceiveditsimpulsefromabove—whenithadoncebeeninfusedintothemindsofitsfirstteachers—whenithadgainedfullpossessionofthereasonandaffectionsofthefavoredfew—itmightbe—andtotheProtestant，therationaChristian，itisimpossibletodefinewhenitreallywas—lefttomakeitswaybyitsnativeforce，undertheordinarysecretagenciesofall—rulingProvidence。Themainquestion，thedivineoriginofthereligion，wasdexterouslyeluded，orspeciouslyconcededbyGibbon；hisplanenabledhimtocommencehisaccount，inmostparts，belowtheapostolictimes；anditwasonlybythestrengthofthedarkcoloringwithwhichhebroughtoutthefailingsandthefolliesofthesucceedingages，thatashadowofdoubtandsuspicionwasthrownbackupontheprimitiveperiodofChristianity。
"Thetheologian，"saysGibbon，"mayindulgethepleasingtaskofdescribingreligionasshedescendedfromheaven，arrayedinhernativepurity；amoremelancholydutyisimposeduponthehistorian:—hemustdiscovertheinevitablemixtureoferrorandcorruptionwhichshecontractedinalongresidenceuponearthamongaweakanddegenerateraceofbeings。"Divestthispassageofthelatentsarcasmbetrayedbythesubsequenttoneofthewholedisquisition，anditmightcommenceaChristianhistorywritteninthemostChristianspiritofcandor。Butasthehistorian，byseemingtorespect，yetbydexterouslyconfoundingthelimitsofthesacredland，contrivedtoinsinuatethatitwasanUtopiawhichhadnoexistencebutintheimaginationofthetheologian—ashesuggestedratherthanaffirmedthatthedaysofChristianpuritywereakindofpoeticgoldenage；—sothetheologian，byventuringtoofarintothedomainofthehistorian，hasbeenperpetuallyobligedtocontestpointsonwhichhehadlittlechanceofvictory—todenyfactsestablishedonunshakenevidence—andthence，toretire，ifnotwiththeshameofdefeat，yetwithbutdoubtfulandimperfectsuccess。
Paley，withhisintuitivesagacity，sawthroughthedifficultyofansweringGibbonbytheordinaryartsofcontroversy；hisemphaticsentence，"Whocanrefuteasneer?"
containsasmuchtruthaspoint。Butfullandpregnantasthisphraseis，itisnotquitethewholetruth；itisthetoneinwhichtheprogressofChristianityistraced，incomparisonwiththerestofthesplendidandprodigallyornamentedwork，whichistheradicaldefectinthe"DeclineandFall。"ChristianityalonereceivesnoembellishmentfromthemagicofGibbon'slanguage；
hisimaginationisdeadtoitsmoraldignity；itiskeptdownbyageneralzoneofjealousdisparagement，orneutralizedbyapainfullyelaborateexpositionofitsdarkeranddegenerateperiods。Thereareoccasions，indeed，whenitspureandexaltedhumanity，whenitsmanifestlybeneficialinfluence，cancompelevenhim，asitwere，tofairness，andkindlehisunguardedeloquencetoitsusualfervor；but，ingeneral，hesoonrelapsesintoafrigidapathy；affectsanostentatiouslysevereimpartiality；notesallthefaultsofChristiansineveryagewithbitterandalmostmalignantsarcasm；reluctantly，andwithexceptionandreservation，admitstheirclaimtoadmiration。
Thisinextricablebiasappearseventoinfluencehismannerofcomposition。WhilealltheotherassailantsoftheRomanempire，whetherwarlikeorreligious，theGoth，theHun，theArab，theTartar，AlaricandAttila，Mahomet，andZengis，andTamerlane，areeachintroduceduponthescenealmostwithdramaticanimation—theirprogressrelatedinafull，complete，andunbrokennarrative—thetriumphofChristianityalonetakestheformofacoldandcriticaldisquisition。Thesuccessesofbarbarousenergyandbruteforcecallforthalltheconsummateskillofcomposition；whilethemoraltriumphsofChristianbenevolence—
thetranquilheroismofendurance，theblamelesspurity，thecontemptofguiltyfameandofhonorsdestructivetothehumanrace，which，hadtheyassumedtheproudnameofphilosophy，wouldhavebeenblazonedinhisbrightestwords，becausetheyownreligionastheirprinciple—sinkintonarrowasceticism。ThegloriesofChristianity，inshort，touchonnochordintheheartofthewriter；hisimaginationremainsunkindled；hiswords，thoughtheymaintaintheirstatelyandmeasuredmarch，havebecomecool，argumentative，andinanimate。WhowouldobscureonehueofthatgorgeouscoloringinwhichGibbonhasinvestedthedyingformsofPaganism，ordarkenoneparagraphinhissplendidviewoftheriseandprogressofMahometanism?ButwhowouldnothavewishedthatthesameequaljusticehadbeendonetoChristianity；thatitsrealcharacteranddeeplypenetratinginfluencehadbeentracedwiththesamephilosophicalsagacity，andrepresentedwithmoresober，aswouldbecomeitsquietcourse，andperhapslesspicturesque，butstillwithlivelyandattractive，descriptiveness?Hemighthavethrownaside，withthesamescorn，themassofecclesiasticalfictionwhichenvelopstheearlyhistoryofthechurch，strippedoffthelegendaryromance，andbroughtoutthefactsintheirprimitivenakednessandsimplicity—ifhehadbutallowedthosefactsthebenefitoftheglowingeloquencewhichhedeniedtothemalone。Hemighthaveannihilatedthewholefabricofpost—apostolicmiracles，ifhehadleftuninjuredbysarcasticinsinuationthoseoftheNewTestament；hemighthavecashiered，withDodwell，thewholehostofmartyrs，whichowetheirexistencetotheprodigalinventionoflaterdays，hadhebutbestowedfairroom，anddweltwithhisordinaryenergyonthesufferingsofthegenuinewitnessestothetruthofChristianity，thePolycarps，orthemartyrsofVienne。
Andindeed，if，afterall，theviewoftheearlyprogressofChristianitybemelancholyandhumiliatingwemustbewarelestwechargethewholeofthisontheinfidelityofthehistorian。Itisidle，itisdisingenuous，todenyortodissembletheearlydepravationsofChristianity，itsgradualbutrapiddeparturefromitsprimitivesimplicityandpurity，stillmore，fromitsspiritofuniversallove。ItmaybenounsalutarylessontotheChristianworld，thatthissilent，thisunavoidable，perhaps，yetfatalchangeshallhavebeendrawnbyanimpartial，orevenanhostilehand。TheChristianityofeveryagemaytakewarning，lestbyitsownnarrowviews，itswantofwisdom，anditswantofcharity，itgivethesameadvantagetothefutureunfriendlyhistorian，anddisparagethecauseoftruereligion。
Thedesignofthepresenteditionispartlycorrective，partlysupplementary:corrective，bynotes，whichpointoutitishoped，inaperfectlycandidanddispassionatespiritwithnodesirebuttoestablishthetruthsuchinaccuraciesormisstatementsasmayhavebeendetected，particularlywithregardtoChristianity；andwhichthus，withthepreviouscaution，maycounteracttoaconsiderableextenttheunfairandunfavorableimpressioncreatedagainstrationalreligion:supplementary，byaddingsuchadditionalinformationastheeditor'sreadingmayhavebeenabletofurnish，fromoriginaldocumentsorbooks，notaccessibleatthetimewhenGibbonwrote。
Theworkoriginatedintheeditor'shabitofnotingonthemarginofhiscopyofGibbonreferencestosuchauthorsashaddiscoverederrors，orthrownnewlightonthesubjectstreatedbyGibbon。Thesehadgrowntosomeextent，andseemedtohimlikelytobeofusetoothers。TheannotationsofM。GuizotalsoappearedtohimworthyofbeingbetterknowntotheEnglishpublicthantheywerelikelytobe，asappendedtotheFrenchtranslation。
Thechiefworksfromwhichtheeditorhasderivedhismaterialsare，I。TheFrenchtranslation，withnotesbyM。
Guizot；2dedition，Paris，1828。TheeditorhastranslatedalmostallthenotesofM。Guizot。Wherehehasnotaltogetheragreedwithhim，hisrespectforthelearningandjudgmentofthatwriterhas，ingeneral，inducedhimtoretainthestatementfromwhichhehasventuredtodiffer，withthegroundsonwhichheformedhisownopinion。InthenotesonChristianity，hehasretainedallthoseofM。Guizot，withhisown，fromtheconviction，thatonsuchasubject，tomany，theauthorityofaFrenchstatesman，aProtestant，andarationalandsincereChristian，wouldappearmoreindependentandunbiassed，andthereforebemorecommanding，thanthatofanEnglishclergyman。
TheeditorhasnotscrupledtotransferthenotesofM。
Guizottothepresentwork。Thewell—known??ealforknowledge，displayedinallthewritingsofthatdistinguishedhistorian，hasledtothenaturalinference，thathewouldnotbedispleasedattheattempttomakethemofusetotheEnglishreadersofGibbon。ThenotesofM。GuizotaresignedwiththeletterG。
II。TheGermantranslation，withthenotesofWenck。
Unfortunatelythislearnedtranslatordied，afterhavingcompletedonlythefirstvolume；therestoftheworkwasexecutedbyaveryinferiorhand。
ThenotesofWenckareextremelyvaluable；manyofthemhavebeenadoptedbyM。Guizot；theyaredistinguishedbytheletterW。
[Footnote*:TheeditorregretsthathehasnotbeenabletofindtheItaliantranslation，mentionedbyGibbonhimselfwithsomerespect。Itisnotinourgreatlibraries，theMuseumortheBodleian；andhehasneverfoundanybooksellerinLondonwhohasseenit。]
III。TheneweditionofLeBeau's"HistoireduBasEmpire，withnotesbyM。St。Martin，andM。Brosset。"ThatdistinguishedArmenianscholar，M。St。Martinnow，unhappily，deceasedhadaddedmuchinformationfromOrientalwriters，particularlyfromthoseofArmenia，aswellasfrommoregeneralsources。ManyofhisobservationshavebeenfoundasapplicabletotheworkofGibbonastothatofLeBeau。
IV。TheeditorhasconsultedthevariousanswersmadetoGibbononthefirstappearanceofhiswork；hemustconfess，withlittleprofit。Theywere，ingeneral，hastilycompiledbyinferiorandnowforgottenwriters，withtheexceptionofBishopWatson，whoseableapologyisratherageneralargument，thananexaminationofmisstatements。ThenameofMilnerstandshigherwithacertainclassofreaders，butwillnotcarrymuchweightwiththesevereinvestigatorofhistory。
V。Somefewclassicalworksandfragmentshavecometolight，sincetheappearanceofGibbon'sHistory，andhavebeennoticedintheirrespectiveplaces；andmuchusehasbeenmade，inthelattervolumesparticularly，oftheincreasetoourstoresofOrientalliterature。Theeditorcannot，indeed，pretendtohavefollowedhisauthor，inthesegleanings，overthewholevastfieldofhisinquiries；hemayhaveoverlookedormaynothavebeenabletocommandsomeworks，whichmighthavethrownstillfurtherlightonthesesubjects；buthetruststhatwhathehasadducedwillbeofusetothestudentofhistorictruth。
Theeditorwouldfurtherobserve，thatwithregardtosomeotherobjectionablepassages，whichdonotinvolvemisstatementorinaccuracy，hehasintentionallyabstainedfromdirectingparticularattentiontowardsthembyanyspecialprotest。
Theeditor'snotesaremarkedM。
Aconsiderablepartofthequotationssomeofwhichinthelatereditionshadfallenintogreatconfusionhavebeenverified，andhavebeencorrectedbythelatestandbesteditionsoftheauthors。
June，1845。
Inthisnewedition，thetextandthenoteshavebeencarefullyrevised，thelatterbytheeditor。
Someadditionalnoteshavebeensubjoined，distinguishedbythesignatureM。1845。
PrefaceOfTheAuthor。
Itisnotmyintentiontodetainthereaderbyexpatiatingonthevarietyortheimportanceofthesubject，whichIhaveundertakentotreat；sincethemeritofthechoicewouldservetorendertheweaknessoftheexecutionstillmoreapparent，andstilllessexcusable。ButasIhavepresumedtolaybeforethepublicafirstvolumeonly^1oftheHistoryoftheDeclineandFalloftheRomanEmpire，itwill，perhaps，beexpectedthatI
shouldexplain，inafewwords，thenatureandlimitsofmygeneralplan。
[Footnote1:Thefirstvolumeofthequarto，whichcontainedthesixteenfirstchapters。]
Thememorableseriesofrevolutions，whichinthecourseofaboutthirteencenturiesgraduallyundermined，andatlengthdestroyed，thesolidfabricofhumangreatness，may，withsomepropriety，bedividedintothethreefollowingperiods:
I。ThefirstoftheseperiodsmaybetracedfromtheageofTrajanandtheAntonines，whentheRomanmonarchy，havingattaineditsfullstrengthandmaturity，begantovergetowardsitsdecline；andwillextendtothesubversionoftheWesternEmpire，bythebarbariansofGermanyandScythia，therudeancestorsofthemostpolishednationsofmodernEurope。Thisextraordinaryrevolution，whichsubjectedRometothepowerofaGothicconqueror，wascompletedaboutthebeginningofthesixthcentury。
II。ThesecondperiodoftheDeclineandFallofRomemaybesupposedtocommencewiththereignofJustinian，who，byhislaws，aswellasbyhisvictories，restoredatransientsplendortotheEasternEmpire。ItwillcomprehendtheinvasionofItalybytheLombards；theconquestoftheAsiaticandAfricanprovincesbytheArabs，whoembracedthereligionofMahomet；therevoltoftheRomanpeopleagainstthefeebleprincesofConstantinople；andtheelevationofCharlemagne，who，intheyeareighthundred，establishedthesecond，orGermanEmpireoftheWestIII。Thelastandlongestoftheseperiodsincludesaboutsixcenturiesandahalf；fromtherevivaloftheWesternEmpire，tillthetakingofConstantinoplebytheTurks，andtheextinctionofadegenerateraceofprinces，whocontinuedtoassumethetitlesofCaesarandAugustus，aftertheirdominionswerecontractedtothelimitsofasinglecity；inwhichthelanguage，aswellasmanners，oftheancientRomans，hadbeenlongsinceforgotten。Thewriterwhoshouldundertaketorelatetheeventsofthisperiod，wouldfindhimselfobligedtoenterintothegeneralhistoryoftheCrusades，asfarastheycontributedtotheruinoftheGreekEmpire；andhewouldscarcelybeabletorestrainhiscuriosityfrommakingsomeinquiryintothestateofthecityofRome，duringthedarknessandconfusionofthemiddleages。
AsIhaveventured，perhapstoohastily，tocommittothepressaworkwhichineverysenseoftheword，deservestheepithetofimperfect。Iconsidermyselfascontractinganengagementtofinish，mostprobablyinasecondvolume，^2thefirstofthesememorableperiods；andtodelivertothePublicthecompleteHistoryoftheDeclineandFallofRome，fromtheageoftheAntoninestothesubversionoftheWesternEmpire。
Withregardtothesubsequentperiods，thoughImayentertainsomehopes，Idarenotpresumetogiveanyassurances。TheexecutionoftheextensiveplanwhichIhavedescribed，wouldconnecttheancientandmodernhistoryoftheworld；butitwouldrequiremanyyearsofhealth，ofleisure，andofperseverance。
[Footnote2:TheAuthor，asitfrequentlyhappens，tookaninadequatemeasureofhisgrowingwork。Theremainderofthefirstperiodhasfilledtwovolumesinquarto，beingthethird，fourth，fifth，andsixthvolumesoftheoctavoedition。]
BentinckStreet，February1，1776。
P。S。TheentireHistory，whichisnowpublished，oftheDeclineandFalloftheRomanEmpireintheWest，abundantlydischargesmyengagementswiththePublic。Perhapstheirfavorableopinionmayencouragemetoprosecuteawork，which，howeverlaboriousitmayseem，isthemostagreeableoccupationofmyleisurehours。
BentinckStreet，March1，1781。
AnAuthoreasilypersuadeshimselfthatthepublicopinionisstillfavorabletohislabors；andIhavenowembracedtheseriousresolutionofproceedingtothelastperiodofmyoriginaldesign，andoftheRomanEmpire，thetakingofConstantinoplebytheTurks，intheyearonethousandfourhundredandfifty—three。ThemostpatientReader，whocomputesthatthreeponderous^3volumeshavebeenalreadyemployedontheeventsoffourcenturies，may，perhaps，bealarmedatthelongprospectofninehundredyears。ButitisnotmyintentiontoexpatiatewiththesameminutenessonthewholeseriesoftheByzantinehistory。Atourentranceintothisperiod，thereignofJustinian，andtheconquestsoftheMahometans，willdeserveanddetainourattention，andthelastageofConstantinopletheCrusadesandtheTurksisconnectedwiththerevolutionsofModernEurope。Fromtheseventhtotheeleventhcentury，theobscureintervalwillbesuppliedbyaconcisenarrativeofsuchfactsasmaystillappeareitherinterestingorimportant。
[Footnote3:Thefirstsixvolumesoftheoctavoedition。]
BentinckStreet，March1，1782。
PrefaceToTheFirstVolume。