See also:

• EDWARD

EDWARD See also:

• GIBBON
• EDWARD GIBBON (1737–1794)

GIBBON (1737–1794)  , See also:

• ENGLISH

English historian, was descended, he tells us in his autobiography, from a Kentish See also:

• FAMILY

family of considerable antiquity; among his remoter ancestors he reckons the See also:

• LORD
• LORD (O. Eng. hldford, i.e. hldfweard, the warder or keeper of bread, hlIf, loaf; the word is not represented in any other Teutonic language)
• LORD, JOHN (1810-1894)

lord high treasurer See also:

• FIENNES, NATHANIEL (c. 1608-1669)

Fiennes, Lord Say and Sele, whom See also:

• SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM (1564-1616)

Shakespeare has immortalized in his See also:

• HENRY
• HENRY (1129-1195)
• HENRY (c. 1108-1139)
• HENRY (c. 1174–1216)
• HENRY (Fr. Henri; Span. Enrique; Ger. Heinrich; Mid. H. Ger. Heinrich and Heimrich; O.H.G. Haimi- or Heimirih, i.e. " prince, or chief of the house," from O.H.G. heim, the Eng. home, and rih, Goth. reiks; compare Lat. rex " king "—" rich," therefore " mig
• HENRY, EDWARD LAMSON (1841– )
• HENRY, JAMES (1798-1876)
• HENRY, JOSEPH (1797-1878)
• HENRY, MATTHEW (1662-1714)
• HENRY, PATRICK (1736–1799)
• HENRY, PRINCE OF BATTENBERG (1858-1896)
• HENRY, ROBERT (1718-1790)
• HENRY, VICTOR (1850– )
• HENRY, WILLIAM (1795-1836)

Henry VI . His grandfather was a See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man of ability, an enterprising See also:

• MERCHANT (O. Fr. marcheant, modern marchand; from Lat. mercari, to trade, merx, goods, merchandise)

merchant of See also:

• LONDON

London; one of the commissioners of customs under the Tory See also:

• MINISTRY

ministry during the last four years of See also:

• QUEEN
• QUEEN (O.E. cwen, wife, related to "quean," O.E. cwene, a hussy; cf. Gr. yvvi7: from root gan-, to produce; cf. genus, " kin," &c.)

Queen See also:

• ANNE (1665-1714)
• ANNE (1693-1740)

Anne, and, in the See also:

• JUDGMENT

judgment of Lord See also:

• BOLINGBROKE, HENRY ST JOHN, VISCOUNT (1678-1751)

Bolingbroke, as deeply versed in the " See also:

• COMMERCE
• COMMERCE (Lat. commercium, from, cum, together, and rnerx, merchandise)

commerce and finances of See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England " as any man of his See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time . He was not always See also:

• WISE, HENRY ALEXANDER (1806-1876)
• WISE, ISAAC MAYER (1819-1900)

wise, however, either for himself or his See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country; for he became deeply involved in the See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

South See also:

• SEA (in O. Eng. sae, a common Teutonic word; cf. Ger. See, Dutch Zee, &c.; the ultimate source is uncertain)
• SEA, COMMAND OF THE

Sea See also:

• SCHEME (Lat. schema, Gr. oxfjya, figure, form, from the root axe, seen in exeiv, to have, hold, to be of such shape, form, &c.)

Scheme, in the disastrous collapse of which (1720) he lost the ample See also:

• WEALTH

wealth he had amassed . As a director of the See also:

• COMPANY

company, moreover, he was suspected of fraudulent complicity, taken into custody and heavily fined; but IO,000 was allowed him out of the See also:

• WRECK

wreck of his See also:

• ESTATE (through O. Fr. estat, mod. flat, from Lat. status, state, condition, position, stare, to stand)

estate, and with this his skill and enterprise soon constructed a second See also:

• FORTUNE, ROBERT (1813-188o)

fortune . He died at Putney in 1736, leaving the bulk of his See also:

• PROPERTY

property to his two daughters—nearly disinheriting his only son, the See also:

• FATHER

father of the historian, for having married against his wishes . This son (by name See also:

• EDWARD

Edward) was educated at See also:

• WESTMINSTER
• WESTMINSTER, MARQUESSES AND DUKES OF
• WESTMINSTER, STATUTES OF
• WESTMINSTER, SYNODS OF

Westminster' and See also:

• CAMBRIDGE
• CAMBRIDGE, EARLS AND DUKES OF
• CAMBRIDGE, RICHARD OWEN (1717-1802)

Cambridge, but never took a degree, travelled, became member of See also:

• PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

parliament, first for See also:

• PETERSFIELD

Petersfield (1934), then for See also:

• SOUTHAMPTON
• SOUTHAMPTON, EARL OF
• SOUTHAMPTON, HENRY WRIOTHESLEY, 3RD EARL OF (1J73—1624)

Southampton (1741), joined the party against See also:

• SIR

Sir See also:

• ROBERT
• ROBERT (1275—1343)
• ROBERT, HUBERT (1753-1808)
• ROBERT, LOUIS LEOPOLD (1794-1835)

Robert See also:

• WALPOLE, HORATIO
• WALPOLE, SIR SPENCER (1839-1907)

Walpole, and (as his son confesses, not much to his father's See also:

• HONOUR (Lat. honos or lwnor, honoris; in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion-able to spell the word " honor "; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereoty

honour) was animated in so doing by " private revenge " against the supposed " oppressor " of his family in the South Sea affair . If so, revenge, as usual, was See also:

• BLIND, MATHILDE (1841—1896)

blind; for Walpole had sought rather to moderate than to inflame public feeling against the projectors . The historian was See also:

• BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born at Putney, See also:

• SURREY
• SURREY, EARLDOM OF
• SURREY, HENRY HOWARD, EARL OF (1518?-1547)

Surrey, See also:

• APRIL

April 27 (Old See also:

• STYLE
• STYLE (from Gr. a-6'1ms, a column; a different word from that used in literature, see below)

Style), 1737 . His See also:

• MOTHER

mother, See also:

• JUDITH, THE BOOK OF

Judith Porten, was the daughter of a London merchant . He was the eldest of a family of six sons and a daughter, and the only one who survived childhood; his own See also:

• LIFE

life in youth hung by so See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere a See also:

• THREAD (0. Eng. praed, literally, that which is twisted, prawan, to twist, to throw, cf. " throwster," a silk-winder, Ger. drehen, to twist, turn, Du. draad, Ger. Draht, thread, wire)

thread as to be again and again despaired of . His mother, between domestic cares and See also:

• CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant infirmities (which, however, did not prevent an occasional plunge into fashionable dissipation in compliance with her See also:

• HUSBAND

husband's wishes), did but little for him . The " true mother of his mind as well as of his See also:

• HEALTH

health " was a See also:

• MAIDEN, or MAID

maiden aunt—See also:

• CATHERINE
• CATHERINE, SAINT

Catherine Porten by name—with respect to whom he expresses himself in See also:

• LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language of the most grateful remembrance .

" Many anxious and solitary days," says See also:

• GIBBON
• GIBBON, EDWARD (1737–1794)

Gibbon, " did she consume with patient trial of every mode of See also:

• RELIEF

relief and amusement . Many wakeful nights did she sit by my bedside in trembling expectation that each See also:

• HOUR

hour would be my last." As circumstances allowed, she appears to have taught him See also:

• READING

reading, See also:

• WRITING
• WRITING (the verbal noun of " to write," O. Eng. writan, to inscribe)

writing and See also:

• ARITHMETIC (Gr. apeOµ7run7, sc. TEXVn, the art of counting, from (ipLBµos, number)

arithmetic—acquisitions made with so little of remembered See also:

• PAIN (from Lat. poena, Gr. robin, penalty, that which must be paid: O. Fr. peine)
• PAIN, BARRY (1867– )

pain that " were not the See also:

• ERROR (Lat. error, from errare, to wander, to err)

error corrected by See also:

• ANALOGY (Gr. avaXo-yLa, proportion)

analogy," he says, " I should be tempted to conceive them as innate." At seven he was committed for eighteen months to the care of a private See also:

• TUTOR (Lat. tutor, guardian, tueri, to watch over, protect)

tutor, See also:

• JOHN
• JOHN (1167–1216)
• JOHN (1290-c. 1320)
• JOHN (1296-1346)
• JOHN (1371–1419)
• JOHN (1468-1532)
• JOHN (1801-1873)
• JOHN (Heb. llni')
• JOHN (ZAPOLYA) (1487-1540)
• JOHN, 4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (c. 1695-1762)
• JOHN, DON (1545-1578)
• JOHN, DON (1629–1679)
• JOHN, GOSPEL OF ST
• JOHN, or HAYS (1513–1571)
• JOHN, THE APOSTLE
• JOHN, THE EPISTLES OF

John See also:

• KIRKBY, JOHN (d. 1290)

Kirkby by name, and the author, among other things, of a " philosophical fiction " entitled the Life of Automatizes . Of Kirkby, from whom he learned the rudiments of English and Latin gtammar, he speaks gratefully, and doubtless truly, so far as he could See also:

• TRUST

trust the impressions of childhood . With reference to Automatizes he is much more reserved in his praise, denying alike its originality, its See also:

• DEPTH

depth and its elegance; but, he adds, " the See also:

• BOOK

book is not devoid of entertainment or instruction." In his ninth See also:

• YEAR

year (1746), during a " lucid See also:

• INTERVAL

interval of See also:

• COMPARATIVE

comparative health," he was sent to a school at See also:

• KINGSTON
• KINGSTON, ELIZABETH, DUCHESS OF (1720-1788)
• KINGSTON, WILLIAM HENRY GILES (1814-188o)

Kingston-upon-See also:

• THAMES

Thames; but his former infirmities soon returned, and his progress, by his own See also:

• CONFESSION (Lat. confessio, from confiteor, acknowledge, confess)

confession, was slow and unsatisfactory . " My timid reserve was astonished by the See also:

• CROWD, CROUTH, CROWTH

crowd and tumult of the school; the want of strength and activity disqualified me for the See also:

• SPORTS
• SPORTS, THE BOOK OF

sports of the See also:

• PLAY

play-See also:

• FIELD (a word common to many West German languages, cf. Ger. Feld, Dutch veld, possibly cognate with O.E. f olde, the earth, and ultimately with root of the Gr. irAaror, broad)
• FIELD, CYRUS WEST (1819-1892)
• FIELD, DAVID DUDLEY (18o5-1894)
• FIELD, EUGENE (1850-1895)
• FIELD, FREDERICK (18o1—1885)
• FIELD, HENRY MARTYN (1822-1907)
• FIELD, JOHN (1782—1837)
• FIELD, MARSHALL (183 1906)
• FIELD, NATHAN (1587—1633)
• FIELD, STEPHEN JOHNSON (1816-1899)
• FIELD, WILLIAM VENTRIS FIELD, BARON (1813-1907)

field . . . . By the See also:

• COMMON

common methods of discipline, at the expense of many tears and some See also:

• BLOOD

blood, I See also:

• PURCHASED

purchased the knowledge of the Latin syntax," but manifestly, in his own See also:

• OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion, the Arabian Nights, See also:

• POPE (Gr. irarraas, post-classical Lat. papa, father)
• POPE, ALEXANDER (1688–1744)
• POPE, ALEXANDER (1763-1835)
• POPE, JANE (1742-1818)
• POPE, JOHN (1822-1892)
• POPE, SIR THOMAS (c. 1507-1559)

Pope's See also:

• HOMER, WINSLOW (1836-191o)

Homer, and See also:

• DRYDEN, JOHN (1631-1700)

Dryden's See also:

• VIRGIL (PUBLIUS VERGILIUS MARC)
• VIRGIL, POLYDORE (c. 1470-1555)

Virgil, eagerly read, had at this See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period exercised a much more powerful See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence on his intellectual development than See also:

• PHAEDRUS

Phaedrus and See also:

• CORNELIUS
• CORNELIUS, CARL AUGUST PETER (1824-1874)
• CORNELIUS, PETER VON (1784–1867)

Cornelius See also:

• NEPOS, CORNELIUS (c. 99–24 B.C.)
• NEPOS, JULIUS

Nepos, "painfully construed and darkly understood." In See also:

• DECEMBER (Lat. decent, ten)

December 1747 his mother died, and he was taken See also:

• HOME
• HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS (1833-1886)
• HOME, EARLS OF

home . After a See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short time his father removed to the " rustic solitude " of Buriton (Hants), but See also:

• YOUNG
• YOUNG, A
• YOUNG, ARTHUR (1741-1820)
• YOUNG, BRIGHAM (1801-1877)
• YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE (1777–1856)
• YOUNG, EDWARD (1683–1765)
• YOUNG, JAMES (1811-1883)
• YOUNG, THOMAS (1773-1829)

young Gibbon lived chiefly at the See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

house of his maternal grandfather at Putney, where, under the care of his devoted aunt, he See also:

• DEVELOPED

developed, he tells us, that passionate love of reading " which he would not See also:

• EXCHANGE

exchange for all the treasures of See also:

• INDIA
• INDIA, FRENCH

India," and where his mind received its most decided stimulus . Of 1948 he says, " This year, the twelfth of my See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age, I shall See also:

• NOTE
• NOTE (Lat. nota, mark, sign, from noscere, to know)

note as the most propitious to the growth of my intellectual stature." After detailing the circumstances which unlocked for him the See also:

• DOOR (corresponding to the Gr. Bbpa,. Lat. fores or valvae; the English word, with other forms common in allied languages, comes from the same Indo-European stem as the Gr. Obpa and Lat. fares)

door of his grandfather's " tolerable library," he says, " I turned over many English pages of See also:

• POETRY

poetry and See also:

• ROMANCE

romance, of See also:

• HISTORY

history and travels . Where a See also:

• TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title attracted my See also:

• EYE
• EYE (O. Eng. edge, Ger. Auge; derived from an Indo-European root also seen in Lat. oc-ulus, the organ of vision (q.v.)

eye, without fear or See also:

• AWE, LOCH

awe I snatched the See also:

• VOLUME

volume from the shelf." In 1749, in his twelfth year, he was sent to Westminster, still residing, however, with his aunt, who, rendered destitute by her father's See also:

• BANKRUPTCY (from Lat. bancus or Fr. banquet table or counter, and Lat. ruptus, broken)

bankruptcy, but unwilling to live a life of dependence, had opened a boarding- The celebrated See also:

• WILLIAM
• WILLIAM (1143-1214)
• WILLIAM (1227-1256)
• WILLIAM (1J33-1584)
• WILLIAM (A.S. Wilhelm, O. Norse Vilhidlmr; O. H. Ger. Willahelm, Willahalm, M. H. Ger. Willehelm, Willehalm, Mod.Ger. Wilhelm; Du. Willem; O. Fr. Villalme, Mod. Fr. Guillaume; from " will," Goth. vilja, and " helm," Goth. hilms, Old Norse hidlmr, meaning
• WILLIAM (c. 1130-C. 1190)
• WILLIAM, 13TH

William See also:

• LAW
• LAW (0. Eng. lagu, M. Eng. lawe; from an old Teutonic root lag, " lie," what lies fixed or evenly; cf. Lat. lex, Fr. loi)
• LAW, JOHN (1671—1729)
• LAW, WILLIAM (1686-1761)

Law had been for some time the private tutor of this Edward Gibbon, who is supposed to have been the See also:

• ORIGINAL

original of the rather See also:

• CLEVER

clever See also:

• SKETCH (directly adapted from Dutch schets, which was taken from Ital. schizzo, a rough draft, Lat. schedium, something hastily made, Gr. oxE&os, sudden, off-hand, axeb6v, near by; Ger. Skizze and Fr. esquisse are from the same source)

sketch of " Flatus " in the Serious See also:

• CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

Call.house for Westminster school . Here in the course of two years (1749-1750), interrupted by danger and debility, he " painfully climbed into the third See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form "; but it was See also:

• LEFT

left to his riper age to " acquire the beauties of the Latin and the rudiments of the See also:

• GREEK
• GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND

Greek See also:

• TONGUE (O. Eng. lunge)

tongue." The continual attacks of sickness which had retarded his progress induced his aunt, by medical See also:

• ADVICE (Fr. avis, from Lat. ad, to, and visum, viewed)

advice, to take him to See also:

• BATH
• BATH, THOMAS THYNNE
• BATH, WILLIAM

Bath; but the See also:

• MINERAL

mineral See also:

• WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters had no effect . He then resided for a time in the house of a physician at See also:

• WINCHESTER
• WINCHESTER, EARLS AND MARQUESSES OF

Winchester; the physician did as little as the mineral waters; and, after a further trial of Bath, he once more returned to Putney, and made a last futile See also:

• ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt to study at Westminster .

Finally, it was concluded that he would never be able to encounter the discipline of a school; and casual instructors, at various times and places, were provided for him . Meanwhile his indiscriminate appetite for reading had begun to See also:

• FIX, THEODORE (180o-1846)

fix itself more and more decidedly upon history; and the See also:

• LIST (O.E. lisle, a Teutonic word, cf. Dut. lust, Ger. Leiste, adapted in Ital. lista and Fr. lisle)
• LIST, FRIEDRICH (1789-1846)

list of See also:

• HISTORICAL

historical See also:

• WORKS

works devoured by him during this period of chronic See also:

• ILL

ill-health is simply astonishing . It included, besides See also:

• HEARNE, SAMUEL (1745–1792)
• HEARNE, THOMAS (1678-1735)

Hearne's Ductor historicus and the successive volumes of the Universal History, which was then in course of publication, Littlebury's See also:

• HERODOTUS (c. 484-425 B.C.)

Herodotus, See also:

• SPELMAN, SIR HENRY (c. 1564-1641)

Spelman's See also:

• XENOPHON

Xenophon, See also:

• GORDON
• GORDON, ADAM LINDSAY (1833—1870)
• GORDON, ALEXANDER (c. 1692—c. 1754)
• GORDON, CHARLES GEORGE (1833-'885)
• GORDON, LEON
• GORDON, LORD GEORGE (1751-1793)
• GORDON, PATRICK (1635–1699)
• GORDON, SIR JOHN WATSON (1788—1864)

Gordon's See also:

• TACITUS, CORNELIUS (c. 55-120)
• TACITUS, MARCUS CLAUDIUS

Tacitus, an See also:

• ANONYMOUS

anonymous See also:

• TRANSLATION

translation of See also:

• PROCOPIUS

Procopius; "many crude lumps of See also:

• SPEED, JOHN (1552–1629)

Speed, See also:

• RAPIN, PAUL DE (1661-1725)

Rapin, See also:

• MEZERAY, FRANCOIS EUDES DE (1610—1683)

Mezeray, See also:

• DAVILA, ENRICO CATERINO (1576-1631)

Davila, Machiavel, Father See also:

• PAUL
• PAUL (PAULUS)

Paul, See also:

• BOWER, WALTER (1385-1449)

Bower, &c., were hastily gulped . I devoured them like so many novels; and I swallowed with the same voracious appetite the descriptions of India and See also:

• CHINA

China, of See also:

• MEXICO
• MEXICO (Span. Mejico, or Mexico,)
• MEXICO, FEDERAL DISTRICT OF
• MEXICO, GULF OF

Mexico and See also:

• PERU
• PERU (apparently from Biru, a small river on the west coast of Colombia, where Pizarro landed)

Peru." His first introduction to the historic scenes the study of which afterwards formed the See also:

• PASSION (post-classical Lat. passio, formed from pati, passus, to suffer, endure)

passion of his life took See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place in 1951, when, while along with his father visiting a friend in See also:

• WILTSHIRE [WILTS]

Wiltshire, he discovered in the library " a common book, the continuation of Echard's See also:

• ROMAN

Roman History." " To me the reigns of the successors of See also:

• CONSTANTINE

Constantine were absolutely new; and I was immersed in the passage of the Goths over the See also:

• DANUBE (Ger. Donau, Hungarian Duna, Rumanian Dunarea, Lat. Danubius or Danuvius, and in the lower part of its course Ister)

Danube, when the See also:

• SUMMONS (Fr. semonce, from semonner or semondre, Lat. summonere, summonitio)

summons of the See also:

• DINNER

dinner See also:

• BELL
• BELL, ALEXANDER MELVILLE (1819—1905)
• BELL, ANDREW (1753—1832)
• BELL, GEORGE JOSEPH (1770-1843)
• BELL, HENRY (1767-1830)
• BELL, HENRY GLASSFORD (1803-1874)
• BELL, JACOB (1810-1859)
• BELL, JOHN (1691-178o)
• BELL, JOHN (1763-1820)
• BELL, JOHN (1797-1869)
• BELL, ROBERT (1800-1867)
• BELL, SIR CHARLES (1774—1842)

bell reluctantly dragged me from my intellectual feast." Soon afterwards his See also:

• FANCY (a shortened form, dating from the 15th century, of " fantasy," which is derived through the O. Fr. fantasie, modern fantaisie. from the Latinized form of the Gr. cbavraoia, Oavrai'ecv, Oat Pais, to show)

fancy kindled with the first glimpses into See also:

• ORIENTAL

Oriental history, the See also:

• WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild " barbaric " See also:

• CHARM (through the Fr. from the Lat. carmen, a song)

charm of which he never ceased to feel . See also:

• OCKLEY, SIMON (1678–1720)

Ockley's book on the See also:

• SARACENS

Saracens " first opened his eyes " to the striking career of See also:

• MAHOMET (strictly MUHAMMAD, commonly also MOHAMMED)

Mahomet and his hordes; and with his characteristic ardour of See also:

• LITERARY

literary See also:

• RESEARCH (O. Fr. recerche, from recercher, re- and cercer, mod. chercher, to search; Late Lat. circare, to go round in a circle, to explore)

research, after exhausting all that could be learned in English of the See also:

• ARABS

Arabs and Persians, the See also:

• TATARS (the common form Tartars is less correct)

Tatars and See also:

• TURKS

Turks, he forthwith plunged into the See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French of D'Herbelot, and the Latin of See also:

• POCOCK, SIR GEORGE (1706-1792)

Pocock's version of Abulfaragius, sometimes understanding them, but oftener only guessing their meaning . He soon learned to call to his aid the subsidiary sciences of See also:

• GEOGRAPHY (Gr. yil, earth, and ypiickty, to write)

geography and See also:

• CHRONOLOGY (Gr. xpovo?oyfa, computation of time, xp6vos)

chronology, and before he was quite capable of reading them had already attempted to weigh in his childish See also:

• BALANCE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. bilantia, an apparatus for weighing, from bi, two, and lanx, a dish or scale)

balance the competing systems of See also:

• SCALIGER

Scaliger and Petavius, of Marsham and See also:

• NEWTON
• NEWTON, ALFRED (1829–1907)
• NEWTON, JOHN (1725-1807)
• NEWTON, JOHN (1823-1895)
• NEWTON, SIR CHARLES THOMAS (1816-1894)
• NEWTON, SIR ISAAC (1642-1727)

Newton . At this See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early period he seems already to have adopted in some degree the See also:

• PLAN
• PLAN (from Lat. planes, flat)

plan of study he followed in after life and recommended in his Essai sur ''elude—that is, of letting his subject rather than his author determine his course, of suspending the perusal of a book to reflect, and to compare the statements with those of other authors—so that he often read portions of many volumes while mastering one . Towards his sixteenth year he tell us " nature displayed in his favour her mysterious energies," and all his infirmities suddenly vanished . Thenceforward, while never possessing or abusing the insolence of health, he could say " few persons have been more exempt from real or imaginary ills." His unexpected recovery revived his father's hopes for his See also:

• EDUCATION

education, hitherto so much neglected if judged by See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary See also:

• STANDARDS

standards; and accordingly in See also:

• JANUARY

January 1752 he was placed at See also:

• ESHER
• ESHER, WILLIAM BALIOL BRETT, 1ST VISCOUNT (1817–1899)

Esher, Surrey, under the care of Dr See also:

• FRANCIS
• FRANCIS (FRarrcols) OF SALES, ST (1567-1622)
• FRANCIS (Lat. Franciscus, Ital. Francesco, Span. Francisco, Fr. Francois, Ger. Franz)
• FRANCIS, SIR PHILIP (174o-1818)

Francis, the well-known translator of See also:

• HORACE [QuINTus HORATIUS FLACCUS] (65-8 B.C.)

Horace . But Gibbon's See also:

• FRIENDS, SOCIETY
• FRIENDS, SOCIETY OF

friends in a few See also:

• WEEKS, EDWIN LORD (1849-1903)

weeks discovered that the new tutor preferred the pleasures of London to the instruction of his pupils, and in this perplexity decided to send him prematurely to See also:

• OXFORD
• OXFORD, EARLS OF
• OXFORD, EDWARD DE VERE, 17TH EARL
• OXFORD, JOHN DE VERE, 13TH EARL OF (1443-1513)
• OXFORD, PROVISIONS OF
• OXFORD, ROBERT DE VERE, 9TH EARL OF (1362-1392)
• OXFORD, ROBERT HARLEY, 1ST

Oxford, where he was matriculated as a See also:

• GENTLEMAN (from Lat. gentilis, " belonging to a race or gens," and " man "; Fr. gentilhomme, Span. gentil hombre, Ital. gentil huomo, in its original and strict signification, a term denoting a man of good family, the Lat. generosus (its invariable transl

gentleman commoner of Magdalen See also:

• COLLEGE (Collegium)

College, 3rd April 1752 . According to his own testimony he arrived at the university " with a stock of See also:

• INFORMATION (from Lat. informare, to give shape or form to, to represent, describe)

information which might have puzzled a See also:

• DOCTOR (Lat. for " teacher ")

doctor, and a degree of See also:

• IGNORANCE (Lat. ignorantia, from ignorare, not to know); want of knowledge, a state of mind which in law has important consequences. A well-known legal maxim runs: ignorantia juris non excusat ("ignorance of the law does not excuse")

ignorance of which a schoolboy might be ashamed." And indeed his huge wallet of scraps stood him in little See also:

• STEAD, WILLIAM THOMAS (1849– )

stead at the See also:

• TRIM

trim banquets to which ne was invited at Oxford, while the wandering habits by which he had filled it absolutely unfitted him to be a See also:

• GUEST (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Gast, and Swed. gust; cognate with Lat. hostis, originally a stranger, hence enemy; cf. " host " )
• GUEST, EDWIN (1800–188o)

guest . He was not well grounded in any of the elementary branches, which are essential to university studies and to all success in their See also:

• PROSECUTION

prosecution .

It was natural, therefore, that he should dislike the university, and as natural that the university should dislike him . Many of his complaints of the See also:

• SYSTEM

system were certainly just; but it may be doubted whether any university system would have been profitable to him, considering his antecedents . He complains especially of his tutors, and in one See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case with abundant See also:

• REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason; but, by his own confession, they might have recriminated with See also:

• JUSTICE (Lat. justitia)

justice, for he indulged in See also:

• GAY, JOHN (1685-1732)
• GAY, MARIE FRANCOISE SOPHIE (1776-1852)
• GAY, WALTER (1856– )

gay society, and kept See also:

• LATE

late See also:

• HOURS, CANONICAL

hours . His observations, however, on the defects of the English university system, some of which have only very recently been removed, are acute and well See also:

• WORTH
• WORTH, CHARLES FREDERICK (1825-1895)

worth pondering, however little relevant to his own case . He remained at Magdalen about fourteen months . " To the university of Oxford," he says, " I acknowledge no See also:

• OBLIGATION

obligation; and she will as cheerfully renounce me for a son as I am willing to disclaim her for a mother . I spent fourteen months at Magdalen College; they proved the fourteen months the most idle and unprofitable of my whole life." But thus " idle " though he may have been as a " student," he already meditated authorship . In the first See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long vacation—during which he, doubtless with some See also:

• SARCASM

sarcasm, says that " his See also:

• TASTE (from Lat. taxare, to touch sharply; tangere, to touch)

taste for books began to revive "—he contemplated a See also:

• TREATISE

treatise on the age of See also:

• SESOSTRIS

Sesostris, in which (and it was characteristic) his See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief See also:

• OBJECT

object was to investigate not so much the events as the probable See also:

• EPOCH (Gr. E7roxij, holding in suspense, a pause, from E1rxav, to hold up, to stop)

epoch of the reign of that semi-mythical monarch, whom he was inclined to regard as having been contemporary with See also:

• SOLOMON, ODES OF
• SOLOMON, PSALMS OF

Solomon . " Unprovided with original learning, unformed in the habits of thinking, unskilled in the arts of See also:

• COMPOSITION
• COMPOSITION (Lat. compositio, from componere, to put together)

composition, I resolved to write a book "; but the See also:

• DISCOVERY

discovery of his own weakness, he adds, was the first symptom of taste . On his first return to Oxford the See also:

• WORK

work was " wisely relinquished," and never afterwards resumed . The most memorable incident, however, in Gibbon's stay at Oxford was his temporary See also:

• CONVERSION (Lat. conversio, from convertere, to turn or ,change)

conversion to the doctrines of the See also:

• CHURCH
• CHURCH (according to most authorities derived from the Gr. Kvpcaxov [&wµa], " the Lord's [house]," and common to many Teutonic, Slavonic and other languages under various forms—Scottish kirk, Ger. Kirche, Swed. kirka, Dan. kirke, Russ. tserkov, Buig. cerk
• CHURCH, FREDERICK EDWIN (1826-1900)
• CHURCH, GEORGE EARL (1835–1910)
• CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM (1815–189o)
• CHURCH, SIR RICHARD (1784–1873)

church of See also:

• ROME
• ROME (Roma)

Rome . The bold See also:

• CRITICISM
• CRITICISM (from the Gr. KpiTrlS, a judge, Kpivew, to decide, to give an authoritative opinion)

criticism of See also:

• MIDDLETON
• MIDDLETON, ARTHUR (1742–1787)
• MIDDLETON, CONYERS (1683–1750)
• MIDDLETON, THOMAS (c. 1570-1627)

Middleton's recently (1749) published See also:

• FREE

Free Enquiry into the Miraculous See also:

• POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

Powers which are supposed to have subsisted in the See also:

• CHRISTIAN
• CHRISTIAN, WILLIAM (1608-1663)

Christian Church appears to have given the first See also:

• SHOCK, or COLLAPSE

shock to his Protestantism, not indeed by destroying his previous belief that the See also:

• GIFT (a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. die Gift, gift, das Gift, poison, formed from the Teut. stem gab-, to give, cf. Dutch geven, Ger. geben; in O. Eng. the word appears with initial y, the guttural of later English is due to Scandinavian influence)

gift of miraculous powers had continued to subsist in the church during the first four or five centuries of See also:

• CHRISTIANITY

Christianity, but by convincing him that within the same period most of the leading doctrines of popery had been already introduced both in theory and in practice .

At this See also:

• STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage he was introduced by a friend (Mr See also:

• MOLESWORTH, MARY LOUISA (1839- )
• MOLESWORTH, ROBERT MOLESWORTH, 1ST VISCOUNT (1656-1725)
• MOLESWORTH, SIR WILLIAM, BART

Molesworth) to See also:

• BOSSUET, JAQUES BENIGNE (1627-1704)

Bossuet's See also:

• VARIATIONS
• VARIATIONS, CALCULUS
• VARIATIONS, CALCULUS OF

Variations of Protestantism and Exposition of See also:

• CATHOLIC (Gr. KcaBoXuK6s, general, universal)

Catholic See also:

• DOCTRINE

Doctrine (see Gibbon, Decline and Fall, c. xv., note 79) . " These works," says he, " achieved my conversion, and I surely See also:

• FELL
• FELL, JOHN (1625-1686)

fell by a See also:

• NOBLE, SIR ANDREW (1832- )

noble See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand." In bringing about this " fall," however, See also:

• PARSONS
• PARSONS (or PERSONS), ROBERT (1546-161o)
• PARSONS, THEOPHILUS (1750-1813)

Parsons the Jesuit appears to have had a considerable See also:

• SHARE (O. Eng. scearu, chiefly in compounds, e.g. land-scearu, a share of land, from sceran to cut; cf. " shear" )

share; at least Lord See also:

• SHEFFIELD
• SHEFFIELD, JOHN BAKER HOLROYD, 1ST EARL

Sheffield has recorded that on the only occasion on which Gibbon talked with him on the subject he imputed the See also:

• CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change in his religious views principally to that vigorous writer, who, in his opinion, had urged all the best arguments in favour of Roman Catholicism . But be this as it may, he had no sooner adopted his new creed than he resolved to profess it; " a momentary glow of See also:

• ENTHUSIASM

enthusiasm " had raised him above all temporal considerations, and accordingly, on See also:

• JUNE

June 8, 1753, he records that having " privately abjured the heresies" of his childhood before a Catholic See also:

• PRIEST (Ger. Priester, Fr. pretre)

priest of the name of See also:

• BAKER, HENRY (1698-1774)
• BAKER, SIR BENJAMIN (1840-1907)
• BAKER, SIR RICHARD (1568-1644/5)
• BAKER, SIR SAMUEL WHITE (1821-1893)
• BAKER, THOMAS (1656-1740)
• BAKER, VALENTINE [BAKER PASHA] (1827-1887)

Baker, a Jesuit, in London, he announced the same to his father in an elaborate controversial See also:

• EPISTLE

epistle which his spiritual adviser much approved, and which he himself afterwards described to Lord Sheffield as having been " written with all the pomp, the dignity, and self-See also:

• SATISFACTION (Lat. salisfacerc, to satisfy)

satisfaction of a See also:

• MARTYR (Gr. pimp or µaprvs)

martyr." The See also:

• ELDER (0. Eng. ellarn; Ger. Holunder; Fr. sureau)
• ELDER (Gr. 1rpev(3iTepos)

elder Gibbon heard with indignant surprise of this See also:

• ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act of juvenile See also:

• APOSTASY (aaoafiavis, in classical Greek a defection or revolt from a military commander)

apostasy, and, indiscreetly giving vent to his wrath, precipitated the See also:

• EXPULSION (Lat. expulsio, from expellere)

expulsion of his son from Oxford, a See also:

• PUNISHMENT (from Lat. punire, to punish, from poena, punishment, Gr. 7rocvil)

punishment which the See also:

• CULPRIT

culprit, in after years at least, found no cause to deplore . In his See also:

• MEMOIRS

Memoirs he speaks of the results of his " childish revolt against the See also:

• RELIGION
• RELIGION, FOLKLORE, CUSTOM

religion of his country " with undisguised self- 3e)gratulation . It had delivered him for ever from the " See also:

• PORT

port and See also:

• PREJUDICE (Lat. praejudicium)

prejudice " of the university, and led him into the See also:

• BRIGHT, JOHN (1811-188g)
• BRIGHT, SIR CHARLES TILSTON

bright paths of philosophic freedom . That his conversion was sincere at the time, that it marked a real if but a transitory phase of genuine religious conviction, we have no reason to doubt, notwithstanding the See also:

• SCEPTICISM (o-Kesrroµai, I consider, reflect, hesitate, doubt)

scepticism he has himself expressed . " To my See also:

• PRESENT

present feelings it seems incredible that I should ever believe that I believed in See also:

• TRANSUBSTANTIATION

transubstantiation," he indeed declares; but his incredulous astonishment is not unmixed with undoubting See also:

• PRIDE, THOMAS (d. 1658)

pride . " I could not blush that my See also:

• TENDER

tender mind was entangled in the sophistry which had reduced the acute and manly understandings of a See also:

• CHILLINGWORTH, WILLIAM (1602-1644)

Chillingworth or a See also:

• BAYLE, PIERRE (1647-1706)

Bayle." Nor is the sincerity of the Catholicism he professed in these boyish days in any way discredited by the fact of his subsequent lack of religion . Indeed, as one of the acutest and most sympathetic of his critics has remarked, the deep and settled grudge he has betrayed towards every form of Christian belief, in all the writings of his maturity, may be taken as See also:

• EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence that he had at one time experienced in his own See also:

• PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person at least some of the painful workings of a See also:

• POSITIVE (or PORTABLE) ORGAN

positive faith . But little time was lost by the elder Gibbon in the formation of a new plan of education for his son, and in devising some method which if possible might effect the cure of his "spiritual malady." The result of deliberation, aided by the advice and experience of Lord See also:

• ELIOT, CHARLES WILLIAM (1834– )
• ELIOT, GEORGE
• ELIOT, JOHN (1604-1690)
• ELIOT, SIR JOHN (1592-1632)

Eliot, was that it was almost immediately decided to fix Gibbon for some years abroad under the roof of M . Pavilliard, a Calvinist See also:

• MINISTER (Lat. minister, servant)

minister at See also:

• LAUSANNE

Lausanne . In as far as regards the instructor and See also:

• GUIDE (in Mid. Eng. gyde, from the Fr. guide; the earlier French form was guie, English " guy," the d was due to the Italian form guida; the ultimate origin is probably Teutonic, the word being connected with the base seen in O. Eng. witan, to know)

guide thus selected, a more fortunate choice could scarcely have been made .

From the testimony of his See also:

• PUPIL (Lat. pupillus, orphan, minor, dim. of pupus, boy, allied to puer, from root pm- or peu-, to beget, cf. "pupa," Lat. for " doll," the name given to the stage intervening between the larval and imaginal stages in certain insects)

pupil, and the still more conclusive evidence of his own See also:

• CORRESPONDENCE
• CORRESPONDENCE (from med. scholastic Lat. correspondentia, corrcspondere, compounded of Lat. cum, with, and respond ere, to answer; cf. Fr. correspondance)

correspondence with the father, Pavilliard seems to have been a man of singular See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good sense, See also:

• TEMPER (from Lat. temperare, to mingle or compound in due proportion, to qualify, rule, regulate, to be moderate, formed from tempos, time, fit or due season)

temper and tact . At the outset, indeed, there was one considerable obstacle to the free intercourse of tutor and pupil: M . Pavilliard appears to have known little of English, and young Gibbon knew practically nothing of French . But this difficulty was soon removed by the pupil's See also:

• DILIGENCE

diligence; the very exigencies of his situation were of service to him in calling forth all his powers, and he studied the language with such success that at the See also:

• CLOSE
• CLOSE (from Lat. clausum, shut)
• CLOSE, MAXWELL HENRY (1822-1903)

close of his five years' See also:

• EXILE (Lat. exsilium or exilium, from exsul or exul, which is derived from ex, out of, and the root sal, to go, seen in salire, to leap, consul, &c.; the connexion with solum, soil, country is now generally considered wrong)

exile he declares that he " spontaneously thought " in French rather than in English, and that it had become more See also:

• FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar to " See also:

• EAR (common Teut.; O.E. are, Ger. Ohr, Du. oor, akin to Lat. auris, Gr. ovs)

ear, tongue and See also:

• PEN (Lat. penna, a feather, pen)

pen." It is well known that in after years he had doubts whether he should not compose his See also:

• GREAT

great work in French; and it is certain that his familiarity with that language, in spite of considerable efforts to counteract its effects, tinged his style to the last . Under the judicious regulations of his new tutor a methodical course of reading was marked out, and most ardently prosecuted; the pupil's progress was proportionably rapid . With the systematic study of the Latin, and to a slight extent also of the Greek See also:

• CLASSICS

classics, he conjoined that of See also:

• LOGIC (Xoy1K7, sc. rixvrt, the art of reasoning)

logic in the prolix system of See also:

• CROUSAZ, JEAN PIERRE DE (1663-175o)

Crousaz; and he further invigorated his reasoning powers, as well as enlarged his knowledge of See also:

• METAPHYSICS
• METAPHYSICS, or METAPHYSIC (from Gr. /sera, after, d v med, things of nature, lots, i.e. the natural universe)

metaphysics and See also:

• JURISPRUDENCE (Lat. jurisprudenlia, knowledge of law, from jus, right, and prudentia, from providere, to foresee)
• JURISPRUDENCE, COMPARATIVE

jurisprudence, by the perusal of See also:

• LOCKE, GOTTFRIED CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH (1791–1855)
• LOCKE, JOHN (1632-1704)
• LOCKE, MATTHEW (c. 1630-1677)

Locke, See also:

• GROTIUS, HUGO (1583-1645)

Grotius and See also:

• MONTESQUIEU, CHARLES LOUIS DE SECONDAT, BARON DE LA BREDE ET DE (1689-1755)

Montesquieu . He also read largely, though somewhat indiscriminately, in French literature, and appears to have been particularly struck with See also:

• PASCAL, BLAISE (1623-1662)
• PASCAL, JACQUELINE (1625-T661)

Pascal's Provincial Letters, which he tells us he reperused almost every year of his subsequent life with new See also:

• PLEASURE (through Fr. plaisir from Lat. placere, to please; Gr. rlbovii)

pleasure, and which he particularly mentions as having been, along with Bleterie's Life of See also:

• JULIAN (FLAVIUS CLAUDIUS JULIANUS) (331-363)

Julian and See also:

• GIANNONE, PIETRO (1676-1748)

Giannone's History of See also:

• NAPLES
• NAPLES (Ital. Napoli, and Lat. Neapolis)
• NAPLES, KINGDOM OF

Naples, a book which probably contributed in a See also:

• SPECIAL

special sense to form the historian of the Roman See also:

• EMPIRE

empire . The comprehensive scheme of study included See also:

• MATHEMATICS (Gr. /saBnµar1Kil, Sc. vOcvn or E7rlQTt'µn; from p iN.La, "learning" or "science ")

mathematics also, in which he advanced as far as the conic sections in the treatise of L'Hopital . He assures us that his tutor did not complain of any inaptitude on the pupil's See also:

• PART

part, and that the pupil was as happily unconscious of any on his own; but here he See also:

• BROKE, or BROOKE, ARTHUR (d. 1563)
• BROKE, SIR PHILIP BOWES VERE, BART

broke off . He adds, what is not quite clear from one who so frankly acknowledges his limited acquaintance with the See also:

• SCIENCE (Lat. scientia, from scire; to learn, know)

science, that he had reason to congratulate himself that he knew no more . " As soon," he says, " as I understood the principles, I relinquished for ever the pursuit of the mathematics; nor can I lament that I desisted before my mind was hardened by the See also:

• HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit of rigid demonstration, so destructive II respects was much in need of such See also:

• ELEVATION

elevation will be doubted by none but the hopelessly cynical; and probably there are few readers who can peruse the See also:

• PARAGRAPH

paragraph in which Gibbon " approaches the delicate subject of his early love " without discerning in it a pathos much deeper than that of which the writer was himself aware . During the See also:

• REMAINDER, REVERSION

remainder of his See also:

• RESIDENCE (Latin residere, to remain behind, to dwell, reside)

residence at Lausanne he had good reason to " indulge his See also:

• DREAM (from a root dreug, connected with Germ. trugen, to deceive)

dream of felicity "; but on his return to England, " I soon discovered that my father would not hear of this See also:

• STRANGE, SIR ROBERT (1721-1792)

strange See also:

• ALLIANCE

alliance, and that without his consent I was myself destitute and helpless .

After a painful struggle I yielded to my See also:

• FATE

fate; I sighed as a See also:

• LOVER, SAMUEL (1797-1868)

lover, I obeyed as a son; my See also:

• WOUND (O. Eng. wund,connected with a Teutonic verb, meaning to strive, fight, suffer, seen in O. Eng. winnan, whence Eng. " win ")

wound was insensibly healed by time, See also:

• ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence, and the habits of a new life." 2 In 1758 he returned with mingled joy and regret to England, and was kindly received at home . But he found a stepmother there; and this apparition on his father's See also:

• HEARTH (a word which appears in various forms in several Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch haard, German Herd, in the sense of " floor ")

hearth at first rather appalled him . The cordial and See also:

• GENTLE (through the Fr. gentil, from Lat. gentilis, belonging to the same gens, or family)

gentle See also:

• MANNERS, CHARLES (1857– )

manners of Mrs Gibbon, however, and her unremitting care for his happiness, won him from his first prejudices, and gave her a permanent place in his esteem and See also:

• AFFECTION (Lat. ad, and facere, to do something to, sc. a person)

affection . He seems to have been much indulged, and to have led a very pleasant life of it; he pleased himself in moderate excursions, frequented the See also:

• THEATRE (BEarpov, " a place for seeing," from OeacOae)