Whatever Evils Either Reason Or Declamation Have

The History Of Empires Is The Record Of Human Misery; The History Of The Sciences Is That Of The Greatness And Happiness Of Mankind.

[the] Operation Of The Wisest Laws Is Imperfect And Precarious. They Seldom Inspire Virtue, They Cannot Always Restrain Vice.

In Less Than Seven Years The Vestiges Of The Gothic Invasion Were Almost Obliterated, And The City Appeared To Resume Its Former Splendour And Tranquillity. The Venerable Matron Replaced Her Crown Of Laurel, Which Had Been Ruffled By The Storms Of War, And Was Still Amused In The Last Moment Of Her Decay With The Prophecies Of Revenge, Of Victory, And Of Eternal Dominion.

The Decline Of Rome Was The Natural And Inevitable Effect Of Immoderate Greatness. Prosperity Ripened The Principle Of Decay; The Cause Of The Destruction Multiplied With The Extent Of Conquest; And, As Soon As Time Or Accident And Removed The Artificial Supports, The Stupendous Fabric Yielded To The Pressure Of Its Own Weight. The Story Of The Ruin Is Simple And Obvious: And Instead Of Inquiring Why The Roman Empire Was Destroyed We Should Rather Be Surprised That It Has Subsisted For So Long.

The Revolution Of Ages May Bring Round The Same Calamities; But Ages May Revolve Without Producing A Tacitus To Describe Them.