History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 — Page 9
It is in this sublime Gothic architecture of his work, in which the boundless range, the infinite variety, the, at first sight, incongruous gorgeousness of the separate parts, nevertheless are all subordinate to one main and predominant idea, that Gibbon is unrivalled.
Es ist in dieser erhabenen gotischen Architektur seines Werkes, in der die grenzenlose Weite, die unendliche Vielfalt, die auf den ersten Blick unvereinbare Pracht der einzelnen Teile dennoch alle einer einzigen, vorherrschenden Hauptidee untergeordnet sind, dass Gibbon unerreicht ist.
We cannot but admire the manner in which he masses his materials, and arranges his facts in successive groups, not according to chronological order, but to their moral or political connection; the distinctness with which he marks his periods of gradually increasing decay; and the skill with which, though advancing on separate parallels of history, he shows the common tendency of the slower or more rapid religious or civil innovations.
Wir können nicht umhin, die Art und Weise zu bewundern, in der er sein Material sammelt und seine Fakten in aufeinanderfolgenden Gruppen anordnet, nicht nach chronologischer Reihenfolge, sondern nach ihrem moralischen oder politischen Zusammenhang; die Deutlichkeit, mit der er seine Perioden des allmählich zunehmenden Verfalls kennzeichnet; und das Geschick, mit dem er, obwohl er auf getrennten Parallelen der Geschichte voranschreitet, die gemeinsame Tendenz der langsameren oder schnelleren religiösen oder bürgerlichen Neuerungen aufzeigt.
However these principles of composition may demand more than ordinary attention on the part of the reader, they can alone impress upon the memory the real course, and the relative importance of the events.
So sehr diese Kompositionsprinzipien auch mehr als gewöhnliche Aufmerksamkeit seitens des Lesers erfordern mögen, so vermögen sie allein dem Gedächtnis den wahren Verlauf und die relative Bedeutung der Ereignisse einzuprägen.
Whoever would justly appreciate the superiority of Gibbon's lucid arrangement, should attempt to make his way through the regular but wearisome annals of Tillemont, or even the less ponderous volumes of Le Beau.
Wer die Überlegenheit von Gibbons klarer Anordnung gerecht einschätzen möchte, sollte versuchen, sich durch die regelmäßigen, aber ermüdenden Annalen von Tillemont oder gar durch die weniger schwerfälligen Bände von Le Beau hindurchzuarbeiten.
Vocabulary
- erhabenen
- Sublime, elevated; describing lofty or grand quality
- gotischen
- Gothic; relating to Gothic style or architecture
- Architektur
- Architecture; the art and science of designing buildings
- Werkes
- Work; a literary, artistic, or scholarly creation
- grenzenlose
- Boundless, limitless; without borders or restrictions
- Weite
- Vastness, expanse; great breadth or extent of space
- unendliche
- Infinite, endless; having no end or limit
- Vielfalt
- Diversity, variety; a wide range of different things
- Blick
- Glance, look; a brief or quick visual observation
- unvereinbare
- Incompatible, irreconcilable; unable to exist together harmoniously
- Pracht
- Splendor, magnificence; impressive beauty or grandeur
- einzelnen
- Individual, separate; referring to distinct or particular parts
- Teile
- Parts, sections; distinct components of a larger whole
- dennoch
- Nevertheless, yet; indicating contrast or concession
- einzigen
- Single, sole; only one, without others
- vorherrschenden
- Predominant, prevailing; having greatest influence or prevalence
- Hauptidee
- Main idea; the central or primary concept of something
- untergeordnet
- Subordinate, secondary; placed under a higher authority or concept
- unerreicht
- Unmatched, unrivaled; not equaled or surpassed by anyone
- umhin
- Away from; used in phrase 'nicht umhin können' meaning cannot help
- Art
- Manner, kind, type; a way or method of doing something
- Weise
- Way, manner; a particular method or mode of action
- bewundern
- To admire; to regard with wonder or great approval
- Material
- Material; substance or data used for a purpose
- sammelt
- Collects, gathers; brings together in one place
- Fakten
- Facts; pieces of true and verified information
- aufeinanderfolgenden
- Successive, consecutive; following one after another in order
- Gruppen
- Groups; sets of related people or things together
- anordnet
- Arranges, orders; puts things into a specific sequence
- chronologischer
- Chronological; arranged in the order events occurred
- Reihenfolge
- Sequence, order; the arrangement of items in a series
- sondern
- But rather; conjunction correcting a negative statement
- moralischen
- Moral; relating to principles of right and wrong conduct
- politischen
- Political; relating to government or public affairs
- Zusammenhang
- Context, connection; the relationship between things or events
- Deutlichkeit
- Clarity, distinctness; the quality of being clear and understandable
- Perioden
- Periods, eras; distinct intervals or phases of time
- allmählich
- Gradual, gradually; happening slowly over time
- zunehmenden
- Increasing, growing; becoming progressively greater
- Verfalls
- Decline, decay; the process of deterioration or collapse
- kennzeichnet
- Marks, characterizes; identifies or distinguishes something clearly
- Geschick
- Skill, fate; dexterity or the course of destiny
- obwohl
- Although, even though; subordinating concessive conjunction
- getrennten
- Separate, divided; kept apart from one another
- Parallelen
- Parallels; comparable or analogous lines, events, or stories
- Geschichte
- History, story; the study or narrative of past events
- voranschreitet
- Advances, progresses; moves forward steadily
- gemeinsame
- Common, shared; belonging to or affecting all parties
- Tendenz
- Tendency, trend; an inclination toward a particular direction
- langsameren
- Slower; comparative form of 'langsam', reduced speed
- schnelleren
- Faster; comparative form of 'schnell', increased speed
- religiösen
- Religious; relating to faith, worship, or spiritual belief
- bürgerlichen
- Civil, bourgeois; relating to citizens or civilian society
- Neuerungen
- Innovations, novelties; newly introduced changes or reforms
- aufzeigt
- Demonstrates, reveals; shows or points out clearly
- Kompositionsprinzipien
- Compositional principles; rules governing the structure of a work
- gewöhnliche
- Ordinary, usual; typical or common without special distinction
- Aufmerksamkeit
- Attention; the act of carefully focusing on something
- seitens
- On the part of; genitive preposition indicating source or agent
- Lesers
- Reader; a person who reads, genitive case
- erfordern
- To require, demand; to make something necessary
- mögen
- May, might; modal verb expressing possibility or concession
- vermögen
- To be capable of; to have the ability or power
- allein
- Alone, solely; by itself without others
- Gedächtnis
- Memory; the mental faculty of retaining and recalling information
- wahren
- True; genuine, or to preserve/maintain something
- Verlauf
- Course, progression; the way events develop over time
- relative
- Relative; considered in relation to something else
- Bedeutung
- Significance, meaning; the importance or sense of something
- Ereignisse
- Events; things that happen, especially noteworthy occurrences
- einzuprägen
- To imprint, engrave; to fix something firmly in memory
- Überlegenheit
- Superiority; the state of being better or higher than others
- klarer
- Clearer; comparative of 'klar', more distinct or understandable
- Anordnung
- Arrangement, organization; the way things are ordered or structured
- gerecht
- Just, fair; treating things appropriately and accurately
- einschätzen
- To assess, evaluate; to judge the value or nature of something
- möchte
- Would like; polite form expressing a desire or wish
- sollte
- Should; modal verb expressing recommendation or obligation
- versuchen
- To try, attempt; to make an effort to do something
- regelmäßigen
- Regular, systematic; following a consistent pattern or schedule
- ermüdenden
- Tedious, exhausting; causing fatigue or weariness
- Annalen
- Annals; historical records arranged in yearly order
- gar
- Even, at all; intensifying particle often used with negation
- weniger
- Less, fewer; comparative of 'wenig', indicating smaller amount
- schwerfälligen
- Ponderous, cumbersome; heavy and difficult to work through
- Bände
- Volumes; individual books forming part of a larger work
- hindurchzuarbeiten
- To work through; to laboriously progress through difficult material
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