History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 — Page 6
This vast design of Gibbon, the magnificent whole into which he has cast the decay and ruin of the ancient civilization, the formation and birth of the new order of things, will of itself, independent of the laborious execution of his immense plan, render "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" an unapproachable subject to the future historian: 101 in the eloquent language of his recent French editor, M. Guizot:—
Ce vaste dessein de Gibbon, l'ensemble magnifique dans lequel il a coulé la décadence et la ruine de l'ancienne civilisation, la formation et la naissance du nouvel ordre des choses, suffira par lui-même, indépendamment de l'exécution laborieuse de son immense plan, à faire de « L'Histoire du déclin et de la chute de l'Empire romain » un sujet inégalable pour les historiens à venir : 101 pour reprendre l'éloquente formule de son récent éditeur français, M. Guizot :—
101 (return) [ A considerable portion of this preface has already appeared before us public in the Quarterly Review.]
101 (retour) [ Une partie considérable de cette préface a déjà été publiée dans la Quarterly Review.]
"The gradual decline of the most extraordinary dominion which has ever invaded and oppressed the world; the fall of that immense empire, erected on the ruins of so many kingdoms, republics, and states both barbarous and civilized; and forming in its turn, by its dismemberment, a multitude of states, republics, and kingdoms; the annihilation of the religion of Greece and Rome; the birth and the progress of the two new religions which have shared the most beautiful regions of the earth; the decrepitude of the ancient world, the spectacle of its expiring glory and degenerate manners; the infancy of the modern world, the picture of its first progress, of the new direction given to the mind and character of man—such a subject must necessarily fix the attention and excite the interest of men, who cannot behold with indifference those memorable epochs, during which, in the fine language of Corneille—
« Le déclin graduel de la domination la plus extraordinaire qui ait jamais envahi et opprimé le monde ; la chute de cet immense empire, érigé sur les ruines de tant de royaumes, de républiques et d'États barbares et civilisés à la fois ; et formant à son tour, par son démembrement, une multitude d'États, de républiques et de royaumes ; l'anéantissement de la religion de la Grèce et de Rome ; la naissance et les progrès des deux nouvelles religions qui se sont partagé les plus belles contrées de la terre ; la décrépitude du monde ancien, le spectacle de sa gloire expirante et de ses mœurs dégénérées ; l'enfance du monde moderne, le tableau de ses premiers progrès, de la nouvelle direction donnée à l'esprit et au caractère de l'homme — un tel sujet doit nécessairement fixer l'attention et exciter l'intérêt des hommes, qui ne peuvent contempler avec indifférence ces époques mémorables, durant lesquelles, selon la belle expression de Corneille —
'Un grand destin commence, un grand destin s'achève.
« Un grand destin commence, un grand destin s'achève.
Vocabulary
- vaste
- Vast, enormous, or very large in extent
- dessein
- Plan, design, or intention conceived in the mind
- ensemble
- The whole, totality, or overall grouping of elements
- magnifique
- Magnificent, splendid, or impressively grand in quality
- lequel
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'whom' (masculine)
- coulé
- Poured, flowed, or cast into a particular form
- décadence
- Decline in moral, cultural, or social standards
- ruine
- Ruin, destruction, or remains of a collapsed structure
- ancienne
- Old, ancient, or former in time or origin
- civilisation
- Civilization, an advanced stage of human social development
- formation
- Formation, development, or process of being created
- naissance
- Birth, origin, or beginning of something new
- nouvel
- New, used before masculine nouns beginning with vowels
- ordre
- Order, organization, or established system of things
- choses
- Things, objects, or matters of any kind
- suffira
- Future tense of 'suffire,' meaning 'will suffice or be enough'
- même
- Same, even, or itself; used for emphasis or comparison
- indépendamment
- Independently, without reliance on or connection to something else
- exécution
- Execution, carrying out, or performance of a plan
- laborieuse
- Laborious, requiring great effort or hard work
- immense
- Immense, extremely large or vast in scale
- plan
- Plan, scheme, or structured outline of intentions
- faire
- To make or to do; a common versatile verb
- Histoire
- History, the study or record of past events
- déclin
- Decline, gradual decrease or deterioration over time
- chute
- Fall, collapse, or sudden downfall of something
- Empire
- Empire, a large political unit ruled by an emperor
- romain
- Roman, relating to ancient Rome or its civilization
- sujet
- Subject, topic, or theme of discussion or study
- inégalable
- Unmatched, incomparable, or without equal in quality
- historiens
- Historians, scholars who study and write about history
- venir
- To come; also used in 'à venir' meaning future
- reprendre
- To take up again, resume, or repeat something said
- éloquente
- Eloquent, expressing ideas fluently and persuasively
- formule
- Formula, phrase, or set expression used repeatedly
- récent
- Recent, having happened or appeared not long ago
- éditeur
- Editor or publisher of a written work
- français
- French, relating to France or its language and culture
- retour
- Return, coming back, or going back to a place
- partie
- Part, portion, or section of a larger whole
- considérable
- Considerable, large or significant in amount or extent
- cette
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' or 'that' (feminine)
- préface
- Preface, introductory section appearing before a main text
- déjà
- Already, previously, or by this or that time
- publiée
- Published, made available to the public in print
- graduel
- Gradual, happening slowly or in small incremental steps
- domination
- Domination, the exercise of power or control over others
- plus
- More, most, or additionally; used in comparisons
- extraordinaire
- Extraordinary, remarkable, or far beyond what is ordinary
- ait
- Subjunctive form of 'avoir,' meaning 'has' in subordinate clauses
- jamais
- Never, or ever; used in negative or emphatic contexts
- envahi
- Invaded, overrun, or spread into aggressively
- opprimé
- Oppressed, subjected to harsh and unjust authority or control
- monde
- World, earth, or the entirety of human society
- cet
- Demonstrative adjective 'this' before masculine nouns starting with vowels
- empire
- Empire, a vast dominion ruled under one authority
- érigé
- Erected, built, or established upon a certain foundation
- ruines
- Ruins, remains of destroyed or collapsed structures
- tant
- So many, so much, or as many as indicated
- royaumes
- Kingdoms, territories ruled by a king or queen
- républiques
- Republics, states governed by elected representatives of the people
- États
- States, nations, or political entities with defined territories
- barbares
- Barbarians, people considered uncivilized or outside Roman culture
- civilisés
- Civilized, having an advanced and organized social culture
- fois
- Times, instances, or occasions of something occurring
- formant
- Forming, creating, or making up a whole or part
- tour
- Turn, round, or rotation; also a tower or trip
- démembrement
- Dismemberment, fragmentation, or breaking apart of a unified entity
- multitude
- Multitude, a very large number of people or things
- anéantissement
- Annihilation, total destruction or complete obliteration of something
- religion
- Religion, a system of faith and worship practices
- Grèce
- Greece, the ancient and modern Mediterranean nation
- progrès
- Progress, advancement or development toward a better state
- nouvelles
- New (feminine plural) or short stories; here meaning 'new'
- religions
- Religions, organized systems of belief and spiritual practice
- partagé
- Shared, divided, or distributed among multiple parties
- belles
- Beautiful or lovely (feminine plural adjective)
- contrées
- Regions, countries, or stretches of land
- terre
- Earth, land, soil, or the ground underfoot
- décrépitude
- Decrepitude, state of deterioration through age or neglect
- ancien
- Ancient, old, or former; relating to earlier times
- spectacle
- Spectacle, an impressive or remarkable sight or display
- gloire
- Glory, great honor, fame, or splendor achieved
- expirante
- Expiring, dying away, or fading out gradually
- mœurs
- Customs, morals, or social behaviors of a society
- dégénérées
- Degenerate, having declined from a higher moral standard
- enfance
- Childhood, infancy, or the early stage of development
- moderne
- Modern, relating to the present or recent times
- tableau
- Picture, scene, or vivid descriptive portrayal of something
- premiers
- First, earliest, or foremost (masculine plural adjective)
- nouvelle
- New (feminine singular) or a short story in French
- direction
- Direction, guidance, or course taken toward a goal
- donnée
- Given, provided, or granted to someone or something
- esprit
- Mind, spirit, intellect, or wit of a person
- caractère
- Character, nature, or distinctive quality of a person
- homme
- Man, human being, or mankind in general
- tel
- Such, such a, or of this kind (masculine singular)
- doit
- Must, should, or owes; third-person singular of 'devoir'
- nécessairement
- Necessarily, inevitably, or as an unavoidable consequence
- fixer
- To fix, capture, or direct firmly toward something
- attention
- Attention, the act of focusing one's mind on something
- exciter
- To excite, stir up, or arouse interest or emotion
- intérêt
- Interest, curiosity, or concern about something
- hommes
- Men or humans; plural of 'homme'
- peuvent
- Can or are able to; third-person plural of 'pouvoir'
- contempler
- To contemplate, gaze upon, or consider thoughtfully
- indifférence
- Indifference, lack of interest or concern about something
- ces
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'these' or 'those' (plural)
- époques
- Epochs, eras, or significant periods of historical time
- mémorables
- Memorable, worth remembering for their importance or distinction
- durant
- During, throughout the course of a period of time
- lesquelles
- Relative pronoun 'which' referring to feminine plural nouns
- selon
- According to, in accordance with, or depending on
- belle
- Beautiful, lovely, or fine (feminine singular adjective)
- expression
- Expression, a phrase or manner of conveying meaning
- grand
- Great, large, grand, or important in stature
- destin
- Destiny, fate, or the future determined by forces beyond control
- commence
- Begins, starts, or sets something in motion
- achève
- Ends, concludes, or comes to its completion
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