There has never been much doubt about the faith of the “infidel historian” Edward Gibbon. But for all of Gibbon’s skepticism regarding Christianity’s central doctrines, the author of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire did not merely seek to oppose Christianity; he confronted it as a philosophical and historical puzzle. Gibbon’s Christianity tallies the results and conditions of that confrontation. Using rich correspondence, private journals, early works, and memoirs that were never completed, Hugh Liebert provides intimate access to Gibbon’s life in order to better understand his complex relationship with religion. Approaching the Decline and Fall from the context surrounding its conception, Liebert shows how Gibbon adapted explanations of the Roman republic’s rise to account for a new spiritual republic and, subsequently, the rise of modern Europe. Taken together, Liebert’s analysis of this context, including the nuance of Gibbon’s relationship to Christianity, and his readings of Gibbon’s better- and lesser-known texts suggest a historian more eager to comprehend Christianity’s worldly power than to sneer at or dismiss it. Eminently readable and wholly accessible to anyone interested in or familiar with the Decline and Fall, this groundbreaking reassessment of Gibbon’s most famous work will appeal especially to scholars of eighteenth-century studies.

Excerpt from Gibbon's Account of Christianity Considered: Together With Some Strictures on Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion The reader may be convinced of this, if he pleafe to perufe the Contents, in which he will find, unavoidably fome, but not many mate rials, that have been ufed by other writers on this occafion. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) personifies the calm and dignified rationalism of the 18th century. He became world famous as the author of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a multi-volume work describing almost 1300 years of history in some of the finest English prose ever written. The present volume is taken from volume one and focuses entirely on the early Christian Church. Gibbon does not mince words. He likes the religious toleration that prevailed in the Roman Empire prior to Christianity and describes it in his characteristically witty way: "The various modes of worship which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people, as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; and by the magistrate, as equally useful." He further outraged orthodox believers of his time by saying that his entire work described "the triumph of barbarism and religion." Axios Press's Essence of . . . series takes the greatest works ever written in the field of practical philosophy and pares them down to their essence. We select the best passages--the ones that are immediately relevant to us today, full of timeless wisdom and advice about the world and how best to live our lives--and leave behind the more obscure or less important bits. Our selections are not isolated: they flow together to create a seamless work that will capture your interest and attention from page one. And we provide useful notes and a solid introduction to the work.

Explores the life and work of historian Edward Gibbon, and his complex relationship with Christianity, through an examination of his correspondence, private journals, early works, and unfinished memoirs.