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[TTC Video] Leo Damrosch - Books that Matter: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
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Course Overview
According to his Memoirs, on October 15, 1764, the Enlightenment historian Edward Gibbon discovered his life’s mission: to chronicle the centuries-long collapse of the Roman Empire. The result of this grand endeavor would become one of the greatest works of history ever written.
For all its renown as a work of style, elegance, wit, and insight, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire can be intimidating for the armchair historian. Published between 1776 and 1781, the six volumes contain 1.5 million words, an estimated 8,000 footnotes, a cast of 10,000 historical figures, and they span a timeline of more than 1,000 years.
Yet, even today, centuries after its original publication, Gibbon’s historical chronicle demands to be read and understood. There are several important reasons for this, according to Dr. Leo Damrosch, Professor of Literature Emeritus at Harvard University:
First, while later historians have brought fresh perspectives to the Roman Empire’s collapse, Gibbon’s book remains profoundly truthful in the events it recounts, bringing what Professor Damrosch calls a “unifying, insight-inspiring perspective to the past.”
Second, a great work of history is just as much about storytelling as it is about events. Gibbon is a masterful storyteller, and his Decline and Fall still has the ability to hook modern-day readers with its style and manner—just like a great novel.
And third, Gibbon was (and remains) a landmark historian who revolutionized the way writers think about and interpret the past. Despite being a product of his time in certain views, his techniques and insights would lay the foundation for generations of future historians.
In Books That Matter: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Professor Damrosch invites you on a riveting, 24-lecture examination of this great work from multiple perspectives; as a vast historical chronicle, as a compelling masterpiece of literature, as a sharp commentary on cultural mores, and as a cautionary tale to Enlightenment Europe. An engaging, chapter-by-chapter guide to the Decline and Fall, Professor Damrosch’s course helps you navigate the book’s themes, structure, philosophies, background, and lasting influence. Whether you’ve read the book before and are looking for new ways to think about it, or whether you’ve always wanted to read it but never knew where to start, Professor Damrosch’s lectures are a fascinating, rewarding, and authoritative guide to the enduring legacy of a once-mighty empire—and the great book that became its eulogy and epitaph.
“I Was Immediately Dominated Both by the Story and the Style”
As a young army officer stationed in India, Winston Churchill discovered Gibbon’s masterpiece and wrote in his memoir, “I was immediately dominated both by the story and the style. All through the long glistening middle hours of the Indian day I devoured Gibbon. I rode triumphantly through it from beginning to end, and enjoyed it all.”
This same spirit of excitement and wonder is at the heart of Professor Damrosch’s lectures. Central to his course is the idea of the Decline and Fall as a masterpiece of the art and craft of history. You’ll approach the book as that: a written work that reflects the styles, techniques, and ideologies of the Enlightenment age in which it was written.
You’ll understand why this book captivated millions of readers who, like Churchill, found Gibbon’s writing to be both authoritative and un-put-downable. You’ll also get a sense of just how revolutionary a work of history this book is.
Footnotes: “We’re so accustomed to footnotes today,” says Professor Damrosch, “that we may not suspect how original Gibbon was in providing them.” Taken together, the footnotes in Decline and Fall occupy fully one fourth of the entire book. Not only did these copious footnotes register sources (uncommon in other texts of the time), they allowed Gibbon to engage in an intimate conversation with the reader that would have seemed inappropriate in the body of the text itself.
Periodic Style: The Decline and Fall‘s renown as a work of literary genius owes much to Gibbon’s employment of the periodic style throughout its pages. For example, about a Byzantine emperor, he writes, “In every deed of mischief, he had a heart to resolve, a head to contrive, and a hand to execute.” By bringing out parallels, or setting ideas against each other, Gibbon gives the reader a coherent structure for stories that might otherwise be extremely confusing. It also makes the book compulsively readable.
Room for Reflection: In many respects, Gibbon’s Decline and Fall offered a new way to write about the past. While Gibbon admired Enlightenment theorizing, he believed historiography should always be grounded in “knowledge and reflection.” The best historians, according to Gibbon, take readers behind the scenes and allow them to ponder evidence alongside the author. The Decline and Fall wasn’t written from a place of complete understanding; rather, it was written to help readers better evaluate the past.
But the Decline and Fall isn’t a perfect work of history. As Professor Damrosch also notes, for all its historical insight, Gibbon’s masterpiece was nevertheless a victim of blind spots in Enlightenment thinking. One such failing you’ll come back to repeatedly is Gibbon’s treatment of religion (including Christianity and Islam) as a purely social phenomenon. All too often in these pages, he neglects its importance as an interior, spiritual experience.
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