The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: A Modern Abridgment by Moses Hadas

by Edward Gibbon, Mitch Horowitz (introduction)

The Classic History of Rome’s Fall From Glory in
an Unparalleled Abridgment and Reintroduction

Few historical works encompass the pathos, drama, and meticulous detail of Edward Gibbon’s extraordinary record of Rome’s demise, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which the English historian issued in six volumes from 1776 to 1789.

In 1962, classics scholar Moses Hadas produced an extraordinary—and long out-of-print—modern abridgment of Gibbon’s landmark, opening its pages to the broadest possible range of readers. Now, Hadas’s gloriously readable digest is available once more—with a new and wide-spanning introduction by PEN Award-winning historian Mitch Horowitz and an appendix of aphorisms from the book.

An artform in itself, “Hadas’s effort is among the finest of any abridged works in English,” Mitch writes in his introduction. “His condensation exposed this vital book to many readers who would have otherwise bypassed it. Hadas intrepidly identified and distilled a narrative throughline in Gibbon’s six volumes, reducing more than 1,000,000 words—not counting nearly half as many more in source notes—to fewer than 100,000 words.”

In its sweeping yet concise arc of history, this abridgment of Decline and Fall covers a span of almost 1,500 years from the time of Trajan in 180 A.D. to the siege of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. “Its theme,” Hadas writes, “is the most overwhelming phenomenon in recorded history—the disintegration not of a nation but of an old and rich and apparently indestructible civilization.”

In his introduction, Mitch clarifies historical confusions, such as the highly unorthodox form of early Christianity to which the Emperor Constantine converted in the early fourth century and the syncretic nature of Roman—and modern—religious traditions.

For readers eager to experience Gibbon’s brilliant primary historicism, to understand the long decline of Rome—and the reasons for the Empire’s demise—there exists no better or more accessible condensation of Decline and Fall.

360 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 10, 2024

About the author

Edward Gibbon (8 May 1737 – 16 January 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. His most important work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788. The Decline and Fall is known for the quality and irony of its prose, its use of primary sources, and its open criticism of organised religion.

Gibbon returned to England in June 1765. His father died in 1770, and after tending to the estate, which was by no means in good condition, there remained quite enough for Gibbon to settle fashionably in London at 7 Bentinck Street, independent of financial concerns. By February 1773, he was writing in earnest, but not without the occasional self-imposed distraction. He took to London society quite easily, and joined the better social clubs, including Dr. Johnson's Literary Club, and looked in from time to time on his friend Holroyd in Sussex. He succeeded Oliver Goldsmith at the Royal Academy as 'professor in ancient history' (honorary but prestigious). In late 1774, he was initiated a freemason of the Premier Grand Lodge of England. And, perhaps least productively in that same year, he was returned to the House of Commons for Liskeard, Cornwall through the intervention of his relative and patron, Edward Eliot. He became the archetypal back-bencher, benignly "mute" and "indifferent," his support of the Whig ministry invariably automatic. Gibbon's indolence in that position, perhaps fully intentional, subtracted little from the progress of his writing.

After several rewrites, with Gibbon "often tempted to throw away the labours of seven years," the first volume of what would become his life's major achievement, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published on 17 February 1776. Through 1777, the reading public eagerly consumed three editions for which Gibbon was rewarded handsomely: two-thirds of the profits amounting to approximately £1,000. Biographer Leslie Stephen wrote that thereafter, "His fame was as rapid as it has been lasting." And as regards this first volume, "Some warm praise from David Hume overpaid the labour of ten years."

Volumes II and III appeared on 1 March 1781, eventually rising "to a level with the previous volume in general esteem." Volume IV was finished in June 1784; the final two were completed during a second Lausanne sojourn (September 1783 to August 1787) where Gibbon reunited with his friend Deyverdun in leisurely comfort. By early 1787, he was "straining for the goal" and with great relief the project was finished in June. Gibbon later wrote:

It was on the day, or rather the night, of 27 June 1787, between the hours of eleven and twelve, that I wrote the last lines of the last page in a summer-house in my garden. ... I will not dissemble the first emotions of joy on the recovery of my freedom, and perhaps the establishment of my fame. But my pride was soon humbled, and a sober melancholy was spread over my mind by the idea that I had taken my everlasting leave of an old and agreeable companion, and that, whatsoever might be the future date of my history, the life of the historian must be short and precarious.

Volumes IV, V, and VI finally reached the press in May 1788, their publication having been delayed since March so it could coincide with a dinner party celebrating Gibbon's 51st birthday (the 8th). Mounting a bandwagon of praise for the later volumes were such contemporary luminaries as Adam Smith, William Robertson, Adam Ferguson, Lord Camden, and Horace Walpole. Smith remarked that Gibbon's triumph had positioned him "at the very head of [Europe's] literary tribe."

Reviews

[Nico Bruin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this so enjoyable to read that I am now committed to one day read the whole full 4000 page work. Sometime before 2040, probably.

[Jim Ecock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough Read

This version is so abridged you learn nothing and it's very confusing. A common complaint of History students is it too many names and dates. In this version they stopped bothering with the dates. Dates were painstakingly provided for a forty year period in the 3rd century and then that was it. I hate to put a book down once I start it, but I wish I made an exception in this case.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dense. I’m not sure that I knew enough about the Roman Empire before diving into this, and I probably shouldn’t have listened while simultaneously running, but overall I thought it was very informative and interesting.

[Elizabeth Braden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tbis is an outstanding book that tells about the decline and fall of the Roman Empire!