“In the tumult of civil discord, the laws of society lose their force, and their place is seldom supplied by those of humanity. The ardor of contention, the pride of victory, the despair of success, the memory of past injuries and the fear of future dangers all contribute to inflame the mind and to silence the voice of pity. From such motives almost every page of history has been stained with civil blood.”
Edward Gibbon wrote this in his 1776 classic,
“The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.”
Jan 24
Jan 24, 2026 at 9:01 AM UTC
“In the tumult of civil discord, the laws of society lose their force, and their place is seldom supplied by those of humanity. The ardor of contention, the pride of victory, the despair of success, the memory of past injuries and the fear of future dangers all contribute to inflame the mind and to silence the voice of pity. From such motives almost every page of history has been stained with civil blood.”
Edward Gibbon wrote this in his 1776 classic,
“The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.”
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