Edward Gibbon was a great historian. He lived in England was very smart. Gibbon is best known for writing The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. (http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/egibbon.htm). Arnold Toynbee was also a British historian who wrote about the rise and fall of civilizations. He was the author of the writing A Study of History. ( http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/philosophy/history/toynbee_study_history.html). These men both looked at Rome differently and saw a different side from the fall of a great power.
In Gibbon’s writing, he talked about thee many great things in Rome. He said, “The rise of a city, which swelled into an Empire, may deserve, as a singular prodigy, the reflection of a philosophic mind. But the decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness.” Gibbon talks very highly of the Roman Empire when he said that the state was immoderate greatness. The reason the Empire fell, according to Gibbon, is that it just became too big for what it could handle. He says that if we question why it fell, we should really be asking why it stayed so long. Gibbon says that the Romans didn’t understand the “extent of the danger” that was out in the world, and the number of enemies they had. This also led to the many attempts at invasions that may have worn the army down. Gibbon doesn’t really say one specific reason as to why it fell; he just thinks it got too big. (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/gibbon-fall.html).
Arnold Toynbee’s view on the situation is completely different. He solely believes that Christianity is the blame for the collapse. He comes out directly and says that when he says, “Christianity rises as the empire sinks and the rise of Christianity is the fall of civilization.” This observation is very true about Christianity but was it powerful enough at the time to destroy an entire empire? Toynbee believes so. He also says that the rise of Christianity was an accident and this wasn’t supposed to happen. Toynbee and Gibbon have completely different views on the fall of Rome, and it is interesting to compare the two ideas. (http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/toynbee.html).
"Arnold Toynbee Study of History." Spiritual Insights Quotations Faith Vs Reason Debate Mysticism in World Religions. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. .
"Edward Gibbon." Www.kirjasto.sci.fi. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. .
"Medieval Sourcebook: Gibbon: The Fall of the Roman Empire." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. .
"A Toynbee Bibliography." The Toynbee Convector. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. .
Picture From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_J._Toynbee
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