Quotes · Quote card
Quotation from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Selections) by Edward Gibbon
“it may be defined an absolute monarchy disguised by the forms of a commonwealth.”
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Selections), Chapter III, Part I (Milman edition, Project Gutenberg text)
Gibbon's definition of the imperial system Augustus created, in which the emperor held power while the Senate and magistracies kept their ancient names.
Citation: "it may be defined an absolute monarchy disguised by the forms of a commonwealth." — Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Selections), Chapter III, Part I (Milman edition, Project Gutenberg text). (id gibbon-decline-and-fall-selections-q2)
Portrait: Edward Emily Gibbon, Joshua Reynolds, Public domain.
