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Quotation from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Selections) by Edward Gibbon
“The spider has wove his web in the Imperial palace; and the owl hath sung her watch-song on the towers of Afrasiab.”
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Selections), Chapter LXVIII, Part IV (Milman edition, Project Gutenberg text)
Entering the stripped palace of the Byzantine emperors after the conquest, the sultan recites lines on the passing of earthly power.
Citation: "The spider has wove his web in the Imperial palace; and the owl hath sung her watch-song on the towers of Afrasiab." — Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Selections), Chapter LXVIII, Part IV (Milman edition, Project Gutenberg text). (id gibbon-decline-and-fall-selections-q8)
Portrait: Edward Emily Gibbon, Joshua Reynolds, Public domain.
