| This magisterial history improves with every page that I read. In this volume, we have the "controversial" chapters concerning the early history of the Church, and the comments of Gibbon that so inflamed the religious leaders of his time. At a distance of 250 years, it's amusing to see what excited them so very much. The author is, I think, rather mild in his criticism of the established religion of the day, and he appears to be a religious man who simply has a historian's interest in presenting what happened in the distant past as accurately as possible. His comments would probably not excite much reaction these days, but one never knows. The history of Constantine's reign is done very well, and this volume ends with his son's years on the throne. I'm looking forward to his take on the reign of Julian, who attempted to restore paganism to the Empire. That should prove to be very interesting! |
