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The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Complete in Eight Volumes
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Complete in Eight Volumes Author:Edward Gibbon General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1825 Original Publisher: Printed by J.F. Dove [for] G. Cowie and co. Subjects: Rome Byzantine Empire History / Ancient / General History / Ancient / Rome History / Medieval History / Europe / Greece Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It ... more »has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: First In the choice of the attack, the French and siflgeand Venetians were divided by their habits of life conquest ofCon- and warfare. The former affirmed with truth, pie by the that Constantinople was most accessible on the side of the sea and the harbour. The latter -- ia. might assert with honour, that they had long enough trusted their lives and fortunes to a frail bark and a precarious element, and loudly demanded a trial of knighthood, a firm ground, and a close onset, either on foot or horseback. After a prudent compromise, of employing the two nations by sea and land, in the service best suited to their character, the fleet covering the army, they both proceeded from the entrance to the extremity of the harbour: the stone bridge of the river was hastily repaired; and the six battles of the French formed their encampment against the front of the capital, the basis of the triangle which runs about four miles from the port to the Propontis. On the edge of a broad ditch, at the foot of a lofty rampart, they had leisure to contemplate the difficulties of their enterprise. The gates to the right and left of their narrow camp poured forth frequent sallies of cavalry and light-infantry, which cut off their stragglers, swept the country of provisions, sounded the alarm five or six times in the course of each day, and compelled them to plant a pallisade, and sink an in- trenchment, for their immediate s...« less