Near the close of 1775 the first volume of his history was completed. It was refused by the bookseller Elmsley, but accepted by Cadell and Strahan. It appeared in February, 1776; its success was immediate, and, for a quarto and a grave historical production, unprecedented. The first edition was exhausted in a few days; a second and third were soon called for. Hume and Robertson, to whom he sent copies, wrote him congratulatory letters. His splendid theme and imposing style fixed the attention of the public, while his views of Christianity in the last two chapters called forth numerous replies. Watson, Taylor, Mil-ner, Lord Hailes, Davies of Oxford, and Dr. Priestley were the most noted of his assailants; but to Davies alone would the historian consent to reply, because this critic had questioned not his faith, but his historical fidelity. His "Vindication" soon appeared, in which he freed himself from the charge of misquotation. Meantime he studied chemistry and anatomy for recreation. He wrote a political pamphlet in French, in defence of the ministry, and was rewarded with a sinecure place in the board of trade worth £800 a year. He was a member of the Literary club, and a noted conversationist.

The second and third volumes of his history were published in 1781, and were received with avidity. On the fall of Lord North's ministry and the loss of his salary by the abolition of the board of trade, Gibbon thought himself too poor to live in England, and went to Lausanne in 1783 to reside with his friend Deyverdun. His fourth volume, embracing the reign of Justinian and the chapter on the Institutes, was already finished, hut on the borders of the lake of Geneva he allowed nearly a year to pass before he vigorously resumed his work. He was fond of society, and became highly popular among the Swiss; he gave balls and suppers, frequented assemblies, received many eminent visitors, and even after he was fairly reseated at his task mingled gayety with constant study. He wrote steadily and rapidly till he completed his work, June 27, 1787. He went to England bearing the manuscript of the last three volumes with him, and on his 51st birthday, the period selected by himself, they were issued. The work was already established in fame; it was translated into German, French, and Italian. His profit from all the volumes is stated to have been £6,000, and that of the booksellers £60,000. The later volumes were reproached for indecencies, veiled for the most part in the learned languages in the notes.

Gibbon returned to Lausanne in July, 1788, to find his friend Deyverdun dying. He now wrote his own Memoirs," which were published posthumously. The French revolution disturbed his repose. Lausanne was filled with French emigrants; the Neckers with their daughter, afterward Mine, de Stael, were his neighbors at Coppet. Lady Sheffield, the wife of his intimate friend Lord Sheffield, died about this time, and Gibbon, partly in the hope of consoling his friend, partly in fear of the revolution, set out for England in the spring of 1793. He had long suffered from hydrocele, which he had studiously concealed, and he died calmly after undergoing three painful operations. He was buried in Lord Sheffield's family burial place at Fletch-ing, in Sussex, and his epitaph was written by Dr. Parr.-In appearance Gibbon was heavy and dull, his countenance showed no trace of intellect, and his features were unattractive. He was fond of fine dress, and his manners were well bred but pompous. He conversed with fluency in sounding language and well ordered periods. His Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is admitted to be the greatest historical work in the English language, and one of the greatest creations of any single intellect.

It is hardly less than the history of the world for nearly 13 centuries, for it comprises an account of all the nations who influenced the destinies of the Roman empire both in the West and East. Its vast design, including the decay and ruin of an ancient civilization and the birth and formation of a new order of things; its lucid arrangement, subordinating an infinite variety of subjects to one main and predominant idea, tracing the progress of hostile religions, the influx of successive hosts of barbarians from remote and opposite quarters, the development of the Roman law, the details of ecclesiastical history, and the general rise of modern states, according to the impressions which they made on the tottering fabric of Roman greatness; its singular condensation of matter, general accuracy, and splendid, imposing, and picturesque style, are among the qual-ties which secure its eminence in historical literature."Christianity alone," says Milman, "receives no embellishment from the magic of.

Gibbon's language; his imagination is dead to its moral dignity; it is kept down by a general tone of jealous disparagement, or neutralized by a painfully elaborate exposition of its darker and degenerate periods." The best editions are those edited by the Rev. H. H. Milman (12 vols., London, 1838-'9; 2d ed., 1845), which embodies notes by the editor, and by Guizot and others, and that by William Smith (8 vols., 1854-'5), containing many new notes. Dr. Smith's abridgment, The Student's Gibbon," is valuable as a concise summary of the work. Gibbon's memoirs and miscellaneous writings were published under the care of Lord Sheffield (2 vols., London, 1796, to which a third volume was added in 1815).