罗马帝国的衰亡史就是基督教会的兴盛史 The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ISThe History of the Rise and Popularity of the Christian Church

爱德华·吉本是个机会主义者， 他的《罗马帝国衰亡史》言过其实、浪得虚名。因为他把历史叙事当作功名利禄的敲门砖， 这种恶俗的态度致使其写作变成了一种哗众取宠的行为艺术。这是因为， 他要追随十八世纪英国主流社会非基督教化的文艺复兴潮流， 所以他不得不抹杀了历史的真相--罗马帝国衰亡史就是基督教会的兴盛史。为要达到这一抹杀的目的， 就需要把基督教的兴盛叫做中世纪的黑暗了。这就是人文主义和理性主义的真面目。Content SummaryEdward Gibbon was an opportunist and his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire was exaggerated and unrealistic. Because he regards historical narrative as a stepping stone to fame and fortune this vulgar attitude makes his writing a kind of performance art to please the public. This is because he wanted to follow the Renaissance trend of non-Christianization of mainstream British society in the 18th century so he had to obliterate the truth of history-The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire IS The History of the Rise and Popularity of the Christian Church. For the purpose of obliteration it is necessary to call the growth of Christianity the darkness of the Middle Ages. This is the true face of humanism and rationalism.