Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/814

 798 GIBBON GIBBS 1783 to reside with his friend Deyverdun. His fourth volume, embracing the reign of Justin- ian and the chapter on the Institutes, was already finished, but 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 popu- lar among the Swiss; he gave balls and sup- pers, frequented assemblies, received many eminent visitors, and even after he was fairly reseated at his task mingled gayety with con- stant 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 estab- lished 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, veil- ed 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. Lau- sanne was filled with French emigrants; the Neckers with their daughter, afterward Mme. 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 con- cealed, 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 predom- inant idea, tracing the progress of hostile re- ligions, the influx of successive hosts of bar- barians 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, impo- sing, and picturesque style, are among the qual- ties which secure its eminence in historical lit- erature. "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. II. II. 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 Shef- field (2 vols., London, 1796, to which a third volume was added in 1815). GIBBONS, Grinling, an English wood carver and sculptor, born about 1650, died in London, Aug. 3, 1721. He was the son of a Dutch- man who settled in London ; and as he early excelled in his art, Evelyn recommended him to Charles II., who attached him to the board of public works, and employed him in the chapel of Windsor castle, for which he carved the foliage, and in the choir of St. Paul's and the great room at Petworth, the decorations of the latter being regarded as his masterpiece. Among his other carvings are the font in St. James's, Piccadilly, and the base of the eques- trian statue of Charles I., in Charing cross. His best known sculpture is the statue of James II. in front of Whitehall. His fame, however, rests mainly on his wood carving, in which his touch was so graceful and delicate that his carved feathers can hardly be distinguished from real ones. GIBBONS, Orlando, an English composer, born 'in Cambridge in 1583, died in 1625. At the age of 21 he was made organist of the royal chapel. In 1622 the degree of doctor of music was conferred on him by the university of Ox- ford. He was principally distinguished for his church .music, his anthems being regarded in their day as model compositions of that class. He was also a skilful composer of madrigals. GIBBS, Josiah Willard, an American philologist, born in Salem, Mass., April 30, 1790, died in New Haven, March 25, 1861. He graduated at Yale college in 1809, and was tutor in that institution from 1811 to 1815. In 1824 he was appointed professor of sacred literature in the theological department of Yale college, a post which he held until his death. In his special department, and in philological and grammati- cal studies generally, he was a thorough and accurate scholar. His principal publications are : a translation of Storr's " Essay on the Historical Sense of the New Testament" (Bos- ton, 1817) ; translation of Gesenius's " Hebrew