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I will not dissemble the first emotions of joy on the recovery of my freedom, and, perhaps, the establishment of my fame. But my pride was soon humbled, and a sober melancholy was spread over my mind, by the idea that I had taken an everlasting leave of an old and agreeable companion, and that whatsoever might be the future date of my History, the life of the historian must be short and precarious.
Edward Gibbon
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the bittersweet nature of freedom and fame, acknowledging the melancholy of leaving behind the past and facing the uncertainty of life.

In this quote, Edward Gibbon expresses the complex emotions tied to his newfound freedom and potential fame. While he initially experiences joy, he is quickly overshadowed by a sense of sorrow and contemplation regarding the transience of life and the inevitability of parting from cherished experiences and companions. This dichotomy highlights the profound nature of human experience—where triumph is often accompanied by loss, prompting reflection on the meaning of existence and legacy.

Themes

FreedomFameMelancholyHistoryLife

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used at a graduation speech to emphasize the bittersweet nature of moving on.

More from Edward Gibbon

It was Rome, on the fifteenth of October, 1764, as I sat musing amidst the ruins of the Capitol, while the barefooted friars were singing vespers in the Temple of Jupiter, that the idea of writing the decline and fall of the city first started to my mind.
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And the winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.
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The first and indispensable requisite of happiness is a clear conscience.
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In discussing Barbarism and Christianity I have actually been discussing the Fall of Rome.
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Many a sober Christian would rather admit that a wafer is God than that God is a cruel and capricious tyrant.
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The theologian may indulge the pleasing task of describing Religion as she descended from Heaven, arrayed in her native purity. A more melancholy duty is imposed on the historian. He must discover the inevitable mixture of error and corruption which she contracted in a long residence upon Earth, among a weak and degenerate race of beings.
Edward GibbonRead

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