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Excerpt from The History of Rome, Vol. 1 He would have emancipated himself from the bondage, the willing bondage, to Niebuhr's authority; he would have been the interpreter of his own convictions, and not have continued jurare in verba magistri.' But forty years ago the authority of Niebuhr was too great even for such a. Mind as Arnold's to resist. Niebuhr had resuscitated in Germany the independent search for historical truth, which had long lain dormant; and his first disciples were IO penetrated with admiration and gratitude that they hardly dared to criticise, and certainly did not venture to reject, even those theories and speculations which they acknowledged or felt to be supported neither by external evidence nor by internal probability. Since that time a long line of pupils or independent students has, especially in Germany, worked incessantly in the further exploration of that mournful mass of ruins which buries the fallen edifice of Roman greatness. The positive results of Niebuhr's investigations have in a hundred ways been modified, enlarged, or rejected. To write the history of Rome at present from Niebuhr's stand-point would be as unprofitable as to go to war with the fire-arms which were considered perfect in the time of the long peace. We are indeed still in the midst of our improvements. We are gaining new knowledge every day and discarding old errors; but the time seems not unfavourable for a book which, whilst continuing the work of independent research, embodies so much of the results of recent inquiries as may be considered a clear and permanent accession to our stock of knowledge. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged