<P> If we contrast the rapid progress of this mischievous discovery (of gunpowder) with the slow and laborious advances of reason, science, and the arts of peace, a philosopher, according to his temper, will laugh or weep at the folly of mankind . </P> <P> Gibbon provides the reader with a glimpse of his thought process with extensive notes along the body of the text, a precursor to the modern use of footnotes . Gibbon's footnotes are famous for their idiosyncratic and often humorous style, and have been called "Gibbon's table talk ." They provide an entertaining moral commentary on both ancient Rome and 18th - century Great Britain . This technique enabled Gibbon to compare ancient Rome to his own contemporary world . Gibbon's work advocates a rationalist and progressive view of history . </P> <P> Gibbon's citations provide in - depth detail regarding his use of sources for his work, which included documents dating back to ancient Rome . The detail within his asides and his care in noting the importance of each document is a precursor to modern - day historical footnoting methodology . </P> <P> The work is notable for its erratic but exhaustively documented notes and research . John Bury, following him 113 years later with his own History of the Later Roman Empire, commended the depth and accuracy of Gibbon's work . Unusually for 18th century historians, Gibbon was not content with second - hand accounts when the primary sources were accessible . "I have always endeavoured", Gibbon wrote, "to draw from the fountain - head; that my curiosity, as well as a sense of duty, has always urged me to study the originals; and that, if they have sometimes eluded my search, I have carefully marked the secondary evidence, on whose faith a passage or a fact were reduced to depend ." The Decline and Fall is a literary monument and a massive step forward in historical method . </P>

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