Edward Gibbon

The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.

The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.

My early and invincible love of reading, . . . I would not
exchange for the treasures of India.

My early and invincible love of reading, . . . I would not
exchange for the treasures of India.

I was never less alone than when by myself.

I was never less alone than when by myself.

Beauty is an outward gift which is seldom despised, except by those to whom it has been refused.

Beauty is an outward gift which is seldom despised, except by those to whom it has been refused.

I understand by this passion the union of desire, friendship, and tenderness, which is inflamed by a single female, which read more

I understand by this passion the union of desire, friendship, and tenderness, which is inflamed by a single female, which prefers her to the rest of her sex, and which seeks her possession as the supreme or the sole happiness of our being.