J.G.A. Pocock, Barbarism and Religion, Vol. 2

Barbarism and Religion is a six volume series of books about Edward Gibbon’s writing of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Volume 2 might focus on the philosophical context Gibbon was writing in, the historical forms then in use, and Gibbon’s position within the various Enlightenments then taking place. Relative to those, it might discuss the means by which he conceived a new form of historiography. This could be considered in a theatrical context; how the actor defines history for the character might be a central interest of the pedagogy in question. A Theory of Individual History, might be a way of considering character, determining what sort of references are given weight, and, how those references are given different kinds of weights, to define what their motivations are and how they respond to memories, fears, and ambitions.