Irritation at a nameless magazine’s author contract puts Terry Teachout (Jun. 30) in mind of the following passage from Patrick O’Brian’s The Reverse of the Medal:

“As for Gibbon, now,” said Stephen when they were settled by the fire again, “I do remember the first lines. They ran ‘It is dangerous to entrust the conduct of nations to men who have learned from their profession to consider reason as the instrument of dispute, and to interpret the laws according to the dictates of private interest; and the mischief has been felt, even in countries where the practice of the bar may deserve to be considered as a liberal occupation.’”

A search on Google Book Search does produce the quote, and indicates that it appeared in the original text of Decline and Fall, but says Gibbon cut the sentence while the book was in press so as “to soften a passage comparing Roman lawyers with their modern counterparts”. It’s also unclear from context whether the passage constituted the “first lines” of anything in particular, as O’Brian suggests.

Filed under: politics