" Of the merit of Xenophon's sentiments,
most people would now admit that the less said the better. The warmth
of Gibbon's language with regard to Xenophon contrasts with the
coldness he shows with regard to Plato. "I involved myself," he says,
"in the philosophic maze of the writings of Plato, of which perhaps
the dramatic is more interesting than the argumentative part." That
Gibbon knew amply sufficient Greek for his purposes as an historian no
one doubts, but his honourable candour enables us to see that he was
never a Greek scholar in the proper sense of the word.
It would be greatly to misknow Gibbon to suppose that his studies at
Lausanne were restricted to the learned languages. He obtained
something more than an elementary knowledge of mathematics, mastered
De Crousaz' _Logic_ and Locke's _Essay_, and filled up his spare time
with that wide and discursive reading to which his boundless curiosity
was always pushing him. He was thoroughly happy and contented, and
never ceased throughout his life to congratulate himself on the
fortunate exile which had placed him at Lausanne. In one respect he
did not use his opportunities while in Switzerland.
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