Are We Following The Roman Empire’s Path of Decline? Part 1: The Death of True Art
Edward Gibbon was a British Essayist and Historian who lived from 1737 to 1794. He wrote the book “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.” The Roman Empire was arguably the greatest empire of the ancient world. Its dominance lasted longer than the Babylonian, Persian, and Greco-Macedonian empires that came before it. After defeating Carthage in the Punic Wars, what followed was a period of great peace and prosperity known as the Pax Romana. This period was marked by the absence of war, economic prosperity, infrastructure expansion, and a rejuvenation of art, literature, and architecture. It was far from perfect, as it was led by pagan emperors, but the Empire benefited from putting forth common-sense actions. These actions often conformed to God’s ordering of the world. Any time a people does things God’s way, even pagans, they will see some benefit, as the Roman Empire did.
Over a century after the Pax Romana ended, the Roman Empire became greatly influenced by Christianity. In the 4th Century, under the rule of Constantine, the empire came under the rule of Christianity and reaped the benefits of doing things according to God’s design. But as time went on, the people and their leaders distanced themselves from the “good, the true, and the beautiful.” Eventually, this led to the fall of the Roman Empire, generally considered to have met its end in 476 AD, with the ejection of the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer. There are probably lots of reasons why the Roman Empire fell, but Gibbon, as his work has been summarized, lists six reasons that underlaid the fall. We’ll take a look at the first and second reasons:
“Freakishness” and “Enthusiasum”
Gibbon’s reasons 1 & 2 are noted as “Freakishness in the Arts Masquerading as Originality and Enthusiasm Pretending to Be Creativity.” As one author summarizes: “Gibbon noted that the arts at the end of the Roman Empire were increasingly focused on novelty and sensationalism rather than genuine artistic merit… He also pointed out that a sense of enthusiasm and energy was sometimes mistaken for genuine creativity, leading to a decline in the quality of artistic and intellectual endeavors.”
All True Beauty Comes from God
God defines what is beautiful. Beauty comes from the Lord, as Genesis 1:31 says, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” When God created the earth and the entire universe in six days, He declared that everything was just as it was supposed to be. King David describes the beauty of God’s creation; “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). He also described the pleasure of gazing upon the beauty of the Lord; “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).
The apostle Paul noted everyone can see God’s beautiful design in creation: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). We also know that man bears the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). To be made in the image of God is to be made like God, and one way that humans reflect their Creator is through their ability to create beauty. Throughout history, we have seen this with the variety of art and music humans create. There have been many great works produced by God’s image bearers that well reflect the beauty of the Creator.
Sinful Man Creates False Art
With all of the good art in the world, there’s also art pretending to be good, which, as Gibbon notes, increased in regularity toward the end of the Roman Empire. What is so often called “art” and “music” in our current culture falls far short. Late in the spring, my wife and I took a trip up to the North Shore of Minnesota with some friends. We stopped into a coffee shop that also had a little store. We found a small canvas covered in wrapping full of different colors. I thought the work was done by a child, something that my young son would do. To my surprise, this little canvas splashed with colors was $50. But on the other end of the room, there were larger canvases with colors splashed on them. The canvas was full of messy colors accompanied by strange shapes. I am not lying when I say that the canvases were hundreds of dollars. One in particular was $800. I left thinking, “What has become of our society if this is considered art?”
Not far from where I live, on the hill across the river in Minnesota, there is a sculpture garden. This sculpture garden is quite literally old junk brought together to form various designs. Anyone with an even mild sense of good art would conclude that it is more of a garbage dump than an artistic sculpture garden. Seeing this in abundance before our eyes is a frightening reality. As Gibbon noted, bad art signaled the end of the Roman Empire. This kind of art is found in the downtowns and art institutes of major cities across the US.
A Nation’s Art Is a Barometer of Its Moral State
We need to ask the question, what is it about art that tells us how our society is doing? Why is it that Gibbon saw this as a major symptom of decline in the Roman Empire? If art is good, this shows the general health of a society. If art is bad, then society is in decay and decline. Art is a window into the character of a people. This statement needs a bit of qualification. Can unbelievers make great art? The answer is yes, as mentioned above. That being said, even unbelievers are influenced by a society that was influenced by sacred principles. Great art was produced in Christian nations, much coming from Europe, a place greatly influenced by Christianity. We have also seen great art in America, a nation founded on biblical principles.
If you trace the history of art and music in America, both used to be far superior. Paintings, sculptures, architecture, and music were better. Think also about Christian music. Has it gotten better or worse as time has gone on? Most of the best hymns that we have are old. Much of the modern Christian music is repetitive and reflects secular music’s lack of richness and variation, and will not stand the test of time. We have gone from the richness of “How Great Thou Art” to the shallowness of “Good Good Father.”
All of the art and music that used to be considerably better tell of a time when people were closer to God, even unbelievers, by being more influenced by His principles. As people have lived more immoral lives, they have distanced themselves from God and have inevitably shown a great decline in their quality of art.
Christians are to Promote Good Art
This is a lesson for us to observe in our day. As art improves, we’ll know that society is improving. As it declines, we’ll know that morality is declining. It may be that America never improves as we inch closer to the end of the age. But only the Lord knows the answer. It is our responsibility as Christians to promote good art in all the various ways that it is produced. As this is done, a much higher standard is set for the church and the broader American society.
But the beginning of good art is closeness with our Creator (Proverbs 1:7). This needs to be the message of Christians as our nation, in many ways, declines. In this way, we are being the salt and light that Christ calls us to be (Matthew 5:13-16).
Next, we will look at Gibbon’s third reason why the Roman Empire fell, its relevance to America: “A Mounting Love of Show and Luxury.”
