[The monks'] credulity debased and vitiated the faculties of the mind: they corrupted the evidence of history; and superstition gradually extinguished the hostile light of philosophy and science.
Edward Gibbon (2000). “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume II: A.D. 395 to A.D. 1185 (A Modern Library E-Book)”, p.560, Modern Library
![[The monks'] credulity debased and vitiated the faculties of the mind: they corrupted the evidence of history; and superstition gradually extinguished the hostile light of philosophy and science.](http://cdn.quoteddaily.com/images/edward-gibbon/the-monks-credulity-debased-and-vitiated-the-faculties-of-the-mind-they-corrupted-the-evidence-of-history-and-superstition-gradually.jpg)