Quotations from Chapter 29 of Edward Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ("Final Division of the Roman Empire between the Sons of Theodosius; Reign of Arcadius and Honorius; Administration of Rufinus and Stilicho; Revolt and Defeat of Gildo in Africa (386-398 A.D.)"):
A people who still remembered that their ancestors had been the masters of the world would have applauded, with conscious pride, the representation of ancient freedom, if they had not long since been accustomed to prefer the solid assurance of bread to the unsubstantial visions of liberty and greatness.
(see also Gibbon _-_Table_of_Contents, Gibbon_-_Thoughts_Upon_Reading, ... and http://www.his.com/~z/gibbon.html for a single-page presentation of Gibbon quotes)
(correlates: Gibbon - Table of Contents, GibbonChapter32, GibbonChapter17, ...)