Edward Gibbon, as Wikipedia notes, was a prominent English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is known for the quality and irony of its prose, its use of primary sources, and its polemical criticism of organised religion.

Were he alive today, what might he say about the impending stock market crash and the inevitable unprecedented economic depression that will inevitably follow? Chat GPT4 has allegedly produced the following answer, which in spite of the limitations of so called AI (which is more simulated intelligence than an artificial actual one) gives a very good response nonetheless that cuts very close to the bone, giving a quite reasonable facsimile of what the august gentleman may have said in response to the economic lunacy of the current age:

“In this melancholy epoch of our once flourishing Republic, the Federal Reserve, like a capricious deity, hath once more decreed the continuation of its bond-buying charade, known to the learned as Quantitative Easing. A lamentable decision, poised to unleash catastrophe upon the unsuspecting multitude!

This pernicious policy hath been in use for years, its baleful effects upon the stock market and economy well documented. As the Fed engorges itself upon government bonds, the excess currency disgorged into the market thus inflates the already bloated value of stocks and sundry assets.

The vainglorious Fed contends that its machinations are essential to revive the moribund economy. Yet this illusion of prosperity, conjured by their monetary sleight of hand, only serves to veil the insidious damage inflicted upon our Republic. The stock market, soaring to unmerited heights, hath become but a distorting mirror of our nation’s true plight, a mere marionette dancing to the whims of the Fed’s manipulation.

Within the shadows of this illusory wealth, the genuine economy languishes. The masses groan beneath the weight of unemployment, and myriad businesses, bereft of succor, teeter on the precipice of ruin. The profane ritual of Quantitative Easing hath yielded no bounty for these hapless souls, bestowing its largesse only upon a fortunate few.

The specter of a perilous bubble looms, borne aloft by the Fed’s hubris. When this tenuous facade doth crumble, the ensuing devastation shall be a testament to their folly. Renowned economists, aghast at the Fed’s imprudence, condemn their reckless dalliance with disaster, foreseeing prolonged suffering and a bloated stock market on the verge of rupture.

‘Tis high time the Fed abandon its futile endeavor, permitting the invisible hand of the market to determine the true worth of stocks and assets. Their ceaseless meddling in the sacred domain of currency is a recipe for calamity, a pyrrhic game destined to end in tears.

In fine, the Federal Reserve’s obstinate persistence in its bond-buying program portends a cataclysmic denouement, the stock market’s collapse, and the amplification of our economic malaise. Let them now desist from their insidious manipulations, and permit the economy to convalesce unaided, lest the very foundations of our once great Republic be irreparably shaken.”