Note 046 Quintus Curtius (1. x. c. 9) pays an elegant compliment to the emperor of the day, for having, by his happy accession, extinguished so many fire-brands, sheathed so many swords, and put an end to the evils of a divided government. After weighing with attention every word of the passage, I am of opinion that it suits better with the elevation of Gordian, than with any other period of the Roman history. In that case, it may serve to decide the age of Quintus Curtius. Those who place him under the first Caesars, argue from the purity of his style, but are embarrassed by the silence of Quintilian, in his accurate list of Roman historians.

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Note to Chapter 7 of DECLINE & FALL by Gibbon