The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
According to Edward Gibbon, in the first volume of "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" (1776–89), "Twenty-two acknowledged concubines, and a library of sixty-two thousand volumes, attested to the variety of [Gordian's] inclinations; and from the productions that he left behind him, it appears that the former as well as the latter were designed for use rather than ostentation."