About half-past eight the combat began to wane, and the last shots were fired at ten.
With the growth of wealth and security the martial spirit of the Order began to wane, and so also did its friendly relations with the Maltese.
When the Moorish empire began to wane the brilliant intellectual gifts which they had so abundantly nourished during three or four centuries became enfeebled, and after that period they failed to produce an author comparable with those of the 7th to the 11th centuries.
But his health was failing, his reputation was on the wane, his works did not sell, and he gradually sank a prey to illness and disappointment.