The Kaleidoscope; or, Literary and Scientific Mirror/Series 2/Volume 4/Number 198/Literature, Criticism, &c.
Literature, Criticism, &c.
ON THE STUDY OF HISTORY.
“History is philosophy, teaching, by examples, how to conduct ourselves in every situation of private or public life..”—Dion. Ital. quoted by Thomson in Lectures on History.
If there is one department of literature more interesting and instructive to the general reader than another, it is that of history. The correctness of this remark will appear more striking, if we look back on the historic records of former times, and contemplate the mighty revolutions that alternately raised and depressed the empires of ancient Greece and Rome; or, if we muse over the page of British history, and trace her slow but steady progress from a state of darkness and barbarism to her present greatness and glory, a greatness and a glory far surpassing the most splendid æra that is to be found in the annals of all times.
But it is not for me to attempt an epitome of the great events that are recorded in the histories of Greece, Rome, or Britain; it would require the pen of a Gibbon to do justice to so luminous a subject, and it would be foreign to my purpose, as my object is simply to direct the attention of the juvenile reader to the importance of the study of history; for, “of all the studies that occupy the attention of the statesman, or employ the leisure of private individuals, that of history justly claims the pre-eminence in dignity and in utility. To the statesman it furnishes the most important lessons of political wisdom; and the private individual may hence extract maxims for the improvement of his understanding, and rules for the regulation of his conduct.”[1] If such, then, be the importance of history, it is undoubtedly equally important that we should know how to study it, that we may be enabled to derive the most information from it.
The first objects that attract the attention of youth in the perusal of history are those of the least moment. They read with avidity the descriptions of battles and of sieges, whilst they merely glance over, or entirely omit, what are of infinitely greater importance—the causes that give rise to those mighty events they dwell upon with such satisfaction and delight. It is possible that we may read many pages, run over the transactions of past ages, boast that we have devoured many volumes, and yet be totally unacquainted with men and things. The man who is able to name the nations which have appeared and acted with applause on the theatre of this world, who knows the date of their rise, the periods of their progress and decline, the conquerors who have been the scourges of mankind, and filled the earth with the calamities of war, may be admired for his historical knowledge. But to know the rise or fall of nations, the exploits of warriors, when such or such a battle was fought, by whom gained, and the number of killed and wounded in each army; when the renowned cities of antiquity were founded, and by whom taken and destroyed; to be able to give an account of these things and be ignorant of the causes that produced them, or not to think them worth attending to, is to read history to no good purpose.
“The philosopher and politician read the memoirs of nations and individuals with a different view. They cultivate an acquaintance with the history of mankind, not to gratify an idle curiosity, but to enrich their minds with useful knowledge. Scenes of violence give them disgust rather than pleasure; but to know that these were the effects of ambition, pride, and revenge working in the mind, instructs them in the knowledge of the human heart. A transient glance at the descripton of a battle, or a siege, is enough to them, whilst they carefully attend the historian in his delineation of the characters of nations and eminent men, in his investigation of the causes of events, in his tracing the beginning of laws and government, of civilization, manners, arts, and sciences.”[2]
If we wish to profit by the study of history, we should habituate ourselves to a careful examination of the characters of nations or individuals, as described by the historian, and the chain of events he relates. By a proper attention to this, we improve ourselves in the most useful parts of knowledge, and, in time, become qualified to fill the various departments of life with propriety and usefulness. In a word, by carefully observing and retaining in mind the great revolutions, which, in the course of Providence, have taken place in nations, and the progress of society amidst these revolutions; by a just investigation of the many, and even opposite causes, that often concur in producing one effect, or one cause, from which sometimes many effects follow; by a near observation of the characters of those who have made a figure in society, what were the motives for their conduct, and the nature of the passions, that led them on to action,—it is by pursuing a method similar to this that any real advantage can be derived from the labours of the historian.
Liverpool, March 30, 1824. E. B.
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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