The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1852-03-17
The Art of History,


literature, there is no History. in the
high sense Of that term. The banks Of
the Nile were crowded vita historical
monuments and memorials, stretching
back into the remotest antiquity and
recent researches have discovered his.
torical records of the Pharaohs in the
scrolls of Papyrus, some Of them as an
cient as the books of Moses. But in all
these, there is no History composed ac-
cording to the principles of art. In
Greece, The Epic Song, founded on tra-
dictionary legends, long preceded histori-
cal composition. remember wien I
thought ii the greatest wonder in the
world, that the poems Of Homer should
have been written at period so remote; =;
that the earliest Grecian History should
give no account Of their author. did
not then know, or had not then consid-
cred that poetical writings. hymns, songs,
accounts Of personal adventures, like
those Of Hercules and Jason, were, in
the nature OF things, earlier than regu-
lar historical narratives. Herodotus in
forms us that Homer lived four hundred
ears before his time. There is, never
lheless, something very wonderful in the
poems Of Homer. In general, it is true
of the languages Of nations, that, in
their earlier ages, they contain the SUBJ
staniial bone and sinew Characteristic Of
the idiom, yet, that they are rough. i'm
perfect and without polish. Thus
Chaucer wrote English, but it is what
we call old English, and i has not
the smoothness and 6uency belonging to
the style of Pope and Addison. And
Spenser wrote English. but, though rich
aud gorgeous, it has no, the precision
and accuracy Of those later writers. 1t
would seem that many books must be
written and read, and great many
tongues aud pens employed, before the
language of a country reaches its high>
est polish and perfection. Now, the
wonder is. how a language should be-
come So perfect as was the Greek OF Ho-
mer, at the time when that language
could have been but very little written
Doubtless. in succeeding ages, the com
pass Of the Greek tongue was enlarg-
ed as knowledge became more extended,
and new things called Tor new words
but within the compass of Grecian
knowledge, as it existed in the time Of
Homer, it can scarce be questioned that
the style Of Homer is quite as perfect
and polished as that Of any of his sue
cessors. The cause Of this apparent
anomaly is tina, the language had not on.
ly been spoken for many centuries. by
people of great ingenuity and exlraor>
dinary good taste. but had been careful.
ly cultivated by the recitation Of poeii>
cal compositions, on great variety Of
religious and festive occasions.
1t was not until the legislation of So
Ion had laid the foundation of free polit>
ical institutions, and these Institutions
had unfolded free. and powerful. and
active political life, in the Athenian Re-
public until The discussion of public
affairs, in the Senate and the popular
Assembly, had created deliberaiiye elo-
qrence aud The open administration Of
Justice in the Courts; and under the
laws established by Solon. had applied
10 the transactions, between the citizens,
all the resources oi refined logic, and
drawn into the sphere OF civil rights and
obligations, the power Oh high forensic
Dralory,-it was not until these results oI
Ihe legislative wisdom ofSolon had been
attained. that The aa OF history rose and |
iourished in Gretss. With The desline
Of GTecian liberty, began The decline
n the ar. Of historical compos,iion.-l
Histories were written under the Grecisn
Kings or Byzantine Emperers; but the
'igh ART Of historical composition. as
'er iecled in the master works Of II er-
'do,os. .Thucyd'des and xenophon. who
in the death Of political free
iom, ~
The. origin, progress, aad decline Of
History. as an art, we're nearly ihe same
a Rome. Sallusi and Livy flourished |