The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-07-13
MODERN HISTORIES.

MODERN HISTORIES.
Somebody says: "History is philosophy
teaching by example" This could with
truth be affirmed of history as it was wont
to be written in the olden time, when there
were men sufficiently modest to serve in
the humble capacity of chroniclers; class
of authors now altogether extinct. The
war correspondent of the daily newspaper
is its only analogue. He, however, from
the peculiar nature of his occupation is ne
cessarily imperfect in his report, for he is
not allowed sufficient time to gather his
material with care, to digest it at leisure,
and draw the proper inferences. Nor,
writing in the midst Of the most intense
excitement, can he by any possibility di-
vest himself of bias and party feeling,
which will lend strong coloring to all his
effusions. He therefore furnishes the
merest hints toward history; very copious
material, it is true, embarrassing by its
abundance, but requiring very judiclous
as well as industrious collator, to slit
the vast mass and determine what to
choose, then to read, sever the true from
the false, and lastly to reproduce the same
concisely, and in an attractive style. Un-
fortunately our historians are in all things
too ambitious. They disdain the laurels
of XENopHoN, HERoDorUs and CESAR,
of FRo1ssART and PHILIP DE CoMINEs.
They want no chronicler's fame. THUoY-
D1DEs is their model, and SALLUsT, and
TAo1TUs. But they far outstrip these an
cient worthless, not in brevity, in ease Of
narrative, or in beauty ofstyle. That were
impossible. We refer to their predominant
inclination to indulge in what is called the
philosophy of history; the historical facts
often merely being made to serve as illus
trations of some preconceived pet theory.
They have their philosophical system,
usually some hobby, in need of strong lit
erary bolstering, and they write a history,
it matters not of what, making every event
prove the truth and correctness of the sys-
tenn. This is what in modern times has
been denominated the philosophy Of his
tory; and, we are sorry to say, there are
few even of the first historians of the
present century entirely free from this i'm
putation. The daily increasing number Of
historical novels, it is fair to hope, will ex-
ercise beneficial effect in this regard, in
that they afford r more suitable means OF
accomplishing the end in view. One spe-
cies of the philosophical historian of late
years is what we may call the physical his
torian, who ascribes to purely natural causes
not only every phenomenon of the physical
world, but likewise, also, all that has hith-
erto been regarded as lying beyond the
precinct Of material nature, which, for
want of any other name, have been de-
nominated moral causes. They recognize
no metaphysics. Their natural history en-
braces all the phenomena, mental, moral
and physical, of man and Of the universe,
of the n,akro and the mikro kosnaos.
The great progress made in physical
science during the past hundred years has
exercised very natural influence in this
direction. When 80 much has been
brought to light that before was hid in
darkness, the temptation is very strong to
arrive at the conclusion that that which is
still unknown will in few years be demon
strated as clearly, and through the same
means, and will be found to be dependent
upon similar causes, with the many phe-
nomena which science has already revealed
to our view. The fact that such view
elevates his calling, and is therefore very
Aattering to the physicist, is the more rea-
son why we should suspect him of bias,
and question the soundness of his judg-
ment.
The French sauans are much inclined
to this system of reasoning. In England
BUCKLE is perhaps the first historian of
any considerable reputation who has labor
ed in this field. He has found an imitator
in America in the person Of a naturalized
JOHN W. DRAPER, NJ. D.,
LII. D., author of sundry school books
on chemistry, physics, etc., etc. Having
made plenty of money in such menial pur-
suits, he now strings his Tyre to loftier
strains. He now aspires to be priest at
the shrine of the historic muse We do
not think he has the requisite quali6ca-
tions for such post. Both as writer
and as teacher, he has through all his
life been exclusively associated with the
priests of the material universe. Of phi
losophy proper, of the history of human
thought, and of what we are in the habit of
calling the moral causes of the history of
mankind, DR.. DRAPER knows nothing
Even in his work on human physiology,
he unduly magnifes his "branch," )" attempt
ing to explain upon purely physical causes,
the various and wonderful phenomena,
usually ascribed to the mind, the heart or