Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-01-05

by the imagination, before the reason can
dwell upon them. We wish you to be able
to look beyond your usual surroundings
to make, in a certain sense, the personal
acquaintance of the men and women OF
other ages, SO that yOu may sympathize
with their feelings, and comprehend, in
some degree, the forces which have direct
ed the onward flow OF history. We desire
to introduce you to other and nObler fields
of thought to open up the vistas OF new
worlds, whence refreshing breezes will
blow upon your minds and souls.
Here the enchantress appears upon the
scene-On her migic tapestry she bears
you, with the prince in the Arabian tale,
to lands before unseen. You visit Greece
to hear the words of orat DIS that move the
world. You stop at Rome TO behold its
triumphs. You follow Godfrey 10 the
Holy Land. and with the enthusiastic Cru
saders you kiss the very stones o! the
sacred city while high in heaven you
see displayed the emblem Of the son OF
Man.
Thus every excursion into the past re-
| vcals new scenes Of glory. 1t furnishes
| alt the exhilaration of trip to the noun
tains or the seaside. You breathe another
air, and anon the eye begins TO sparkle
aud the heart grows light.
Can it be possible that the employment
| Of the imagination in the study of history
units man for serious thought? Is not
| the effect directly the reverse The man
VIII can represent absent things to himself
and others is certainly best prepared to
search for tic principles which undcrlie
the developments of history.
On the other hand may We not H!quire
| Of those who insist that imagination is OF
no use i'll daily life, 'Is it of no advantage
| to he able to put yourself i'll the place nf
those with whom you come i'll contact: ): Is
it vain for the merchant to be able to im-
agine the feelings Of his correspondent !;
| for the lawyer to be able to grasp the view
of the case which will be presented by his
opponent for tho statesman to be able to
enter into the thoughts and feelings OF
distant populations who are more like
the tribes described by Herodotus
and Thucydtlcs, than like the people
whom we daily meet" If the statesmen of
former ages lad studied history. not as a
mere matter of memory, but under the
potent influence of the imag gination, Philip
H. would not have lost the Netherlands,
Charles |. would have kept his head, ANA
Geo, III. would have remained in undis-
turbed possession Of the Amer lean colo.
nies.
Taking it for GRANTED then that the de-
velopment OF the Imagination is eminently
desirable, how shall this process be pro
NOTED: Not as Il 1ule by reading works
Of fiction. Such books as Robinson CRU
soc and the Pilgrims Progress are, i'll 4
| certain sense, educational but, modern
novels do not generally appea! very strong
ly to the imagination. They do not de-
| scribe the life of other ages, but claim it
as their special merit that they photo
graph our daily life. They may be valu-
able to some future historian who desires
to study the socia! condition OF the nine
teenth century. Let them be read in five
hundred years, but rot till then. If the
imagination has an important function in
the study of history, it is also true that
nothing SO stimulates the imagination rs
study Of that royal science. Ia 4 rudi-
mentary course ynu have time to become
familiar only with a few salient points. 1t
| is like 4 rapid tour through foreign lands
You are whiglad rapidly along but through
the open windows of your Car you catch
glimpses of beautiful scenes. Now and
then you stop to see some celebrated city.
| At the frontiers you are examined to sec
what luggage you carry. When you reach
the end of your journey you fec 'iiSap-
| y y
have forgotten all you saw. i.ut this is a.
mistake. Gradually your rccn!!cctions
assume their proper places, like pictures
in gallery, and you icel that your mind
has somehow been extended to receive
them.
You may suppose that y";Ir historical
course has bsen superficial and that but
little of it has remained in your memory
but for all that il has not been in vain.
You are :st any rate familiar with the out
lines of the subject you can ttace tho
| general course Of the stream OF life. Nor
is anything you have learned ever abso
lutely forgotten. IL the human mind is a
palimpsest, from which enc inscription
after the other is erased, life has its chem
ical reagents that in due time can bring
forth every character with i'll its original
| diStinctness.
| 1t is not, however, within the limits Of
your collegiate course that the imagination
plays its most important part. The fact
that you have taken birds eye view does
not prove that you are familiar with the
whole domain Of history. If you seek for
thorougLness you must scvcraily cXp!urc
its provinces. Let the province be con-
| parativcly small SO that you may have
time for minute investigations. II were
| w - nCuNStt stt Chio t'hit VI
career would say, when you have chosen
your field read as many books as possible
On the subject, taking notes Us carefully
as though you were listening to !, living
lecturer. AS your stories increase examine
them carefully, eliminating that which is;
worthless, until your facts assume their
logical relations. Your chosen field
must have living interest. Iou are no
| longer satisfied to know the names only
of the great men WHO lived in those days.
You read their biographies, you study
their portraits even their manuscripts can
| tell you something about their authors.
You long to think their thoughts after
| them, and you turn to examine the books
| which they wrote and read. Fiction and
| the drama illustrate their social life.
Works of art express their Hottest ideals.
Poetry gives their highest conceptions Of
truth and beauty. Philosophy reveals Tie
principles that prompted their mighty
deeds. Above all you will seek to com
prehend the religious life Of the people.
Unless you can personally feel the eiitllu-
siasm Of religion, the grcatast event; in
the history of the world must remain to
your mind an ,inathomable mystery.
Suck course of study may be .n.ieliu-
itely extended. Tho carn2st student vii!
neglect nothing which caif throw light on
his subject. He will cultivate the society
of specialists, and gether the results OF
their researches. He will not neglect