The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-23
SOME NEW hooks.
John Fiske's Latest Essays.

some twenty ESSAYS and lectures, written
curing the later years of the authors life
are Collected in the two volumes enti' lnd
Essdps historical and literary, by John
iskE (Macmllans) OF these papers
lie" deal with scientific or philosophical
questions. TO wit. those entitled. Evolution
And the Present Age. John Tyndall" and
Herbert Spencer's Service to Religion"
with which may be grouped the -Remi-
niscences of Huxley" One essay. that on
John Milton Ia purely literary. and
another Is a discussion Of folklore, which
has foi its text the Russian legend Of -Marya
Morevna." In which figures Koshchei. the
Deathless. 1t Is the thirteen historical
essays that constitute the bulk of the two
volumes. and IL II 10 some Of thes, that we
shall here invite attention. beginning with
the discussion Of odd and New Ways Of
Treating History We should point out
that much of this historical material was
intended 10 be Incorporated In compre-
hensive History OF the American People"
which. unfortunately for his countrymen.
the author did not live to complete, although
his many and large contributions to our
knowledge ofthe subject arc Of impersha BILE
value
!.
Although the paper on odd and New
Ways Of Treating History Il. ostensiby,
only sketch IL may be fairly described
as exhaustive. There is no point Of view
from which the subject is not carefully
considered. After reminding us how ma
terially the traditional conceptions OF Ed
ward 1 and Henry VIII. have been modified
by modern research. and how completely
the legend Of william Tell has been ex-
ploied. Mr. Fiske explains how the mistaken
notions, once accepted as authentic. arose.
He points out that the old-fashioned his
torian was usually satisfied with copying
his predecessors. and thus an error once
started became perpetuated. The modern
historian, on the other hand. must 60 to
the original sources of information, TO the
statutes, the diplomatic correspondence,
the reports and general orders Of com
manding officers. the records OF debates In
councls and Pariamen.s ships log books.
political pamphlets. printed sermons. CON
temporary memoirs, private diaries and
letters, newspapers. broadsides and plac-
ards, even, perhaps. to worm-eaten account
books and files Of receipts The historian
has not found the true path until he has
learned 10 ransack such records OF the past
with the same untiring zeal that animates
a detective officer in seeking the hidden
evidences OF crime Never must the
modern historical writer rest content with
the statements Of earlier historians, except
where the evidence behind such statements
is no longer accessible
Not only is there in our time IN increased
facility Of access to national archives.
and almost everywhere an abatement OF
the jealousy with which such records used
TO he withheld from public inspection,
but with the progress OF the arts various
new ways have been found Of bringing
original materials within the reach OF the
ordinary STUDENT By means of photog-
raphy parchments can be reproduced with
the strictest accuracy An American
scholar, for instance, Arthur Middleton
Reeves. has provided investigators OF our
pre- Columbian history with Photographic
facsimiles Of the three Icelandic manu-
scripts which tell Of the Morse discovery
of America. Another example is the work
of another American, Benjamin Stevens.
who undertook to reproduce by photog-
raphy hundred volumes OF diplomatic
correspondence relating to the American
Revolution Such applications OF photos-
raphv relieve the student in many cases
from the necessity Of making a prolonged
and costly literary pilgrimage.
Mr. Fiske goes on TO note that the in
crcasing isposit ion to insist upon knowl-
edge at first hand. which distinguishes the
new from the old way of treating history,
il but one phase Of the scientific and re-
aistic spirit of the age in which we live.
There is nothing to show that he highly
trained minds OF the prese mt day are wider
In grasp or deeper in penetration than
those Of many past ages, but in some re
spects they are more mature than those OF
anv past age. and one chief symptom Of this
maturity is the strict difference paid to
facts This Difference marks the historic
spirit, a. it marks the scientific spirit.
No longer, for instance, would We tolerate
the speeches invented by ancient his
torians and put in the mouths OF their pro-
tagonists. Neither would we brook the eu-
phiiStic editing of private correspondents 9.
Touching the latter point, we are reminded
that half a century ago the letters Of George
Washington we're edited by the late Presi-
dent Sparks Of Harvard who felt himse II
called upon TO amend them. Where the
writer said Old Put the editor would
change it to General Putnam and where
Washington exclaims that things are in a
devil Of a state he is made to observe that
our affairs have reached a deplorabe
condition This sort Of editing belongs
70 the old ways OF treating history. The
spirit Of the new ways was long ago ex-
pressed by honest Oliver Cromwell when he
said TO the artist; Take me as l am--mole
and ALL
Still another contrast between old and
new ways of treating history is brought out
No longer is a historian permitted TO dis
close prediction or prejudice. History
must not harbor prejudices, because the
spirit proper for history is the spirit proper
for science The two are identical. The
wori history is a Greek word originally
meaning inquiry Aristotle named on'
OF his great works a history concerning
animals whence from Pliny downward
and in modern usage we often hear o.
natural history II Ia the business Of tn
historian TO inquire into the past experience
of the human race. in order TO arrive a
general views that are correcr in which
case they will furnish lessons useful 70
the future 1t is task OF exceeding deli
oacy. and the dispassionate spirit Of scienc
Ia needed for its successful performance
Science does not love or hate its subject
- ;.,ost;gat;on, tina historian must exer