The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-18

"Ha#'
.The Revolution Of loss" and. finally, The
American Revolution The inaugural leo
ture cannot, OF course, be overlooked. Be-
cause In 1t the author expounds his own
mode OF studying history. In this lecture
Lord Acton sxhorted his hearers never to
debase the moral currency OF lower the
standard Of rectitude. but to try others by
the final maxim that governs your own
lives and to suffer no man and no cause 20
escape the undying penalty which history
has the power to infict on wrong. He
points out that at every step, as history Is
sometimes written, we arc met by argu-
ments which go to excuse, to p~alliate, to
oonfound right and wrong, and reduce the
just man to the level of the reprobate. He
has In mind those historians who set UP the
principle that only a foolish Conservative
judges the present time with the ideas Of the
past, and that only a foolish Liberal judges
thep past with the ideas OF the present. IL
Ia not denied that this school OF historical
writing had a mission, which was to make
distant times, and especially the Middle
Ages, long the most distantof all. Ineligible
and acceptable to a society issuing from
the eighteenth century. There were, OF
course, difficulties in the way, as for ex-
ample that in the first fervor Of the Cru
sades the men who took the Cross, after
receiving communion. heartily devote the
day 30 the determination of Jews. In order
to evade such difficulties it became a rule
Of policy on the part Of histori cal writer's
OF a certain school to praise the spirit when
you could not defend the deed. A muir
derer. we were told, was no criminal II he
followed local custom, II neighbors APP
proved, il he was encouraged by official
advisers or prompted by just authority,
IL he acted foi reasons OF state, or the pure
love Of religion, or if he sheltered himself
behind the completely of the law. This is
not. we scarcely need to say. the theory on
which, in Lord Actions opinion, history
ought TO be composed. His conception
of historical composition would make his
tory a guide quite as much by showing
errors TO void as examples to pursue. He
would nave the historian deem the oanoni-
cation Of the historic past more perilous
han ignorance or denial. because it would
perpetuate the reign of sin and acknowl-
edge the sovereignty OF wrong and oon-
ceive il to be the part of real greatness to
know how to stand and fall alone, STEM
ming for a lifetime the contemporary
food.
Lord Acton comedies that in our I'M
certainty we must often err. But he
thinks that it would sometimes be better
for the historian to risk excess in rigor
than to risk excess in indulgence, for then
at least he would do no injury by loss Of
principle. He recalls a remark Of Bayle,
that 1t is more probable that the secret
motives OF an indifferent action are bad
than that they are good. and he notes that
this discouraging conclusion does not depend
upon theology, for James Motley supports
the soeptic with all the artillery Of Tracta-
rian Oxford: "A Christian says Motley,
-is bound by his very creed to 81 spect
evil, and cannot release himself. #" .
He holds the doctrine OF original sin.
that doctrine puts him necessarily on his
guard against Appearances. sustains his
apprehension under perplexities, and pre-
pares him for recog nizing anywhere what
he knows to be everywhere Lord Acton
recalls, without approval, a popular say
ing Of Nine. de Stael that we forgive what
ever we really understand tout conpvendre
est tout pdrdonner). He reminds III that
the paradox has been pruned judiciously
by her descendant. the Duke de Broglie,
In n words: Beware Of too much ex-
planning, lest we end by too much ex~cusing."
Lord Acton. for his part, agreed with
Froude In holding that history teaches that
right and wrong are real distinctions; that
while opinions may alter, manners change,
treason rise and fall, the moral law Ia written
on the tablets Of eternity. He adds that
IF there are moments when We may re-
sist the teaching OF Froude, we ave seldom
the chance of resisting when he is sup
ported by Goodwin Smith, who has said:
"A sound historical morality will sanction
strong measures in evil times; selfish am
bition, t~reachery, murder, perjury Il will
never sanction In the worst OF times, for
these are the things that make times evil.
Justice has been justice, mercy has been
mercy. honor has been honor, good faith
has been good faith, truthfulness has been
truthfulness from the beginning" h
author of these lectures goes on to recall
that Sir Thomas Brownies doctrine that
morality is not ambulatory 10 expressed
as follows by Burke: my principles
enable me to form my judgment upon
men and actions in history, just as they
do in common life. and are not formed out
of events and characters, either present OF
past. History is a preceptOr OF prudence,
not Of principles. Thu principles Of true
politics are those of morality enlarged,
and I neither now do, nor ever will, admit
of any other"
1t was Lord Acton's profound conviction
not that, as Button said, the style is the
man. but that whatever a a notions
OF these later centuries are. such In the
main the man himself will be. Under the
name of history these notions Of his
the articles OF his philosophic, his religious
and his political creed. They give his
measure. they denote his character and
his preferences betray him more than his
ayersions. From the viewpoint OF the
author of these lectures modern history
touches us 80 nearly and presents 40 deep
a question Of life and death that we are
bound TO find our own way through IL and
10 owe our insight TO ourselves. The his
torians OF former ages. unapproachable for
US az they may be in knowledge n In
talent, cannot constitute for us a limit.
we have the power to be more rigidly I'M
personal, disinterested and just than they
and TO learn from u~ndisguised and genuine
records 10 look with remorse upon the
past and TO the future with assured hope
Of better things, bearing this in mind, that