Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-08-06
TO DISPLAY TRUE MOTIVES
One Great Constant Factor In
Historic Process is HUI
man Nature.
Duty is to Deal With Variation of HUI
man Conduct and Make Measure
OF Its sIz7A

congress Of Historical Sciences. whose
annual sessions has attracted scientists
from all parts of the world. is being
held from Aug. to Aug. II in tho
great Philharmonic hall here. The gov
erning body selected DR.. David Jayns
Hill ambassador of the United States
to Germany, for the distinction of de-
IlNerlng the opening address Dr. Hill
ltuIt IN ms lecture with the ethical
junction Of the historian" A sum
mary of his address follows:
DIR. HILLS ADDRESS.
The ambassador speaking on THE
Ethical Function OF the Historian" In
part said.
The question, What is history, is
closely connected with that deepest OF
all questions, What is human life
For whatever In reality human life
may be history Is the record of It's
development its progress, and its man.
lfestations. The fundamental problem
for the historian is to determine the
peculiar nature of his task and he is
greeted at the very threshold OF his
INJURY with the questions. What ia
the purpose for which historical science
exists? What Is the nature of historic
truth? How does history differ from
other sciences? How does the historic
process appear as seen from within?
and what In consequence is the chief
function of the historian?
Without attempting TO give a def
mite answer to all or any OF these diff
fiCult questons-of which the majority
of my colleagues in this congress. from
deeper knowledge and ripper expert
ence, are much better qualified than I
to eNpess opinions-and with an acute
sense of my limited attanmente in
this vast field of inquiry in which many
of my countrymen have rendered them
selves far more entitled to be heard, 1
shall. nevertheless, venture to touch
upon some of these topics In such a
manner as to emphasize one function
of the historian that seems TO me from
the nature OF history az science TO be
worthy of our consideration,
LAS we rise in the scale of qualitative
development from the chemical COM
the animal, and from the animal gov
erned by instinct to man governed by
reason. we find mathematic less and
less sufficient as an organ of investi-
cation While in the realms of color,
temperature and other secondary
physical properties we find ourselves
at last in a sphere of being where
quality is the matter of supreme in
terest, and where the mathematical
method ceases to apply. The social
life of men, the progress OF civiliza-
ton, the formation and development
of political institutions, the rise and
fall of empires the relations between
independent states.-all these trans
formations belong TO the sphere OF
qualitative change, defy mathematical
calculation. and demand a new in
strument OF comparison and compre-
hension.
THE FIELD OF HISTORY.
1T is precisely this new and higher
sphere OF human activity watch is by
common consent, par excellence the
field of history. The point / wish here
to establish is, however, the scientific
necessity of qualitative as distinguish
ed from cumulative measurement III
estimating the phenomena OF human
life which are the phenomena Of
science is built up with answers to the
question, How much?" There is an
other side, equally important TO SCI
ence in It's tota'Ny, and far more
rich in human interest, which depends
upon the answers to the question, or
what kind" and this is the historical,
as distinguished from the mathemat-
lcal, aspect or science.
WHAT HISTORY ANSWERS.
"As mathematics answers the ques-
lions Of the first series so history an
swcrs those Of the second. II deals
with transformations Of "A qualitative
character. while mathematics deals
with quantitative relations. To make
clear this difference, let us note the
contrast between the mathematical and
the historical methods The former
aims to discover the uniformities that
exist in space and time; that Is 10
reach the largest attalnable generalisa-
lions OF tho laws of inVariable action
mi o9t .,F lie aMQrflNr fhA
posite. II does not seek for law OF
recurrence, or any element OF uniform
ity IN either space or time but TO as
certain what particular changes have
taken place IN definite time, with
the view Of estimating their relations
ts series of acts or OF appreciat'ng
their value and Significance as mani
festati0ns OF tho qualitative aspect OF
the universe,
Seen from within, the historic pro-
cess opens new vistas 10 the historian
What Is the Specification OF this cease
less struggle with the evanesceut and
this endeavor 20 Mt the contents OF
time 10 a position OF permanent Sc
curity9 Does Il not imply IN the hui
man agent a sense of continuity
through which he realizes his part In
the general development or man and
his duty as q member OF the human
race II Is I'm the great crises OF
history tNhl llN true nature ~ uhho
apparent only those who have lived
through them and have had some part
ion them possess IN its full sense tho
of the historic process; for n
is only as "a part OF it that the indivd-
ual, In moments OF victory or defeat
IN the march of triumph or faintng ON
the field OF battle. knows thar the TO-
clal unit counts Tor most when he Is
part OF some great movement I'm which
humanity moves on from one 10 an
other stadium in the realization ~
us destiny.
THE necessity or this ethical funo-
ton on the part OF tho historian grows
directly out Of the nature ~ The his
trio process Although the life or
mankind IN It's totally may he. and
In some sense is dependent upon the
natural energies that underlie human
on lstence, there is IN every individual
d sense OF relation 20 the past and 10
tho future that is, a. historic con-
sciousncss that distinguishes man
from his fellow creatures of the or
zanic world. And this historic con-
seriousness not only includes q certain