The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-08-26
THE HISTORICAL SENSE.

rather large order IN the shape of uni
Versal history His new book, already
translated into French. II to appear Thu
autumn in English hearing tho modes
ti'l" ~ The Meaning Of History VI
hav" not seen The original German. only
the French version. -Is Sons de His
toire translated into that tongue by Dr
Iankelrviicn. The essay il bound To h,
/ read. AMI IL extremely iconocla-tic as ID
/ the wont OF IT. author. But-and Their,
IL always a capital bat in the Nordal
cas..-the main thesis IL directly derives
/ from the sterling essay % Friedrich
| NlrtZ-che. The ~ and Abuse Of His
tory. written in January, 1874. wher
! Met -Che WAS mentally vigorous: IL vii
L. found ia his volume Thoughts Out OF
Season" tpart IL. II may be recalled
that this l. not the first time DIR. NorSlau
has r,'s"rted To borrowing leading idea
from Met lsche la his attack on Wagner
hc bombs r,ie,l the composer with artillery
borrowed from the arsenal uf Met Esche
notably from The Wagner Case and
later quite ungratefully turned his guns
upon his intellectual creditor. However.
NietzsChs himself snirs at the notion OF
gratitude and no Doubt would have
applauded the shrewd tactics Of the Hun
garian journalist.
We shy the chief arguments in Nor
daus book are taken from Nietszche
but with a difference. and that lies in the
Lack of measure 10 be found In the living
mans plan ~ attack For him the his
torical s.'ns.s is not a sixth sense- indeed
II IL no sense at all. unless "A towering
Of IN" aesthetic sense Mythomania IL
all history. and mythomaniacs are all
historians This ha does not express in
such terms. though his import IL unmis-
taxable. W" detect in his work the new
currents oi pragmatism. or of its superior
French variety, the realism OF Henri
Bergson. Let us first read "a few san-
t"ncrs uf N.etlsche on the abuse Of his
tory For him tho historical sense was
"A malay from which men suffer. the
world process an illusion. evolutionary
theories q subtle excuse for inactivity
History, he - never tired ~ repeating. IL
for the few. not the many. for man not
youth Tor IN" great. not the small
History has no meaning except as the
servant IT life and action; the most II US
can only act Il We forget He condemns
the noisy little fellows who measure
by their own and lisa the past "a Justify
the present Tho historical sense makes
it's servants passive and retrospective
You can only explain the past by
what Is highest in the present
Thus \ietlsChe Nordau is not -
broad minded History has no scientific
value. h" -t"utly declares. and supports
has contention with a wealth II illustra-
ton. some OF A. n may H. confessed.
ingenious. even convincing And he
dos ~ all with freednm from meta
physical verhiage that IL refreshing.
History II not a descriptive science ha-
caus' objective reality will always re-
man inaccessible 10 tine human brain.
constructed iS u - To- formulate pTiori
notions hIt ~ Impot"nt IN the appr.-
h"usIun Il actuaity II history were
a RATIONAL SCIENCE 10 would 49, ppsSIbl., for
a historian 10 furr-sa,s events which ~
ruur~r. j. impossible History doe. no'
r"p"i' itself, faCIl" epigrim ~ the con
y-r-.. History i fiction. the product "
lIghlv specialized brains selecting. rs do
their particular themes or events
~ material and dilating upon them in all
good faith though often naively A
novel with a strong tendency motive j. 3
history. therefore IT. educaiiye ValI. 4. !
next To- mi II l. form II aesthetic /
activity delightful m the hands of those B
great ImIEinatipns W. call historians
Consider. eNca,ms Nordau. how near
Vet 10 us - Napoleon. Yet which Napo- |
con AZ" We 20 accept from tho historians, |
The Napoleon Of Tame. that Corsican |
bandit or tia" Napoleon uf Sir Hudson /
.o~" or Of l.anfrUy, or Of the suhtly de- .
'trI"trve Ana'ol" frylc. ,Nordau does .
not quote tho G"ntl" AnItole. but b.. .
should read The Rcd Lily for a poison !
pu- depreciation Of tn. First Consult d
Then there are IN" NapoleonS " Hugo.
-tmir-ln". Iolstov and RrmuSat Or IN.
hero 81 i.lnc. with the hand ~ white "A
marble Winch Is IN. real NapoIsou1
Al or none Possibly the latter. accord /
ug 20 \ordau. for no man NOT even the
'unqu"ror himself. knew the senuin.
Napoleon every Judgment Of him is sub.
'ec;iv", ergo imperfect This argument.
~ old as Pyrrho. might be applied a.
. -ort 81 acid test 10 the silver and gold (
Il historians. and haser metals be dis
.uv-rad A. ~" result But We must an.
iyr" IN" limitations Of the human intel.
"ct ur leav" the field To tn. ab.olutists
w. hllbN " NubAi bHtuH reminded nv
\ordau that whether II he Niebuhr or
\iomm-"n, Gr"Eorovlus or Person. Glib
pa or Aich"ict Jacob Bnrckhardt or
,iont"~luI"u. Theirs. Mgnet or Guizot.
heir pictures - a vanished civilization
lrr more ~ los "voCatiOns of powerful
sustained bv errIdition.
IerudutuS ard PutirCh drcw the long
rpw put "" could III spare them. What we
nay ask m N" Nordau vein. l. Which ia
he real England IN. England 81 Hum.
y MacaulHy. - Proud" or Freeman
Nnd "" ar" sure thai the PARIS Of Carlyle's
french E"vohtlon was not such "A pit of
ulgIuou- gloom a. set forth by the atra-
bilious Scotch philosopher. Despite the
Inevitable subtraction 81 the personaI
.uIatlon. history hath - uses. and
hough this is e trrIi-m "" should like IN
TX Dr. \0-iar how he would MI in thu
mental "hlsm N his memory II all that he
.noNs II history suddenly became tabula
asa
Tho hpdy 81 IN" book ~ Devoted 10
heorIr- long since formulated by Profess