youth; and the habits of thinking, which he has formed at one particular period of life, induce him to search for different sources of entertainment and instruction at another. Thus every person is influenced by his peculiar taste: when he consults the volumes of history, he discovers something in them to suit the complexion of his own mind; and, from a natural partiality to his own pursuits, may be inclined to think, that the historian wrote only for his use and entertain

ment.

Readers, however, of every age and description, may find in history ample materials for improving their judgment, by tracing the due connexion which subsists between causes and effects. They ought not to be satisfied with the recital of events alone, but endeavour to investigate the circumstances which combined either to produce, to hasten, or to retard them; as well as the manner of their operation, and the degree of their influence.

Historians, indeed, sometimes expose themselves to censure from too great a refinement of conjecture. They assign so many motives for the conduct of their heroes, that it is highly improbable all of them should have operated. Of this there are abundant instances in Tacitus, Thuanus, and Hume. The reader, however, derives an advantage from the circumstance; for although it is not reasonable to conclude, that all such motives had the influence attributed to them; yet he is left at liberty to choose that which he thinks most probable to have produced the measure in question.

In whatever abstruseness the science of politics may be supposed to be involved, it is probable, that the motives which lead to the performance of many remarkable actions do not lie very deep in the human mind. The actions themselves may indeed dazzle by their splendour, or surprise by their novelty; but still they might probably be the result of no greater reach of capacity than that which is exerted in the management of common concerns. There is no state of public affairs, to which the operation of the passions, the virtues, the vices, the calls of public or private interest, and the love of glory, will not apply; and into these may be fairly resolved the conduct of monarchs, statesmen, and warriors.

CHAPTER II.

THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF ANCIENT AND MODERN HISTORIANS.

AS there is no species of composition, to which the faculties of the mind have been more strenuously bent, or more laudably directed in various ages of the world, and from which more useful information may be derived, than history; it is doubtless very interesting to consider, and to determine the comparative merits of ancient and modern historians. With regard to the nature of their subjects, as the pursuits of mankind are now so much diversified, modern writers have great advantages over the ancient. The prevailing employment of ancient times was war; the pages of the historians are therefore filled with battles and sieges, which, from the time of Homer to the revival of learning in Europe, weary our attention by uniformity of subject. A more particular regard has in subsequent ages been paid to laws, customs, commerce, religion, and government; and every circumstance relative to the conduct of individuals, tending in any degree to the developement of the genius of a people, is scrutinized and discussed. It is not usual for modern historians to introduce those formal harangues of generals in the field, or of statesmen in the senate, which constitute so large a share of the works of antiquity. However acute they may be in point of argument, appropriate as to character, or dramatic as to effect, they contradict our notions of probability, and only serve, by the interposition of the supposed speaker, to display the eloquence of the author. The speeches of Cæsar in his Commentaries, and those which Dion Cassius composed for him, are very different in circumstances and arguments. Of all that the ancients have left us, none approach so nearly to nature and probability as those of the Old Testament and Herodotus. The moderns have a wider range of political views; and, from their more extensive knowledge of various countries, they are better acquainted with the nature of government, and the comparative state of

man.

Ever since the establishment of the regular and general conveyance of letters by posts, channels of easy and expeditious information have been opened; and the intercourse between one country and another has been more frequent, in

consequence of travelling being rendered safe, commodious, and expeditious. The wide diffusion of literature likewise, extending more and more since the revival of learning, has multiplied authentic documents; valuable papers, are often. deposited in public libraries, where they are accessible to the curious and inquisitive; or, if preserved by individuals, they are soon discovered by the active spirit of inquiry, and communicated to the world.

An abundance of materials for history, however, is not the only requisite to inform the mind, or secure the approbation of the reader. One great fault of the modern historians is prolixity. The volumes of Thuanus, Rapin, and Carte, are calculated to fatigue the most vigilant eye, and oppress the powers of the most retentive memory. Such writers exhaust attention by magnifying trifles into importance, and diffuse a coldness over their works by a minute detail of uninteresting affairs, or unimportant remarks. Hence the reader, unless he wishes to consult the author upon some particular subject, turns over many a page with indifference, and finally quits the historian with disgust.

The contrast with the ancients in this respect is remarkably striking. The ancients draw characters, and describe events, with a few masterly strokes, and paint in such glowing colours of language, that they seize the attention at once, and captivate the mind. Their conciseness gives them great advantage, and tends to preserve the interest excited by their descriptions. All is animated and forcible; the représentations are taken immediately from recent fact; the portraits of human nature are drawn from the life; and the busy scene of action, the tumults of war, and the reverses of fortune, are placed immediately before our eyes. They write as if they came immediately from the field of battle, or the deliberations of the council. The situation of many of the ancients was particularly favourable to this lively species of composition; for Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Cæsar, Sallust, and Tacitus, were actors in many of the important scenes they pourtray, and write under the influence of the deepest impressions of reality and experience.

If however we read with a view to our immediate improvement, the modern historian claims our more particular regard. He describes actions and events, which have a necessary connexion with the times in which we live, and which have an immediate influence upon the government and constitution of our country. The ancients may astonish us by relating those sudden revolutions, which transferred em

pires by a single battle: but the moderns show us more of the power and progress of the mind, display more fully the causes and consequences of great events, and edify us by examples more congenial with our peculiar habits and manners; and which come more within the reach of our imitation.

I. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF AN ACCOMPLISHED HISTO

RIAN.

In order to erect a standard by which to measure the merits of historians, let us form to our minds one of the greatest characters which can adorn the literature of a country, and endeavour to point out the qualifications, by which an accomplished historian ought to be distinguished.

Such a writer chooses a subject adapted to his talents and situation. He is most fortunate, when his stores of knowledge are supplied by experience, and his own observation; as was the case with some of the best historians of antiquity, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Cæsar, and Tacitus; and in modern times Sully and Clarendon. Or if he has not been himself an agent in the transactions he records, he has recourse to the purest sources of information. Although it is impossible always to select such a subject as admits of strict unity of design; yet he is convinced that the argument is most noble and most interesting, when he can preserve, without distracting the attention of the reader, by desultory digressions, a close connexion of all the parts, and in the detail of which he can proceed by a regular gradation of events to some important and sublime conclusion. This historical unity of subject may be illustrated by the Retreat of the ten thousand by Xenophon, and the Roman history of Livy. The action is not from the beginning interrupted by extraneous subjects, but ascends from one incident to another, till the principal point is reached. Impressed with a deep sense of his duty, he pays the most sacred regard to truth; and his diligence in ascertaining facts is equal to his accuracy in stating them. As far as the infirmities of human nature will allow, he is divested of the stubbornness of prejudice, the violence of passion, and the predilection of party. He is convinced that the ornaments and graces of composition may properly be employed to embellish truth, but that no embellishments can compensate for wilful misrepresentation. He guards against the flights and the delusions of imagination, and is therefore careful not to convert history

into romance, or merely adorn his subject with the arguments of philosophical dissertation, or the pomp of figurative style. He carefully distinguishes where he ought to be concise or diffuse, what topics require to be stated in plain language, and what are capable of the ornaments of diction. His fondness for his work infuses vigour into his conceptions, and the delicacy of his taste gives elegance to his style, and purity to his sentiments. He is not satisfied with taking a superficial view of affairs, but with deep and acute penetration investigates their proximate and remote causes, separates them from the disguises under which they are concealed, and descends to the true motives of conduct. He breaks through the obstacles that stop the progress of vulgar intellect; and produces those thoughts and reflections, in which truth, penetration, and novelty are blended with peculiar skill, and strike with certain effect. He distinguishes from the surrounding crowds the examples of eminent talents and virtues, and presents their pictures either completely finished, or marked by a few bold and expressive outlines. He selects such circumstances of their domestic, as well as public conduct, as will give the clearest insight into their tempers and manners. In his developement of characters he regards the MORAL tendency of history, which is its noblest and most valuable end. He neither blackens his characters with the aspersions of malevolence, chastises them with unjust satire, nor heightens their lustre with the varnish of adulation. If he feels any bias upon his mind, it is that of a true philanthropist; he is inclined to draw a veil over the failings of human nature, and not expose every vice and folly to the public. He divests himself as much as possible of local prejudices, considers himself as a citizen of the world, and weighs all characters of his own or foreign countries in the balance of impartial justice. As it is his grand object to teach by example, he either makes his remarks with brevity, or leaves his reader to form his own judgment from the clear and accurate statement of facts, which he presents to his mind.

Useless, however, will prove his labour, and ineffectual his skill, in tracing events and actions back to their causes, or in preserving due order and connexion in his work, unless he can inspire his writings with animation, and excite the interest of his readers. For this most important purpose he displays the soundness of his judgment, the boldness of his genius, and the correctness of his taste. He is cautious in his choice of such circumstances as will please and strike the mind;