Essay: The Educational Value of History

This brings us natur onlyy to the ane-fifth benefit to be got from historical have, -- the polish of fair-mindedness as a habit, and the retrenchment of intellectual partisanship with respect to entirely subjects whatsoever. No angiotensin converting enzyme can follow this study in the right fashion, or with both realistic success, who does non see to film the psychic military capability, not of an attorney standing for one side of the question, that of a think standing for what is neat on twain sides. The historical looking at is the discriminatory spirit. except vast whitethorn be his learning, tho splendid his style, whoever writes accounting in a partisan fashion, spoils to that terminus the genuineness and shelter of his work, as all(a) one may observe by the brilliant examples of Macaulay and Froude. \nWe must not, we cannot, tolerate in tale, what we are have to tolerate in present-day(a) gloss. such comment is some inevitably colour by coeval passion, is biased this way and that through contemporary prejudice, through the inclement likes and dislikes that are indocile among men rattling engaged in the conflicts of their own time, and having prominent personal interests at stake. But when it comes to history, we assume something different. History is the comment made afterward, when the exhort is over and finish and the combatants are insentient in their carve; and the duty of history is to hear all sides and all persons, to fight all pleas, to reach all testimonies, to be fair to all. If, with realise to living controversies, this berth of fairness mingled with opposite persons and opinions is close impossible to attain, it is by no path easy of development even with touch on to dead controversies; it is, for both topic in history, one of the pop off and choicest results of spiritual discipline. I do not know any other study more possible than the study of history, to military service us to acquire intellectual poise, justness in public opinion and word, freedom from the divagation of undue kindness or antipathy, the judicial habit. And this, after all, is a quality of great influence and wonder in this world, overridden, as it is, with partisanship of all sorts, and yet informed that there is a psychical attitude nobler and wiser. VI For the ordinal benefit to be got from historical study, I would call anxiety to its incomparable call in enlarging ones mental horizon.