The Study of History
English Essay on "The Study of History"
Plainly speaking, history is a record of the past, both far and near. It may unfold an event of recent occurrence, such as the World War II, or lead us back far into the dim, distant antiquity when men lived in the cave. It may narrate the story of one nation’s civilisation as much, another’s’ savagery. But history is neither simply a catalogue of dates nor a chain of events. In its essence, history is a vivid picture of human activities, whether in war or in peace, whether in destruction or in construction, whether in enslavement pr in freedom as well as an artistic presentation of human thoughts and sentiments, tastes and aptitudes, hopes and aspirations, beliefs and prejudices and what not. The history of the world is, in fact, the whole story of the life of mankind on earth as far as human intellect could penetrate.
History, as we know it, may be classified into several kinds. All the types, however, converge to the same point and go by the same name. Firstly, we have the national history which means the annals of a particular territory from its birth to the present day. Every country, independent or not, has her own history, long or short, dull or eventful. Such history reveals a panoramic view of each nation, as distinct from others. The territorial history of each nation grows out of its activities in the national as well as the international sphere. It shows how the nation came to be born, how it fought for freedom, how it lived and toiled, what achievements it made and what failures it suffered in various walks of life. But in such history, the lion share is always taken by the country’s political activities, while others come by way of reference. Territorial history is, therefore, called the record of the deeds of those who ruled in the past. There is another kind of history which may be called by the name of ideological history’. It bears record of the origin and growth of ideas, whether political, economic or scientific.
The history of democracy, of socialism, of the theory of specific gravity or of nuclear energy, is an example of this type of history. It traces the birth of the idea, its struggle for recognition, its journey through countries and ages and finally conveys an idea of its present state and fate. Such history transcends national boundary because the records of an idea finds accommodation in the territorial history of every country which might have come into contact with it. Thus the history of democracy is no longer an exclusive concern of Britain where it was born. The doctrine, of democracy is finding historians all over the world to write on it, each national group, however, recording as much as that particular nation has to do with it.
Both the territorial and the ideological history can again be of two types--factual and literary. The first is a record of attested and verified facts. In doing so, the historian places on record either his own direct experiences, as has been done by the court historians of the past, or gleans his materials from available ancient records--whether engraved on stones or noted on parchments, whether suggested by picture or retained by tradition--and transforms them into a historical document in which his own view and interpretation of things play a dominant part. In this type of history, which is, more or less, a collection of testified facts, there is little scope for imagination. The other kind of history--the literary one--is a combination of fact and imagination, rather imagination developed on the basis of facts. In such history, imagination often engrosses facts and gives them a different outlook than factual historians would do. Gibbon, Carlyle, Macaulay and Churchill are historians of this class. Their contributions are of great historical value but are yet too literary to be called real history. And all these branches and patterns of history--true and false, factual and imaginative, free, and guided, territorial and ideological--all these varied forms taken together have made what we call the history of the world.
Whatever the character and pattern of history, its study--the study of all its branches--is useful and essential for modern society. As history is past politics in its essence, to org anise the present and shape the future of our society on correct lines, we necessitate the aid of history at every step. The present generation gains n stature because it stands, as it were, on the shoulder of the past. History, for instance, tells us that the attempt to suppress human liberty by force has always failed, that nothing is a sufficient compensation for the loss of bread and also that no government is a substitute for popular Government. Likewise many more valuable lessons left by our ancestors are retained, in he pages of history. These offer unfailing guidance to the people of ur age, both the rulers and the ruled. No political or economic system can, in fact, be built on any sound’ basis unless it is founded on the experiences of history. Without history politics has no root and, therefore, no power to exist.
History is the subject of all subjects. The study of no other subject, whether scientific or literary, is complete without it. A student of Economics, for instance, in course of studying the theories, has invariably to know their historical background in order to gain a proper access into them. A student of Physics has not only to understand how nuclear energy is released by detonation but also to know the historical development of the atomic theory. He many ignore the latter only to ‘have his knowledge of the former imperfect. History, in short, spreads its shadow over the entire range of human knowledge.
No less do we need to read history for the simple purpose of satisfying our curiosity about the past. Every seeker of knowledge, whatever may be his special field of interest, feels interested to know how things existed in the hoary past. He wants to know how ancient men and women lived, what were their customs and usages, what language they spoke, what food they ate, what faith they professed and so on. Then coming to a brighter stage of social development, he wants to know how great nations rose to the pinnacle of glory, what political and economic system they possessed and also why and how their civilizations went into wreck and ruin. No less does he feel interested about the great individuals and epoch-making ideals of the past, for instance, how Napoleon, a commoner, became the emperor of France or how the doctrine of State Sovereignty swept off the church from the arena of politics. When he wants to pry into these buried things of the past, it is history to which he has to turn. We read, them for joy but no less for knowledge and ultimately come to feel that we form part of a long and continuous procession of human race going on since the birth of life on earth. At once we feel inspired to create a better world for our successors, as our ancestors endeavoured to do for us. Thus history connects the past with the present and the future in an interminable tie. It is history that makes mankind one single integrated units.
But a caution must always be observed while studying history. It may be shocking but is true that history is neither impartial nor based on solid truth. Historians of all ages have been and are under the influence of many factors which make their contributions a mixture of truth, half-truth and untruth. It is for the intelligent reader, the genuine seeker of truth, to exercise his judgement and glean the gold to the exclusion of the alloy.
Love for stories is ingrained in human nature. This is first revealed in children’s love of fairy tales. It then develops into interest in biographical stories, and finally to History. The fundamental object behind the study of History is to know the truth, so it is incumbent upon a student of history to read those books only which are authentic and faithful records of actual events, and absolutely true to life arid fact.
History gives us an accurate and faithful account of events, without any exaggeration whatsoever. It gives us an authentic picture of the past and present conditions of different nations belonging to different countries of the world. It deals with the growth and progress of nations, and with the rise and fall of empires. Rome grew to be .the mistress of the world, when her people where heroic, patriotic, unselfish and very particular about the liberties and interests of others; but her greatness and supremacy fell to the ground when her people became ease-loving and haughty and allowed the rights and liberties of others to be trampled down under their cruel feet. So also was the case with the mighty and vast Moghul Empire in India. England, with her strong sense of justice, arid regard of constitutional rights and liberties, now occupies one of the highest places among the nations of the world.
History, as we know it, may be classified into several kinds. All the types, however, converge to the same point and go by the same name. Firstly, we have the national history which means the annals of a particular territory from its birth to the present day. Every country, independent or not, has her own history, long or short, dull or eventful. Such history reveals a panoramic view of each nation, as distinct from others. The territorial history of each nation grows out of its activities in the national as well as the international sphere. It shows how the nation came to be born, how it fought for freedom, how it lived and toiled, what achievements it made and what failures it suffered in various walks of life. But in such history, the lion share is always taken by the country’s political activities, while others come by way of reference. Territorial history is, therefore, called the record of the deeds of those who ruled in the past. There is another kind of history which may be called by the name of ideological history’. It bears record of the origin and growth of ideas, whether political, economic or scientific.
The history of democracy, of socialism, of the theory of specific gravity or of nuclear energy, is an example of this type of history. It traces the birth of the idea, its struggle for recognition, its journey through countries and ages and finally conveys an idea of its present state and fate. Such history transcends national boundary because the records of an idea finds accommodation in the territorial history of every country which might have come into contact with it. Thus the history of democracy is no longer an exclusive concern of Britain where it was born. The doctrine, of democracy is finding historians all over the world to write on it, each national group, however, recording as much as that particular nation has to do with it.
Both the territorial and the ideological history can again be of two types--factual and literary. The first is a record of attested and verified facts. In doing so, the historian places on record either his own direct experiences, as has been done by the court historians of the past, or gleans his materials from available ancient records--whether engraved on stones or noted on parchments, whether suggested by picture or retained by tradition--and transforms them into a historical document in which his own view and interpretation of things play a dominant part. In this type of history, which is, more or less, a collection of testified facts, there is little scope for imagination. The other kind of history--the literary one--is a combination of fact and imagination, rather imagination developed on the basis of facts. In such history, imagination often engrosses facts and gives them a different outlook than factual historians would do. Gibbon, Carlyle, Macaulay and Churchill are historians of this class. Their contributions are of great historical value but are yet too literary to be called real history. And all these branches and patterns of history--true and false, factual and imaginative, free, and guided, territorial and ideological--all these varied forms taken together have made what we call the history of the world.
Whatever the character and pattern of history, its study--the study of all its branches--is useful and essential for modern society. As history is past politics in its essence, to org anise the present and shape the future of our society on correct lines, we necessitate the aid of history at every step. The present generation gains n stature because it stands, as it were, on the shoulder of the past. History, for instance, tells us that the attempt to suppress human liberty by force has always failed, that nothing is a sufficient compensation for the loss of bread and also that no government is a substitute for popular Government. Likewise many more valuable lessons left by our ancestors are retained, in he pages of history. These offer unfailing guidance to the people of ur age, both the rulers and the ruled. No political or economic system can, in fact, be built on any sound’ basis unless it is founded on the experiences of history. Without history politics has no root and, therefore, no power to exist.
History is the subject of all subjects. The study of no other subject, whether scientific or literary, is complete without it. A student of Economics, for instance, in course of studying the theories, has invariably to know their historical background in order to gain a proper access into them. A student of Physics has not only to understand how nuclear energy is released by detonation but also to know the historical development of the atomic theory. He many ignore the latter only to ‘have his knowledge of the former imperfect. History, in short, spreads its shadow over the entire range of human knowledge.
No less do we need to read history for the simple purpose of satisfying our curiosity about the past. Every seeker of knowledge, whatever may be his special field of interest, feels interested to know how things existed in the hoary past. He wants to know how ancient men and women lived, what were their customs and usages, what language they spoke, what food they ate, what faith they professed and so on. Then coming to a brighter stage of social development, he wants to know how great nations rose to the pinnacle of glory, what political and economic system they possessed and also why and how their civilizations went into wreck and ruin. No less does he feel interested about the great individuals and epoch-making ideals of the past, for instance, how Napoleon, a commoner, became the emperor of France or how the doctrine of State Sovereignty swept off the church from the arena of politics. When he wants to pry into these buried things of the past, it is history to which he has to turn. We read, them for joy but no less for knowledge and ultimately come to feel that we form part of a long and continuous procession of human race going on since the birth of life on earth. At once we feel inspired to create a better world for our successors, as our ancestors endeavoured to do for us. Thus history connects the past with the present and the future in an interminable tie. It is history that makes mankind one single integrated units.
But a caution must always be observed while studying history. It may be shocking but is true that history is neither impartial nor based on solid truth. Historians of all ages have been and are under the influence of many factors which make their contributions a mixture of truth, half-truth and untruth. It is for the intelligent reader, the genuine seeker of truth, to exercise his judgement and glean the gold to the exclusion of the alloy.
Love for stories is ingrained in human nature. This is first revealed in children’s love of fairy tales. It then develops into interest in biographical stories, and finally to History. The fundamental object behind the study of History is to know the truth, so it is incumbent upon a student of history to read those books only which are authentic and faithful records of actual events, and absolutely true to life arid fact.
History gives us an accurate and faithful account of events, without any exaggeration whatsoever. It gives us an authentic picture of the past and present conditions of different nations belonging to different countries of the world. It deals with the growth and progress of nations, and with the rise and fall of empires. Rome grew to be .the mistress of the world, when her people where heroic, patriotic, unselfish and very particular about the liberties and interests of others; but her greatness and supremacy fell to the ground when her people became ease-loving and haughty and allowed the rights and liberties of others to be trampled down under their cruel feet. So also was the case with the mighty and vast Moghul Empire in India. England, with her strong sense of justice, arid regard of constitutional rights and liberties, now occupies one of the highest places among the nations of the world.
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