History and Historians in the Nineteenth Century (Classic Reprint) - Tapa blanda

Excerpt from History and Historians in the Nineteenth Century

The great revolution in the outlook of mankind, which began in Italy in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, led to the crea tion of some of the conditions in which objective methods and a genetic conception of history could arise. The revelation that the Classical world was not a shadowy tradition but a brilliant reality stimulated curiosity and suggested the study of develop ment. Comparative inquiry was further encouraged by the discovery of the New World and the establishment of closer relations with the East. Within the limits of a couple of genera tions the realm of space and the 'horizon of learning were doubled. While the frontiers of knowledge were being pushed back, a change scarcely less momentous was beginning to appear in the intellectual atmosphere. The increasing corruption of the Church, the development of town life, the expansion of commerce had already begun to act as solvents of the theological spirit; and the rapturous seduction of pagan culture, at once beautiful, lofty and frankly human, completed the process of emancipation. The Italian Renaissance stands not so much for a revolt against authority as for the secularisation of thought. A joyous pride in man, in the power of his mind and the beauty of his body, succeeded to the brooding asceticism of mediaeval ideals. For speculations on the spiritual nature and prospects of mankind were substituted inquiries into his earthly achievements. The Middle Ages begin with Augustine and end with Machiavelli.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

PREFACE to THE FIRST EDITION The object of this work is to summarise and. assess the manifold achievements of historical research and production during the last hundred years, to portray the masters of the craft, to trace the development of scientific method, to measure the political, religious and racial influences that have contributed to the making of celebrated books, and to analyse their effect on the life and thought of their time. No such survey has been attempted in any language. The development of modern historiography is only treated incidentally in the excellent handbooks of Bernheim and Gustav Wolf. Langlois offers little more than a skeleton. Flint and Molinier deal with France alone. Wegele confines himself to Germany and halts on the threshold of the nineteenth century. Fueter's admirable Geschichte der neueren Histoi iographie,' published in 1911, provides a comprehensive review from Petrarch to our own day ; but the main portion of the book is devoted to the earli

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.

Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the difficult to read text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org