152 



PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT. 



42. 



Ernst 

 Curtius. 



How little the standpoint and the methods of pure 

 criticism are able to deal with larger historical subjects 

 is nowhere more visible than if we consider two his- 

 torical works which have had a considerable influence 

 and reputation outside of Germany ; they themselves 

 differ from each other greatly in their general character 

 and in the historical conception of their authors. These 

 two works are Theodor Mommsen's ' Roman History ' 

 and Ernst Curtius' ' Greek History.' I will deal first 

 with the latter. Ernst Curtius (1814-96) was brought 

 up under the influence of that conception of the task of 

 philology which had been elaborated in the school of 

 F. A. Wolf mainly by Bockh (1785-1867), Welcker 

 (1784-1868), and Otfried Miiller (1797-1840). The 

 life-plan of the latter, to write a comprehensive history 



whole of Niebuhr's conception 

 regarding the sources of the Re- 

 publican History of Rome "can, 

 of course, not really be proved, but 

 that it is supported by the analogy 

 of German and Italian Chronicles, 

 the development of the Florentine 

 Chronicles especially serving as an 

 example " (Wachsmuth, loc. cit., p. 

 30). And Wilamowitz (in Lexis, 

 loc. cit., vol. ii. p. 464) says : 

 " Niebuhr's greatness lay, certainly 

 not in his Roman History, which 

 he did not continue beyond the age 

 about which no real history can be 

 written ; it lay rather in this that 

 he, for the first time, carried in his 

 mind a comprehensive picture of 

 the history of the old world, which, 

 in spite of all the casualty of re- 

 ports preserved or lost, he formed 

 for himself out of the large con- 

 nections of events and political 

 forces." The same writer refers 

 also to the overwhelming impression 

 which must have been produced by 



his Lectures on Ancient History at 

 Bonn, where he exchanged the 

 activity of statesmanship and diplo- 

 macy for that of a professorial chair. 

 But Richard Garnett tells us ('En- 

 cyclopaedia Britannica.' 9th ed., p. 

 493) that the notes of Niebuhr's 

 Lectures on Ancient History and 

 Geography " disappointed expecta- 

 tion," and " would not of them- 

 selves have made a great reputa- 

 tion." As to Ranke, I shall, in a 

 later chapter, have an opportunity of 

 dealing with the school of historio- 

 graphy which has arisen in Germany 

 in opposition to what is termed 

 the school of Ranke ; here it may 

 suffice to refer the reader to the 

 careful analysis of Ranke's method 

 in 0. Lorenz's ' Die Geschichts- 

 wissenschaft,' vol. ii., 1891 ; also 

 the Articles by W. Freytag on 

 Ranke's ' Conception of History ' 

 in the ' Archiv fur Systematische 

 Philosophic,' vol. vi. p. 129, &c. : 

 p. 311, &c. 



