ISO History. 



too little acquainted to compare them with subse- 

 quent works of the same class. It may be asserted, 

 however, that previous to the age under review,, 

 no historians had arisen, for many centuries, wha 

 might be compared with the illustrious models of 

 Greece and Rome, without incurring a sort of lite- 

 rary profanity. But early in the century which is 

 the period of this work, the prospect brightened. 

 Specimens of history began to appear so much supe- 

 rior to the uncouth and meagre compilations of 

 preceding ages, as to inspire a just hope that a 

 more, auspicious era was at hand. 



There are several circumstances belonging to 

 the historical productions of the eighteenth century 

 which are peculiar to this period, and which dis- 

 tinguish it from all preceding times. An attempt 

 will be made to take notice of some of the more 

 obvious and important of these circumstances in 

 the following pages. 



The number of historical works produced in the 

 course of the age, is the first circumstance of a pe- 

 culiar kind which attracts our notice. No former 

 period, certainly, can be compared to this with 

 respect to the multiplication of historical records. 

 Scarcely any portion of time, or the affairs of any 

 nation, or the lives of any conspicuous monarchs, 

 have escaped the notice of some writer who aspired 

 to the rank of an historian. Indeed, this, like every 

 other department of modern composition, has be- 

 come, within a few years past, so crowded with 

 adventurers, as to render the enumeration of them 

 next to an impossible task. 



The historians of the first class in the eighteenth 

 century presented their readers with a greater por- 

 tion of truth, and instructive matter, than any pre- 

 ceding writers of the same class. The works of 

 the best Greek historians are notoriously corrupted 

 by a large mixture of fable. The same remark 



