858 THEODORE MOMMSEN. 



ti-}^ to g-et at ji ]ust appreciation of his more constructive work, of the 

 thought of his liistorical work, lest by considering it in the same light 

 of unconditional admiration as we do his work as a collector of material 

 we fall into an imjustiliablc attitude of micritical adoration. The 

 Germans chiefly lack what man}" a British and French scholar is amply 

 provided for — experience with the realties of life. If it he true that 

 knowledge in the first place nuist come from our senses, although in 

 the latter stages our sense impressions are worked up to concepts, it 

 is undeniable that of past events, such as Roman histor}", we can no 

 longer have any sense-impressions proper. 



The oidy way to replace those impossible sense-impressions is to 

 stud}'^ modern and contemporary institutions rather than events that 

 have a real and essential analogy with those of ancient Rome. By the 

 careful selection and study of those analogies alone we may hope to 

 derive suggestions if not solutions toward a right and living under- 

 standing of Roman institutions. The Germans being practically 

 excluded from this, the only method of supplementing the study of 

 the Roman and Greek sources and of arriving at a true comprehen- 

 sion of ancient history, we can not possibly admit that their innumer- 

 able theses, monographs, essays, handbooks, etc., advance our real 

 knowledge of Roman history beyond what any British historian might 

 very well do b}^ selecting and studving carefulh' the undoubted analo- 

 gies in British life and in the British constitution with Roman life and 

 the Roman constitution. Surel}^ we are all grateful to Monmisen and 

 his rare idealism, his combination of the charms and power of the 

 artist with the learning and indefatigable industry of the true scholar, 

 are models for all the world, especially for the younger generation. 

 On the other hand, it is impossible to suppress a voice of warning 

 against the overestimation of methods of historical study, of which 

 Theodore Monnusen has been the most illustrious representative, and 

 which, we hold, increase the number of books of a purely archaeolog- 

 ical interest rather than augment the amount of real historical 

 knowledge. 



