24? OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 



it comes therefore to pass, that such histories do rather 

 set forth the pomp of business than the true and inward 

 resorts thereof. But Lives, if they be well written, 

 propounding to themselves a person to represent in whom 

 actions both greater and smaller, public and private, have 

 a commixture, must of necessity contain a more true, 

 native, and lively representation. So again Narrations 

 and Relations of actions, as the War of Peloponnesus, 

 the Expedition of Cyrus Minor, the Conspiracy of 

 Catiline, cannot but be more purely and exactly true 

 than Histories of Times, because they may choose an 

 argument comprehensible within the notice and instruc- 

 tions of the writer: whereas he that undertaketh the 

 story of a time, especially of any length, cannot but 

 meet with many blanks and spaces which he must be 

 forced to fill up out of his own wit and conjecture. 



For the History of Times, (I mean of civil history) 

 the providence of God hath made the distribution : for 

 it hath pleased God to ordain and illustrate two exemplar 

 states of the world, for arms, learning, moral virtue, 

 policy, and laws ; the state of Graecia, and the state of 

 Rome ; the histories whereof occupying the middle part 

 of time, have more ancient to them, histories which may 

 by one common name be termed the Antiquities of the 

 World ; and after them, histories which may be likewise 

 called by the name of Modern History. 



Now to speak of the deficiencies. As to the Heathen 

 Antiquities of the world, it is in vain to note them for 

 deficient. Deficient they are no doubt, consisting most 

 of fables and fragments ; but the deficience cannot be 

 ("holpen"] for antiquity is like fame, caput inter nubila 

 condit, her head is muffled from our sight. For the 

 History of the Exemplar States, it is extant in good 

 perfection. Not but I could wish there were a perfect 

 course of history for Graecia from Theseus to Philopoemen, 

 (what time the affairs of Graecia drowned and extinguished 

 in the affairs of Rome ;) and for Rome from Romulus to 

 Justinianus, who may be truly said to be ultimus Roman- 

 orum. In which sequences of story the text of Thucydides 



