ABSTRACT
Historical knowledge is essentially indirect knowledge. The methods of historical science ought, therefore, to be radically different from those of the direct sciences; that is to say, of all the other sciences, except geology, which are founded on direct observation. The detailed analysis of the reasonings which lead from the inspection of documents to the knowledge of facts is one of the chief parts of Historical Methodology. It is the domain of criticism. Criticism is not a natural habit; it must be inculcated, and only becomes organic by dint of continued practice. Historical work is pre-eminently critical; whoever enters upon it without having first been put on his guard against his instinct is sure to be drowned in it. In order to appreciate the danger it is well to examine one’s conscience and analyse the causes of that ignavia which must be fought against till it is replaced by a critical attitude of mind.
