How to Write History
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
How to Write History (Ancient Greek: Πῶς δεῖ ἱστορίαν συγγράφειν) is the title of a study by the classical Syrian[1] writer Lucian, which may be considered the only work on the theory of history-writing to survive from antiquity.[2]
Themes
The first part of Lucian’s essay involved a critical attack on contemporary historians. Lucian maintained that they confused history with panegyric, overloaded it with irrelevant details, and weighed it down with overblown rhetoric.[3]
Lucian recommended instead the virtues of clear narration, and the valorisation of truth.[4] He argued that the historian should write for all times, as “a free man, fearless, incorruptible, the friend of truth”;[5] and held up the work of Thucydides as the legislative template for all subsequent historians.[6] He argued that the "historian's sole task is to tell the tale as it happened" which is latter reflected in works of von Ranke among others.
Later influence
- The early Renaissance saw the essay taken up by figures like Guarino da Verona and Giovanni Pontano.[7]
- Edward Gibbon, who wrote of “the inimitable Lucian”, owned the 1776 edition of Quomodo Historia Conscribenda Sit (Oxford)[8]
See also
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.