ows an interesting light not only upon his own life but also
upon the times in which he lives. It introduces us to men in the freedom
and frankness of private life. When the diary is kept, not with a view
to subsequent publication but merely to aid one's memory, it becomes a
valuable record of facts.

+65. Some Criteria.+ In judging a historical work three principal points
are to be taken into consideration.

(1) The first is concerned with the mode of execution. Is the outward
form of the work such as is required by the laws of art? The diction
should be conformable to the subject, and marshaled in correct, varied,
and forcible sentences. The style should bend to suit the changing
themes. The interest and impressiveness of a work, as may be seen in
Macaulay and Irving, depend in no small measure upon its literary
quality. Furthermore, there should be movement and symmetry. The
progress of events should be followed in a natural order, and the place
and treatment of each should be according to its relative importance. As
in a drama, there should be a beginning, middle, and end.

(2) The second point to be considered in a history is the
subject-matter. Obviously this is of prime importance, for the object of
history is the preservation and communication of truth. In weighing a
historical work, we should consider both the writer's sources of
information and the use he has made of them. Has he gone to original and
trustworthy sources of information or has he taken his materials at
secondhand? Has he given them thorough or only partial examination? Has
he well digested his materials, so that he writes from the fullness of
assimilated knowledge, or does he present only the raw materials of
history? While delightful and useful histories may be written largely of
secondhand materials, it is evident that monumental historic
achievements, like Gibbon's "Decline and Fall" or Carlyle's "Oliver
Cromwell," must be based on exhaustive original investigation. And
however useful may be the works that serve up undigested materials, they
cannot be regarded as constituting history in a literary sense, for they
lack the element of art.

(3) The third point to be considered in judging a historical work is the
personality of the author. What is his mental caliber? He should have
the breadth of view that enables him to grasp the subject in its
entirety, and to cooerdinate the facts according to their relative
importance. Otherwise he will