me from, the way it had been transmitted, the conditions under which
it was made. No one could be more acute and penetrating in what the
Germans call _Quellenforschung_, the collection and investigation and
testing of the sources of history, nor could any one be more
painstaking. Errors of view, apart from those trivial inaccuracies
already referred to, did not arise from an indolence that left any
stone unturned, but rather from an occupation with the leading idea
which had drawn his attention away from the details of time and place.
The ingenuity with which he built up theories was as admirable as the
art with which he stated them. People whom that art fascinated
sometimes fancied that the charm lay entirely in the style. But the
style was only a part of the craftsmanship. The facility in
theorising, the power of grouping facts under new aspects, the skill
in gathering and sifting evidence, were as remarkable as those
artistic qualities which expressed themselves in the paragraphs and
sentences and phrases. What danger there was arose from this
fecundity. His mind was so fertile, could see so much in a theory and
apply it so dexterously, that his judgment was sometimes dazzled by
the brilliance of his ingenuity. I do not think he loved his theories
specially because they were his own, for he often modified them, and
was ready to consider any one else's suggestions; but he had a passion
for light, and when a new view seemed to him to explain things
previously dark, he wanted the patience to suspend his judgment and
abide in uncertainty. Some of his hypotheses he himself dropped. Some
others he probably would have dropped, as the authorities he respected
have not embraced them. Others have made their way into general
acceptance, and may become still more useful as future research works
them out. But, whether right or wrong, they were instructive. Every
one of them is based upon facts whose importance had not been so fully
seen before, and suggests a point of view worth considering. Green's
view may sometimes appear fanciful: it is never foolish, or
superficial, or perverse. And so far from being credulous, his natural
tendency was towards doubt.

Inventive as his mind was, it was also solvent and sceptical. Seldom
is a strong imagination coupled with so unsparing a criticism as
that which he applied to the materials on which the constructive
faculty had to work. His later tendencies were rather towards
scepticism, and