La 38 and Gentlemen:
As a professional historian, I have been asked
frequently how historical events, (historical facts) are
collected, and after being drawn together how they are
arranged into a narrative that has new and yet original
meaning. We come here to grips with the basic philosophical inquiry implicit in the historian's craft. Sadly but
wisely, the student of history usually arrives at the conclusion that the cold isolated facts and events of history
do not speak for themselves. They are there for him who
will be bold enough, and wise enough, to say why they
happened and what they mean. To the extent that wisdom
comes from the perspective given by historical study, it
comes then from the historian's ability to interpret the
past.
/&-&
