THE ART OF HISTORY.

A 2

a We are said to know those things which we understand accurately.

b At the start of the commentary on Book 1 of On the Soul.

c Improperly.

d Lecture-based.

e What happens in actual fact.

f The reason why something is.

g The historian's speech is that which contains the narration of past events.

h For history is nothing other than the joining and, as it were, the structure of narrations.

...if we look back at the origin of the name that we brought up before. For, as Simplicius says, we know original: Ἴσμεν (Ismen) those things which we perceive accurately. But by improper usage original: καταχρηστικῶς (katachrēstikōs), if we follow the more common use of the word, the name "history" is applied to the other types of writing I mentioned. In those works, almost everything is reported as it is in histories, but they are not proven by demonstration. This name fits less well with the three books of Aristotle On the Soul. Those books are intended for listeners original: ἀκροαματικοὶ (akroamatikoi); this refers to Aristotle's advanced lectures for his students. They do not only provide the fact of the matter original: τὸ ὅτι (to hoti), but also the reason why original: τὸ διότι (to dioti). When we said that the art of history clears the path for history, we understood it in an explanatory or narrative original: ἐξηγητικὴν (exēgētikēn) sense. Plutarch speaks of it this way in his book on Homer: For historical speech is the narration of things that have happened original: Ὁ γὰρ ἱστορικός ἐστι λόγος, ὁ τῶν γεγονότων πραγμάτων διήγησιν. Theon also says in his Preliminary Exercises: For history is nothing other than a system of narration original: Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλό τί ἐστιν ἱστορία, ἢ σύστημα διηγήσεως. Likewise, Isidore says in the first book of his Etymologies, chapter 40: History is the narration of a deed done, through which those things that happened in the past are discerned. However, these descriptions are not accurate enough, as will appear later.

i Description of places.

k Narrative.

Narrations properly concern individual things. As we have said, these things come either from God and nature, or from human will, or from both. The first kind is handled by natural history. This is not the kind that is a part of philosophy, but the kind that only narrates individual facts. The last kind considers those things called topography original: τοπογραφία (topographia), which is the description of places. The middle kind, named after its most noble part, is called civil history. Under this we also rightly include Ecclesiastical and Scholastic history, such as the lives of philosophers. This is because the church and the school are parts of the state or the Commonwealth. Since narrative original: ἐξηγητικὴ (exēgētikē) history covers such a wide area, it is clear that several things belong to this genus. These include narrations established about the location of a region or city, or its customs, institutions, and laws. It also includes works on the opinions of philosophers, the sayings of wise men, or the stratagems of generals. It also includes those works where the lives of private or public persons are explained, whether men or women. But above all, those works which concern the deeds of one or more peoples or cities claim this name for themselves. Examples include those that report the affairs of the Athenians or the Romans, whether as a whole or in part, such as the Peloponnesian War, the Punic Wars, and similar events.

Why is it that to many the word does not seem to be used precisely enough, even in this way? It has reached the point where it is even a matter of controversy as to what kind of narration of deeds deserves the name of history, since different people lead the way in such varied directions.