But there is another possible attitude towards the records…
““But there is another possible attitude towards the records of the past, and I have never been able to understand why it has not been more often adopted. To put it in its curtest form, my proposal is this: That we should not read historians, but history. Let us read the actual text of the times. Let us, for a year, or a month, or a fortnight, refuse to read anything about Oliver Cromwell except what was written while he was alive. There is plenty of material; from my own memory (which is all I have to rely on in the place where I write) I could mention offhand many long and famous efforts of English literature that cover the period. Clarendon’s History, Evelyn’s Diary, the Life of Colonel Hutchinson. Above all let us read all Cromwell’s own letters and speeches, as Carlyle published them. But before we read them let us carefully paste pieces of stamp-paper over every sentence written by Carlyle. Let us blot out in every memoir every critical note and every modern paragraph. For a time let us cease altogether to read the living men on their dead topics. Let us read only the dead men on their living topics.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
He urges reading history directly from its sources, stripping later interpretations to understand the past authentically.
In simple terms: Read original historical texts, not later analyses.
Key Takeaway
Seek primary sources for true insight.
Themes
history
authenticity
interpretation
critical reading
Mood
inquisitive
scholarly
Type
historical
educational
When to use this quote
- academic research
- personal study
- teaching
- writing
Key Concepts
historiography
epistemology
literary criticism
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you verify historical truth?
- What value do modern interpretations add?
A Different Perspective
Primary sources may be biased or incomplete.