In the first place it must be remembered that History
itself possesses interest for us more as the unfolding of certain
moral and mental developments than as the mere enumeration of
facts. Of course, I am aware that the ideal of the Historian is
Truth utterly regardless of prejudice and inclination, but, as with
all other human ideals, this one is never fully realised, and there
is ever that discrepancy between Fact and its Narration to which I
just now alluded. This being so, I would ask--Is not the writer of
Fiction justified in emphasising those elements of History which
have a bearing on life and character in general? There is,
doubtless, a wise and an unwise method of procedure. One novelist,
in the very effort to be accurate, produces a work which--being
neither History nor Fiction--is simply dull; while another, who has
gauged the true relation between fact and imagination, knows better
than to bring into prominence that which should remain only as a
background. After all, there are certain root motives and
principles which, though they vary indefinitely in their
application, underlie Human Conduct, and are common to all ages
alike.
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