Studentsofsciencearewonttoinveighagainsttheinexactcharacterofhistoricalresearch，itsincoherenceandsupposedinabilitytoformulatelaws。Itwouldbeoutofplaceheretodiscussthecomparativevalueofmethodsandtheone-sidedpreferencegivenbysuchaccuserstoquantitativeanalysis；butI
thinkthatiftheseaccuserswerebetteracquaintedwiththesubjectoftheirattacks，orevenmoreattentivetotheexpressionsofmen’slifeandthoughtaroundthem，theywouldhardlydaretomaintainthatastudywhichintheshortspaceofacenturyhasledtoacompleterevolutioninthetreatmentofallquestionsconcerningmanandsociety，hasbeenoperatingonlybyvagueassumptionsandguessesatrandom。Aninvestigationintomethodscannotbeundertakenintheseintroductorypages，butageneralsurveyofresultsmaybeattempted。Ifwemerelytakeasinglevolume，Tocqueville’sAncienRegime，andaskourselveswhetheranythingatalllikeitcouldhavebeenproducedevenintheeighteenthcentury，weshallhaveasenseofwhathasbeengoingoninthelineofhistoricalstudyduringthenineteenth。
EversinceNiebuhr’sgreatstroke，historicalcriticismhasbeenpatientlyengagedintesting，sifting，andclassifyingtheoriginalmaterials，andithasnowrenderedimpossiblethatmedleyofdiscordantauthoritiesinwhicheighteenth-centurylearningfounditsconfusednotionsofRomansinFrenchcostume，orsoughtformodernconstitutionalideasasmanifestinthepolicyoftheFranks。Wholesubjectsandaspectsofsociallifewhich，iftreatedatall，usedtobesketchilytreatedinsomeappendixbythehistorian，orguessedatlikeapuzzlebytheantiquarian，havecometotheforeandarerecognisedasthereallyimportantpartsofhistory。Inaword，thestudyofthepastvacillatesnolongerbetweenthetwoextremesofminuteresearchleadingtonogeneralresultsandgeneralstatementsnotbasedonanyrealinvestigationintofacts。Thelawsofdevelopmentmaystillappearonlyasdimoutlineswhichmustbemoredefinitelytracedbyfuturegenerationsofworkers，butthereiscertainlyaconstantprogressofgeneralisationonfirmlyestablishedpremisestowardsthem。
Whatismorestriking，thegreatchangeinthewaysandresultsofhistoryhasmadeitselffeltonallthesubjectswhichsurroundit。Politicaleconomyandlawareassuminganentirelynewshapeundertheinfluenceofhistoricalconceptions：thetendencytowardsbuildingupdogmaticdoctrineonthefoundationofabstractprincipleandbydeductivemethodsisgivingwaytoanexactstudyoffactsintheirhistoricalsurroundings，andtoinquiriesintotheshiftingconditionsunderwhichtheproblemsofsocialeconomyandlawaresolvedbydifferentepochs。Asabrilliantrepresentativeoflegallearninghasironicallyputit，itwouldbebetterforonenowadaystobeconvictedofpettylarcenythantobefounddeficientof’historical-mindedness。’
Theinfluenceofhistoricalspeculationonpoliticsisyetmoredefiniteanddirect：eventhemostdevoteddisciplesofparticularcreeds，themostardentadvocatesofreformorreactiondarenotsimplytakeupthehighstandinggroundofabstracttheoryfromwhichallpoliticalquestionswerediscussedlessthanahundredyearsago：thesocialistaswellasthepartisanofaristocracyiscalledontomakegoodhiscontentionbyhistoricalarguments。