historic sense, historical sense

The faculty of readily grasping and understanding historical facts in all their bearings, and of vividly picturing them in the mind with due regard to all their acce ories. his-tor-i-cal-ly, adv . [Eng. historical; -ly .] In an historical manner; according to the facts of history; in manner of a history. "He setteth down historically , the kind and manner of this plague."-Usher: Annals. *his-to-ri-cian, s. [Eng. hist or (y); -ician.] An historian. "John de Hexam and Richard de Hexham [were] two notable historic i ans ." -Holinshed: Richard I. (an. 1199). *his-to-riç-i-ty, s. [Eng. historic; -ity.] The quality of being historical. *his-tor-i-çize, v. t . [Eng. historic ; -ize.] To record or relate in manner of a history; to chronicle. his-tõr-ied, a. [Eng. history; -ed.] Recorded or related in history. *his-tör-i-er, s. [Eng. history ; -er.] An his tori an. his-tor-I-ětte', s. [Fr.] A short history or account; a tale. *his-tor-i-fy, *his-tor-i-fie, v . t . [Eng. history ; fu.] To relate or record in or as history. ( Brewer : Lingua , ii. 1.) his-tör-i-og-ra-pher, *his-tör-I-o-grăph, s . [Gr. historiographos , from hist or i a = history, and graphō to write; Fr. historiographe .] A writer of history; an historian. given as a mark of honor in European courts to some learned historians. "The duties which belonged to him as historiographer of France." - Macaulay: Hist. Eng., ch. xix. *his-tör-i-o-graphic, his-tör-1-o-graph-Ical, a. [Gr. his to rio graph i kos .] Of or pertaining to historiography. his-tör-i-og-raph-ỹ, s . [Gr. historiographeō =to write history: hist or i a = history, and graphō = to write.] The art or occupation of an historian. *his-tör-1-ol-ô-gỹ, s. [Gr. hist or i a =history, and logos a discourse.] A discourse on history; the knowledge history. latere his to ring tone. *his-tõr-ize, v. t . [Eng. hist or(y); -ize.] To re "Under which is hist or i zed the whole Ovidian Metamor phos is." - Evelyn: Memoirs; Tivoli. his-tõr-ý, s . [Lat. hist or i a =a narrative of past events; history; Gr.hist or i a =a learning or knowing by inquiry, inquiry, the knowledge so obtained, information; ist or , hist or knowing, learned; istö , 3d sing. imper. of oida =know.] 1. The record of the most important bygone events in human history chronologically arranged, with an inquiry into their causes, and the le ons which they afford with regard to human conduct; "philosophy teaching by example." This field of inves tigation is more limited than that of the Greek hist or i a , which was used for research on any subject [Etym.], and somewhat more extensive than the Roman hist or i a , which would now be called annals. Accounts of the same event are distorted according to the prejudices or interest of the person by whom they are related. Historians in such cases attempt with cold impartiality to ascertain and record the actual truth. Every nation has great gaps in its early history, which verbal tradition and written poetry have had no scruple in filling up with almost purely mythic narratives; the historian must attempt to discriminate truth from fable. The"eyes of history" are geography and chronology. The locality of an event should be recorded, and the date at which it occurred. If a wrong date be introduced the chain of causation in historic events is destroyed at that point; for every event is in that respect the consequent of those which preceded it, and the antecedent of those which followed. History is often divided into sacred and profane. The former is that obtained from the Bible; the le on which it was designed to teach is what has been called "God in History." Profane, by which is meant not unholy, but secular, history, specially records the rise and growth of the several Gentile nations. A history may be of an institution, an invention or art gradually perfected, as, the History of Shipbuilding, the History of Painting; or of thought, as, the History of Philosophy. Branches of history now named separately are Archæology and Biography. 2. A narrative; a verbal relation of important occurrences. 3. A book treating of the history of any country, people, science, or art. "Two sides of my library are filled with histories ."Lytton: Go dolphin , ch. xii. IMG:content-1193.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-1194.png:[blocks in formation] "Foppish airs And histrionic mummery, that let down The pulpit." Cowper: Task , ii. 563. B. As subst. ( pl . ): The art of theatrical representation. his-tri-on-ic-al, a. [Eng. histrionic; -al.] The same as HISTRIONIC (q. v.). his-tri-on-Ic-al-ly, adv. [Eng. histrionical; -ly.] In a histrionic manner; theatrically.