for being men of like passions with himself;
who will see with their eyes, feel with their hearts, and take for his
motto, 'Homo sum, nil humani a me alienum puto'?

I entreat gentlemen who may hereafter attend my lectures to bear in mind
this last saying. If they wish to understand History, they must first
try to understand men and women. For History is the history of men and
women, and of nothing else; and he who knows men and women thoroughly
will best understand the past work of the world, and be best able to
carry on its work now. The men who, in the long run, have governed the
world, have been those who understood the human heart; and therefore it
is to this day the statesman who keeps the reins in his hand, and not the
mere student. He is a man of the world; he knows how to manage his
fellow-men; and therefore he can get work done which the mere student (it
may be) has taught him ought to be done; but which the mere student, much
less the mere trader or economist, could not get done; simply because his
fellow-men would probably not listen to him, and certainly outwit him. Of
course, in proportion to the depth, width, soundness, of his conception
of human nature, will be the greatness and wholesomeness of his power. He
may appeal to the meanest, or to the loftiest motives. He may be a fox
or an eagle; a Borgia, or a Hildebrand; a Talleyrand, or a Napoleon; a
Mary Stuart, or an Elizabeth: but however base, however noble, the power
which he exercises is the same in essence. He makes History, because he
understands men. And you, if you would understand History, must
understand men.

If, therefore, any of you should ask me how to study history, I should
answer--Take by all means biographies: wheresoever possible,
autobiographies; and study them. Fill your minds with live human
figures; men of like passions with yourselves; see how each lived and
worked in the time and place in which God put him. Believe me, that when
you have thus made a friend of the dead, and brought him to life again,
and let him teach you to see with his eyes, and feel with his heart, you
will begin to understand more of his generation and his circumstances,
than all the mere history-books of the period would teach you. In
proportion as you understand the man, and only so, will you begin to
understand the elements in which he worked. And not only to understand,
but to remember. Names, dates, genealogies, geographical details,
costum