The ancient Greek historians (Harvard lectures) by J. B. Bury.

V

DURIS

173

of "realism"; and we shall not be far from the
mark if we say that what Duris demanded was
realism, and if we call his school the realistic
school. Duris was intensely interested in the
theatre; he wrote books on tragedy and the
history of art; and it was this interest in drama
that inspired him with the idea that historians
should aim at producing the same kinds of effect
as dramatists. He required, for instance, that
they should introduce their personages dressed in
the costumes appropriate to the time and circumstances. But his chief point of insistence was that
the feelings of the readers should be moved and
harrowed by highly wrought pathetic scenes, conjured up by the writer's imagination; while they
were also to be entertained by anecdotes and
gossip and amorous stories. He achieved a success
with the public, and naturally his success was
followed up by others. For example, Phylarchus,
who wrote an important history of the years 272 -220 B.C., is blamed by Polybius as "feminine"
because he aimed at moving his readers to tears.1
That was the influence of Duris.
There was a good deal to be said for the instinct
of Duris in his reaction against conventionalism.
The power of realising and vividly describing scenes
of the past is a high merit in a historical writer,
provided he has the material necessary for constructing a true picture. But this proviso is

1 We must remember that Polybius was disposed to be unfavourable to
Phylarchus as a partisan of Cleomenes.