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

190 ANCIENT GREEK HISTORIANS LECT.V

of Theophrastus, compiled a corpus of the Attic
decrees of the fifth century, arranged in chronological order. The traveller, Polemon of Ilion, was
such a diligent copyist of inscriptions that he earned
the name of stone-rapper (stelokopas). Among the
Romans, Mucianus, the friend of the Emperor
Vespasian, collected and edited a large corpus of
official documents, probably including reports of the
proceedings of the Senate (acta senatus) during the
last age of the Republic.' As this collection included
reports of public speeches by leading orators and
statesmen, the motive of Alucianus in compiling it
may have been an interest in oratory rather than in
history. Such labours were in any case exceptional.
Greece did not create scientific philology any
more than scientific history. But the movement
set on foot by the Peripatetic school was invaluable,
both for preserving the records, and exploring the
recesses, of the past; and however uncritical or
crude the methods of ancient antiquarians may
appear to us, they represent a prominent stage in
the advance of knowledge. But while their disinterested passion for research affected the reconstruction of past history, contemporary history
was composed by men who subordinated truth to
rhetorical effect. There were few exceptions, conspicuously Hieronymus, whom I have mentioned,
and Polybius, to whom the next lecture will be
devoted.
1 Tacitus, Dial. 37.