GREATNESS OF THUCYDIDES

Professor John B. Bury, M.A., Litt.D., LL.D., Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University, delivered a remarkably interesting lecture on "Thucydides" last evening in the Lecture Room of the Fogg Museum. This was the third of his course of six lectures on "The Ancient Greek Historians," delivered under the auspices of the Department of the Classics through the generosity of Mr. Gardiner M. Lane '81.

Professor Bury very wittily brought out the striking difference in character between Herodotus and Thucydides by the way both treated the causes of the Peloponnesian War. Where Herodotus related with great dramatic effect most of the scandalous and rather immoral stories then current among the Athenians, Thucydides serenely ignored these and showed us the true elemental reasons for the conflict.

This indicates the most important phase of the value of Thucydides's historical work, namely, trustworthiness. Although it took a large amount of firm independence, Thucydides departed entirely from historical methods current in his day and emphasized accuracy as the prime necessity of history.

He was the first, and by many thought the best historian to successfully gauge the character of the Greek state. His clear and concise statements of the doctrine of "might makes right," his broad criticism of a narrow policy, and his independence of prejudice and envy have made him one of the most eminent historical thinkers the world has ever produced. Thucydides's greatest work, "The Peloponnesian War," is remarkably free from the multitude of trivial details and stories usually inserted by his contemporaries, presenting, on the contrary, the serious attempt of an historical thinker to present the trends and currents marked by the events of the time.

Professor Bury is one of the most eminent historical thinkers of the day and is widely known by his works, the "Life of St. Patrick," and his edition of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." The Regius professorship at Cambridge, founded by Henry the Eighth, is one of the most distinguished academic positions in England.