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The Way To Write History (58-60)

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0062.tlg053.perseus-eng4:58-60
Refs {'start': {'reference': '58', 'human_reference': 'Section 58'}, 'end': {'reference': '60', 'human_reference': 'Section 60'}}
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When it comes in your way to introduce a speech, the first requirement is that it should suit the character both of the speaker and of the occasion; the second is (once more) lucidity; but in these cases you have the counsels right of showing your eloquence.

Not so with praise or censure; these should be sparing,

v.2.p.135
cautious, avoiding hypercriticism and producing proofs, always brief, and never intrusive; historical characters are not prisoners on trial. Without these precautions you will share the ill name of Theopompus, who delights in flinging accusations broadcast, makes a business of the thing in fact, and of himself rather a public prosecutor than a historian.

It may occasionally happen that some extraordinary story has to be introduced; it should be simply narrated, without guarantee of its truth, thrown down for any one to make what he can of it; the writer takes no risks and shows no preference.

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