The Spirit of the Hour in Archaeology (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Spirit of the Hour in Archaeology<br><br>Neither the situation itself nor the way in which it is developing are at all new to the student of events. It is quite easy to study history in either of two ways: we may hunt out and commit to memory the mere outward events themselves as they are thrown on the screen of time, the rise and fall of persons and nations, the never-ending battles, the continual changing of political and social conditions, the shifting of dynasties. Or else we may look behind all this and study history as the accentuation and interplay of forces whose inner meaning we can only realize (and even then but partly) after their work has been done, and human life and progress definitely modified by their presence. It is doubtful if we can ever estimate and appraise properly any of these epochal introductions at the time of their first appearance on the scene; that occasion is perhaps always like the planting of seed in the fall-time, to grow into grain and bread in a succeeding season, and after intervening rains.<br><br>The student of events, working along these lines, often comes to find much similarity in the histories of these fundamental changes. They very often start in a field outside the dominant one of the day; they seem most unlikely to start within the lines of the established order.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.