History and Leopold von Ranke

Leopold von Ranke - The Secret of World History
Leopold von Ranke believed that history was related to politics in the sense that history identified the problems and their causes while, politics, invented in the 19th century according to Ranke, provided the solutions.[footnoteRef:2] In order for political solutions to be effectively developed and applied, history had to be understood critically.[footnoteRef:3] The best way to understand history critically was to examine the primary documents of history as opposed to the interpretations of these documents by historians of the present. Engaging with the actual texts of the past could allow one to see directly what the past had been about. To ensure a proper study of history, though, the student requires a stable state—i.e., a healthy government that allows such perusal.[footnoteRef:4] [2: Leopold von Ranke, Excerpts from “The Secret of World History. Selected Writings on the Art and Science of History” by Leopold von Ranke. Edited by Roger Wines (Fordham University Press, 1981), 108.] [3: Leopold von Ranke, Excerpts from “The Secret of World History. Selected Writings on the Art and Science of History” by Leopold von Ranke. Edited by Roger Wines (Fordham University Press, 1981), 109.] [4: Leopold von Ranke, Excerpts from “The Secret of World History. Selected Writings on the Art and Science of History” by Leopold von Ranke. Edited by Roger Wines (Fordham University Press, 1981), 115.]
Von Ranke’s reading of history revealed to him that “progress consists in this: in every period a certain movement of the human spirit is revealed, by which for the first time one or another tendency becomes pre-eminent and maintains itself in its own way.”[footnoteRef:5] Each epoch has its own right to be examined, and all should be considered equal to one another, even though some may appear to progress more than others. Von Ranke argues that all are progressing in accordance with the spirit of the age and in accordance with their nature. One should see them all as God sees history—all laid out before one, everything present at once, without judgment or preference for one over the other.[footnoteRef:6] Rather, they are all to be regarded equally by the historian just as God regards all time equally: “In all of history God dwells, lives, is to be found.”[footnoteRef:7] This thought should always be present in the mind of the historian, von Ranke argues. [5: Leopold von Ranke, Excerpts from “The Secret of World History. Selected Writings on the Art and Science of History” by Leopold von Ranke. Edited by Roger Wines (Fordham University Press, 1981), 159.] [6: Leopold von Ranke, Excerpts from “The Secret of World History. Selected Writings on the Art and Science of History” by Leopold von Ranke. Edited by Roger Wines (Fordham University Press, 1981), 160.] [7: Leopold von Ranke, Excerpts from “The Secret of World History. Selected Writings on the Art and Science of History” by Leopold von Ranke. Edited by Roger Wines (Fordham University Press, 1981), 241.]
He further describes his desire when examining and writing about history. Von Ranke wanted only “to look at the world, past and present, to absorb it into my being as far as my powers will enable me; to draw out and appropriate all that is beautiful and great, to see with unbiased eyes the progress of universal history, and in this spirit to produce beautiful and noble works….”[footnoteRef:8] His ambition was to distill from history a sense of the greatness of the human spirit and to capture from that distillation all the grandeur that could be derived from every epoch, translated into words, and set down on the page so that others could receive it without having to refer to all the epochs and texts and primary sources that would be the historian’s fodder. [8: Leopold von Ranke, Excerpts from “The Secret of World History. Selected Writings on the Art and Science of History” by Leopold von Ranke. Edited by Roger Wines (Fordham University Press, 1981), 259.]
For that reason von Ranke was convinced that a historian must be old.[footnoteRef:9] It was only a man who had lived a long life who could see through the appropriate eyes what it means to be great, what it means to be beautiful, and what it means to be in awe of the majestic. To discern the beauty and wonders of the past, one had to live through all the trials and tribulations of his own day and age, experience life first hand, directly and grow in his own person a sense of refinement and respect for the spirit of one’s people. To grow in this manner takes some time—and so history is not to be written by the young, the green, or the fresh out of school—for what can they know about the realities of life? History is for old men, who have attained a degree of wisdom themselves and are capable of discerning wisdom from other ages and discussing it. [9: Leopold von Ranke, Excerpts from “The Secret of World History. Selected Writings on the Art and Science of History” by Leopold von Ranke. Edited by Roger Wines (Fordham University Press, 1981), 261.]
Von Ranke is writing his text to explain to others and also to himself why history is what it is and how he himself perceives—i.e., what it means to him. To know history is to possess the greatest gift of knowledge, comparable to possessing a fine estate.[footnoteRef:10] However, one need not die to pass on this knowledge to others. Rather, it can only be passed on by the living to the living. History should not be stuffed in books and placed on shelves in libraries where they are never seen again.[footnoteRef:11] Again, this is where the state comes into play. The state should promote the study of history and should employ the aged and learned who can properly assess it, distill it, and pass its knowledge, wonder and beauty on to the living. Historians of this nature should be honored, von Ranke argues. They are as important a country’s health and humanity and spirit as any other person in the land.[footnoteRef:12] [10: Leopold von Ranke, Excerpts from “The Secret of World History. Selected Writings on the Art and Science of History” by Leopold von Ranke. Edited by Roger Wines (Fordham University Press, 1981), 265.] [11: Leopold von Ranke, Excerpts from “The Secret of World History. Selected Writings on the Art and Science of History” by Leopold von Ranke. Edited by Roger Wines (Fordham University Press, 1981), 265.] [12: Leopold von Ranke, Excerpts from “The Secret of World History. Selected Writings on the Art and Science of History” by Leopold von Ranke. Edited by Roger Wines (Fordham University Press, 1981), 265.]
In short, von Ranke sees himself as an important personage in Prussia, for he is a kind of gatekeeper of history: he has the gift to study it and discern the spirit of the epochs that have come before. In his discernment, he can write and talk about what he uncovers and thus pass the lessons of history on to others that they might benefit from them in their humanity. That is the entire point of history, and the relationship between history and the political stems from this: whatever mistakes were made in history can be addressed and solved by the application of the political.
Bibliography
Excerpts from “The Secret of World History. Selected Writings on the Art and Science of History” by Leopold von Ranke. Edited by Roger Wines. Fordham University Press, 1981.