Reading History
History is a record of facts and events concerning a country and its people from earliest times to the present day. It is not a catalogue of dates. It is life, light and romance. History gives us the glimpse of the past. It is a study of man through the ages. It includes the man’s life, his manner and customs, his prejudices and strife’s, hopes and fears, joys and sorrows.
History is a study of the change which has come upon him from age to age under the impact of changing political, social, economic and cultural conditions. In short, history is a study of man’s progress from the savage to the civilized state. It tells us how great civilizations have come and gone, how great kings and monarchs ruled with glamour and authority, how cruel rulers left no stone unturned to subdue their subjects. It tells us how mighty’ movements, which are called the revolutions and reformations have originated and developed.
One is bound to derive immense pleasure from the study of the account of these events which comprises of a long history of mankind’s, its successes and failures, war and peace. Study of history necessarily broadens our mind and extends the horizons of our knowledge. Somebody has said that it is only on the ruins of the past that a good future is planned and made. Man learns by past mistakes. Reading of history gives you the experience of life by reading about the lives of successful great heroes and timid people of yore. The study of history gives us a capacity to peep into future as it is said that history repeats itself and so by a critical study of what has happened before we may get some indication of the shape of things to come.
History is a storehouse of wisdom, an unfailing fountain of inspiration. Our every problem can find a solution by reading history. The message of history is the precious heritage of mankind.
