A source-book of ancient history - The Search For Mecca

Polybius; Diodorus 73
to acquaint himself with the Politics, a masterpiece of
poHtical science, and the Constitution of the Athenians,
the manuscript of which, written on a papyrus, was discovered
in Egypt in 1890. With Demosthenes and Aristotle
the classical age of Greek literature comes to an end.
In the historical field by far the most eminent post- Later bisclassical
writer was Polybius.
He lived during the Roman ius, about
conquest of Greece, and therefore saw not only his na-
tion's political enslavement but the establishment of Rome
as the only great power in the world.
His work is a history
of Roman expansion in the Mediterranean basin; only
by way of introduction or incidental reference does he
touch on earlier time. The experiences of mankind since
the days of Thucydides gave him a broader view of history
and politics. Most of the material for his work he obtained
from documents, from personal observation of the
topography and resources of the countries treated, and
from men who had taken part in the events which he narrates.
His interest centres in the motives, causes, and
effects of actions. A careful reading of this author is the
best possible introduction to the spirit and method of
^^°~^^° ^^•
history as we of to-day regard it.
To the age of Caesar belongs another Greek historian, Diodorus,
Diodorus the Sicilian, a writer incomparably inferior to ter 21 B.C.
Polybius in ability.
His vast Historical Library narrates
the events of the civilized world from the earliest times to
Caesar's invasion of Britain (54 B.C.). The author shows
no judgment in selecting his material or in putting it together;
hence the different parts of his work are of unequal
merit. He had no conception of the unity of history, and
this fault, together with his arrangement of events by
years, prevented him from tracing the causes, connections
and effects of events,—from being a good historian.
His