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CHAPTER XVII

HOW FAR CAN THE PAST BE RECONSTRUCTED FROM THE PRESS? toute la pensée humaine. Depuis cette multiplication prodigieuse que l'art a donnée à la parole, multiplication que se multipliera mille fois encore, l'humanité écrira son livre jour par jour, heure par heure, page par page; la pensée se répandra dans le monde avec la rapidité de la lumière; aussitôt conçue, aussitôt écrite, aussitôt entendue aux extré

mités de la terre, elle courra d 'un pôle à l'autre, subite, instanée , brûlante encore de la chaleur de l'âme qui l'aura fait éclore; ce sera le règne du verbe humain dans toute sa plénitude; elle n 'aura pas le temps demûrir, de s 'accumuler sous la forme de livre; le livre arriverait

trop tard : le seul livre possible dès aujourd'hui, c'est un journal." - Lamartine, 1831.

“ I look upon the common intelligence in our public papers with the long train of advertisements annexed to it, as the best account of the present domestic state of England, that can possibly be compiled : nor do I know any thing, which would give posterity so clear an idea of

the taste and morals of the present age, as a bundle of our daily pa

pers.” — The Connoisseur, 1850. “ If I desired to leave to remote posterity somememorial of existing British civilization, I would prefer, not our docks, not our railways, not our public buildings, not even the palace in which we now hold our sittings; I would prefer a file of The Times newspaper.” — Edward

Bulwer -Lytton, 1855. " I do not think there will be any novels or romances, at all events in volume form, in fifty or a hundred years from now . They will be supplanted altogether by the daily newspaper. . . . As historic rec ords the world will file its newspapers. Newspaper writers have

learned to color every-day events so well that to read them will give posterity a truer picture than the historic or descriptive novel could do.” — Jules Verne, 1902. “ The man who writes about himself and his own time is the only man who writes about all people and about all time.” — G. B. Shaw , 1918.

THE attempt has been made to show to what extent the press

can be deemed authoritative, but essential as is authoritat