Page:The Persian Revolution of 1905-1909 (1910).djvu/17



is always, I think, helpful to the reader if at the very threshold of his book the author will indicate in general terms the thought which underlies it and the point of view from which it has been written. Now this book, though, in view of the difficulty of fully examining or impartially criticising contemporary events, I have not ventured to entitle it a history, is in fact intended for such; and I have naturally endeavoured first to collect, co-ordinate and weigh all available information, and then to present as faithful a summary of the conclusions to which it has led me as I have been able to frame. It is a truism, but likewise a truth, and a truth, moreover, often overlooked in practice, that, even when there is agreement as to the facts of a case, there will be differences of opinion not only as to their interpretation in matters of detail, but as to the verdict to which they lead. Argument can only be fruitful when there is Rh