The footnote would seem to be the smallest detail in a work of history. Yet it carries a large burden of responsibility, testifying to the validity of the work, the integrity (and the humility) of the historian, and to the dignity of the discipline.
Interpretation
Footnotes may appear insignificant, but they hold great importance in supporting historical work.
Gertrude Himmelfarb emphasizes that, although footnotes are often considered trivial details in historical writing, they play a crucial role in validating the information presented, showcasing the historian's integrity, and upholding the respectability of history as a discipline. This observation highlights the importance of thoroughness and humility in scholarly work.
In practice
During a lecture about historiography, one might cite this quote to emphasize the importance of proper sourcing.
As liberty of thought is absolute, so is liberty of speech, which is 'inseparable' from the liberty of thought. Liberty of speech, moreover, is essential not only for its own sake but for the sake of truth, which requires absolute liberty for the utterance of unpopular and even demonstrably false opinions.
Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains.
Sickness, insanity and death were the angels that surrounded my cradle and they have followed me throughout my life.
If America could be, once again, a nation of self-reliant farmers, craftsmen, hunters, ranchers, and artists, then the rich would have little power to dominate others. Neither to serve nor to rule: That was the American dream.
Alas, how quickly the gratitude owed to the dead flows off, how quick to be proved a deceiver.
Of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history.
It was a hollow victory they gave me. A crown...it was the girl I prayed them for. Your sister, safe... and mine again as she was meant to be. I ask you, Ned, what good is it to wear a crown?
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