Abstract
“Historical study,” G. R. Elton has written, “is not the study of the past but the study of present traces of the past.” Whatever man has said, whatever act he has performed in the past, is irretrievably lost unless or until some present deposit of that past has survived for the historian to examine. The traces, or evidence available to the historian when he commences his narrative, has a bearing on the nature and scope of his work. Traces overlooked, neglected or disregarded might affect the soundness of the historian's interpretation; yet, the situation can be set right once the evidence has been reexamined, once the available traces have been indicated and employed. At the very least, those traces must exist. If the case were otherwise, most history would be construed as speculation, hearsay, gossip or worse. Truth is the daughter of time, but only when sufficient evidence will permit its establishment.
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