IX. Methods of Approach to the Study of History.
1. Chronologically, since there is a continuity in the subject, and cause precedes effect. "The childhood of history is best for the child, the boyhood of history for the boy, the youthhood of history for the youth, and the manhood of history for the man."—S. S. Laurie, Sch. Rev. 4:650.
2. Counter-chronologically, i.e., from the present time and immediate surroundings to remote ages and distant peoples.
3. Spirally, i.e., covering the entire field of study in an elementary manner; then repeating the course on a more advanced plane; then taking up the work a third and fourth time, supplementing and expanding with each new attack.
4. Biographically, i.e., by means of biographies only.
5. Topically, i.e., tracing the development of particular elements in history, continuously and uninterruptedly, from the early stages to complete forms.
Queries
1. Which, to you, seems the best approach to the study of history?
2. May several of the above-mentioned modes be employed simultaneously?