Historyexaminesthemanifestationsofman'sfreewillinconnectionwiththeexternalworldintimeandindependenceoncause, thatis, itdefinesthisfreedombythelawsofreason, andsohistoryisascienceonlyinsofarasthisfreewillisdefinedbythoselaws.
Therecognitionofman'sfreewillassomethingcapableofinfluencinghistoricalevents, thatis, asnotsubjecttolaws, isthesameforhistoryastherecognitionofafreeforcemovingtheheavenlybodieswouldbeforastronomy.
Thatassumptionwoulddestroythepossibilityoftheexistenceoflaws, thatis, , , thennotasinglehistoricallawcanexist, noranyconceptionofhistoricalevents.
Forhistory, linesexistofthemovementofhumanwills, oneendofwhichishiddenintheunknownbutattheotherendofwhichaconsciousnessofman'swillinthepresentmovesinspace, time, anddependenceoncause.
Themorethisfieldofmotionspreadsoutbeforeoureyes, .
Fromthestandpointfromwhichthescienceofhistorynowregardsitssubjectonthepathitnowfollows, seekingthecausesofeventsinman'sfreewill, ascientificenunciationofthoselawsisimpossible, forhoweverman'sfreewillmayberestricted, assoonaswerecognizeitasaforcenotsubjecttolaw, theexistenceoflawbecomesimpossible.
Onlybyreducingthiselementoffreewilltotheinfinitesimal, thatis, byregardingitasaninfinitelysmallquantity, canweconvinceourselvesoftheabsoluteinaccessibilityofthecauses, andtheninsteadofseekingcauses, historywilltakethediscoveryoflawsasitsproblem.
Thesearchfortheselawshaslongbeenbegunandthenewmethodsofthoughtwhichhistorymustadoptarebeingworkedoutsimultaneouslywiththeself-destructiontowardwhich—everdissectinganddissectingthecausesofphenomena—theoldmethodofhistoryismoving.
, mathematics, themostexactofsciences, abandonstheprocessofanalysisandentersonthenewprocessoftheintegrationofunknown, infinitelysmall, , mathematicsseekslaw, thatis, thepropertycommontoallunknown, infinitelysmall, elements.
; hesaidthatallbodiesfromthelargesttothesmallesthavethepropertyofattractingoneanother, thatis, leavingasidethequestionofthecauseofthemovementofthebodies, : leavingasidethequestionofcause, , ittoo, settingasidetheconceptionofcause, shouldseekthelawscommontoalltheinseparablyinterconnectedinfinitesimalelementsoffreewill.
