Chapter VIII: The Determination of Particular Facts

The conceptions of authors, whether well or ill founded, are the subject-matter of certain studies--They necessarily contain elements of truth, which, under certain restrictions, may sometimes be inferred from them 191

The statements of authors, taken singly, do not rise above probability--The only _sure_ results of criticism are _negative_--To establish facts it is necessary to compare different statements 194

Contradictions between statements, real and apparent 198

Agreement of statements--Necessity of proving them to be independent--Perfect agreement not so conclusive as occasional coincidence--Cases where different observations of the same fact are not independent--General facts the easiest to prove 199

Different facts, each imperfectly proved, corroborate each other when they harmonise 204

Disagreement between documents and other sources of knowledge--Improbable statements--Miracles--When science and history conflict, history should give way 205

BOOK III

_SYNTHETIC OPERATIONS_