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Why did Gabriel Monod receive advice to study history in Germany?
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Leopold von Ranke
Ranke, detail of an oil painting by J. Schrader, 1868; in the National-Galerie, Berlin
When the French historian Gabriel Monod asked the philosopher and historian Hippolyte Taine whether he should study history in Germany, Taine encouraged him to do so, citing the superiority of the German approach to the discipline.1
According to Taine, this superiority was based on two primary strengths:
- Philological Rigor: German historians were trained as philologists who prioritized going directly to original documents.1
- Philosophical Depth: They possessed a philosophical perspective that provided them with the habit of generalizing and viewing historical objects in masses.1
By studying in Germany, Monod was exposed to these rigorous methodologies, including the techniques of Leopold von Ranke, which he later helped introduce to the French academic system.21