早在一千多年前，我国唐朝贞观之治的皇帝唐太宗曾说过：“以铜为鉴，可以正衣冠；以人为鉴，可以明得失；以史为鉴，可以知兴替。”本篇《历史的作用》倾注了罗斯对历史的热情，书中体现了他多年的教学心得。
There are two ways of thinking of history. There is, first, history regarded as a way of looking at other things, really the temporal aspect of anything, from the universe to this nib with I am writing. Everything has its history. There is the history of the universe, if only we knew it—and we know something of it, if we do not know much. Nor is the contrast so great, when you come to think of it, between the universe and this pen-nib. A mere pen-nib has quite a considerable history. There is, to begin with, what has been written with it, and that might be something quite important. After all it was probably only one quill-pen or a couple that wrote Hamlet. Whatever has been written with the pen-nib is part of its History. In addition to that there is the history of its manufacture: this particular nib is a 'Relief' nib, No. 314, made by R. Esterbrook and Co. in England, who supply the Midland Bank with pen-nibs, from whom I got it—a gift, I may say. But behind this nib there is the whole process of manufacture... In fact a pen nib implies of universe, and the history of it implies its history. We may regard this way of looking at it—history as the time-aspect of all things: a pen-nib, the universe, the fiddled before me as I write, as a relative conception of history. There is, secondly, what we may call a substantive conception of history, what we usually mean by it, history proper as a subject of study in itself.
Excerpt From The Use of History
By A. L. Rowse
［参考译文］
历史的作用
A. L. 罗斯
思考历史的方式有两种。其一，历史作为审视其他事物的一种方式，其实仅为所有事物暂时的面貌，从整个宇宙到正在书写的笔端。每一样事物都有它的历史。宇宙也有它的历史，要是我们知道就好了——虽然我们所知有限，总算知道一些；仔细想一下，宇宙和这笔端，其间的差异也不是那么大。但即使仅是这笔端也有一段历史。首先，透过它便有写出来的东西，而这些可能相当重要。毕竟莎士比亚的戏剧《哈姆雷特》也只靠一两支鹅毛笔便完成了。通过笔尖所写出来的东西变成了这支笔本身的历史。此外，还有这支笔的制作历史：我这个笔尖其实是英国艾斯塔布禄克（Esterbrook）厂制作的314凸版型产品，这家厂是专门为米特兰银行供应笔尖的，我就是从那儿得到的这个笔尖——或许应该说是一份礼物。在这笔尖的背后有一连串的制作过程……故此，这笔尖蕴含了一个宇宙，而它的历史也蕴含了宇宙的历史。我们可以把这种审视历史的方式看做所有事物的时间面貌：一支笔尖、宇宙、眼前我写作的领域……作为历史的相对观念。其二，则为我们称做存在观念的历史，我们通常所说的就是这个概念，历史本身作为一个研究科目。
［注释］
-temporal [ˈtempərəl] adj. 当时的，暂时的，现世的 lasting only for a time, passing
-nib [nɪb] n. 鹅管笔的尖端，钢笔尖
-considerable [kənˈsɪdərəbl] adj. 重要的，值得考虑的；有重大意义的 worthy of consideration; significant
Midland Bank ：米特兰银行
the fiddled ：不重要的事
-substantive [səbˈstæntɪv] adj. 实质的，实在的 of or relating to the essence or substance; essential
［作者简介］
罗斯（A. L. Rowse, 1903-1997）是当代英国首屈一指的文史学者，著作丰硕，纵横文学与史学两大领域。其史学作品有文学旨趣，而其文学著作又有史家见识。尤其擅长用传记来构筑断代史。作为著名的伊丽莎白王朝学者，他的英国伊利莎白社会历史三部曲（1950—1971）更是有口皆碑，但他也写了好几部丘吉尔家族传。