A History of the Philippines

"[...]matters and write them down in some form, so that we to-day can read their accounts, and at least know how these events appeared to men of the time. But not all that a man writes, or even puts in a book, of things he has seen and known, is infallibly accurate and free from error, partiality, and untruthfulness. So the task of the historian is not merely to read and accept all the contemporary records, but he must also compare one account with another, weighing all that he can find, making due allowance for prejudice, and on his own part trying to reach a conclusion that shall be true.[...]".