Itistrustingtoaconsensusofcommonhumanvoicesratherthantosomeisolatedorarbitraryrecord。ThemanwhoquotessomeGermanhistorianagainstthetraditionoftheCatholicChurch，forinstance，isstrictlyappealingtoaristocracy。Heisappealingtothesuperiorityofoneexpertagainsttheawfulauthorityofamob。
Itisquiteeasytoseewhyalegendistreated，andoughttobetreated，morerespectfullythanabookofhistory。Thelegendisgenerallymadebythemajorityofpeopleinthevillage，whoaresane。
Thebookisgenerallywrittenbytheonemaninthevillagewhoismad。
ThosewhourgeagainsttraditionthatmeninthepastwereignorantmaygoandurgeitattheCarltonClub，alongwiththestatementthatvotersintheslumsareignorant。Itwillnotdoforus。
Ifweattachgreatimportancetotheopinionofordinarymeningreatunanimitywhenwearedealingwithdailymatters，thereisnoreasonwhyweshoulddisregarditwhenwearedealingwithhistoryorfable。