A Little History of the World

As an introduction to his survey of human history, Gombrich begins with an exploration of history and memory. If someone stands between two mirrors, they will see a line of mirrors reflected in those mirrors, each one smaller than the last, until they can no longer be seen. The endless reflection of mirrors goes on but cannot be observed. This phenomenon, he argues, is not unlike our perspective on history (1). At first, our own memories and the memories of surviving generations provide relatively clear pictures of the past. Then, what was left behind by those before us provides a smaller picture. The further back in history, the smaller the picture, until we cannot see what we know is there. He offers another simile by describing history as a well and our memory a burning scrap of paper lighting less and less as it falls deeper into time.

Gombrich briefly reflects on the massive expanse of time. Before humans existed, millions of years ago, there were dinosaurs. Thousands of millions of years ago, there were only small creatures like snails and worms. Before that, there were just plants, and if one goes back far enough, the planet was merely a whirling ball of gas.