It seems necessary to explain that this is a wholly puerile conception of historical science, and that the notion of historical causation so reached is profoundly false. Impartially applied, the method would yield equivalent panegyric for all religions alike. All that is beautiful and heroic in pre-Christian and non-Christian history would be shown to be due to the creeds of the different times and races; all the harm would be set down, as before, to human nature. The rational statement is that human nature evolved all the religions in turn; that creeds, once established, become special factors; that their varying fortunes are due to the reciprocal reactions of creed and environment; and that to write the history of any one religion it is necessary to consider narrowly how it specifically reacts on conduct in given circumstances of culture and socio-political structure. If it can be shown specifically to promote right action on any line, let that be duly credited to the religion in question as the determinant. If, on the other hand, it can be shown to promote wrong action, the fact must on the same principle be put to its discredit. But no Christian historian, broadly speaking, ever thinks of crediting to Greek polytheism the fairer aspects of Greek life, or to Islam the virtues of veracity and courage sometimes ascribed to Turks and Arabs; though professedly Christian historians have been known to contrast the comparative decency of the execution of Sokrates with the savage horrors of political executions in Christendom down to recent times.