_Time when Herodotus wrote._--The following passage appears to me to afford
strong evidence, not only that Herodotus did not complete his history till
an advanced age, but that he did not _begin_ it. For in lib. i. 5. he
writes: "[Greek: ta de ep' emou ên megala, proteron ên smikra]," "those
cities, which in my time _were_ great, were of old small." This is
certainly such an expression as none but a man advanced in years could have
used. It is perhaps worth observing, that this passage occurring in the
Introduction does not diminish its weight, as the events recorded in it,
leading naturally into the history, could not well have been written
afterwards. As I have never seen this passage noticed with this view. I
shall be glad to see whether the argument which I have deduced from it
appears a reasonable one to your classical readers.