S1: Contemporary history is necessary, but it is at best a tentative record. S6: Some portentous events can be seen to be so from the moment of their occurrence, like the discovery of the New World; others of comparable momentousness are hidden in obscurity. P: The relevance of the issue of proportion is significant. Q: It possesses, indeed, a massive supply of public record, but it necessarily lacks the inner knowledge of politicians' minds, of planners' proposals, of scientists' discoveries, of technicians' break-throughs. R: It also lacks perspective since it is bereft of a sense of proportion. S: It is impossible, over just a few years of observation, to estimate accurately the significance of various events.