Just as some types of philosophical analysis are more useful than others to historians or political scientists, so, I find, are some sorts of historical research more useful to philosophers than are other sorts. Sommerville makes history useful to non-historians by clarifying the large-scale historical background against which his investigative questions are posed, and then separating out crucial figures, ideas, and events from arcana of interest primarily to specialist historians. His interpretations are relatively neutral, striking a welcome balance between mere reporting of events or textual ideas on the one hand, and on the other, accounts so theoretically laden that they prejudge or foreclose promising interpretive possibilities.

正如某些类型的哲学分析比其他类型的哲学分析对历史学家或政治科学家更有用一样，我发现某些类型的历史研究对哲学家比其他类型的更有用。萨默维尔通过阐明他的调查问题所针对的大规模历史背景，然后将关键人物、思想和事件从主要是专业历史学家感兴趣的奥秘中分离出来，从而使历史对非历史学家有用。他的解释相对中立，一方面在仅仅报道事件或文本思想之间取得了可喜的平衡，另一方面，理论负载如此之大，以至于它们预先判断或排除了有希望的解释可能性。