This introductory chapter extracted from the first volume of Sarton's Magnus Opus "The introduction to the history of science" from 1927 is worth rediscovering. A lot of ideas we hold about the history of science are put into perspective. The fall of the Greek civilization, the decline of scientific discovery during the Dark Ages and the role of religion in that decline, and the idea that science was exclusively a western matter to name a few. Another important reason is that some philosophical ideas described in the introduction are similar to what later brilliant philosophers have described, his humanistic, comparative, tolerant, and charitable way of life can be detected in the communication and behavior of important scientists of the later generations.