Just recording those things isn't sufficient. What if the person hasn't read the archive? What if they don't have the capacity to understand what they are readi

Just recording those things isn't sufficient. What if the person hasn't read the archive? What if they don't have the capacity to understand what they are reading in the archive? It's an old saying, "I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you." And that's what Chesterton is ultimately driving at: don't reform something if you haven't taken the time to understand why it is the way it is. Documentation helps, but is not sufficient.