(no subject)

[timelets]

I would not want any reader to find my account confusing and obscure just because he is unfamiliar with the region, so I shall describe its natural features and their relative positions—as I intend to throughout my work, by constantly comparing and correlating unknown places with those which are familiar and long known. Since defeat in military engagements on land or at sea is usually due to geographical factors, and since knowing how an event happened is always more interesting to us than just knowing that it happened, topographical descriptions are important whatever kind of event is being talked about, and especially important for military events.

--- Polybius, The Histories.

Note the method he uses to introduce the reader to the unknown. He also emphasizes the connection between topographic layout and the process (how) that leads to a certain outcome.