 The striking similarities in the historicist focus of Windelband, Rickert and Dilthey, the early historical thought of Croce, and the historical thought of Ortega suggest that Ortega was influenced by their ideas both directly and indirectly. The historical ideas of Windelband and Rickert reflected the European intellectual currents that paralleled Ortega’s intellectual development, Dilthey had been acknowledged by Ortega as having influenced his intellectual focus directly, and Croce’s early historical ideas appeared to have exerted influence on the historical thought of Ortega.