For historians ought to be precise, truthful, and quite unprejudiced, and neither interest nor fear, hatred nor affection, should cause read more

For historians ought to be precise, truthful, and quite unprejudiced, and neither interest nor fear, hatred nor affection, should cause them to swerve from the path of truth, whose mother is history, the rival of time, the depository of great actions, the witness of what is past, the example and instruction of the present, the monitor of the future.

A man can be a hero if he is a scientist, or a soldier, or a drug addict, or a read more

A man can be a hero if he is a scientist, or a soldier, or a drug addict, or a disc jockey, or a crummy mediocre politician. A man can be a hero because he suffers and despairs; or because he thinks logically and analytically; or because he is "sensitive;" or because he is cruel. Wealth establishes a man as a hero, and so does poverty. Virtually any circumstance in a man's life will make him a hero to some group of people and has a mythic rendering in the culture -- in literature, art, theater, or the daily newspapers.

History is the study of lies, anyway, because no witness ever recalls events with total accuracy, not even eyewitnesses.

History is the study of lies, anyway, because no witness ever recalls events with total accuracy, not even eyewitnesses.

History is a cyclic poem written by time upon the memories of man.

History is a cyclic poem written by time upon the memories of man.

History -- its what those bitter old men write.

History -- its what those bitter old men write.

It is one thing to learn about the past; it is another to wallow in it.

It is one thing to learn about the past; it is another to wallow in it.

The people of Crete unfortunately make more history than they can consume locally.

The people of Crete unfortunately make more history than they can consume locally.

Anecdotes are the gleaming toys of history. The history of mankind is little else than a narrative of designs which read more

Anecdotes are the gleaming toys of history. The history of mankind is little else than a narrative of designs which have failed and hopes that have been disappointed.

History is a vast early warning system.

History is a vast early warning system.