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.

The future has a way of arriving unannounced.

The future has a way of arriving unannounced.

What most impresses us about great jurists is not their tenacious grasps of fine points, honed almost to invisibility; it read more

What most impresses us about great jurists is not their tenacious grasps of fine points, honed almost to invisibility; it is the moment when we are suddently aware of the sweep and direction of the law, and its place in the lives of men.

Fear of serious injury alone cannot justify oppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It read more

Fear of serious injury alone cannot justify oppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears.

History repeats itself; historians repeat each other.

History repeats itself; historians repeat each other.

History is nothing but a pack of tricks that we play on the dead.

History is nothing but a pack of tricks that we play on the dead.

The dignity of history.

The dignity of history.

The past is a work of art, free of irrelevancies and loose ends.

The past is a work of art, free of irrelevancies and loose ends.

Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all. The conscientious historian will read more

Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all. The conscientious historian will correct these defects.