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 an illogical record. It hinges on nothing. It is a story that changes, and has accidents, and recovers read more

History is an illogical record. It hinges on nothing. It is a story that changes, and has accidents, and recovers with scars.

It is not the literal past, the "facts" of history, that shape us, but images of the past embodied in read more

It is not the literal past, the "facts" of history, that shape us, but images of the past embodied in language.

There are people who read too much: bibliobibuli. I know some who are constantly drunk on books, as other men read more

There are people who read too much: bibliobibuli. I know some who are constantly drunk on books, as other men are drunk on whiskey or religion. They wander through this most diverting and stimulating of worlds in a haze, seeing nothing and hearing nothing.

I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.

I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.

Our ignorance of history makes us libel our own times. People have always been like this.

Our ignorance of history makes us libel our own times. People have always been like this.

Be as a tower firmly set; Shakes not its top for any blast that blows.

Be as a tower firmly set; Shakes not its top for any blast that blows.

Nothing is improbable until it moves into past tense.

Nothing is improbable until it moves into past tense.

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands read more

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.