And history with all her volumes vast,
Hath but one page.

And history with all her volumes vast,
Hath but one page.

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

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

The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and read more

The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different.

History, as it lies at the root of all science, is also the first
distinct product of man's spiritual read more

History, as it lies at the root of all science, is also the first
distinct product of man's spiritual nature; his earliest
expression of what can be called Thought.

One of the lessons of history is that 'nothing' is often a good thing to do and always a clever read more

One of the lessons of history is that 'nothing' is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.

Any event, once it has occurred, can be made to appear inevitable by a competent historian.

Any event, once it has occurred, can be made to appear inevitable by a competent historian.

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.

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.

The greatest inventions were produced in the times of ignorance, as the use of the compass, gunpowder, and printing.

The greatest inventions were produced in the times of ignorance, as the use of the compass, gunpowder, and printing.