Quotes by Historian | Beyond Motive 10/27

top of page

Quotes by Historian

"The notion that Jews are mythic creatures is well circulating in our culture."

"The notion that Jews are mythic creatures is well circulating in our culture."

Steven T. Katz, American Historian

Cultural, Culture

4

"Sooner or later, man has always had to decide whether he worships his own power or the power of God."

"Sooner or later, man has always had to decide whether he worships his own power or the power of God."

Arnold J. Toynbee, British Historian

Power, God, Man

4

"From whichever angle one looks at it, the application of racial theories remains a striking proof of the lowered demands of public opinion upon the purity of critical judgment."

"From whichever angle one looks at it, the application of racial theories remains a striking proof of the lowered demands of public opinion upon the purity of critical judgment."

Johan Huizinga, Dutch Historian

Judgment, Opinion, Proof, Public

4

"A religion so cheerless, a philosophy so sorrowful, could never have succeeded with the masses of mankind if presented only as a system of metaphysics. Buddhism owed its success to its catholic spirit and its beautiful morality."

"A religion so cheerless, a philosophy so sorrowful, could never have succeeded with the masses of mankind if presented only as a system of metaphysics. Buddhism owed its success to its catholic spirit and its beautiful morality."

William Winwood Reade, Scottish Historian

Religion, Success, Morality, Buddhism

4

"Information, usually seen as the precondition of debate, is better understood as its by-product."

"Information, usually seen as the precondition of debate, is better understood as its by-product."

Christopher Lasch, American Historian

Debate, Information

4

"Every bad precedent originated as a justifiable measure."

"Every bad precedent originated as a justifiable measure."

Sallust, Roman Historian

Precedent, Measure

4

"I understand by this passion the union of desire, friendship, and tenderness, which is inflamed by a single female, which prefers her to the rest of her sex, and which seeks her possession as the supreme or the sole happiness of our being."

"I understand by this passion the union of desire, friendship, and tenderness, which is inflamed by a single female, which prefers her to the rest of her sex, and which seeks her possession as the supreme or the sole happiness of our being."

Edward Gibbon, English Historian

Friendship, Happiness, Sex, Being

4

"To be a slaveholder meant one had to regard the African American as inferior in every way."

"To be a slaveholder meant one had to regard the African American as inferior in every way."

Stephen Ambrose, American Historian

History, African

4

"The gigantic Gaul derided the Roman soldiers as a band of pigmies."

"The gigantic Gaul derided the Roman soldiers as a band of pigmies."

John Lothrop Motley, American Historian

4

"Our work is the presentation of our capabilities."

"Our work is the presentation of our capabilities."

Edward Gibbon, English Historian

4

"There are certain wicked people in the world that you can't deal with except by force."

"There are certain wicked people in the world that you can't deal with except by force."

John Keegan, English Historian

People, Force, World

4

"When I read that the British army had landed thirty-two thousand troops - and I had realized, not very long before, that Philadelphia only had thirty thousand people in it - it practically lifted me out of my chair."

"When I read that the British army had landed thirty-two thousand troops - and I had realized, not very long before, that Philadelphia only had thirty thousand people in it - it practically lifted me out of my chair."

David McCullough, American Historian

People, Army, Troops

4

"Democracy is not about making speeches. It is about making committees work."

"Democracy is not about making speeches. It is about making committees work."

Alan Bullock, British Historian

Work, Democracy

4

"The natural barriers between England and Scotland were not sufficient to prevent the extension of the Saxon settlements and kingdoms across the border."

"The natural barriers between England and Scotland were not sufficient to prevent the extension of the Saxon settlements and kingdoms across the border."

Goldwin Smith, Canadian Historian

History, England, Scotland

4

"The practical effect of a belief is the real test of its soundness."

"The practical effect of a belief is the real test of its soundness."

James Anthony Froude, English Historian

Trust, Belief, Effect

4

"Television has made places look alike, and it has transformed the way we see. A whole generation of Americans, maybe two, has grown up looking at the world through a lens."

"Television has made places look alike, and it has transformed the way we see. A whole generation of Americans, maybe two, has grown up looking at the world through a lens."

Ronald Steel, American Historian

American, Americans, Television, World

4

"Biography is a very definite region bounded on the north by history, on the south by fiction, on the east by obituary, and on the west by tedium."

"Biography is a very definite region bounded on the north by history, on the south by fiction, on the east by obituary, and on the west by tedium."

Philip Guedalla, English Historian

History, Biography, Fiction

4

"There is a spell in mediaeval Art which has had power to bewitch some people into trying, or wishing to try, or fancying that they wish to try or making believe to fancy that they wish to try, to bring back the Middle Ages."

"There is a spell in mediaeval Art which has had power to bewitch some people into trying, or wishing to try, or fancying that they wish to try or making believe to fancy that they wish to try, to bring back the Middle Ages."

Goldwin Smith, Canadian Historian

Art, Power, People, Fancy

4

"Better than anything else in our culture, it enables fathers and sons to speak on a level playing field while building up from within a personal history of shared experience - a group history - that may be tapped into at will in years to come."

"Better than anything else in our culture, it enables fathers and sons to speak on a level playing field while building up from within a personal history of shared experience - a group history - that may be tapped into at will in years to come."

John Thorn, American Historian

Experience, History, Building, Culture

4

"Wise sayings often fall on barren ground, but a kind word is never thrown away."

"Wise sayings often fall on barren ground, but a kind word is never thrown away."

Arthur Helps, British Historian

Kindness, Sayings, Word

4

"To show resentment at a reproach is to acknowledge that one may have deserved it."

"To show resentment at a reproach is to acknowledge that one may have deserved it."

Tacitus, Roman Historian

Resentment, May

4

"In some of the middle colonies the towns and counties were both active and had a relation with each other which was the forerunner of the present system of local government in the Western States."

"In some of the middle colonies the towns and counties were both active and had a relation with each other which was the forerunner of the present system of local government in the Western States."

Albert Bushnell Hart, American Historian

Government, Present, States

4

"We can endure neither our vices nor the remedies for them."

"We can endure neither our vices nor the remedies for them."

Titus Livius, Roman Historian

Self-Improvement, Remedies, Vices

4

"Imagination is not something apart and hermetic, not a way of leaving reality behind; it is a way of engaging reality."

"Imagination is not something apart and hermetic, not a way of leaving reality behind; it is a way of engaging reality."

Irving Howe, American Historian

Imagination, Reality

4

"Crossing the Penobscot, one found a visible descent in the scale of humanity."

"Crossing the Penobscot, one found a visible descent in the scale of humanity."

Francis Parkman, American Historian

4

"We Americans are the best informed people on earth as to the events of the last twenty-four hours; we are the not the best informed as the events of the last sixty centuries."

"We Americans are the best informed people on earth as to the events of the last twenty-four hours; we are the not the best informed as the events of the last sixty centuries."

Will Durant, American Historian

People, Americans, Earth, Events

4

"Unlike Christianity, which preached a peace that it never achieved, Islam unashamedly came with a sword."

"Unlike Christianity, which preached a peace that it never achieved, Islam unashamedly came with a sword."

Steven Runciman, British Historian

Peace, Christianity, Islam

4

"Of course, in the United States, which at the time was a very young country, there were also class distinctions. They weren't as pronounced, but they quickly evolved as well."

"Of course, in the United States, which at the time was a very young country, there were also class distinctions. They weren't as pronounced, but they quickly evolved as well."

Iris Chang, Chinese Historian

Time, Class, Country, States

4

"History not used is nothing, for all intellectual life is action, like practical life, and if you don't use the stuff well, it might as well be dead."

"History not used is nothing, for all intellectual life is action, like practical life, and if you don't use the stuff well, it might as well be dead."

Arnold J. Toynbee, British Historian

History, Life, Action, Nothing

4

"The ears of men are lesser agents of belief than their eyes."

"The ears of men are lesser agents of belief than their eyes."

Herodotus, Greek Historian

Man, Men, Belief, Eyes

4

"Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success."

"Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success."

Christopher Lasch, American Historian

Success, Appearance, Nothing

4

"Those who sit at the feast will continue to enjoy themselves even though the veil that separates them from the world of toiling reality below has been lifted by mass revolts and critics."

"Those who sit at the feast will continue to enjoy themselves even though the veil that separates them from the world of toiling reality below has been lifted by mass revolts and critics."

Mary Ritter Beard, American Historian

Reality, Will, World

4

"Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks."

"Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks."

Herodotus, Greek Historian

4

"The great men of power who seek to change the nations they belong to usually are pretty terrible people."

"The great men of power who seek to change the nations they belong to usually are pretty terrible people."

John Keegan, English Historian

Change, Men, Power, People

4

"There are no better cosmetics than a severe temperance and purity, modesty and humility, a gracious temper and calmness of spirit; and there is no true beauty without the signatures of these graces in the very countenance."

"There are no better cosmetics than a severe temperance and purity, modesty and humility, a gracious temper and calmness of spirit; and there is no true beauty without the signatures of these graces in the very countenance."

Arthur Helps, British Historian

Beauty, Cosmetics, Humility, Modesty

4

"The man who has planned badly, if fortune is on his side, may have had a stroke of luck; but his plan was a bad one nonetheless."

"The man who has planned badly, if fortune is on his side, may have had a stroke of luck; but his plan was a bad one nonetheless."

Herodotus, Greek Historian

Fortune, Luck, Man, May

4

"We find it hard to believe that other people's thoughts are as silly as our own, but they probably are."

"We find it hard to believe that other people's thoughts are as silly as our own, but they probably are."

James Harvey Robinson, American Historian

People, Thoughts, Silly

4

"A little man often cast a long shadow."

"A little man often cast a long shadow."

G. M. Trevelyan, English Historian

4

"The man who prefers his country before any other duty shows the same spirit as the man who surrenders every right to the state. They both deny that right is superior to authority."

"The man who prefers his country before any other duty shows the same spirit as the man who surrenders every right to the state. They both deny that right is superior to authority."

Lord Acton, British Historian

Authority, Country, Duty, Man

4

"It is often said that Poland is a country where there is anti-semitism and no Jews, which is pathology in its purest state."

"It is often said that Poland is a country where there is anti-semitism and no Jews, which is pathology in its purest state."

Bronislaw Geremek, Polish Historian

Nation, Country, State

4

"He was a great thundering paradox of a man."

"He was a great thundering paradox of a man."

William Manchester, American Historian

4

"The good historian is like the giant of the fairy tale. He knows that wherever he catches the scent of human flesh, there his quarry lies."

"The good historian is like the giant of the fairy tale. He knows that wherever he catches the scent of human flesh, there his quarry lies."

Marc Bloch, French Historian

4

"One of the strongest and most persistent elements in national development has been that inheritance of political traditions and usages which the new settlers brought with them."

"One of the strongest and most persistent elements in national development has been that inheritance of political traditions and usages which the new settlers brought with them."

Albert Bushnell Hart, American Historian

Development, Inheritance, Traditions

4

"Liberty is the prevention of control by others."

"Liberty is the prevention of control by others."

John Acton, English Historian

Control, Liberty, Prevention

4

"To be able to look back upon one's past life with satisfaction is to live twice."

"To be able to look back upon one's past life with satisfaction is to live twice."

Lord Acton, British Historian

Life, Past, Satisfaction

4

"In war, the army is not merely a pure consumer, but a negative producer."

"In war, the army is not merely a pure consumer, but a negative producer."

Louis Mumford, American Historian

War, Negative, Army

4

"However, the sciences of society and of history retained their old subservient relation to metaphysics for a long time - well into the eighteenth century."

"However, the sciences of society and of history retained their old subservient relation to metaphysics for a long time - well into the eighteenth century."

Wilhelm Dilthey, German Historian

History, Society, Time, Metaphysics

4

"The crusade against Communism was even more imaginary than the specter of Communism."

"The crusade against Communism was even more imaginary than the specter of Communism."

A. J. P. Taylor, British Historian

4

"The susceptibility of the average modern to pictorial suggestion enables advertising to exploit his lessened power of judgment."

"The susceptibility of the average modern to pictorial suggestion enables advertising to exploit his lessened power of judgment."

Johan Huizinga, Dutch Historian

Power, Advertising, Judgment

4

"No punishment has ever possessed enough power of deterrence to prevent the commission of crimes. On the contrary, whatever the punishment, once a specific crime has appeared for the first time, its reappearance is more likely than its initial emergence could ever have been."

"No punishment has ever possessed enough power of deterrence to prevent the commission of crimes. On the contrary, whatever the punishment, once a specific crime has appeared for the first time, its reappearance is more likely than its initial emergence could ever have been."

Hannah Arendt, German Historian

Power, Time, Crime, First

4

bottom of page