Historical Quotes - Page 21

• Historical truth is that, and that alone, which reveals the forces that go to mould the social life of mankind.

  Ahad Ha'am

  Truth Is, Social, Mould

  "Selected Essays by Ahad Ha'am". Book by Ahad Ha'am, 2005.

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• The Old Testament contains fabulous elements. The New Testament consists mostly of teaching, not of narrative at all: but where it is narrative, it is, in my opinion, historical. As to the fabulous element in the Old Testament, I very much doubt if you would be wise to chuck it out.

  C. S. Lewis

  Wise, Teaching, Doubt

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• Disneyworld... is a historical reconstruction as sanitised as the Kremlin's, and a future vision as uncognisant of contemporary pointers as Peter Pan's. It is a magic carpet under which everything has been swept.

  Alan Coren

  Magic, Vision, Peter

  "Tissues for Men". Book by Alan Coren, 1980.

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• If a powerful and benevolent spirit has shaped the destiny of this world, we can better discover that destiny from the words that have gathered up the heart's desire of the world, than from historical records, or from speculation, wherein the heart withers.

  William Butler Yeats

  Powerful, Heart, Destiny

  William Butler Yeats, Richard J. Finneran, George Bornstein (2007). “The Collected Works of W.B. Yeats Volume IV: Early Essays”, p.51, Simon and Schuster

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• A rare book at once of great importance and wonderful to read.... Gould presents a fascinating historical study of scientific racism, tracing it through monogeny and polygeny, phrenology , recapitulation, and hereditarian IQ theory. He stops at each point to illustrate both the logical inconsistencies of the theories and the prejudicially motivated, albeit unintentional, misuse of data in each case.... A major addition to the scientific literature.

  Stephen Jay Gould

  Book, Data, Racism

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• Poetry is a river; many voices travel in it; poem after poem moves along in the exciting crests and falls of the river waves. None is timeless; each arrives in an historical context; almost everything, in the end, passes. But the desire to make a poem, and the world's willingness to receive it--indeed the world's need of it--these never pass.

  Mary Oliver

  Moving, Fall, Voice

  Mary Oliver (1994). “A Poetry Handbook”, p.9, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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• That public men publish falsehoods Is nothing new. That America must accept Like the historical republics corruption and empire Has been known for years. Be angry at the sun for setting If these things anger you.

  Robinson Jeffers

  Men, America, Years

  Robinson Jeffers, Tim Hunt (1988). “The Collected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers: 1938-1962”, p.24, Stanford University Press

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• For people, 'here' signifies not merely a physical space, but also an historical space.

  Paulo Freire

  Space, People, Limits

  "'Pedagogia do oprimido' ('Pedagogy of the Oppressed')". Book by Paulo Freire, 1970.

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• On the whole, however, the conclusions I have drawn from the proofs quoted may, I believe, safely be relied on. Assuredly they will not be disturbed either by the lays of a poet displaying the exaggeration of his craft, or by the compositions of the chroniclers that are attractive at truth's expense; the subjects they treat of being out of the reach of evidence, and time having robbed most of them of historical value by enthroning them in the region of legend.

  Thucydides

  Believe, Historical Value, Crafts

  Thucydides, Ruth Finnegan “History of Greece”, Lulu.com

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• In individuals as in nations, contentment is silent, which tends to unbalance the historical record.

  Barbara Tuchman

  Peace, History, Contentment

  Barbara W. Tuchman (2011). “A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century”, p.210, Random House

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• My relationship with my grandmother has gone from strength to strength. As a shy, younger man it could be harder to talk about weighty matters. It was: 'This is my grandmother who is the Queen, and these are serious historical subjects.'

  Prince William

  Queens, Grandmother, Men

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• Most expositions of Aristotle's doctrines, when they have not been dictated by a spirit of virulent detraction, or unsympathetic indifference, have carefully suppressed all, or nearly all, the absurdities, and only retained what seemed plausible and consistent. But in this procedure their historical significance disappears.

  George Henry Lewes

  Doctrine, Spirit, Indifference

  George Henry Lewes (1864). “Aristotle: a chapter from the history of science including analyses of Aristotle's scientific writings”, p.9, London : Smith, Elder and Company

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• It's never pleasant to have one's unquestioning beliefs put in their historical context, as I know from experience, I can assure you.

  Kingsley Amis

  Belief, Pleasant, I Can

  Kingsley Amis (2013). “The Green Man”, p.157, New York Review of Books

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• All our moves are based on four general principles: continued use of the rifle, no waiving of historical rights, no peace, and no negotiations... Whatever form of government is established in the territory when the shadow of occupation passes away, whenever I address my fighters and revolutionaries, I shall say: 'Let our rifles be aimed at the beloved land, the land of the homeland, the land of Palestine.

  Yasser Arafat

  Moving, Rights, Government

  Journal of Palestine Studies, (p. 224), 1974.

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• Whenever you're trying to do a film in a genuine historical period, you do have to make sure that you get as much historically accurate as you possibly can because there are thousands of people who are wildly interested in the Civil War. If we get anything wrong, there is no doubt that we're going to hear from them.

  Nicholas Sparks

  War, People, Doubt

  Source: collider.com

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• It is clear that every civilization undergoes a process of historical change. We can see that a civilization comes into existence, passes through a long experience, and eventually goes out of existence.

  Carroll Quigley

  Civilization, Long, Process

  Carroll Quigley (1979). “The evolution of civilizations: an introduction to historical analysis”, Liberty Fund Inc.

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• Western civilization presents one of the most difficult tasks for historical analysis, because it is not yet finished, because we are a part of it and lack perspective, and because it presents considerable variation from our pattern of historical change.

  Carroll Quigley

  Civilization, Perspective, Tasks

  Carroll Quigley (1979). “The evolution of civilizations: an introduction to historical analysis”, Liberty Fund Inc.

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• As we have come to understand the psychology of evil, we have realized that such transformations of human character are not as rare as we would like to believe. Historical inquiry and behavioral science have demonstrated the "banality of evil" -- that is, under certain conditions and social pressures, ordinary people can commit acts that would otherwise be unthinkable.

  Philip Zimbardo

  Believe, Character, Evil

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• History--the product, not the raw material--is a bottle with a label. For many years now, the emphasis of historical discussion has been laid upon the label (its iconography, its target-group of customers) and upon the interesting problems of manufacturing bottle-glass. The contents, on the other hand, are tasted in a knowing, perfunctory way and then spat out again. Only amateurs swallow them.

  Neal Ascherson

  Glasses, Hands, Years

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• The historical order is very interesting, but accidental and capricious; if we would to understand the growth of knowledge, we cannot be satisfied with accidents, we must explain how knowledge was gradually built up.

  George Sarton

  Order, Interesting, Growth

  George Sarton (1964). “A History of Science: Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece”

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• The focus of all life is its economy, the mode through which every living creature produces its material existence. I know no other criterion for the evaluation of social life except that of social economy. In society, just like anywhere else, the mode of production is the focus around which revolve all the modes of life: in the historical life of conscious beings, it is also the focus of all modes of consciousness.

  Moses Hess

  Focus, Evaluation, Consciousness

  "Briefwechsel". Book by Moses Hess, p. 253, 1959.

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• Every time some new huckster of angst-ridden metaphor is appointed by Art Forum, the congregation genuflects, stroking the catalog like a handful of Rosary beads, and starts spreading that old gospel according to Hyperbole. No questions asked... And thus the bill of goods is sold, all along the line. An art historical snake, swallowing its own tale.

  Abe Ajay

  Art, Snakes, Rosary

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• These are the times for which we were born.

  David Spangler

  Destiny, Born

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• The thing people forget when they are looking for solutions is there is nothing final in history.

  Amira Hass

  People, Finals, Forget

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• There is no nobler profession, nor no greater calling, than to be among those unheralded many who gave and give their lives to the preservation of human knowledge, passed with commitment and care from one generation to the next.

  Laurence Overmire

  Future, Commitment, Giving

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