--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We learn nothing from history except the…" description: "\"We learn nothing from history except the infinite variety of men's behaviour.\" — A. J. P. Taylor" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/a-j-p-taylor-14528_behaviour_we-learn-nothing-from-history-except-the_1088856.png" --- # We learn nothing from history except the infinite variety… ![“We learn nothing from history except the infinite variety of men's behaviour.” quote by A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/a-j-p-taylor-14528_behaviour_we-learn-nothing-from-history-except-the_1088856.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/a-j-p-taylor-14528_behaviour_we-learn-nothing-from-history-except-the_1088856.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/a-j-p-taylor-14528_behaviour_we-learn-nothing-from-history-except-the_1088856.png) > “We learn nothing from history except the infinite variety of men's behaviour.” [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History shows endless patterns of human conduct, not a single lesson. **In simple terms:** History repeats varied human behavior. Key Takeaway Study many perspectives, not just one. Themes history human nature patterns Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - political analysis - education - leadership development Key Concepts Sociology psychology political science Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify recurring behaviors? - What biases affect your historical view? A Different Perspective Oversimplifying history can ignore nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behaviour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behaviour/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Variety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variety/) ## Related quotes > [In my opinion we learn nothing from history except the infinite variety of men's behaviour. We study it, as we listen to music or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/in-my-opinion-we-learn-nothing-from-history-except-the-infinite/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [“Nature demands variety, for men. It stands to reason, it's a part of the procreational strategy. It's Nature's Plan. Women know that instinctively. Why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/nature-demands-variety-for-men-it-stands-to-reason-it-s-a-part-of-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [What we learn from History is that no one learns from History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/what-we-learn-from-history-is-that-no-one-learns-from-history/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [It's very scary to me that people actually think we should just follow our leaders. If we can't learn from our history, we're nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-maines/it-s-very-scary-to-me-that-people-actually-think-we-should-just/) [Natalie Maines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-maines/) > [“It is also more than likely that women invented that most fundamental of all material technologies, without which civilization could not have evolved: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riane-eisler/it-is-also-more-than-likely-that-women-invented-that-most-fundamental/) [Riane Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riane-eisler/) > [“The centuries of capitalism were held to have produced nothing of value. One could not learn history from architecture any more than one could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-centuries-of-capitalism-were-held-to-have-produced-nothing-of/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don't forget about the past, learn from it, or the history have a ways of repeating it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ngan-hoai-tran-vo/don-t-forget-about-the-past-learn-from-it-or-the-history-have-a-ways/) [Ngan Hoai Tran Vo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ngan-hoai-tran-vo/) > [If we do not learn from history, we shall be compelled to relive it. True. But if we do not change the future, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/if-we-do-not-learn-from-history-we-shall-be-compelled-to-relive-it/) [Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/) > [If people could learn history, what lessons it might teach us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/if-people-could-learn-history-what-lessons-it-might-teach-us/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [I don't think it's such a bad idea that people learn the same history in school. I think it tends to ground people and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/i-don-t-think-it-s-such-a-bad-idea-that-people-learn-the-same-history/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [If you want to learn about the history of a people, eat their food and drink their beverages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clemantine-wamariya/if-you-want-to-learn-about-the-history-of-a-people-eat-their-food-and/) [Clemantine Wamariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clemantine-wamariya/) > [If I hadn't become a professional basketball player, I would have become a history teacher. There's so much to learn from history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/if-i-hadn-t-become-a-professional-basketball-player-i-would-have/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) > [Learn from history or you're doomed to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/learn-from-history-or-you-re-doomed-to-repeat-it/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [“In history, as in traveling, men usually see only what they already had in their own minds; and few learn much from history, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/in-history-as-in-traveling-men-usually-see-only-what-they-already-had/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [I would like to invest more of my brain space in understanding the history of my city, because whenever I learn about the history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keegan-michael-key/i-would-like-to-invest-more-of-my-brain-space-in-understanding-the/) [Keegan-Michael Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keegan-michael-key/) ## More by A. J. P. Taylor > [Like most of those who study history, he (Napoleon III) learned from the mistakes of the past how to make new ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/like-most-of-those-who-study-history-he-napoleon-iii-learned-from-the/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [Human blunders usually do more to shape history than human wickedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/human-blunders-usually-do-more-to-shape-history-than-human-wickedness/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [If men are to respect each other for what they are, they must cease to respect each other for what they own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/if-men-are-to-respect-each-other-for-what-they-are-they-must-cease-to/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [We are apt to say that a foreign policy is successful only when the country, or at any rate the governing class, is united…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/we-are-apt-to-say-that-a-foreign-policy-is-successful-only-when-the/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [A racing tipster who only reached Hitler's level of accuracy would not do well for his clients.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/a-racing-tipster-who-only-reached-hitler-s-level-of-accuracy-would/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [ If there had been a strong democratic sentiment in Germany, Hitler would never have come to power . \[Germans\] deserved what they got when… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/if-there-had-been-a-strong-democratic-sentiment-in-germany-hitler/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [Freedom does not always win. This is one of the bitterest lessons of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/freedom-does-not-always-win-this-is-one-of-the-bitterest-lessons-of/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [There is nothing more agreeable in life than to make peace with the establishment and nothing more corrupting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/there-is-nothing-more-agreeable-in-life-than-to-make-peace-with-the/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [George VI in the conventional parlance was a Good King who sacrificed his life to his sense of duty. If we are to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/george-vi-in-the-conventional-parlance-was-a-good-king-who-sacrificed/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [One of the penalties of being president of the United States is that you must subsist for four years without drinking anything except Californian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/one-of-the-penalties-of-being-president-of-the-united-states-is-that/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [Perfect soldier, perfect gentleman never gave offence to anyone not even the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/perfect-soldier-perfect-gentleman-never-gave-offence-to-anyone-not/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [No war is inevitable until it breaks out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/no-war-is-inevitable-until-it-breaks-out/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [In my opinion, most of the great men of the past were only there for the beer - the wealth, prestige and grandeur that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/in-my-opinion-most-of-the-great-men-of-the-past-were-only-there-for/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [Conformity may give you a quiet life; it may even bring you to a University Chair. But all change in history, all advance, comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/conformity-may-give-you-a-quiet-life-it-may-even-bring-you-to-a/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [The male clerk with his quill pen and copper-plate handwriting had gone for good. The female short-hand typist took his place. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/the-male-clerk-with-his-quill-pen-and-copper-plate-handwriting-had/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) [Explore all 46 A. J. P. Taylor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) ## More Behaviour quotes > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Do you keep pace with those around you, or do you decide yourself just how you will live your life? The truth is...only you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/do-you-keep-pace-with-those-around-you-or-do-you-decide-yourself-just/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [I don't see much future for the Americans ... it's a decayed country. And they have their racial problem, and the problem of social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-don-t-see-much-future-for-the-americans-it-s-a-decayed-country-and/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [“To live without any regret is to act right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/to-live-without-any-regret-is-to-act-right/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [High testosterone levels have been proven to make men more likely to commit crimes. The tendency in men toward risky behaviour keeps turning up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-stark/high-testosterone-levels-have-been-proven-to-make-men-more-likely-to/) [Rodney Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-stark/) > [No one likes to admit they are racist or bear prejudices. Nor do they even like to be open and honest when they witness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/no-one-likes-to-admit-they-are-racist-or-bear-prejudices-nor-do-they/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [I think it's a very central tenet to it yes, it is. I can't bear it, I can't bear inequality, I can't bear bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-suzman/i-think-it-s-a-very-central-tenet-to-it-yes-it-is-i-can-t-bear-it-i/) [Janet Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-suzman/) > [Look, I was only given a year or two to come up with tunes for this record, and when all but eight of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gorrie/look-i-was-only-given-a-year-or-two-to-come-up-with-tunes-for-this/) Alan Gorrie > [Behaviour is a mirror in which everyone shows his image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinesh/behaviour-is-a-mirror-in-which-everyone-shows-his-image/) [Vinesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinesh/) > [There's a wow factor associated with my name. It could be due to my work as well as my behaviour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prosenjit-chatterjee/there-s-a-wow-factor-associated-with-my-name-it-could-be-due-to-my/) [Prosenjit Chatterjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prosenjit-chatterjee/) > [The individualism of current economic theory is manifest in the purely self-interested behaviour it generally assumes. It has no real place for fairness, malevolence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-e-daly/the-individualism-of-current-economic-theory-is-manifest-in-the/) [Herman E. Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-e-daly/) > [“There's no difference between a madman and a professor...it should be clear to you in the way they dress, act and think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/there-s-no-difference-between-a-madman-and-a-professor-it-should-be/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Modern man, seeking a middle position in the evaluation of sense impression and thought, can, following Plato , interpret the process of understanding nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/modern-man-seeking-a-middle-position-in-the-evaluation-of-sense/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [“I think this is one bad side of a mirror; it helps us to see the reflection of the effects of our own actions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/i-think-this-is-one-bad-side-of-a-mirror-it-helps-us-to-see-the/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [A lot of celebrities just want money, fame, power, fancy cars, houses all over the world and have people BOW DOWN to them. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-manson/a-lot-of-celebrities-just-want-money-fame-power-fancy-cars-houses-all/) [Shirley Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-manson/) [Browse all 696 Behaviour quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behaviour/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We learn nothing from history except the infinite variety of men's behaviour.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A. J. P. 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