--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All normal human beings are interested in…" description: "\"All normal human beings are interested in their past. Only when the interest becomes an obsession, overshadowing present and future conduct, is it a da..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/c-v-wedgwood-25710_constitution_all-normal-human-beings-are-interested-i_2599073.jpg" --- # All normal human beings are interested in their past. Only… ![“All normal human beings are interested in their past. Only when the interest becomes an obsession, overshadowing present and future conduct, is it a danger. In much the same way healthy nations are interested in their history, but a morbid preoccupation with past glories is a sign that something…” quote by C. V. Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/c-v-wedgwood-25710_constitution_all-normal-human-beings-are-interested-i_2599073.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/c-v-wedgwood-25710_constitution_all-normal-human-beings-are-interested-i_2599073.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/c-v-wedgwood-25710_constitution_all-normal-human-beings-are-interested-i_2599073.jpg) > “All normal human beings are interested in their past. Only when the interest becomes an obsession, overshadowing present and future conduct, is it a danger. In much the same way healthy nations are interested in their history, but a morbid preoccupation with past glories is a sign that something is wrong with the constitution of the State.” [C. V. Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing too much on past achievements can hinder present action and future planning, both personally and for nations. **In simple terms:** Obsessing over history blocks progress. Key Takeaway Balance respect for history with forward focus. Themes history national identity balance progress danger Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical warning analytical When to use this quote - personal decision making - government policy - education curriculum - civic discourse Key Concepts collective memory political stability psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does your view of the past shape your present choices? - What signs indicate a nation’s unhealthy fixation on former glories? A Different Perspective Excessive nostalgia may ignore current challenges and opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Morbid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morbid/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) [Overshadowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overshadowing/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Present and future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-and-future/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When we let go of yearning for the future, preoccupation with the past, and strategies to protect the present, there is nowhere left to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/when-we-let-go-of-yearning-for-the-future-preoccupation-with-the-past/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Everything we call a trial, a sorrow or a duty, believe me, that angel's hand is there, the gift is there, and the wonder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-giocondo/everything-we-call-a-trial-a-sorrow-or-a-duty-believe-me-that-angel-s/) [Giovanni Giocondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-giocondo/) > [The judge's authority depends upon the assumption that he speaks with the mouth of others. 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I see class warfare as overshadowing both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/sexism-like-racism-goes-with-us-into-the-next-century-i-see-class/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [“A substantial literature on “verbal overshadowing,” for instance, suggests that consciously reflecting on our perceptions or evaluations of taste, and then being forced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-slingerland/a-substantial-literature-on-verbal-overshadowing-for-instance/) Edward Slingerland > [Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, or a duty, believe me, that angel's hand is there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-giocondo/everything-we-call-a-trial-a-sorrow-or-a-duty-believe-me-that-angel-s-2/) [Giovanni Giocondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-giocondo/) > [I am not interested in the past, except as the road to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianni-versace/i-am-not-interested-in-the-past-except-as-the-road-to-the-future/) [Gianni Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianni-versace/) > [I am interested in the past. Perhaps one of the reasons is we cannot make, cannot change the past. I mean you can hardly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-am-interested-in-the-past-perhaps-one-of-the-reasons-is-we-cannot/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [If your Present is good. Only then, others are interested in your Past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashank-rayal/if-your-present-is-good-only-then-others-are-interested-in-your-past/) [Shashank Rayal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashank-rayal/) ## More by C. V. Wedgwood > [General knowledge may have to be slight or even amateurish knowledge, but it is none the less useful, and we discourage it at our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-wedgwood/general-knowledge-may-have-to-be-slight-or-even-amateurish-knowledge/) [C. V. Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) > [Without the imaginative insight which goes with creative literature, history cannot be intelligibly written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-wedgwood/without-the-imaginative-insight-which-goes-with-creative-literature/) [C. V. Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) > [We have more to learn today from the spectacle of a great man at a great moment than from any number of monographs on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-wedgwood/we-have-more-to-learn-today-from-the-spectacle-of-a-great-man-at-a/) [C. V. Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) > [Discontent and disorder were signs of energy and hope, not of despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-wedgwood/discontent-and-disorder-were-signs-of-energy-and-hope-not-of-despair/) [C. V. 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Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) > [A nation does not create the historians it deserves; the historians are far more likely to create the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-wedgwood/a-nation-does-not-create-the-historians-it-deserves-the-historians/) [C. V. Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) > [It should be the historian's business not to belittle but to illuminate the greatness of man's spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-wedgwood/it-should-be-the-historian-s-business-not-to-belittle-but-to/) [C. V. Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) > [International politics, by and large, are a depressing study.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-wedgwood/international-politics-by-and-large-are-a-depressing-study/) [C. V. Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) > [For the truth is that men do not desire to be the Common Man any more than they are the Common Man. They need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-wedgwood/for-the-truth-is-that-men-do-not-desire-to-be-the-common-man-any-more/) [C. V. Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) > [Good writing is almost the concomitant of good history. Literature and history were joined long since by the powers which shaped the human brain;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-wedgwood/good-writing-is-almost-the-concomitant-of-good-history-literature-and/) [C. V. Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) > [History, in spite of the occasional protest of historians, will always be used in a general way as a collection of political and moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-wedgwood/history-in-spite-of-the-occasional-protest-of-historians-will-always/) [C. V. Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) > [somewhere about the eighteenth century, history tacitly replaced religion as the school of public morals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-wedgwood/somewhere-about-the-eighteenth-century-history-tacitly-replaced/) [C. V. Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) > [The selective winnowing of time leaves only a few recognizable individuals behind for the historian to light on. Thus the historian who finds the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-wedgwood/the-selective-winnowing-of-time-leaves-only-a-few-recognizable/) [C. V. Wedgwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) [Explore all 22 C. V. Wedgwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-wedgwood/) ## More Constitution quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. 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