--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ancient history, besides the still…" description: "\"Ancient history, besides the still unequalled excellence of the writers, is the best instrument for cultivating the historical sense.\" — Goldwin Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/goldwin-smith-17422_ancient_ancient-history-besides-the-still-unequa_1869912.jpg" --- # Ancient history, besides the still unequalled excellence… ![“Ancient history, besides the still unequalled excellence of the writers, is the best instrument for cultivating the historical sense.” quote by Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/goldwin-smith-17422_ancient_ancient-history-besides-the-still-unequa_1869912.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/goldwin-smith-17422_ancient_ancient-history-besides-the-still-unequa_1869912.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/goldwin-smith-17422_ancient_ancient-history-besides-the-still-unequa_1869912.jpg) > “Ancient history, besides the still unequalled excellence of the writers, is the best instrument for cultivating the historical sense.” [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical study sharpens perception of past patterns, informing present understanding **In simple terms:** Studying history improves insight into current events Key Takeaway Read history to develop perspective Themes education history critical thinking Mood analytical thoughtful Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - Policy making - educational curricula - personal reflection Key Concepts Historical analysis contextual awareness comparative studies Questions to Reflect On - What patterns do you see repeating? - How can we avoid presentism? A Different Perspective Historical narratives can be biased or incomplete ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Ancient history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-history/) [Excellence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellence/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone's a singer now, thanks to karaoke, for better and for much worse. But the live band is now becoming ancient history in Thailand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bishop/everyone-s-a-singer-now-thanks-to-karaoke-for-better-and-for-much/) [Alan Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bishop/) > [You probably won't remember me. I'm probably ancient history. I'm one of the chosen few who went ahead and fell for you. I'm out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jann-arden/you-probably-won-t-remember-me-i-m-probably-ancient-history-i-m-one/) [Jann Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jann-arden/) > [Whereas much of what we know from ancient history is derived from one or two sources, we have no fewer than nine ancient sources,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-strobel/whereas-much-of-what-we-know-from-ancient-history-is-derived-from-one/) [Lee Strobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-strobel/) > [All the ancient histories, as one of our wits say, are just fables that have been agreed upon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/all-the-ancient-histories-as-one-of-our-wits-say-are-just-fables-that/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [People whose concept of ancient history is the first series of Star Trek may be treated with patience, because it's usually not their fault…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/people-whose-concept-of-ancient-history-is-the-first-series-of-star/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“cancer is as old as the human race and has been documented since ancient history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-agus/cancer-is-as-old-as-the-human-race-and-has-been-documented-since/) [David B. Agus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-agus/) > [If you start thinking about the kids being born now, for them the computer is ancient history. So one imagines that when children think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/if-you-start-thinking-about-the-kids-being-born-now-for-them-the/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [We've got to map all of our ancient history before it's gone because, let's face it, if we don't have a common heritage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-parcak/we-ve-got-to-map-all-of-our-ancient-history-before-it-s-gone-because/) [Sarah Parcak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-parcak/) > [My platitudes don't hold their interest and I can hardly blame them for that. My real stories are all out of date. So what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/my-platitudes-don-t-hold-their-interest-and-i-can-hardly-blame-them/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [Fascist is not just an epithet. Fascist is a proper noun that means a specific thing. It's a real thing. It's not always referring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/fascist-is-not-just-an-epithet-fascist-is-a-proper-noun-that-means-a/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [I couldn’t miss Percy’s fifteenth birthday,” Poseidon said. “Why, if this were Sparta, Percy would be a man today!” "That’s true,” Paul said. “I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/i-couldn-t-miss-percy-s-fifteenth-birthday-poseidon-said-why-if-this/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“The trouble with ancient history is that, as far as I can tell, the vast majority of it took place a hell of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/the-trouble-with-ancient-history-is-that-as-far-as-i-can-tell-the/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [Our family arrived in England in 1960. At that time I thought the war was ancient history. But if I think of 15 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/our-family-arrived-in-england-in-1960-at-that-time-i-thought-the-war/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [Based on the considerations of history, ancient history, and international axioms, the logic of following up a citizen with his shadow for the purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saddam-hussein/based-on-the-considerations-of-history-ancient-history-and/) [Saddam Hussein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saddam-hussein/) > [Ancient history is oddly short on incorrect omens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/ancient-history-is-oddly-short-on-incorrect-omens/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) ## More by Goldwin Smith > [As to London we must console ourselves with the thought that if life outside is less poetic than it was in the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/as-to-london-we-must-console-ourselves-with-the-thought-that-if-life/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [The novelist must look on humanity without partiality or prejudice. His sympathy, like that of the historian, must be unbounded, and untainted by sect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-novelist-must-look-on-humanity-without-partiality-or-prejudice/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [The Romans, we are told, were by nature a peculiarly warlike race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-romans-we-are-told-were-by-nature-a-peculiarly-warlike-race/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Canada is said to have got its name from the two Spanish words aca and nada, signifying 'there is nothing here.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/canada-is-said-to-have-got-its-name-from-the-two-spanish-words-aca/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [It is needless to say how great has been the influence of the doctrine of Evolution, or rather perhaps of the method of investigation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/it-is-needless-to-say-how-great-has-been-the-influence-of-the/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [We must also be permitted to bear in mind that evolution, though it may explain everything else, cannot explain itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/we-must-also-be-permitted-to-bear-in-mind-that-evolution-though-it/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Who can doubt that between the English and the French, between the Scotch and the Irish, there are differences of character which have profoundly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/who-can-doubt-that-between-the-english-and-the-french-between-the/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Never had there been such an attempt to make conquest the servant of civilization. About keeping India there is no question. England has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/never-had-there-been-such-an-attempt-to-make-conquest-the-servant-of/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Rich by nature, poor by policy' might be written over Canada's door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/rich-by-nature-poor-by-policy-might-be-written-over-canada-s-door/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Above all nations is humanity,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/above-all-nations-is-humanity/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Art is expression, and to have high expression you must have something high to express.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/art-is-expression-and-to-have-high-expression-you-must-have-something/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [In my youth,geology was nervously striving to accommodate itself to Genesis. Now it is Genesis that is striving to accommodate itself to geology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/in-my-youth-geology-was-nervously-striving-to-accommodate-itself-to/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [The natural barriers between England and Scotland were not sufficient to prevent the extension of the Saxon settlements and kingdoms across the border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-natural-barriers-between-england-and-scotland-were-not-sufficient/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [Dante himself is open to the suspicion of partiality: it is said, not without apparent ground, that he puts into hell all the enemies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/dante-himself-is-open-to-the-suspicion-of-partiality-it-is-said-not/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [The father of confederation is deadlock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-father-of-confederation-is-deadlock/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) [Explore all 37 Goldwin Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) ## More Ancient quotes > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/) [Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/so-what-if-i-m-ninety-three-so-what-if-i-m-ancient-and-cranky-and-my/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) [Browse all 2,415 Ancient quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ancient history, besides the still unequalled excellence of the writers, is the best instrument for cultivating the historical sense.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Goldwin Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/ancient-history-besides-the-still-unequalled-excellence-of-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ancient" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/ancient-history-besides-the-still-unequalled-excellence-of-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/goldwin-smith-17422_ancient_ancient-history-besides-the-still-unequa_1869912.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/goldwin-smith-17422_ancient_ancient-history-besides-the-still-unequa_1869912.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/goldwin-smith-17422_ancient_ancient-history-besides-the-still-unequa_1869912.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ancient history, besides the still unequalled excellence of the writers, is the best instrument for…” — Goldwin Smith", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Goldwin Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ancient history, besides the still unequalled...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/ancient-history-besides-the-still-unequalled-excellence-of-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/ancient-history-besides-the-still-unequalled-excellence-of-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```