--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the great arrogance of the present…" description: "\"It is the great arrogance of the present to forget the intelligence of the past\" — Ken Burns" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/ken-burns-9897_arrogance_it-is-the-great-arrogance-of-the-present_3222430.jpg" --- # It is the great arrogance of the present to forget the… ![“It is the great arrogance of the present to forget the intelligence of the past” quote by Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/ken-burns-9897_arrogance_it-is-the-great-arrogance-of-the-present_3222430.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/ken-burns-9897_arrogance_it-is-the-great-arrogance-of-the-present_3222430.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/ken-burns-9897_arrogance_it-is-the-great-arrogance-of-the-present_3222430.jpg) > “It is the great arrogance of the present to forget the intelligence of the past” [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Current generations often ignore past wisdom, assuming modern superiority. **In simple terms:** We forget past intelligence. Key Takeaway Learn from history. Themes history humility knowledge Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type historical educational When to use this quote - education - policy making - cultural preservation - personal reflection Key Concepts historical cycles collective memory Questions to Reflect On - What lessons from history are most relevant today? - How can we honor past insights? A Different Perspective It may overgeneralize past societies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) [Arrogance Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance-present-2809305/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forget Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-intelligence-2227994/) [Great Arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-arrogance-6063371/) [Inspiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Intelligence Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence-past-6063372/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“The arrogance of the present is that we think we know more than the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-roston/the-arrogance-of-the-present-is-that-we-think-we-know-more-than-the/) [Tom Roston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-roston/) > [An extraordinary amount of arrogance is present in any claim of having been the first in inventing something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/an-extraordinary-amount-of-arrogance-is-present-in-any-claim-of/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Never forget that intelligence rules the world and ignorance carries the burden. Therefore, remove yourself as far as possible from ignorance and seek as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/never-forget-that-intelligence-rules-the-world-and-ignorance-carries/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [It's easy to forget what intelligence consists of: luck and speculation. Here and there a windfall, here and there a scoop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/it-s-easy-to-forget-what-intelligence-consists-of-luck-and/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [Timing and arrogance are decisive factors in the successful use of talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/timing-and-arrogance-are-decisive-factors-in-the-successful-use-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Arrogance is the outgrowth of prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/arrogance-is-the-outgrowth-of-prosperity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [“I was consumed by a selfishness and arrogance that I didn't dare let go of until I found a new persona to hide behind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-koomson/i-was-consumed-by-a-selfishness-and-arrogance-that-i-didn-t-dare-let/) [Dorothy Koomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-koomson/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Never mistake someones quietness for their arrogance as you can surely miss out on an awsome personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-mistake-someones-quietness-for-their-arrogance-as-you-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [What you see of me on TV and all of that, that is me - that's truly how I feel. I'm just multiplying it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-corbin/what-you-see-of-me-on-tv-and-all-of-that-that-is-me-that-s-truly-how/) [Baron Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-corbin/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [wishes for sons by Lucille Clifton i wish them cramps. i wish them a strange town and the last tampon. I wish them no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/wishes-for-sons-by-lucille-clifton-i-wish-them-cramps-i-wish-them-a/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) ## More by Ken Burns > [Good history is a question of survival. Without any past, we will deprive ourselves of the defining impression of our being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/good-history-is-a-question-of-survival-without-any-past-we-will/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [Write: write letters. Keep journals. Besides your children, there is no surer way of achieving immortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/write-write-letters-keep-journals-besides-your-children-there-is-no/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [By its very nature, no one person can ever be the center of Jazz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/by-its-very-nature-no-one-person-can-ever-be-the-center-of-jazz/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [The genius of our country is improvisation, and jazz reflects that. It's our great contribution to the arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/the-genius-of-our-country-is-improvisation-and-jazz-reflects-that-it/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [The reason why you do history, and particularly why you do war, is that you want to make sure that in the next war,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/the-reason-why-you-do-history-and-particularly-why-you-do-war-is-that/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [In a sense I've made the same film over and over again. In all of them I've asked, 'Who are we as Americans?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/in-a-sense-i-ve-made-the-same-film-over-and-over-again-in-all-of-them/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [I think we too often make choices based on the safety of cynicism, and what we're lead to is a life not fully lived.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/i-think-we-too-often-make-choices-based-on-the-safety-of-cynicism-and/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [Louis Armstrong is quite simply the most important person in American music. He is to 20th century music (I did not say jazz) what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/louis-armstrong-is-quite-simply-the-most-important-person-in-american/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [People tend to forget that the word "history" contains the word "story".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/people-tend-to-forget-that-the-word-history-contains-the-word-story/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [History isn't really about the past - settling old scores. It's about defining the present and who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/history-isn-t-really-about-the-past-settling-old-scores-it-s-about/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [We strain to listen to the ghosts and echoes of our inexpressibly wise past, and we have an obligation to maintain these places, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/we-strain-to-listen-to-the-ghosts-and-echoes-of-our-inexpressibly/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [It follows the seasons, beginning each year with the fond expectancy of springtime and ending with the hard facts of autumn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/it-follows-the-seasons-beginning-each-year-with-the-fond-expectancy/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [“Jackie Robinson stole home and he's safe."...Nobody could hurt him again. He wouldn't hear the name-calling. He would only hear the cheers and somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/jackie-robinson-stole-home-and-he-s-safe-nobody-could-hurt-him-again/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [I can understand why some of these drummers and bass players become cult figures with all of their equipment and the incredible amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/i-can-understand-why-some-of-these-drummers-and-bass-players-become/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [You know, you meet some people, and do a lot of interviews, and you come across a Buck O'Neill and you know you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/you-know-you-meet-some-people-and-do-a-lot-of-interviews-and-you-come/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) [Explore all 69 Ken Burns quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) ## More Arrogance quotes > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [wishes for sons by Lucille Clifton i wish them cramps. i wish them a strange town and the last tampon. I wish them no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/wishes-for-sons-by-lucille-clifton-i-wish-them-cramps-i-wish-them-a/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [What you see of me on TV and all of that, that is me - that's truly how I feel. I'm just multiplying it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-corbin/what-you-see-of-me-on-tv-and-all-of-that-that-is-me-that-s-truly-how/) [Baron Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-corbin/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Never mistake someones quietness for their arrogance as you can surely miss out on an awsome personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-mistake-someones-quietness-for-their-arrogance-as-you-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [“I was consumed by a selfishness and arrogance that I didn't dare let go of until I found a new persona to hide behind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-koomson/i-was-consumed-by-a-selfishness-and-arrogance-that-i-didn-t-dare-let/) [Dorothy Koomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-koomson/) > [Arrogance is the outgrowth of prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/arrogance-is-the-outgrowth-of-prosperity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Timing and arrogance are decisive factors in the successful use of talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/timing-and-arrogance-are-decisive-factors-in-the-successful-use-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [Closed some doors, not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they no longer lead somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenz-jeffrey/closed-some-doors-not-because-of-pride-incapacity-or-arrogance-but/) [Frenz Jeffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frenz-jeffrey/) > [My success isn't a result of arrogance - it's a result of belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-mcgregor/my-success-isn-t-a-result-of-arrogance-it-s-a-result-of-belief/) [Conor McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-mcgregor/) > [“...a great man who is vicious will only be a great doer of evil, and a rich man who is not liberal will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cervantes/a-great-man-who-is-vicious-will-only-be-a-great-doer-of-evil-and-a/) [Miguel Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-cervantes/) > [An increasing number of people are growing uncomfortable with the gulf between the world's rich and the poor. Ostentatiously splashing your money around simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalle-lasn/an-increasing-number-of-people-are-growing-uncomfortable-with-the/) [Kalle Lasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalle-lasn/) [Browse all 1,418 Arrogance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is the great arrogance of the present to forget the intelligence of the past", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ken Burns" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/it-is-the-great-arrogance-of-the-present-to-forget-the-intelligence/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arrogance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/it-is-the-great-arrogance-of-the-present-to-forget-the-intelligence/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/ken-burns-9897_arrogance_it-is-the-great-arrogance-of-the-present_3222430.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/ken-burns-9897_arrogance_it-is-the-great-arrogance-of-the-present_3222430.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/ken-burns-9897_arrogance_it-is-the-great-arrogance-of-the-present_3222430.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is the great arrogance of the present to forget the intelligence of the past” — Ken Burns", "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": "Ken Burns", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is the great arrogance of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/it-is-the-great-arrogance-of-the-present-to-forget-the-intelligence/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/it-is-the-great-arrogance-of-the-present-to-forget-the-intelligence/#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 } } ] } ```