--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Where does it all begin? History has no…" description: "\"“Where does it all begin? History has no beginnings, for everything that happens becomes the cause or pretext for what occurs afterwards, and this chai..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41f/louis-de-bernieres-5492_beginnings_where-does-it-all-begin-history-has-no-b_1484398.png" --- # Where does it all begin? History has no beginnings, for… ![“Where does it all begin? History has no beginnings, for everything that happens becomes the cause or pretext for what occurs afterwards, and this chain of cause and pretext stretches back to the Palaeolithic age, when the first Cain of one tribe murdered the first Abel of another. All war is…” quote by Louis de Bernieres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41f/louis-de-bernieres-5492_beginnings_where-does-it-all-begin-history-has-no-b_1484398.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41f/louis-de-bernieres-5492_beginnings_where-does-it-all-begin-history-has-no-b_1484398.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41f/louis-de-bernieres-5492_beginnings_where-does-it-all-begin-history-has-no-b_1484398.png) > ““Where does it all begin? History has no beginnings, for everything that happens becomes the cause or pretext for what occurs afterwards, and this chain of cause and pretext stretches back to the Palaeolithic age, when the first Cain of one tribe murdered the first Abel of another. All war is fratricide, and there is therefore an infinite chain of blame that winds its circuitous route back and forth across the path and under the feet of every people and every nation, so that a people who are the victims of one time become the victimisers a generation later, and newly liberated nations resort immediately to the means of their former oppressors. The triple contagions of nationalism, utopianism and religious absolutism effervesce together into an acid that corrodes the moral metal of a race, and it shamelessly and even proudly performs deeds that it would deem vile if they were done by any other.”” [Louis de Bernieres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-bernieres/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage argues that history is a continuous cycle of cause and effect, where wars stem from deep-rooted blame and ideologies, leading to endless cycles of victimhood and oppression. **In simple terms:** History repeats through blame, war, and ideology. Key Takeaway Break cycles of blame and extremist ideologies. Themes history war blame ideology cycle victimhood Mood reflective somber hopeful Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - conflict resolution - education reform - peacebuilding - intercultural dialogue Key Concepts causality collective memory nationalism utopianism religious absolutism Questions to Reflect On - How can societies break the cycle of historical revenge? - What role does education play in preventing extremist ideologies? A Different Perspective Changing deep-seated beliefs is difficult and may meet resistance from entrenched interests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Begin History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begin-history-5417107/) [Beginnings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings/) [Beginnings Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings-happens-5417106/) [Contagions Nationalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contagions-nationalism-5417108/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Beginnings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-beginnings-5417105/) ## Related quotes > [“As long as we’re breathing, we have a chance to start over and build a stable future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ha-campbell/as-long-as-we-re-breathing-we-have-a-chance-to-start-over-and-build-a/) [Kim Ha Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ha-campbell/) > [Unity, I thought, implies the possibility of disunity. Beginnings imply and require endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/unity-i-thought-implies-the-possibility-of-disunity-beginnings-imply/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [Bad beginnings, bad endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livy/bad-beginnings-bad-endings/) [Livy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/livy/) > [“The beginnings of marriage can be a tough phase because it's the time when two individuals are learning to synchronize their hearts, minds, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/the-beginnings-of-marriage-can-be-a-tough-phase-because-it-s-the-time/) [Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/) > [There are not many beginnings but there is a single Beginning, prior to multitude. But if you were to say that the beginnings are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/there-are-not-many-beginnings-but-there-is-a-single-beginning-prior/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [“January 20th,2021 Blow the trumpets loud, Salute the National Guard in the crowd, New beginnings, A new day has dawned, No need to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-j-forde/january-20th-2021-blow-the-trumpets-loud-salute-the-national-guard-in/) [Charmaine J Forde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-j-forde/) > [“... the scarlet thread,the red clay from which we were made, runs in tiny streams through all our veins, reminding us of where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/the-scarlet-thread-the-red-clay-from-which-we-were-made-runs-in-tiny/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [My beginnings in the Southwest are clear and palpable. 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Beginnings imply and require endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/unity-i-thought-implies-the-possibility-of-disunity-beginnings-imply/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“You see the bird and you see its flight. You can not see through its eyes. Therefore, you don't know its plight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amaka-nkosazana/you-see-the-bird-and-you-see-its-flight-you-can-not-see-through-its/) [Amaka Nkosazana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amaka-nkosazana/) [Browse all 401 Beginnings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Where does it all begin? History has no beginnings, for everything that happens becomes the cause or pretext for what occurs afterwards, and this chain of cause and pretext stretches back to the Palaeolithic age, when the first Cain of one tribe murdered the first Abel of another. All war is fratricide, and there is therefore an infinite chain of blame that winds its circuitous route back and forth across the path and under the feet of every people and every nation, so that a people who are the victims of one time become the victimisers a generation later, and newly liberated nations resort immediately to the means of their former oppressors. 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