Balance Quote by Samuel E. Morison

“The moment historians examine the past they risk changing it, by selectively re-arranging events, consciously or not, according to the judgment(s) of posterity or…

— Paul Ham

We must see to it that enthusiasm for the future does not give rise to contempt for the past.

— Pope Paul VI

I feel slightly uneasy at the way historians are consulted as if history is going to repeat itself. It never does.

— Antony Beevor

Any event, once it has occurred, can be made to appear inevitable by a competent historian.

— Lee Simonson

“doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of…

— Barack Obama

The idea that historians aren't affected by what goes on around them I think is slightly fanciful.

— Kwasi Kwarteng

History is always written wrong, and so always needs to be rewritten. ...What is interesting is brought forward as if it had been central…

— George Santayana

The best use of history is as an inoculation against radical expectations, and hence against embittering disappointments.

— George Will

Whether we like it or not, there are moments in history when pessimism is the appropriate response.

— David Olusoga

You know the saying: he who doesn't understand history is doomed to repeat it. And when it's repeated, the stakes are doubled.

— Pittacus Lore

While historians may go on attempting grand, sweeping and defining narratives, they work in a time when readers know that another narrative always lies…

— Colm Toibin

“recent events compel us to raise anew. From the beginning, the most serious and systematic attempts to write Universal Histories saw the central issue…

— Francis Fukuyama