Brain Quote by Samuel Eliot Morison

America was discovered accidentally by a great seaman who was looking for something else; when discovered it was not wanted; and most of the…

— Samuel Eliot Morison

If the European discovery had been delayed for a century or two, it is possible that the Aztec in Mexico or the Iroquois in…

— Samuel Eliot Morison

But sea power has never led to despotism. The nations that have enjoyed sea power even for a brief period-Athens, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, England,…

— Samuel Eliot Morison

If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence, it would have been worthwhile.

— Samuel Eliot Morison

If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence, it would have been worth while. . . . The beauty and…

— Samuel Eliot Morison

A tough but nervous, tenacious but restless race [the Yankees]; materially ambitious, yet prone to introspection, and subject to waves of religious emotion. .…

— Samuel Eliot Morison

Dream dreams and write them aye, but live them first.

— Samuel Eliot Morison

A few hints as to literary craftsmanship may be useful to budding historians. First and foremost, get writing!

— Samuel Eliot Morison

Franklin may . . . be considered one of the founding fathers of American democracy, since no democratic government can last long without conciliation and compromise.

— Samuel Eliot Morison

One learns more from defeat than from victory.

— Samuel Eliot Morison

Military and absolutist regimes are undoubtedly well fitted to get the jump on an unsuspecting or unprepared enemy; but the history of modern warfare…

— Samuel Eliot Morison

An historian should yield himself to his subject, become immersed in the place and period of his choice, standing apart from it now and…

— Samuel Eliot Morison